Social media has become one of the major tools to survive in today’s business world. Every organization has now realized the importance of digital presence in ensuring its survival.
However, as companies become more innovative with their digital operation approach, they will likely run afoul of the law. The intriguing part is that laws regulating internet business can be tricky and complex to understand.
Big technology companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta have all experienced this.
There have also been lawsuits against institutions of learning over failure to include captions in their online courses. The plaintiff alleged that such a modus operandi hinders the effective participation of people who are deaf.
To avoid this kind of situation, businesses now hire the service of social media expert witnesses. Most of the time, these experts are hired for court testimony.
In a simple explanation, a social media expert witness is a professional with years of experience in a technology field who then translates the skill into analyzing a social media case. Their service may help a company get an “innocent” verdict on million dollars lawsuits.
Why every digital business needs service of a social media expert witness
A typical expert witness has years of experience in tech-related fields. Interestingly, most of them have more than a decade of combined experience in their industry.
It is not unlikely to find programmers, social media managers, digital marketers, SEO experts, and cybersecurity professionals offering expert witness services.
Below are some of the reasons why businesses hire them;
Consumer Behavior.
Expert witnesses can offer technical advice to a company looking to improve the consumer experience on its website.
These professionals have, over the years, worked in roles that empower them to understand consumer behavior and how to harness it.
E-commerce businesses especially need to be able to maximize leads to generate sales. The website interface must be easy to navigate for online shoppers.
Understanding consumer behavior can help businesses to decide on the best products and services for their clients.
Information about why people make certain purchase decisions and when can be used to optimize marketing to potential buyers who would be most likely interested in a company’s product, hence, maximally reducing advert expenses and cost of customers’ acquisition.
Data Privacy.
More than ever, data privacy is essential for any business not ready to pay a hefty fine. When data privacy is discussed, some business owners think it is only limited to data collected when users visit their site.
It is more than that. It could be misusing data obtained from a third party or granting third-party access to specific data on your site. You necessarily do not have to be the one who violated the law. If you are connected in some way, you can be sued.
For example, Microsoft and Amazon were sued for allegedly using IBM’s Diversity in Faces Dataset without permission from residents whose faces are contained therein.
Business Potential.
You need to identify a problem before you can offer a solution. This is the simple secret of every business. A solution provider with the best marketing strategy usually wins the business war.
Your company may be sitting on a gold mine without realizing it.
A typical example is IBM Global Business Services, renamed IBM Consulting. In the mid-1990s, the company’s CEO, Lou Gerstner, battling to recover from record corporate losses, had a “eureka” moment.
He realized how much IBM’s customers valued the company’s technical support teams. Lou used his consulting experience to create a new business unit based on this knowledge. Today, IBM Consulting accounts for about 31 percent of the company’s total revenue.
Hiring an expert witness can help you unlock your business’s hidden potential, which could be a saving grace from bankruptcy.
Patents.
A patent is a two-edged sword in the business world. It can be the sole determinant of a company’s worth. Likewise, a business can be sued for patent infringement, while the awarded fine could be the end of the investment.
It is crucial to secure the necessary patents for your business and ensure none of your technology infringes anyone’s patency.
The portfolio of reputable social media expert witnesses includes working with top technology firms. Their experiences can be used in securing patents for your business. They can also help you detect if specific technology infringes on a patent. This is because they will likely have come across many technological inventions over their years of practice, unlike your young team.
Lawsuits.
Expert witnesses are very helpful in helping firms navigate lawsuits, such as digital defamation, data privacy violation and false advertising.
As stated earlier, they can also help your firm avoid future lawsuits. Their experience comes in handy in building or defending most cases related to digital businesses.
