These days, you’ll have noticed, nearly every business uses social media. It just makes sense: various free platforms for spreading the word about what a business does and knows, and a great way to build profile, find new employees and start virtual relationships which can then develop in the real world.
So what’s not to like? It’s this: social media is making some aspects of business life a lot more complicated. 
Once upon a time, when someone left a job it was easy enough to say what belonged to the employee and what to the company. Pot plant brought in from home? The employee’s. Office stapler? That belongs to the business. Up-to-date marketing database? Business again. And so on.
In 2013, when it comes to social media, things are less clear-cut. If someone builds a strong Twitter following when working for a particular company, or makes hundreds of LinkedIn connections, who gets to walk away with these accounts and contacts afterwards?
Unfortunately it’s likely that, whatever answer you have in mind, it won’t be the whole story. This is a legal battleground and arguments are still being played out in courts all around the world.
As an IP & Technology lawyer, my clients are at the cutting edge in social media terms – but there is still plenty they don’t know about where they stand on such issues. And that’s because no-one yet quite knows. It’s a legal challenge, for sure – and one that every company should keep at the front of its mind when shaping its social media strategy and policies.
The other challenge posed by the social economy is around making and managing your online reputation on all its forms, and plenty of companies still have a way to go here too. Last month British Gas tried to talk about its price rises using social media and but was met with widespread criticism.
But often things are less clear-cut. When Waitrose last year asked its customers to explain, on social media, why they shopped at the high-end supermarket, the stunt was predictably hijacked by those using its hashtag, #WaitroseReasons, to poke fun at the supermarket and its customer base. But was it actually bad publicity? Arguably it was a stroke of genius, reinforcing the brand’s upmarket image and generating lots of coverage – for free.
The real lesson here is that companies walk a tightrope when it comes to social media and online reputation – and it will always pay to treat the channel with the seriousness it deserves.
This applies equally in both the above contexts – who owns what, and reputation management. Consider your strategy, seek well informed professional advice, and implement your social media policies with care. There’s too much at stake to leave it to chance.
You can get in touch with Andrew at www.templebright.com and via Twitter @tibber.
