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Consider fair housingand other legal implications when using social mediaat apartment communities or management companies.

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The world no longer relies solely on print to conveymessages and information, and the once-exoticwebsite is now oh-so-last century as many

professionals text, tweet, IM, jabber or blog just aboutevery waking moment.

While some in the multifamily housing industry arestill dragging their collective heels in participating in thismodern technological world, many are embracing it withenthusiasm. Marketing innovators envision communicat-ing with rental prospects and residents alike throughsocial media.

But keep in mind that while fire is used to keep us warm,it can also be used to destroy; knives are valuable imple-ments, but can be used as weapons; and social media is agreat tool, but it can also be harmful if not used wisely.

While this article attempts to help industry professionalsavoid the possible pitfalls of social media, realize that thecourts will have a fine time trying to apply long-held legalprinciples to the fast and ever-changing world of technol-ogy and communications. Apartment professionals neednot avoid the use of social media when marketing theircommunities and when communicating with their resi-dents, but they do need to keep their eyes and minds open.

Tall, Blond and BeautifulAmong the first things to consider are basic or “static”

marketing websites, where all content is self-controlled. Thiswebsite is a form of advertising, and as a practical matter itis no different than any form of traditional advertising, sothe same rules apply. Self-promotion must be true, or it isfalse advertising. What is written about others must be true,or it is libel. Consumer laws must be followed and trade-marks and copyrights honored.

Do not forget fair housing considerations. The purposeof a website is to advertise the community, and all content(both words and pictures) must be fair-housing compliant.

Quite simply, that means that a “reasonable person” look-ing at your website should not see anything that wouldsuggest “any preference, limitation or discriminationbecause of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familialstatus or national origin.”

This means that the words that are used, the directionsthat are given, the symbols that are displayed and the pic-tures that are shown cannot indicate that type of preference,limitation or discrimination. The days of using a Barbielook-alike in advertising should have been long over. She istall, blond, beautiful and white, but that is not the case foreveryone. White-only advertising is a costly fair housing sin.Finally, remember the Equal Housing Opportunity logo. Itshould be used on all advertising, including websites.

The next type of website to consider is one where othersare able to post information, such as blogs open to prospec-tive or existing residents. Is the community liable for whatis posted? The answer is, “It depends.” It depends on howmuch control is exerted over those external postings. In onecase, Craigslist.com was found not to be liable for what oth-ers posted on its website (including fair housing violations).The ruling was made because Craigslist didn’t review orcontrol the postings; they simply allowed them to be placed.If someone made an illegal post and Craigslist found out,the site pulled it immediately.

Under the Community Decency Act (CDA) of 1996,Craigslist is an Internet Service Provider and thus immunefrom liability for what others post. Know, however, that theNational Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) wants to see theCDA amended to say that even if a site has no review orcontrol, it should be held liable for fair housing violations.Ouch! While NFHA has not said whether they will try tomake such a change happen, this is scary for apartmentmanagers and owners working online.

But there was a different result in the Roommates.comcase. In that instance, postings for the type of roommate

Is Your S O C I A L M E D I A

P L A T F O R M

Breaking the Law?BY DOUG CHASICK AND NADEEN GREEN

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wanted (or not wanted, as might be thecase) came from an online form that wasprovided. So Roommates.com was inessence controlling the content posts(with their fair housing repercussions),and thus they did not have protectionunder the Community Decency Act. Soit’s all about control. The more the mes-sage is controlled, the more likely theaccountability.

Nine Things to ConsiderIs social media a form of advertising?

Again, the answer is, “It depends.” Itdepends on what a judge or jury mightsay.

Multifamily housing professionals whoare using a fan page on Facebook or whoare sending “tweets” would probablyadmit that the ultimate goal is effectivemarketing of their community or compa-ny. That sure sounds like advertising.

These thoughts raise many issuesand questions, but don’t allow for clearanswers. Social media can be a cost-effective and enormously successfulform of advertising, but apartment pro-fessionals must know what questions toask before taking the leap into socialmedia. Following are nine topics toconsider:

1.You don’t need an active voicein the world of social media for

people to be talking about you (feelingparanoid yet?). When people post com-ments—good or bad—will you respond,and if so, how? Will you apologize for a

mistake you made? Will you try to correctwhat you believe is inaccurate?

2.Who will be in charge of all ofthis responding, apologizing

and rebutting? Who will be your voice?

3.This all can be time consuming.Will you be “known as a com-

pany that listens and participates” asdescribed by J.C. Hart’s Vice President andDirector of Marketing Mark Juleen in theOctober 2009 units magazine article,“Look Who’s Talking”? Or will the timeinvestment push you or your staff “overthe edge,” which is what concerns apart-ment consultant Lori Snider, interviewedin that same article? How much time willbe committed to monitoring andresponding?

4.Where will your voice be heard?On your own website or blog?

Through posts on the websites and blogsof others?

5.Since you must be concernedabout fair housing issues, what

will you do if someone writes somethinginappropriate about their neighbors(that’s right—your residents will be post-ing too!) or your prospects?

6.What about the “over-the-topcompliment”—could that be

construed as sexual harassment?

7.Who do you have blogging ortweeting or posting to your Face-

book pages? Are you giving them some-thing (perhaps discounted rent, favorablelease terms or even an actual payment) todo so? Are they posting favorable com-ments? If so, that is an endorsement or atestimonial, and they must disclose thatthey are getting consideration for sayingthose nice things. In fact, you need todirect the person that they cannot makeunsubstantiated claims about your com-munity and that they must disclose anymaterial connection between the blog andyou (such as that rent discount). Youshould also monitor those solicited blogposts to assure compliance, and your inter-nal rules should either prohibit youremployees from posting any reviews ofyour community or doing so withoutrevealing their connection to you.

8.The previous point raises anotherquestion: When is an employee

“yours”—with all the attendant responsi-

bility on your part for their actions? Whenare they “on the clock” and when are theyon their “own time?” The number of peo-ple with personal blogs and Facebook,Twitter or YouTube accounts increasesdaily and it’s likely your employees are inthe blogosphere even if your business isn’t.How will you manage the constant streamof comments?

9.That brings you to training. Willyou train your employees in the

proper use of your social media? Will yougive them advice on the proper use ofsocial media in their personal lives? Just asthe purely innocent remark can get us intotrouble, so can the well-intentioned post orcomment bring about unexpected andunpleasant consequences.

This article provides far more ques-tions than answers. The world of socialmedia is a world that is quickly evolving.Become educated on such topics andremain observant of how the communityoperates. This will help communitiesspend more time serving their residentsinstead of fighting legal battles.

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Doug Chasick will present “Be Here Now! How to

Manage Your Attitude and Thrivein Chaos!” from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.on Thursday, June 24, at the 2010NAA Education Conference & Exposition in New Orleans. Visitwww.naahq.org/educonf.

Learn More In New Orleans

Nadeen Green will present “It’s Not All Black & White—

Redux” from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 24, at the 2010 NAA Education Conference & Exposition in New Orleans. Visitwww.naahq.org/educonf.

Learn More In New Orleans

Doug Chasick is Senior VP,Multifamly Professional Services with CallSource.Nadeen Green is SeniorCounsel with For Rent Media Solutions. Informa-tion contained in this articleis not to be considered legal

advice, and the authors and their respec-tive companies strongly recommend thatapartment professionals consult with theirrespective counsel about any questions or problems they have. The authors canbe reached at dchasick@callsource.comand Nadeen.Green@ForRent.com.

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