Owning and running a business is very tricky because not only are we responsible for running the business from the beginning of the product to the end sale and customer care, we are also responsible for making sure we follow the rules, regulations and laws of our country as a business. Social networking has brought a whole new concept to emailing laws.
Why? Because the Social networking sites use internal mail only, such as twitter with its DM (direct mail) and Facebook with its internal message system. So how can we protect ourselves as a business and make sure that we are not spamming followers on twitter and likes to our business page or groups on Facebook? As marketers anyone that signs up to our Facebook or Twitter account becomes a part of our “list”. We know we cannot take the email addresses from those that have signed up to us and email them outside of the Networking system. This is totally against all the networking sites rules that’s why they provide the internal mail.

Let’s take a brief look at the emailing laws and then we can look at how to overcome the major points that I see every day when I receive internal mail from other marketers.

1. Permissions. You should have permission from the person on your list. Direct consent is the only way that they may become apart of your list and for you to then email them.
This is where it gets tricky and the law does not really cover this part of Social networking. If a person has clicked the “Like” button then has this given you permission to email them internally? Alternately the same with twitter. Anyone can direct message within twitter but does it give you consent to keep sending links to your products?
So how do we overcome this............?
I personally don’t believe that just because a person has found me on facebook or twitter and clicked the follow or like button that I can automatically add them to my emailing list. Having an opt in page on your Facebook is a good way to attract leads. It doesn’t have to be an opt in page that’s giving away a Freebie or one of your products it could be just so you can email prospective customers with information, tips and tricks or a newsletter. But you must state the intention that you will be emailing them from time to time. If you don’t want to put in an opt in page then you should put a link up to your product on your live feed or write an article in notes and put a link in that then takes them to your opt in page for your product or website.
With twitter it is different you will have to get people to come over to your website or Facebook page and opt in. I think really ( this is only my personal opinion ) that it is ok to occasionally send Direct Messages to your followers advertising yourself or putting it up as a tweet. Don’t overdo it though you’ll soon get more un-follow than followers if you do.

2. If your followers or likes are already signed up to your list from other sources such as your website and have joined you on the Social networking sites, then you have already got their permission and you aren’t breaking any laws by emailing them internally within those sites. Although you must remember here the unwritten law of not spamming by sending messages constantly but taking it easy and offer other things besides plugging your product constantly.

3. You are by law supposed to make it clear who the email is from. I think that within the internal mail network this is covered because it clearly states who the email is from. Here though it is always best to make sure that you either sign off with your name or you start by saying who you are at the beginning of the email. You also have to include a valid reply address but I feel that is also covered by the social network sites itself, although I have noticed that some marketers have turned off their “message” within twitter but I have received direct message from them advertising themselves. I know some of the automated twitter software allows you to do this but personally I think you should always let your potential list have some way of getting in contact with you.

4. Include an unsubscribe link in your email. I feel this is a really big one that most marketers are not adhering too. It’s so easy to forget just that one little link and yet it is the most important law that has caught many a marketer out.
This takes us back to the question again, is the likes or followers really a part of our list? Just because they clicked on that button has it given us their permission to email then internally?
Perhaps we need to add an unsubscribe link in the main internal message we send within Facebook when we email our group or pages likes. If they have used the opt in tab to opt in for newsletters etc we have got their permission but if they haven’t then I feel that they can’t be considered part of my list for Facebook and therefore I have no right to keep In boxing them.
There are 3 ways we could get around this and cover our backs
a) Put in the in boxed mail a written opt out and tell them to inbox you back if they don’t want to receive further mail from you. This is difficult to keep tabs on especially if you have a big community on your pages.

b) You can have a landing, opt in page with a clearly written statement that when they click the like button they will get occasional mail from you. Once again you must state how they can opt out of this i.e. by sending you a message via internal inbox or by going to the unlike on your main page at the bottom left.

c) You can periodically put up on your status that now you consider the likes as part of your community they will get in boxed occasionally from you but once again you must give them the opt out option. However you must remember that this option (c) does not stay permanently on your status as that changes each time you write something new, so it cannot be seen as evidence that you have informed your likes that they will receive mail from you.

I think as a marketer it is our responsibility not to spam and to be aware of the effects too many emails to our lists will have on our business. If we do not act sensible ourselves we may find that Facebook will take it into their own hands and close our page down. They have and will continue to monitor what they see as spam within their mailing system and it would be a shame if your facebook is closed down as a consequence of this.