To share or not to share?

A recent article about Vogue Spain got me thinking about copyright issues online.  Web 2.0 technology has made it so easy for people to share content.  In fact, most businesses encourage users to share their content and can only wish that their content will “go viral”.

The benefits to brands in consumers behaving like a media channel and promoting their products and services is huge.  In fact, this is the aim for most marketers when planning social marketing activities. 

However, copyright issues are still an issue - especially with new image sharing platforms like Pinterest and Instagram.  

As a virtual pinboard which has been designed to encourage curation of content by “pinning” from websites, brands and other people, it seems to encourage copyright infringement.  According to CBS news, when users sign up for Pinterest, they are accepting responsibility for copyright infringement.

(Credit: Erik Sherman)

The good new for consumers is that according to mashable the likelihood of being challenged by brands or owners of content is fairly low.

However, the likelihood of brands or companies being accused of copyright infringement is much higher.  Consumers or brands that have had their content shared by companies without permission may see opportunity for lawsuits.   Therefore sharing content without permission can be extremely risky for companies.

It’s interesting that while some corporate legal teams are likely to be scared about Pinterest and Instagram, many marketers are excited by the platform.

Marketing benefits

Whilst image sharing platforms may provide headaches to legal teams, the benefits to business can be reaped if leveraged effectively.

If the brand is visual and interesting, utilising image sharing platforms like Pinterest, Flickr and Instagram can bring increased awareness.  As they say, an image speaks a thousand words, therefore images are much better at attracting attention than long slabs of text.

Linking to your site via images on Pinterest can lead to more website visitors and potentially new customers as the platform provides the ability to link the image back to the site.  

According to shareaholic.com, Pinterest is now responsible for “1.05 percent of all referral traffic.”  In February, the platform provided more referred traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube.

When talking about the success of Pinterest as part of their overall social marketing activities, Elle magazine editorial director Keith Pollock stated "We are seeing traffic increases and high engagement, and it's great branding for us to get our content out there".

Business friend or foe?

Companies will need to decide whether image sharing platforms are a business friend or foe.  A companies success on these platform is likely to largely depend on the type of product, whether it is highly visual or appealing to users of these platforms and the internal capabilities of the team to create high quality imagery and link back to site.  Which side will you take?

References

Chaffey, D, Ellis-Chadwick, F, Mayer, R, Johnston, K, 2009, Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice, Pearson Education, England.

Mon, G. E, 2012, The copyright question: how to protect yourself on Pinterest, viewed on 4 May 2012, http://mashable.com/2012/03/21/pinterest-copyright-legal-issues/

Parakh, R, 2012, Many Magazines Racing to Capitalize on Pinterest, viewed on 4 May 2012, http://adage.com/article/mediaworks/magazines-racing-capitalize-pinterest/233865/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+adage%2Fcomplete+%28Advertising+Age+-+Complete+Feed%29