WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK: Don’t be caught by legal traps on social media this Christmas

It’s that time again – time for Christmas parties and frivolity in the workplace. And while we all tend to let our hair down during the festive season, employers need to be aware there are a number of legal risks facing them as employees start celebrating in the workplace.

One legal expert told SmartCompany last week that as employees start tweeting and posting to Facebook from company Christmas parties, the liability of the employer also increases. And that liability can turn bad if they start posting offensive or derogatory material.

That material could then end up being the key piece of evidence in a harassment lawsuit.

You can’t stop everything from happening, but get on top of it. Make sure your employees are aware of what will and won’t be tolerated with regard to social media. You may not be able to be everywhere at once, but be sure to limit your liability before you have a good time.

Don’t skim on IT investment

A number of customers were left in the lurch last weekend when the Eftpos network suffered a shortage. Some are having trouble already in getting refunds after being charged twice.

This isn’t the first time an outage on the network has happened, although they’ve mainly been left to the major banks. This is one of the rare few that attack the Eftpos network itself.

It’s a key reminder why investing in technology upgrades is always a safe bet. The less amount of downtime you have, the more trusted your network will be, and as a result, you’ll build more customer loyalty.

Risk not investing in your network and you’ll find customers slowly trickle away. IT is one area where you shouldn’t skimp – don’t settle for less.

Rebrand from the inside out

Telstra has been on a rebranding exercise over the past 11 weeks – and it’s working. The company said earlier this week that already it’s seen an increase in the number of product enquiries and customer satisfaction ratings.

But this isn’t just about turning the Telstra logo into a pretty shade of pink or blue. Telstra is making active changes to its infrastructure, including making a new billing system that is easier to read, and combining some departments so customers can solve their problems with fewer phone calls.

It’s a good lesson in how rebranding is so much more than just a logo. You need to ensure that whenever you undergo a rebrand, it starts from the inside out. Customers can look quickly through a façade.

Don’t skimp on the important stuff. During a rebrand, fix what the customers actually want, don’t just expect that some new advertising will do the trick.

Be careful with advertising terms

The telco industry has been slammed by the ACCC for awhile now over its advertising practices, but now it’s the banks’ turn – or at least, Westpac’s. This week it was hit by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over the word “stress free” describing margin loan products, which are anything but stress-free.

In fact, ASIC said the words were inappropriate to use.

You may not suffer the same scrutiny as Westpac but you need to be careful about what you put in your advertising, especially during Christmas when everyone is looking for a good deal. Don’t promise things you can’t deliver.

If you’re in doubt, look over your advertising with some legal advice, or go with a safer option if you feel you’re treading a legal line. This is the most important time of year for sales for many businesses, and you don’t want to be caught in a legal bind.

Stay on top of search trends

This week Google released its list of most popular searches as searched by Australians. The typical names are there, including Facebook, Google itself, and celebrities like Kim Kardashian. It’s an interesting read, but there’s something to learn here.

Experts say if you keep on top of social media trends, there is an opportunity here to start producing content that’s relevant to your readers, and actually gets some traffic.

There’s a catch, of course – you can’t just write about whatever you feel like. You need to look at current events, determine which events will be most relevant to your audience, and then write rich, relevant content for them.

Not only will this help your search rankings but it will also establish you as an expert in the eyes of your customers, and others.

Be on top of search trends and start producing great content. Slowly but surely you’ll see results.