The murky legal aspects of company social media accounts

When your Twitter expert flies the coop, who owns that corporate account?

It is becoming increasingly common for issues to arise relating to employer vs. employee ownership of a social media account and the names, addresses, etc. that go along with it.

Business-related social media accounts typically contain useful information developed over the course of employment that can give a departing employee a competitive advantage over a former employer. Although there has been a lot of litigation about these issues, there are relatively few reported decisions.

One such decision can be found in CDM Media USA Inc. v. Simms, in which the court does not resolve issues relating to social media ownership but does highlight important steps a company can take to safeguard its information. The opinion is a response to a motion to dismiss filed by the defendant.

Background of the case

The plaintiff/ex-employer sued the defendant/former employee for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets because that the defendant, while an employee of the plaintiff, was the contact person for a special LinkedIn group started by the plaintiff containing the plaintiff’s customers and potential customers.

After the defendant left the employ of the plaintiff, the plaintiff wanted the group contact switched over to a current employee of the plaintiff and requested that the defendant relinquish any names, addresses, conversations, etc.

The defendant refused to provide the information, apparently asserting that the company had no property rights in the information and that the defendant was not contractually required to transfer the information because the transfer of control of the LinkedIn group was not covered by the confidentiality provision in the defendant’s non-compete agreement.

The defendant also argued that the LinkedIn group account and pertinent communications do not fall under the Illinois Trade Secrets Act claim.

Outcome

The judge split the baby on the motion to dismiss but essentially left all causes of action intact.

Both sides argued/acknowledged the fact that the ownership or control of the LinkedIn group account was not covered by the ex-employer/plaintiff in any agreement or policy it had relating to the defendant/ex-employee. If there had been some concrete proof of ownership, then the fact issues the judge described in his opinion would not exist.

Employer takeaways

At the very least, employers should have a social media policy, covering the ownership of and access to business-related social media accounts, as well as all information and communications associated with the accounts.

[RELATED: Want to get your employees involved and active online? Download our free guide: 6 steps to crafting an internal social media plan.]

Employees should sign the policy, or at least a handbook acknowledgment if the policy is contained in a handbook. The policy should make clear that any posting on company social media is the property of the company, as are the accounts, names, etc. associated with the accounts.

Further, the policy should be clear that when an employee leaves, all account information and communications should be transferred to the company. It also should describe what, if any, information the company considers confidential. This way, when an employee leaves, the account information stays with the company.

Employers should also consider putting language regarding the ownership of social media accounts in the “Confidentiality” section of an employment agreement.

Proactive drafting of policies and agreements concerning social media accounts will let employees know where they stand when they leave the company and will give the company extra ammunition in the event of a fight over these increasingly valuable accounts.

Art Lambert is a partner in the Dallas office of the law firm Fisher & Phillips. On behalf of employer clients, he regularly counsels and litigates employment law matters including sexual harassment, discrimination charges, wrongful termination, and FLSA disputes. A version of this article first appeared on TLNT.

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5 things PR pros do that journalists love

In my published work and on social media, I’ve established myself as something of a PR vigilante.

As one of my PR contacts says, I “graciously take action without naming the offenders,” and try to give an honest picture of the worst PR interactions we reporters meet with.

It’s nothing personal. Bad tactics are bad tactics, and sometimes I feel the need to call them out.

A few recent examples from my Twitter account:

For those who haven’t worked with me, I may seem like a PR hater. I’m not! In fact, I have good relationships with many PR professionals.

Here are a few of the wonderful things my favorite contacts do. I dedicate this article to the PR people who do their jobs exceptionally well and always go the extra mile for both their clients and journalists.

1. They’re flexible with story topics.

Clients have a story to tell, and they’re excited about telling it a certain way. But the angle they pitch may not be what a publication looks for.

When a reporter says, “I don’t think we can do this, but I have another story your client could contribute to,” good PR pros will think quickly and convince their client that any press, even if not the kind they planned, is good press.

2. They ask us what we’re working on.

A few PR contacts I work with rarely pitch me anything new, but their clients pop up all over my publication. What’s their secret?

My contacts are proactive and reach me about once a month to ask what stories I have on deck. Because I don’t cover breaking news, I plan my editorial calendar about a month in advance; chances are we can find a good fit.

[RELATED: Learn the best new strategies for improving PR results, influence and value.]

3. They remember our beats and research our recent coverage.

Every journalist hates getting irrelevant pitches. The best PR pros never email a reporter something that doesn’t work with her beat. It takes a few back-and-forths to understand what a writer does and doesn’t cover, but once the best pros figure it out, they commit it to memory. Bonus points if they mention one of my recent articles when they suggest a similar (but not identical) topic.

4. They’re honest about their clients.

As middlemen, PR pros are in the tough position of making both clients and the media happy. Reporters appreciate honesty about the people they interview, so give us a heads up about what the client will, won’t and shouldn’t talk about. Also be willing to change directions if a client isn’t as good a fit as you thought.

I once had a PR pro send back email interview responses from a different client because she didn’t think the answers from the original source would be what I was looking for. Without my asking, she found something better.

Believe me, a reporter will remember that.

5. They’re interested in building genuine relationships.

My favorite part of working in media is the people you work with can become more like friends than business associates.

I have a handful of PR contacts (you know who you are!) for whom I will bend over backwards simply because they’ve gone out of their way to be friendly. These are the people who ask me about my interests outside of work, comment on something funny I shared on social media and talk to me without constantly trying to pitch me. If they’re in the area, I’m always happy to meet these people for coffee, drinks or even puppy playdates. Even though we’re professional contacts, it never feels like work to help a friend.

Nicole Fallon is the assistant editor of Business News Daily, a resource for small business owners and entrepreneurs. A version of this article originally appeared on LinkedIn.

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What employers need to know about Generation Z

Millennials were the primary focus of marketers and recruiters for most of the last decade.

That’s for good reason: More than one in three American workers today fall into that age group.

However, as 18- to 35-year-olds settle into the workforce, it’s important to realize that the next drove of talent is on its way: Generation Z.

Some estimates put Generation Z (born after 1995) at more than 60 million strong and growing rapidly. As members of Gen Z burst onto the job scene, human resources professionals must learn and adopt the best ways to attract and retain them, because a one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t work. The arrival of Gen Z requires an entirely different dance.

Understanding the next generation

The Gen Z bunch are autonomous, career-focused, debt-adverse self-starters. They’re also the most digital-native generation to date, raised with a smartphone in hand, a tablet propped up and limited (if any) exposure to the largely dormant dial-up Internet.

Warning: Asking a Gen Z about dial-up will be met with an uncomfortable blank stare.

For Gen Z, a company’s culture and how they actively take part in defining it, whom they work with and how they work together for a purpose beyond profits are paramount. This is probably why they are attracted to smaller, unique companies. Theirs is the most on-demand culture to date, seeking immediate resolutions to problems and finding great satisfaction in rapid results.

Variety is a driving force for members of Gen Z, as they’re eager to connect with their peers and exchange ideas in open and collaborative environments. They have an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to make a meaningful and immediate impact in both their careers and their communities.

Gen Z’s laws of attraction

Organizations hoping to attract top Gen Z talent must strategize to appeal to their need for workplace gratification. To do so:

• Offer robust benefits related to career goals. When asked what they’d look for in their first job, Gen Z members prioritized career growth (36 percent), fulfilling work (19 percent) and stability (19 percent) over more-traditional benefits. A workplace culture that enables mentoring, on-the-job learning and personal development is essential.
• Be transparent. They want to define their career paths early and expect workplace hierarchies to be horizontal, rather than the traditional vertical chain of command. Organizations must be transparent on expectations from the get-go.
• Connect on their level. Recruiters must be ready to communicate on a wide variety of platforms on a continual basis, and keep up to date with their preferred networks, which continually change.
• Offer a mission-driven environment. They have a strong desire to capitalize on entrepreneurial visions and to benefit their communities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 26 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds already spend time volunteering.
• Be flexible. Gen Z has never been tethered by wires, so there’s an expectation of freedom technology that eliminates the traditional in-office 9-to-5. These people are more concerned with the work they produce than where they produce it, and organizations must embrace that.
• Boost the business’s brand. Nearly three in four HR professionals don’t have a formal branding program, and more than half aren’t even considering one. Members of Gen Z are continually browsing your website and social media sites, so the employer brand and how it’s communicated will be vitally important to attracting top talent.

Gen Z and long-term satisfaction

Thought millennials were job hoppers? Gen Z bests them: 83 percent believe three years or less is the appropriate amount of time to spend at their first job, with more than a quarter looking to jump ship in a year or less.

[WHITE PAPER: How to communicate with a millennial workforce.]

Keeping Gen Z talent will require a radical shift from the traditional retention mechanisms, including:

• Prioritizing variety. To retain members of Gen Z, organizations must introduce “micro-learning” to deliver bite-size training nuggets quickly and to create opportunities for them to contribute at a meaningful level.
• Mentoring throughout the employment cycle. Helping them carve out their niche while nurturing development opportunities at every turn will bring multiple benefits, as it enables organizations to groom them for leadership roles while maintaining a high level of engagement.
• Starting fresh. Organizations must be willing to ditch the “this is how we do it” attitude and collaborate on how to best help them succeed in driving mutual growth.

Laying a foundation for the next wave

It’s estimated to cost from $15,000 to $20,000 to replace millennial talent, and additional turnover of Generation Z will only add to the cost.

By understanding the defining traits of Gen Z, employers can lay a solid foundation for the next wave of talent, prepare for their unique concerns and demands, and build programs for successful Gen Z attraction and retention.

Amber Hyatt is director of product marketing for cloud-based talent management solutions provider SilkRoad. A version of this article originally appeared on TLNT.

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5 things you must know about live-streaming video

Last weekend I tried Facebook Live Video on the fly, attempting to broadcast my daughter’s violin recital to her grandparents (and hundreds of other unsuspecting Facebook friends).

It didn’t go well. Lack of mobile connectivity caused the start time to lag, and by the time I got it up, I missed recording most of her performance.

This got me thinking: As popular as Periscope, Facebook Live Video, Hangouts On-Air and Meerkat are, broadcasting a live video from a mobile device has the potential to quickly go south. (Note: Meerkat will soon be ditching the live-streaming business.)

Here are five ways that you can improve the end user’s experience of your live-streaming content.

1. Ensure good connectivity.

“If you lose connection while live, find a place with a better signal,” offers the guidance on Facebook Live Video best practices.

I learned this the hard way. According to Facebook, you must make sure you have a strong connection to stream live video. The best case (mobile) scenario is to have a WiFi live connection, but a strong mobile connection might suffice. At least I thought so.

When a connection is lost, all the services try to reconnect you to your stream but will time out.

2. Ditch mobile (if possible).

Of the services listed above, Google Hangouts On-Air might be the most underappreciated. The reason: You don’t have to live stream via a mobile device.

The capability to use a computer and higher definition video equipment for live video benefits a content marketer from a technical standpoint, and it makes rehearsal and video/audio testing much easier. Plus, you can use a more reliable Internet connection.

Of course, the platform advantage may make Facebook or Periscope preferable to Hangouts On-Air, but if you’re platform agnostic, Google can produce the best quality live-streaming videos.

[Free download: A communicator’s guide to crafting videos that captivate and engage employees.]

3. Use the camera on the back of your phone.

If you want to do a mobile live stream, you can improve your video’s quality by using the camera on the back of your phone rather than the front. Front cameras have lower resolution than back cameras.

Here is a resource for comparing/contrasting mobile device cameras. The more popular ones (Samsung Galaxy, Apple iPhone 6s Plus and Apple iPhone 6s) rank highest. You get what you pay for.

4. Use ancillary equipment.

Even though you’re streaming live video via your mobile device, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t improve your mobile video as much as possible. Use a tripod to stabilize your video at a favorable angle, find a good light source and use a microphone if possible. The resolution of the picture should be the weakest aspect of your live stream video. Everything else that can be improved should be (unless you’re going for a heavy guerrilla marketing vibe).

5. Plan and test.

Test your connectivity, audio and video to see what the end user will see. It might appear a little silly to a Facebook fan or a Periscope chum to see your tests appear on the platform, but you have to test this stuff—especially if your goal is anything greater than pleasing a few grandparents.

Facebook Live Video and Hangouts archive the video on Facebook and YouTube, respectively, after broadcast. Periscope archives live videos for 24 hours only. If you want to archive your video, you have to use a third-party app to record it and post it to a video streaming site.

Live-streaming video is unforgiving. You have an event to film, you muster viewers, and the event happens. If you fail to capture that event or to properly communicate what happened during your video, you’ve failed.

The good news is that it is very easy to control the variables that might make for a poor live video. Get a good connection, film at the highest resolution possible, and plan for live video as you would any other content you’re producing.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Cision blog.

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Ways PR sneaks into your personal life

PR professionals spend lots of time writing emails, booking briefings and monitoring client coverage. Many of us love every second so much that we bring PR outside the office without realizing it.

If you use the phrases “follow up” and “brainstorm” outside work or set calendar reminders for hair appointments, then you know PR has permeated your everyday life.

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Organization

PR pros are keen on organization—not missing deadlines and staying on top of big jobs are key in managing a team and yourself.

It’s a main factor in getting ahead and building a strong reputation among peers. Organization is a great skill, and observant PR pros notice when it follows them outside the workplace.

How many times have you set up a calendar invitation for a dinner date? Maybe you’re the designated planner for the weekend because your friends know you’ll stay on top of things.

Your knack for knowing the status of items and following through serve you well in your personal life.

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Oral language and crafting messages

Lingo finds a way of following you beyond the office.

Ever “brainstormed” a restaurant for your birthday dinner? When your friend hasn’t texted you back, you make a mental note to “follow up.” We say these things so often in work emails it’s really no surprise that we’re in the habit of using them off-duty.

Because of your obsession with the perfect message, you are your friends’ go-to for texting a crush or drafting an email to a manager. You pay extra attention to messages in outside campaigns, critiquing their elements and their delivery of results—jotting your thoughts down.

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Seeking journalists to pitch when reading or watching news

How often do you watch or read the news and think, “Can I pitch this person?”

We’re always on our toes for ways we can gain traction with any journalist or publication. News isn’t just news; it’s a way to spot trends and see if we can get clients in the conversation.

[AWARDS: Did you use social in an innovative way to accomplish PR goals? Enter the Digital PR & Social Awards!]

Even when we’re off, a part of our brain is never so. It could be as mindless as last night’s Snapchats or TV channel surfing; we always have an eye out for a magazine or editor who’s perfect for a client.

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Social media

Social media is second nature to you.

You’re a walking analytics algorithm. You know what time posts will get maximum engagement. You’re glued to your phone: You don’t miss client emails, trends or breaking news. Following editors on Twitter and LinkedIn it helps you write the perfect personalized pitch.

PR is not a 9-5 job; rather, it’s an all-encompassing passion.

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Anyone can be “good” at client correspondence or drafting a pitch. What makes a PR pro excellent is a 24/7 commitment to put your best foot forward. We aggressively embrace the ways to become better at what we do.

What ways does PR carry over into your personal life?

Karina Chowdhury is the account coordinator at PAN Communications.

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7 last-minute prep tips for speakers

What do you do just before you take the stage?

I’m often asked about how to get ready for a presentation. I say, prepare a great speech, rehearse the content and body language, and work on your unconscious mental state, but all that should take place in the weeks-even months-running up to a speech.

What about in the moments before a speech? Is there anything you can do to get ready, increase your chances for success, and give yourself an extra jolt of charisma before you go out on stage? Following are seven last-minute prep tricks to try:

1. Talk to yourself. Self-talk is sometimes maligned as too “woo-hoo,” but it is effective. The bad news is that follow-up research has shown Amy Cuddy’s power poses to be ineffective. So it isn’t enough just to stand tall; you also have to think tall, and that’s where self-talk comes in. Find and repeat a positive mantra. It will keep the negative thoughts away, and that will increase your confidence.

2. Poll audience members outside the speaking venue. Some people—introverts, mainly—do better to focus alone in the green room. For others, chatting up your future audience beforehand can help ground you, keep you from working up a big head of fear, create positive energy and help you identify familiar faces when you do get to the stage. It’s not for everyone, but it is helpful for those who get charged up by talking to people.

3. Create a positive vibe. If a positive mantra is too much for you to stomach, then take a picture of someone you love into the green room with you and focus on that person before you start. Spouse, friend, kids-whoever is significant in your life and automatically makes you feel good and loving. The result will increase your warmth just before you go on, and you’ll carry some of that on stage with you.

[New LinkedIn group: Get speechwriting tips and discounts, and add your voice to the conversation.]

4. Forgive someone you don’t like or something bad that happened. This tip is crucial. When you’re full of adrenaline, you tend to need to vent, and I’ve seen way too many speakers unload on the sound guy, or the PA, or the lighting person because of some small screw-up beforehand. So channel your inner Buddha, and fill yourself with anticipatory compassion. You don’t want to walk out on stage furious at someone, because you’ll inevitably transfer that anger to the audience. So unless you’re Donald Trump or you’re making anger work for you deliberately, let go of the anger and play nice with all those who helped you get there.

5. Let go of your ego. While we’re letting go, another great thing to let go of is your ego. Make your presentation about your message and about your audience, not about your self-love. I’ve always said that the Zen insight of public speaking is that the speech is not about you—because if the audience doesn’t get it, the speech hasn’t happened. So focus on the audience, the message, the cause. The only reason to give a speech is to change the world, not to make yourself feel special.

6. Interact with the audience. The difference between an OK speech and a great speech is often the audience’s sense that the speaker really listened to them. A presentation is a conversation-or it should be in this authentic age. Treat it like one; listen to the audience. Go in with the attitude that you’re going to learn something from them. That half-second beat of listening will connect you with the audience in a surprisingly powerful way.

7. Smile. Smiling shifts your vocal cords around, enhances your volume and creates a warmer sound. It can even make you feel better. So put a big grin on your face, and go get ‘em!

A version of this article originally appeared on Public Words.

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Crisis PR lessons from Zika, Ebola experts

Words like “Zika” and “Ebola” have the power to alarm nearly any audience—and for a good reason.

In comparison to these damaging viruses, crises of corporate scandals and executive shakeups seem tame. Yet we can still glean valuable takeaways from the biggest health scares since AIDS and Asian bird flu.

Ragan’s Zika and Ebola Crisis Lessons webinar will take place March 31 at 2 p.m. Central time and will offer tips from three of those closest to the Zika and Ebola outbreaks: Emory University’s Nancy Seideman and Vincent Dollard, and internationally renowned crisis manager Melissa Agnes.

The presenters will offer crisis preparation and management tips, including tricks for handling the media in a crisis and creating a comprehensive crisis management plan that follows the template Emory used during the Ebola scare.

Best of all, you can attend from the convenience-and safety-of your own desk.

Sign up now and learn how to create your air-tight crisis strategy.

You can follow this event at the hashtag #RealWorldPR.

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