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JUNE 2017
|
THINK
by
Jen Alexander
Avoid scrutiny by ensuring
influencers clearly state
their connection to
your brand.
Instagram, Facebook and other social
media outlets make giving shout-outs
to your brand so easy. But if you’re
incentivizing brand ambassadors to
sing your praises, the Federal Trade
Commission has some stern words for
you: full disclosure is required.
The FTC’s Endorsement Guide
is just as applicable to social media
influencer posts as it is to print or
broadcast advertisements. Recent
concerns expressed by nonprofit
consumer advocacy group Public
Citizen led to the commission sending
a series of warning letters to a group
of endorsers and brands that failed to
state their connections in a reasonable
manner through social media posts.
The guide states that if a material
connection exists between a brand and
an endorser, that connection needs to
be conspicuously and clearly elicited
by both parties. This means if an A-list
celeb touts the wonders of your latest
product or service on Twitter, a simple
#IgotpaidbybrandX tacked on to the
end of the post will not suffice.
The FTC rules, in a nutshell:
Disclosure is mandatory.
Audiences must be able to
understand clearly the relationship
between an influencer and a brand.
Disclosures are required when influencers
receive any form of compensation such
as payment or product, tickets, discounts
or invitations. Recommended language
includes ‘Ad’ or ‘Sponsored’.
Disclosure must be clear,
visible and close to each
applicable message.
Diclosures must be on the same page as the
sponsored content, or within a user’s feed.
Additionally, each message in a campaign is
required to have its own disclosure.
All posts must be
honest and accurate.
Sponsored posts from influencers
must represent the brand truthfully; no
brand can permit or encourage false
or inaccurate claims about a product
or service.
Disclosure must be
within the same
medium of the post.
Text disclosure in blogs is acceptable, but
video testimonials require disclosures to be
stated at the start of a clip and included in
title text under the video.
Disclosure must be placed
before linking off the page.
If viewers or readers are being asked to
navigate away from the page, disclosure
statements must be included ahead of the
link, and before any truncated text.
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BRANDABLE
Say It Loud, Say It Proud