Small to mid-size business owners put their heart and soul into their companies, often times using social media to promote and talk about their business. What happens when an owner sells the business, or worse, goes bankrupt? What happens to the social media accounts?

 

Very recently, a gentleman found out. He owned a gun shop and recently filed bankruptcy. He was ordered to hand over the passwords to his social media accounts to the new owners, which he refused to do and spent some time in jail while this played out in court. In the end, he was forced to hand over the information, as the court determined that social media accounts are considered company property.

 

While this is a ground breaking decision, it is especially relevant for small to mid-size business owners, as their life is their business, and sometimes personal accounts become business accounts unintentionally. What did it in this particular case was the fact that the gentleman’s Facebook account not only shared his personal views, but promote the business. From a recent article on the subject:

 

“But Bohm ruled in April that the gun store’s social media accounts were not personal but used to boost sales, citing a tweet in which Alcede told his followers he was at a gun trade show as an example of something that would attract customers because it showed him as a “connected insider in the gun-buying community.”

 

What is the lesson to be learned? If you’re a business owner, it’s wise to create separate social accounts that are strictly for business purposes – promoting the business, engaging with customers, etc. – while keeping your personal accounts free of similar content to make sure there is a clear differentiation between the two types of accounts. Now is a good time to review your social accounts to make sure they fall in line with what constitutes a business page vs a personal account, and if needed, create separate accounts for your business. This is time well spent and can save you in the long run.