This isn’t the most exciting blog entry you’re ever going to read here, but it’s an important one. So before you go out and starting WOM’ing the world, take a moment to read the following:
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission released a brand new set of guidelines that speaks directly product endorsements and reviews written through social media.
The new rules dictate that bloggers (and all consumers who use social media) must fully disclose the relationships that they have with advertisers. If they receive a free product, or experience any gain from writing a review (such as a paid review – blech!), he or she must include text that explains their affiliation with the company who provided that incentive.
For example, if you work for a tool company, and you send a new set of wrenches to a popular daddy blogger in hopes that he’ll give write a positive review about you, you must ensure that he includes the following (or something similar) in his review blog post: “Tool Company sent me this wrench set, free of charge.”
If the daddy blogger fails to disclose the relationship, both your company and the blogger could be fined up to $11,000.
The FTC is also closely monitoring endorsements made by celebrities. These once untouchable figures will now be required to disclose their advertising relationships through both traditional media (e.g. a television interview) and their social media accounts (e.g. Twitter).
It’s unclear at this time how the FTC will enforce its new guidelines, but we can’t imagine any advertiser would be willing to take such a serious financial risk for just one positive blog post. Not to mention the potential consumer backlash your brand could face for breaking these widely accepted rules.
We here at MGH are thrilled with the formalization of these new rules. As a long-time member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, we’ve been tied to consumer disclosure guidelines for many years now.
Whether it’s a product seeding campaign or a full-blown ambassador program, we require all of our consumer contacts to disclose their affiliations with our clients (or with us). It creates a level playing field, and lessens the opportunities for criticism of our tactics and the industry as a whole.
With that being said, I received one high-five and three Peanut M&M’s for writing this blog entry. How’s that for complete disclosure, FTC?
If you want to read more about the FTC’s new guidelines and what they mean for you, you can go here and here.
- Ryan Goff, @ryanatmgh
*Image courtesy of MediaBistro.com
