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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.
SELFIES
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.pdfDon’t do this behind the wheel.