Legal Aspects of Marketing Via Social Media

Social Media in Marketing

The four components of a legally astute social media-marketing manager

In this paper, I will look at Facebook as the leading social networking site. The four components of a legally astute manager include the knowledge, judgment, proactive and the attitudinal component (Bagley, 2006). A legally perceptive manager must acknowledge the importance of law to company success and accept responsibility for being in charge of legal factors of the business. In addition, they recognize the need to fulfill the societal expectations and meet the ethical considerations. From the proactive perspective, this manager brings counsel in the cycle of decision-making. Because they are proactive, they do not wait for last minute rush to finalize deals. A social media manager must be well educated about these four characteristics. Nowadays, more firms are using the social media platform for purposes of marketing. Further, a company might fall behind if it does not. Therefore, the manager must be well informed about the legal components of social media because it is a new mode of establishing relationships with customers (Bagley, 2006).

2. Methods of alternative dispute resolution

Alternative dispute resolution refers to the approaches of settling disputes outside the court. Usually, businesses and consumers (B2C) use these methods to solve disputes that arise from economic transactions, especially in e-commerce. They include mediation, negotiation, and arbitration where parties communicate through the internet (Evarts, 1983). Negotiation brings the two parties involved in solving the conflict. The parties control the settlement process to find a solution. In mediation, there is a mediator who assists the parties solve the dispute. Mediation is influenced by the dedication of the affected parties in resolving the problems between them. The mediator controls the process, with the aim of imposing a decision on them. This method demands that the involved parties sign a settlement agreement and decide on the mode of settlement. Mediation is used in settling most disputes. This method enables parties to decide the control process.

Consequently, affected parties are able to conform to their original agreements through mediation. This is the cheapest approach because it is less time consuming and there are no delays. In arbitration, the parties appoint an arbitrator who listens to arguments from both sides and imposes a final decision that is implemented by the court. In this case, the parties must accept the process before the dispute. Unlike the formal court proceedings, here, the proceedings are informal. Mediation has proven to be most effective in settling disputes between customers and businesses serving online because both parties find a solution by voluntarily participating in the process of mediation (Evarts, 1983). Mediation makes sure that companies and customers conform to the agreement attained after signing the settlement agreement. This is contrary arbitration where a decision is imposed by the arbitrator and enforced by the court. It makes it hard for the affected parties to comply and participate in the process willingly.

3. Determine how the federal government can control the transactions.

Consumer transactions on social media happen across state borders, and the government must be able to regulate these transactions. The federal government can create laws controlling online consumer transactions happening across all states. The laws can be applied in diverse states with the aim of safeguarding consumers transacting online businesses. The federal government can ensure the legislation is applicable to all states to protect consumers whilst eradicating consumer exploitation (Miller, Cross & Jentz, 2013).

4. The three (3) branches of government

The three branches of government play a crucial role in regulating customer transactions. They include executive, judicial and legislative. The legislative division makes the rules governing customer transactions and other activities in the country. The legislative division encompasses of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive division consists of the president and the cabinet. The executive carries out and enacts the rules. The judicial division consists of the courts. The judicial division interprets the rules and punishes those who break the law. The executive division will have a significant effect on controlling customer transactions through social networking outlets.

The executive carries out customer transaction rules and enacts them. The executive enacts rules that have been developed to govern customer transactions via the social networking (Miller, Cross & Jentz, 2013). Although the judiciary and legislative divisions play an essential function in developing and implementing customer transaction rules, they do not have a great impact on the control of customer dealings via social networking outlets. The executive establishes how the rules will be enforced to safeguard consumers purchasing products through the social media

5. Agency relationship on social media sites