by: Rachael Keshishian

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year – Canada’s Best Restroom Season!

In preparation for the annual contest on behalf of my client Cintas, I took the time to educate myself on Canada’s new anti-spam legislation (CASL) that went into effect on July 1. Corporations that violate the law are threatened with fines from $1 to $10 million, so I reached out to my contacts at the Canadian Public Relations Society, read and researched articles online and talked to CASL experts across Canada to be sure I remained in compliance. It’s important to stay up on industry information and protect my client from unintentionally breaking the law.

Back in the States, legislators aren’t as strict on spammers, but with all the unwanted email and social media messages coming to your inbox every day, it’s not unreasonable to think laws will change in the near future.

On April Fool’s Day this year, Heinz Marketing put out a fake article that stated the FCC would expand CAN-SPAM to include LinkedIn requests and InMails from someone you don’t know, direct messages on Twitter and even high volume commenting on blogs and online forums as possible spam. The result was panic-stricken marketing teams checking on themselves and their current practices.

Even though the article was a fake, it makes a bigger statement about how companies are using, and in some cases abusing, the capabilities of social media and online marketing. Email and content marketing are great tools for every company if used correctly, but it’s important to think about the value your company is providing to the recipient with your marketing strategy and outreach.

A good portion of public relations is promoting clients in the community, raising brand awareness and positioning a company spokesperson in print, broadcast and online media. But with added attention comes a greater need to protect clients and their privacy.

Here are some best practices to protect yourself on social media:

1. Don’t use geotags or turn on location. It might seem fun to snap a photo on Facebook or Instagram with a location tag, but if your profile isn’t set to private you are letting the world know exactly how to find you. Turn off your location next time you post that selfie.
2. Check to see what contact information you’ve listed. Facebook and LinkedIn will continue to prompt you to add information if you’ve left out something out private like a cell phone number or email address. If you’re not looking for advertisers to contact you, take this information off your profile.
3. Limit viewing for old posts. Facebook has been around for over 10 years now, which means you may be tagged in a photo that isn’t meant for your boss or client to see (like that hot dog costume you wore on Halloween in college). To limit posts, go to Settings -> Privacy -> ‘Limit Past Posts’ and Limit the audience for posts you’ve shared.
4. Block or report spam. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all give you the option to block or report someone. Visit the profile of the person you don’t want to have access to your profile and find the block button. It will send a report to the social media site and won’t inform that person what you’ve done.
5. Don’t forget your blog. Forums and blogs are another place spammers look to post comments or links. Decide whether you’d like to allow comments on your blog, and if you’re OK with people commenting, be sure to monitor comments and block spammers on your site.

Want more information like this? Contact Account Manager and Social Media Coordinator Rachael Keshishian at Rubin Communications Group for help with your social media strategy!