Marketing Tip #30 - Spell Check Can Be Your Friend

Proofread. Proofread. And proofread again. Lately, I’ve gotten quite a few email blasts that were riddled with typos and grammatical errors. Hey, I’ve been guilty too. Even though I have five proofreaders look over my e-newsletter before I hit “send”, errors do happen. No time to have someone give your missive a once-over? Remember, Spell Check can be your friend, most of the time.  When there are errors, people view you as unprofessional and don’t take your message seriously. Not to mention all the emails and calls you will get pointing out the mistakes. 

Marketing Tip #27 - Watch What You Post!

 In matters of defamation of character, the hard truth is that when you are careless with your postings on Facebook, Twitter, or any social media site, you can get into ginormous legal trouble with statements that directly target an individual, company, association, or anyone that has a reputation to be damaged. And if the matter is pursued in court, it can cost you big-time.  Also note that even a truthful statement can bring on legal issues if sharing that information damages someone’s reputation.  Once it’s out in cyberspace, it’s out there forever.

Can You Be Sued For Posting the Truth Online?

During a meeting this past week, a client revealed that he had been drawn into an on-line argument with a friend. What began as a private email conversation between the two of them, evolved into the “friend” posting snarky remarks and innuendos broadcasted to all their mutual friends on Facebook. He wasn’t sure how to proceed and was wondering if these remarks were defamation of his character.

First of all, there are two kinds of defamation of character: Libel is the defaming of character or reputation in the form of a written statement, in this case, on a social media site, or slander, that is a damaging statement which is spoken.

As a former publisher of a newspaper, I was faced with the issues of libel and slander every day. I purposely wrote the content of the paper from the “third” person, disconnecting my feelings and opinions on any given matter. It took a lot of discipline not to be dragged into disagreements that were between two embattled neighbors or one business owner who was doing everything he could to put the other out of business. But my reputation was that of fair and unbiased reporting, a reputation that I am proud to have.

The hard truth is that when you are careless with your postings on Facebook, Twitter, or any social media site, you can get into ginormous legal trouble with statements that directly target an individual, company, association, or anyone that has a reputation to be damaged. And if the matter is pursued in court, it can cost you big-time. Also note that even a truthful statement can bring on legal issues if sharing that information damages someone’s reputation. Consult an attorney for the laws governing defamation of character in your state.

Before you begin sharing your matters of discontent on the internet, here are some things you should keep in mind:

• Defamatory language does not have to be direct. It can also be innuendo.

• That language must be “of or concerning” the person claiming to be harmed by the language.

• The language must have been “published” for all to see.

• The language has to damage the reputation of the person of whom the remarks are directed. It should be noted that even a statement of opinion can get you in trouble.

The bottom line: Use common sense with everything you post on the internet for all to see. This is especially true before you post something in a hasty moment of anger. Once it’s out there in cyberspace, it’s out there forever.

Marketing TIp #24 - Who Owns Your Domain Name?

Last week I heard from a website designer who was closing his business and moving on to a whole new endeavor. And it made me think, who owns my domain name? I discovered that chances are good that the person who created and manages your website has ownership of your domain name as part of the set up process. In order to protect your personalized email address, it is in your best interest to transfer the ownership into your name. Usually, all that is required is to identify the hosting company with the help of your web person, put the account in your own name and then simply pay them the minimal yearly fee directly. You will still need to pay a monthly fee to your web site person for ongoing hosting and maintenance, but you will own your domain name.  If you can’t find out who actually owns your domain name, you can go to http://www.domaintools.com/ and trace the history.