Twitter Frontier: Harnessing the Power of Social Media while Protecting Your Franchise

ABOUT US• Deb Evans – President & CEO – Computer Explorers• Chad Cohen – Vice President – Fish Consulting• David Beyer – Partner – Quarles & Brady• Todd Leiser – Director Franchise Sales - Valpak #TFIFA2012

AGENDA • Franchisor’s Perspective • Franchisee’s Perspective • Legal Perspective • Best Practices • Tools • Q&A #TFIFA2012

TWEET YOUR QUESTIONS #TFIFA2012 #TFIFA2012

QUICK EXERCISE• Tweet that you are in the Twitter Frontier IFA session• “Attending Twitter Frontier Session at the IFA Convention #TFIFA2012. It’s awesome” #TFIFA2012

SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO

#TFIFA2012

FRANCHISOR - DEB EVANS• Hello, I am @DebCE andeverything can be tweeted,any time, any where! #TFIFA2012

CREATE A RAVE• “Nobody Cares About Your Products (Except You)”• “Generate online buzz driving buyers to your virtual doorstep!”• “Create Triggers that Encourage People to Share!” #TFIFA2012

TWITTER AGENDA• To Do Business• Corporate Communications• Public Relations• Business Development• Marketing and/or PR #TFIFA2012

SOCIAL SHARING• Great Content will Create an Emotional Response• Builds Creditability Online• Allow the Sharing Virus to Spread (add social buttons) #TFIFA2012

SHARING IN 2011 Infographic by AddThis of ClearSpring #TFIFA2012

GROUND RULES• http://socialmedia.policytool.net/ #TFIFA2012

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKIT• Provide step by step guide #TFIFA2012

ESTABLISH “US” POLICY• Tweets are Better as a Team #TFIFA2012

TWEET PSYCH• What will youTweet? #TFIFA2012

THE TWITTER FRONTIER #TFIFA2012

TWEET BREAK –Tweet a question @ValpakTodd –Tweet a comment –Use the Hashtag #TFIFA2012 #TFIFA2012

FRANCHISEE – CHAD COHEN• What can you do for your franchise with 140 characters or less? – Find the people and the web intelligence that can help make your business successful. #TFIFA2012

THE TWITTER FRONTIER• Twitter: She’s smart and unique, with a big mouth and lots of connections.• She’s the friend who gossips and makes lots of noise.• However, Twitter has her limits, but tell her the right things and she’ll hook you up with the right people.• If you want to stay on her good side, make sure you have a theme for what you’re going to tweet, and stay connected or you’ll never get anywhere with her. #TFIFA2012

THE TWITTER FRONTIER• As franchisees, remember the following: – The choice to participate is yours – Respect the brand’s proprietary information – Be respectful, unique and the expert in your field – Pause before posting – Solve problems – Know your voice – Monitor and participate – Reward your followers #TFIFA2012

THE TWITTER FRONTIER• If you, the franchisee, choose to engage, remember: – Your twitter account is not an island. It does not stand alone. – Needs to be reinforced offline for it to have an impact and for customers to deem it useful. – Twitter is not separate from your marketing and customer service efforts. – Monitor and track your brand, address concerns, offer customer service or thank people for praise. – Twitter is your megaphone to your local community. Use it. Get engaged. #TFIFA2012

FRANCHISOR - FRANCHISEE #TFIFA2012

LEGAL PERSPECTIVE Just because it’s on social media does not mean that: – Laws no longer apply – The FA / Manual does not apply Due to viral nature: Be More Vigilant !

• Copyright Infringement• Trademark Infringement• Defamation• Advertising Fees

Digital Millennium Copyright Act • Limits copyright infringement liability for hosting third party content – No actual knowledge – No financial benefit from infringing activity – Remove content on notice – Designate agent for notices

FTC / Endorsements • FTC actively monitoring advertising in social media – Endorsements – Disclosure – Sellers & Third Parties Liable – Sellers may be liable for what endorsers do – Sellers must inform endorsers of rules

• Federal Trade Commission guidelines subject companies to liability for false or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsement, or for failing to disclose material connections between themselves and endorsers• Be sure franchisees identify themselves as such

The Communications Decency Act • Limited Immunity • Site operators not liable as publisher of third party content • Be Careful: If edit or modify then can lose immunity

Franchise Sales • If social media is used to offer and sell franchises, then must follow internet advertising rules –Include disclaimer –List on FDD –Don’t direct

Financial Performance Representations • Not if FPR is directed to general public • But if directed to prospects, then risk of FPR • Follow media claim rules with disclaimer – FDD – % exceeded claim • Policy to not post financial information

Social Media Policies • List prohibited social media conduct • Identify appropriate identification practices • Reinforce confidentiality policies • Inform that you will monitor

Social Media Policies • No financial information • Handling disparagements • Proper use of Marks • Specify links to Franchisor sites • Common naming convention and handles • Similar photos – like storefronts

User-Generated Content – Describe content restrictions • No false or deceptive claims • No defamation / privacy – Takedown rights / Don’t Edit / Remove – Disclaimers of responsibility – Territorial Restrictions

Whose Account Is It Anyway? • Phonedog Media v. Kravitz • Twitter Account: Phonedog - Noah

Whose LinkedIn Contacts Are They? • Eagle v. Morgan • Employee may be liable for misappropriation

TECHNOLOGIES • Here are a few tools: • http://muckrack.com/about • http://mashable.com/2011/09/30/twitter-history-infographic/ • http://tweetpsych.com • http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/ • http://addictomatic.com • http://socialmention.com • http://tweetchat.com • http://tweepsearch.com • http://tweetburner.com/ • http://tweetbeep.com/ • http://twellow.com #TFIFA2012

TWEETED QUESTIONS #TFIFA2012

FINAL EXERCISE #TFIFA2012

WRAP-UP #TFIFA2012

CONTACT USDeb Evans Chad Cohen David Beyer Todd Leiser@DebCE @chad_cohen @ @valpaktoddwww.computerexplorers www.fish- www.quarles.com www.valpak.com consulting.com800-531-5053 954-893-9150 813-387-0264 727-399-3091devans@iced.net ccohen@fish- david.beyer@quarles.com todd_leiser@valpak.com consulting.com #TFIFA2012

Twitter Frontier: Harnessing the Power of Social Media while Protecting Your Franchise

by Deb Evans on Feb 17, 2012

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Twitter Frontier: Harnessing the Power of Social Media while Protecting Your Franchise — Presentation Transcript