Introduction
The continued advancements in the information communication technology have opened up new avenues through which marketers can perform their roles.
The social media platform, for instance, has been embraced fully by virtually all business entities as they seek to reap maximum benefits from its high interaction potential, and general cost saving. This paper picks Facebook among the leading social media platforms and discusses the legal environment in which marketers operate as they utilize it in their career operations.
Important Components for Consideration by a Legally Astute Social Media Marketing Manager
A marketing manager must firstly understand the knowledge that relates to specific regulations, tools, and the general resources involved during the use of social media for marketing activities (Bagley, 2012). This will help such an individual in relating the laws with aspects that affect the company directly. Such aspects include as data mining, privacy of the customers, and taxation.
Secondly, the marketing manager must appreciate the extent to which the law plays an important role in determining the organization’s success. The manager, thus, must take personal responsibility towards understanding the various regulatory frameworks that affect the particular industry where he works in (Bagley, 2012). Social media is a fairly new aspect and it entails new laws that might not be commonly known.
The marketing manager must be active when it comes to taking the initiative to understand legal issues (Bagley, 2012).
As already explained, many significant laws and regulations are constantly being formulated to seal loopholes that might sustain illegalities since social media is still a relatively new phenomenon. The marketing manager, therefore, has the onus of remaining proactive in following up, especially with the legal considerations that are involved.
Finally, a social media marketing manager must be in a position to make informed judgments regarding decisions that touch on legal implications. This requires experience in the area before such standards can be attained (Bagley, 2012).
Methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution: Resolving Genuine Consumer Disputes
A company should begin by acknowledging a complaint lodged against it by customers (Behlmann, 2013). Using its official Facebook page, for instance, the company needs to come out and admit that it is sorry for its mistakes.
Such a move should be followed by the issuance of a contact number or email address on the public wall for consumers to use to communicate with the marketing manager directly or his representative (Behlmann, 2013).
Such a method is more reassuring to a consumer who feels offended and it helps in building the client’s trust towards the company and its products or services. It also convinces other customers who might not have been offended directly that their company has their interests closely guarded.
Alternatively, a company receiving customer complaints on its social media platform should identify the particular customer and seek to understand more about him or her. This could be done by way of phone communication or other private communication means (Behlmann, 2013).
The company should issue its apology and rectify the issue immediately. This method is not the most appropriate, although it eventually works towards reaffirming the firm’s commitment to the customer by communicating and solving the problem.
The firm should publicly be seen to have handled such disputes in an amicable way; instead of offering to deal privately with the offended customer. If complaints are publicly displayed on the firm’s Facebook page, the firm should publicly address it because many other consumers will develop interest in the matter.
A marketing manager may also consider pursuing direct interactions with a customer for purposes of wishing to learn more about the dispute (Behlmann, 2013). The manager should then consider displaying the postings publicly on the company’s Facebook wall if the dialogue stays respectful.
On the other hand, such dialogue would be left as private, particularly if the customer refused to be convinced at some point (Behlmann, 2013). This is not a good method of solving the problem because it also fails to convince the other customers who may not necessarily be having issues at that particular time.
Choosing to display messages publicly on the social media page because they have gone down well with the company and concealing the same where the customer appears to have failed in its efforts does not show a convincing resolve to solve problems.
How the federal government can best control consumer transactions on social media occurring across state lines
The federal government can formulate regulations that specifically address the issue of consumer privacy while transacting through the social media. Such a legal framework informs the consumers of what to expect as far as their personal information is involved in social media transactions.
The regulations would also determine company expectations concerning the use of personal data. Privacy is mainly threatened by the ICT advancements and developments, thus controlling its regulation would help to standardize interstate transactions by consumers using social media (Bagley, 2012).
The federal government can also formulate a uniform commercial code for application mainly in electronic commerce. The general idea should be that individuals must be capable of doing business with others using their social media channels on specific terms and conditions that they agree upon.
Such a legal structure should recognize, facilitate, as well as enforce social media transactions across the country (Bagley, 2012). The cyberspace must adopt a uniform commercial code to make it possible for social media consumer transactions to be controlled easily across all states.
Another critical area to consider is intellectual property protection. Addressing this concern will assure sellers of products or services across social media that their intellectual property is protected fully, while buyers will be assured of the authenticity of the products that they acquire.
The federal government can also come up with a legal framework that addresses copyrights, patent, and trademark issues. In terms of copyright protection, the administration should consider encouraging states to implement agreements on intellectual property immediately as a way of protecting copyright.
Patent issues, on the other hand, could be addressed by the federal government through prohibiting the authorization of patented innovations by states. Such a regulation would only allow the patent owner to authorize the use of his innovation (Bagley, 2012).
Branches of Government: Effectuating the most significant impact on regulating consumer transactions via social media
Judiciary
The judiciary mainly presides over cases and litigations presented to them by aggrieved parties. The main role of this branch, therefore, entails enforcing laws and regulations passed by other arms of government.
The judiciary has limited influence in terms of effectuating the most significant impact in as far as regulating social media consumer transactions is involved. It acts as a last resort where those involved in contravening social media transaction rules are punished. This does little in putting into force the regulations involved.
Legislature
The legislature formulates the actual regulations and laws that are adopted by a country. The members of the legislature consider all situations afflicting the society before forming laws that address the resultant issues.
This arm of government has a significant role in terms of forming rules and regulations that govern transactions conducted over the social media. Despite this significant role, the legislature does not follow up to effectuate the laws that it forms.
While it might come up with the most effective laws that ensure social media transactions are conducted safely, it lacks the powers to enforce these regulations. In essence, the legislature does not have the most significant power to make the regulation of transactions conducted via the social media operational (Simon, 2010).
Executive
The executive refers to the presidency. It includes the constitutional powers that the president wields, such as commanding the law enforcing agencies like the police in the country.
The president also enjoys immense powers that can, in turn, influence the formulation of new laws and regulations by the legislature. In this regard, the executive effectuates the most significant impact in as far as the regulation of consumer transactions via social media entails.
The president can influence the legislature to pass bills into law. The president is also the chief commander of the law regulating agencies. Apart from only ensuring that certain laws are existent, the president can also ensure that they are enforced fully.
The agency relationship between social media service providers and businesses that utilize the site for advertising
Social media service providers and businesses that utilize the social media platform for their advertising mainly maintain an interactive agency relationship between them (Simon, 2010).
The social media outlets, such as Facebook, offer both personal, as well as corporate community sites as part of the service they offer to the advertising business firms. Facebook allows companies and individuals to place advertisements on their site such that other users who log in to their accounts can interact with such advertisements.
The interactive agency relationship enables the advertisers to benefit from the power of social media, which has a global outreach.
The social media outlet, on its part, ensures that customers and potential buyers of a company’s products or services are able to interact directly with the company freely using its official social media page (Simon, 2010). Social media is gaining prominence, and virtually everybody owns social media accounts, making it easy for customized interactions between the customer and the business.
Conclusion
Social media is growing fast to become the new business platform where transactions can be made between parties. However, the new phenomenon is facing challenges because there are limited regulations and laws that govern it. The fast-changing stance of the social media equally increases the challenges faced in formulating adequate regulations.
Marketing managers must be aware of all the applicable regulations as firms settle on social marketing as the new avenue for advertising. They must be proactive when it comes to addressing legal issues that affect their social marketing.
Marketing managers must admit their fault and move quickly to address the issue while addressing customer disputes on social media. Such communication must be put in the open to help in reassuring the customers and the general public about the firm’s commitment to serve its customers.
References
Behlmann, E. (2013). We asked social media pros: How do you deal with customer complaints online? The Business Journal. Web.
Bagley, C. E. (2012). Managers and the legal environment – strategies for the 21st century, 7th edn. Cengage Learning.
Simon, P. (2010). The next wave of technologies: Opportunities in chaos. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.