2016 GNYADA Membership Directory

SELFIES

Social media is an extremely enticing platform for both free advertising and fun photos that give your dealership a lively edge. Many manufacturers, in fact, encourage social media usage to drive sales. But if this is part of your dealership’s business strategy, be careful about what those photos include, and be sure to obtain signed consent forms from any subject of a photograph that you plan to use for marketing purposes. The proliferation of customer “selfies” creates ample opportunities for business owners to profit from their use. It’s a common case in dealerships: a customer poses for a photo with their new car and posts it on social media; a dealer then sees the photo and leverages it for the dealership’s own social streams. It’s organic digital sharing, but it’s also now being used for business promotion. Use a Consent Form Whenever you post photographs of individuals (customers or employees) for advertising purposes, you must obtain a release from them. The social networking realm is not exempt from this.Without a release, you could be sued for improper usage of the image, under the New York Civil Rights Law. Before you balk at the notion that staff should also have to sign a release, consider that they may not remain staff forever. A bitter exemployee can cause an even bigger stir than a complaining customer. To avoid this potential headache altogether, it’s a good idea to refrain from posting images of customers, staff and other individuals to your social media accounts. But if you do shoot or stumble across that perfect picture of a beaming customer giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up in front of the new ride they just bought from you, be sure to obtain written consent before using it.

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2016 MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY 67

A sample release form can be found on our website for your reference and use.

www.gnyada.com/files/pages/dealers/ Use_of_ Image_Consent_Authorization_and_Release.pdf

Don’t do this behind the wheel.

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