The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced it has finalized revisions to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials. The new guidelines, which will go into effect on December 1, 2009, provide an outline of rules governing advertising endorsements and testimonials, and apply to consumer-generated media, such as blogs and social networking sites.
According to a blog post from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) on July 22, 2009, the FTC enacted these revisions because it was concerned about the “rapidly growing instance of bloggers reviewing products and services provided to them at no cost by public relations professionals and other marketers.”
Essentially, the new guidelines state that all bloggers or media reviewing products and services for editorial coverage must fully disclose which company they are reviewing the product/service for and whether they are being compensated with cash or in-kind payment. This is in an effort to provide full transparency so readers can assess for themselves the bias, accuracy and usefulness surrounding each review.
As social media continues to gain momentum and organizations turn to influential bloggers to secure reviews, it’s important to always be transparent in order to avoid conflicts of interest. When reaching out to bloggers and journalists, make sure you identify the company you are representing and what you’re asking of them. In addition, because the guidelines also affect employees’ use of social mediums, it’s a good reminder to make sure you inform your employees that if they are promoting the company’s products or services online, it is important to disclose which company they work for.
To read the full FTC Guides online, click here. Additionally, The Council of PR firms as well as The Fight against Destructive Spin (F.A.D.S), among others, have published information on the new guidelines.