What are the best tactics to use?

How do I measure the effectiveness of social media?

Where do I start?

How do I manage the social balance?

What are the best sites and tools out there?

How do I make the most of my available time?

How do I find and focus my efforts on my target audience?

How do I convert my social media marketing efforts into tangible results?

How do I cohesively tie different social media efforts together?

Does social media marketing work, and if so, how effective is it?

Navigating FTC's Guidance on Social Media Marketing

Nov 30, 2009

-By Alan Friel

With the rapid growth in social marketing, the Federal Trade Commission has become increasingly concerned about these new methods of reaching out to consumers. Specifically, it's wary about ways in which some brands and their agencies have abused these evolving media tools, betraying the trust of consumers and the social communities in which they interact.

These practices include paying Internet users to post disingenuous positive product reviews; "astroturfing," where advertisers pretend to be unaffiliated consumers and post misleading or false information; and creating Flogs, fake blogs that purport to be objective, but are really designed to covertly promote a product.

As a result, effective Dec. 1, the FTC will have new guidance in place for advertisers who make use of social media. 

The FTC expects companies to make reasonable efforts to educate the celebrities, bloggers, employees and others promoting their brand at their behest regarding disclosing their connection to the advertiser and not making false or misleading statements or claims. The guidance specifically singles out celebrity spokespeople, requiring them to disclose financial connections to brands when promoting them other than in ads and commercials, such as on talk shows or via social media, and making them personally liable for false claims made about a product.

Even if a celebrity is contractually obligated to make scripted comments, they're still personally liable if they know or should know the claims are untrue. The FTC has also put an end to the use of testimonials indicating atypical results that include the disclaimer "Results not typical." Now, the typical expected results must be explained. Companies must also monitor these activities and take corrective action when the rules are not followed. The FTC says it's taking these matters seriously, noting it has prosecutorial discretion and will likely target the more egregious cases and repeat offenders.

There will likely be some practical hurdles for advertisers as they work to comply with the new FTC direction. Advertisers may not be able to control every comment posted to third-party sites, but the FTC may still hold them liable for misleading claims, particularly if they did not exercise best efforts to prevent them. And, while the FTC states that "the advertiser should take steps to ensure that these disclosures are being provided," it does not give guidance as to what it expects to see in the form of disclosures or monitoring and corrective action. Disclosure becomes more difficult in a chat room or on Twitter, where there is a limitation on the amount of content that can be posted. An evolving disclosure method in such instances is to add the text "Sponsored Post", "#paid", or "#Ad."  A new service at http://cmp.ly/ provides free mini-URL links to detailed disclosures and upsells monitoring services. Whether these notices and monitoring efforts will meet the FTC's requirements is yet to be determined.

Whatever the practical considerations affecting compliance, the FTC is placing the risk of viral and social marketing's lack of control on brands and their agencies, and telling them they must institute sound policies and practices to make reasonable efforts to prevent activities that may result in consumer confusion. Accordingly, every company, and all PR, marketing and advertising agencies that utilize social media for promotional activities, should have and enforce policies and practices for the use of social and other evolving media, as well as use by its employees, spokespersons, vendors and agents. This includes policies regarding how consumers are engaged, educated, monitored and handled. 

Best practices reflective of the FTC's guidance are already emerging. In May 2009, in anticipation of the New Guides, IZEA, a blog-network-advertising firm that pairs advertisers' products with relevant bloggers, began providing its clients with reports tracking whether its bloggers were disclosing compensation arrangements. Companies can also look to industry best practices to guide them in developing their own policies. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association Ethics Code of Conduct, was specifically pointed to by the FTC as an "important step" to ensuring "transparency for marketers who engage in new forms of marketing." WOMMA requires disclosure, veracity and transparency, and prohibits cash payments to consumers for their support.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau published its Social Media Advertising Best Practices in May 2009. Reportedly, the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), another self-regulatory body, is currently examining use of social media for selling to children as part of soon-to-be announced guidelines on blurring, which are expected to counsel for a more conservative approach regarding children.

These various industry best practices are a good place for a company to start when developing policies and practices under the guidance of experienced legal counsel. Such policies and practices, along with ongoing training and compliance review, can help companies navigate the complexity of this developing field and reduce potential liability and negative consumer backlash.

Alan L. Friel is a partner and advertising lawyer at Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. He can be reached at friel@wildman.com.

Article summarizing the FTC's involvement with monitoring social media ethics.

Kendall Allen

Nice article about where social media lives in an organization. Also about the evolution of the media.

In this article you will be learning loads of tips and tricks to help maximize your YouTube Views and Subscribers. All the tips and tricks have worked for me and for many people. They are easy to follow and i hope it helps! Click here for more info.

Training

• Learn at your own pace
• Webinars
• Request custom training

Learn at your own pace

We provide the following e-learning modules 24/7 for your convenience:

Your feedback is important. (Please note we will not reply) How can we improve our training?

Back to top

Webinars

To help you get started using your account or to learn more about the features and functionality that LinkedIn offers, we invite you to attend the following free online presentations. All classes are provided free of charge. Schedules are subject to change.

• LinkedIn 101: The basics of LinkedIn
  When: Wednesdays at 1 pm CST
• Job Seekers: Tips for using your LinkedIn Account to help you land your next great opportunity
  When: Thursdays at 1pm CST
• LinkedIn Subscriptions: Get the most out of your premium subscription
  When: 2nd/3rd Tuesday each month at 1pm CST Several new dates just added!
• LinkedIn New Group Owners/Managers: Learn to manage,scale and engage your newly created group community
  When: Mondays at 1 pm CST – Register at Managing and Growing Your New LinkedIn Group

To register for any of these webcasts please click on the link associated with the session you are interested in. Please note that you must register at least 24 hours in advance for the webcast you would like to attend.

Questions, Comments?

Back to top

Request custom training

Would you like to request a customized session for your organization? LinkedIn can host a webcast suited to your needs, we will work with you to customize an agenda and coordinate a date and time that will work well with your scheduling needs. Please note attendance requirements may apply.

Request training

Linkedin Learning Center: Great guides for a variety of different users.

An entrant must hold all rights to a photograph. For a photo in which a person is recognizable, you must provide a model release from the subject or, in the case of a minor, the subject's parent or guardian and provide to Smithsonian upon request.

You can download and print a model release from our Web site.

Reminder: We do NOT accept entries submitted through the mail.

2008 Nature Honorable Mention, Photograph by Chris Gimmeson

International Photography Contest

Every year, National Geographic's International Photography Contest draws thousands of spectacular photos from users around the world. This year could be your year to win a digital camera kit and have your image published in the magazine.

Winners will be entered into the Worldwide International Photography Contest and announced in early December. The submission period has closed. Please read the FAQ and Rules for more information.

Did you vote for your favorites? The 2009 Viewers' Choice winners will be announced in early December. View a gallery of last year's top shots chosen by you.