Social media and social networking websites haven’t just found a whirlwind of popularity with web users around the world; they’ve become serious business. The role of these social networking utilities for communicating with customers and connecting with the public has quickly changed from a novelty to a necessity for many companies. As enterprises have adopted these tools more and more, the need for guidelines and regulations concerning their use has become apparent, and one of the first developments in this area is the recent release of a regulatory notice by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) about the use of social media.

FINRA’s notice is targeted specifically at securities agents and brokers, but at Amatra, we believe the guidance and advice outlined in the notice is applicable and useful for enterprises in all industries. In a nutshell, the notice states that all firms must keep records of all communications made by broker-agents through social media sites and blogs. Any investment recommendations made through these sites are bound by the same rules and regulations as recommendations made in person or through other mediums. While firms are not held responsible for content posted on their sites by outside parties, they can still be held liable for any information they had a hand in creating. To see the full-text of regulatory notice 10-06, click here.

So where does Amatra come in? The answer is simple. FINRA’s new regulations are a sign of things to come concerning the use of social media within business, and without an organized foundation from which to launch your company’s online communications, keeping up with these regulations will be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. The Amatra SmartSource™ platform provides a single source to coordinate, launch, and record your social media presence. Basically, SmartSource™ stores and tracks every communication you send out so you don’t have to. In a year, are you going to be able to find that Facebook status update you just posted? SmartSource™ will.

FINRA advises every firm to adopt supervisory practices to make sure that outgoing messages and posts are reviewed and approved before finding their way to the web. This review process is streamlined with Amatra’s help, as all content passes through the SmartSource™ system before being sent out. This means you’ll be reading and reviewing all content in one location, ensuring that your company’s message is uniform, consistent, and compliant. To learn more about Amatra’s Enterprise solutions, click here.

If you’re trying to break into the world of social media, start smart. Don’t fall behind the rapidly changing rules and regulations concerning social networking sites and online communications. Amatra SmartSource™ provides you with a single, organized platform to build a successful and innovative social media campaign and realize the power of one source, infinite communications.

Amatra Team