Social Networking Could Bring Your Business Down!
Have you ever considered that your random post on a social network could lead to a lawsuit against you or your company? It is a fact – and more and more people and companies are experiencing the reality of this. Say you post on Twitter that you have the ‘Best Pizza in San Diego’ or you are the ‘#1 Best Fitness Trainer in Carlsbad’ – now you very well may be (or think you are) but your competitors may not think so and it could cause them to lose business (or they could claim this). This could lead to a lengthy and costly lawsuit against you.
“Nah – no one would bother filing a suit against me for this…..everyone does this.”
Ten years ago, Advertising claims were few and far between because marketing avenues were very limited to those companies that had the money to spend on TV, Print Campaigns and Radio. These large companies had the fact-checkers, marketing executives, insurance and legal teams to manage any wrongful statements. Nowadays, anyone can market to the general public through social networks and the exposure is very real. At this moment, I have 3 clients experiencing claims from marketing and advertising. Although they did not mean to cause any damage, they did not think about the consequences from mis-quoting and poor marketing. Thankfully they do have insurance for this. If they did not have coverage in place it would cost them thousands and thousands just in legal defense costs – not to mention any damage pay-out.
In most General Liability policies, there is coverage for Personal and Advertising Liability. Many people do not know what this is for and most would never have needed this in the past. Now, it is a very valuable piece of the General Liability package.
Personal & Advertising Liability provides coverage for the following:
- Using someone’s Trademark/Copyright or Slogan by mistake
- Quoting someone without giving credit
- Stating a mis-truth in your Advertising (“I am the Best…!”)
- Using pictures that someone else owns
- Slander – defaming a person or company
- Plagiarism – (you Blog someone else’s info without consent)
- And more.
The next time you write your Blog or post a marketing tag on your social media networks, think about what you are saying, check your facts and make sure it could not be considered damaging to anyone else. And make sure your Liability insurance covers you for this so you can post in peace!
Happy posting peeps!
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Hadley Wood is the President/CEO of H. Linwood Insurance Services, Inc in Carlsbad. She is the Business Insurance Guru for Hera Hub and specializes in Business Insurance for small-medium sized companies and entrepreneurs. She is also a Risk Management specialist and is finishing up her book, ‘Cover Your ASSets’, Tips and Tools for Managing Risk in a Litgeous World’.
