In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. – Thomas Jefferson

Social media has plenty of fads and trends that quickly inspire people to jump on board. For instance, look how quickly people started posting links to their articles in the comments of their own threads.

Some fads are innocuous; matters of taste or flash in the pan memes. Others, however, only appear innocuous but can be terribly detrimental to your business.

Knowing what the terms of service on any given platform allow can make or break your social media presence. Brand pages with hundreds of thousands of Facebook fans have been deleted with no warning for running contests that violated Facebook terms of service. Earlier this year, Instagram almost instituted terms of service that would have drastically impacted your rights. It is crucial that you understand and abide by the terms of service in order to preserve your business.

When it comes to matters of principle and terms of service, standing strong even when it appears jumping on the band wagon would give you an easy social media boost will ensure you have a long term presence and not just a flash in the pan.