Businesses explore many facets of social media

Businesses and organizations all want to benefit from tapping into social media, but how to do it can vary greatly.

Generally, marketing and legal experts advise committing the time to manage these sites and update content, determining which sites work best for their target audience and creating policies to protect themselves.

While Facebook fan pages may be appropriate for reaching consumers, LinkedIn is often considered the place for professionals to network with one another, said Vikram Rajan, a partner with CoGrow Practice Marketing Advisors in Freeport, which develops marketing plans for attorneys, financial advisers, accountants and real estate professionals.

"Facebook is like the barbecue party or the beach party, and LinkedIn is like the conference and the trade show," he said.

With all the excitement surrounding social media, companies should be thinking about creating a policy to guard against some of the platform's hazards, said Jeffrey M. Schlossberg, partner and chair of the law firm Ruskin Moscou Faltischek in Uniondale. Firms may want to consider guidelines that make it a violation to share proprietary information, work products or trade secrets, he said. Workplace harrassment issues may also arise on social networks

"So the idea is, we all know it's out there, but I think the company has to be prudent to rein in what otherwise would be considered the Wild West," he said.