The FTC has updated its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising for the first time since 1980. One of the changes: a requirement that “bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.”
“Certainly, it seems like this is an update that’s time has come. While most well-run social media programs already include appropriate disclosure, there’s still no shortage of unscrupulous marketers using deceptive practices to sell products” says Mashable today.
But this applies to all bloggers, including anyone who might make an innocent mistake and post a sponsored review without disclosing that they were compensated. I can think of countless “small” bloggers who are not versed in social media and do not follow this type of news, who might publish a sponsored review without realizing that they should disclose anything.
Which is why I have mixed feelings about this new rule. On the one hand, it is indeed long overdue and there’s absolutely no reason why bloggers should not be required to disclose relationships with sponsors just as traditional media is required to.
On the other hand, unlike traditional media, blogging is accessible to anyone – but the rules of blogging are not necessarily found by brand new bloggers who could make honest, costly mistakes. Will the FTC go after a small blogger who published a soap review and received a $10-worth box of soaps in return? The new guidelines do say that “The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement,” so I’m guessing the soap review will not be fined $11,000.
Barbara Swafford recently said that bloggers can be seen as experts and thus have a responsibility to their readers to disclose the fact that they are not necessarily experts. I generally agree, but I do have to wonder if bloggers are not receiving a whole lot of responsibilities with very little training, and for most – with very little reward.
Update: in an extremely funny post, Robert Cringely of InfoWorld makes fun of the hopelessly unenforceable new rules, pointing out that “According to IDG News, the FTC says the guidelines are mainly targeting advertisers; bloggers themselves are unlikely to get fined, unless they continue to post bogus paid reviews after the FTC has scolded them for it.”
Just in case, he then proceeds to list all the free items he has received throughout his career, including the 1,237 boiled shrimp (with 157 ounces of cocktail sauce) he has consumed at various press functions, adding “I would gladly give them all back if I could.”
Cringely predicts that “In six months the Net will melt down after being overwhelmed by the volume of disclosures that are required.” Having just added disclosure paragraphs to my various social media accounts, I tend to agree.
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I'm Vered DeLeeuw, a blogger for hire and a social media consultant. My social media campaigns increase brand awareness and loyalty, improve search engine rankings and drive targeted traffic to my clients' websites. Momgrind is my personal blog.
