digital axle

Bloggers Beware: FTC Can Fine You $11k For Undisclosed Product Reviews

In the blogging world, it has been considered good taste to dislose relationships you have with a brand or advertiser when you mention them in a post, whether you are reviewing their product, campaign, or just giving an old fashioned shout-out.

Now it's the law.

The FTC, in its updated Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, has made it clear that any blogger who makes an endorsement for a product must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. If they don't? They could be slapped with fines of up to $11,000. Per post.

This is not just for bloggers who use services like Izea. The rule defines "material connection" as "cash or in-kind payment," so really any situation where something of value changes hands between advertiser and blogger would be considered payment.

It's a fine line, though. Are samples, giveaways —or even exclusive news, or fame— considered something of value? If so, General Mills and their blogging mommies, as well as Ford and their Fiesta bloggers better be careful to own up exactly what is changing hands, Mashable notes.

Most well-run social media programs do use appropriate disclosure, Mashable concludes, but deception still exists, and "unscrupulous" marketers are still a dime a dozen. (Sorry, guys. No offense.) Enter the threat of money lost from heavy fines, however, and the game changes.

YSMV: Your skepticism may vary.

Traditional advertising and social media are getting cozier by the day. So cozy that you might want to call them “friends with benefits.” That guy you overheard talking about his favorite yogurt? That woman blogging and twittering about her awesome new car? Maybe not quite so unbiased – since they got that yogurt and that car for free. Say what you will, getting something for nothing makes a difference. Hence, the benefits.

Solicited word-of-mouth is nothing new; BzzAgent has been around a while, sending people out in the world to comment, share and, well, generate buzz. Now, Ford Fiesta is giving away cars to agents. Hey, if I had a new car for 6 months, I would probably like it too. Ah, that new car smell. Nothing quite like it.

Our response? It's time to embrace your inner skeptic. The message is only as valuable as you allow it to be. These days, everyone has something to share, and it’s not all as innocent as it might seem.  As Pete Cashmore wrote in his post "Can Social Media Make Us Buy More Cars?": “In the era of user-generated content, being an informed and skeptical consumer of media is as important as being a skilled creator.” And for every blogger, vlogger, or twitterer commenting on a product, there are ten consumers who need to raise that eyebrow just a little higher.

Of course the real question is: will it work? How skeptical are people these days? Keep watching Ford Fiesta and maybe we'll find out.

Study: User-Generated Content Popular But Doesn't Make Money

By 2013, 155 million of US Internet users will consume some form of user-created content, up from 116 million in 2008 -- and the number of user-generated content creators will grow by similar proportions, reaching 115 million in 2013, up from 83 million in 2008. according to eMarketer.

And everyone loves it. I mean, it's cheap, it drives traffic and engagement, and it can be darn fun to play with. Like putty. This of course assumes that you don't look too deeply into it and try to analyze the psychological identity of the creator, that is, the American public -- which I don't recommend doing, ever.

But not everyone, apparently. Advertisers, fearing its "inherently unpredictable" nature, tend to steer clear of it, which puts a lot of pressure on site publishers and social media channels to give them safe havens. But do those really exist? How do you juggle "true" UGC with the need to moderate for quality and relevance?

WordPress, Typepad, Blogsmith Rule Blog CMS Roost

Wordpress is the blogging platform of choice the Technorati's Top 100, blog - powering 27 out of the 100, reports Royal Pingdom. Check it out:

Just 8% of these top blogs use a custom-made blog platform, which either means they're not throwing a lot of funds at their CMS, or more positively, that third-party services are doing a darn good job at providing what they need.

Note the distinction, however, between a blogging service (e.g., Typepad, Wordpress.com, Blogger) where they handle the software and host for you, and a blogging platform like regular WordPress, Movable Type, etc. where you set up and host the platform yourself.

Interesting tidbit: Blogsmith, which is owned by AOL, beats out (in my opinion) better-known services like Typepad and Blogger, mostly because it is used by Weblogs, Inc. for their supercool niche sites. Second only to Gawker, our favorite sinking ship.

Marketing Execs are 'So Over' Web 2.0

"If one more person says 'blog' or 'social networking' to me, I'm gonna puke," said the haggard marketing exec. Twice as many marketers said they are "sick" of hearing about Web 2.0 than last year, according to an Anderson Analytics survey for the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG).

But they admit they don’t know much about it. Some 67% of executive marketers consider themselves beginners when it comes to using social media for marketing purposes, according to a social media marketing study.

Global warming and green marketing are also way less popular this year, as marketers push aside newfangled ideas and go back to basics - putting more focus on the good ol' boys, like research & insights, and satisfying and retaining customers.

After that, marketing ROI, brand loyalty, and segmentation are considered important, marking a serious move back to the core principles of marketing, writes MarketingCharts.

How a Rumor Turns into a Report: The $99 iPhone @ Wal-Mart

Web rumor becomes widely reported "truth" - I'm sure it's happened many times before, but VentureBeat did a good job of peeling back the layers on the latest example: the $99 Wal-Mart iPhone.

Here's how it began: a blog called Boy Genius Report got a tip in early December that the iPhone would be sold at Wal-Mart before the end of the year, and that the price might be $99 for a 4GB version, which is less capacity than Apple's current options.

Other blogs picked up the rumor, and some - oops! - forgot to mention that it was just a tip: a rumor, unconfirmed by any sort of trustworthy figure from either Apple or Wal-Mart. Still, blogs will be blogs, and reporting on rumors is just part of the fun. The real gaff came when "mainstream media" (first, the San Jose Mercury News, but then Bloomberg, Reuters, NYT, Yahoo News and other fun pals) started telling people it was true.

How did that happen? Well the Mercury News said that department manager of the cell phone department at a random Walmart told them she heard from an AT&T representative that her store would in fact be getting a 4GB version two days before Christmas. See where it starts getting sketchy? Like a game of telephone...

And Apple analysts jumped in on the rumor, eager to brag about their knowledge of Apple's business model. “A $99, Apple-branded cell phone is inevitable,” said a Kaufman Brothers analyst. Yes, inevitable. Except it's not, apparently. Wal-Mart shoppers will pay a whole $2 less for the same old models. Oh wait, except not really - it's cheaper at Best Buy.

Even on Dec. 9, when blogs started telling people that the rumor was not true, mainstream media was still insisting it was.

The bright side to this whole ordeal? (Besides mainstream media feeling a small blush in its cheeks for being too literal and then falling a step behind news blogs, of course.) There won't be any stampedes at Wal-Mart on the day of the iPhone's big debut.

Tracking Returns on Blog Outreach: A Lesson in Futility?

A comment from "Social Media for the Masses" (Adotas):

It’s great to see bloggers (like yourself) qualify the effects of social media on the marketing process. I would love to see some journalists document real quantifiable measurements of the return on investment in social media optimization. That evidence would be truly convincing when selling the service to clients.

Yes, when? The "four equally valuable" parts to achieving ROI on investment from blog outreach efforts: consumer generated content, third party validation, social media, and search results. Tracking search results? Easy cheesy. Finding UGC and re-using it for marketing purposes or to drive more traffic? Again, not a problem.

But using the bloggers’ validation (i.e., their unique content discussing the brand) to spread word across social media outlets and platforms is not only tricky to do but seems, to me, pretty impossible to track. The best part about so-called influencers is that they move in mysterious ways. And the ones they apparently influence are even more confusing to keep track of. So how do you measure the effect of this tactic?

Other than asking bloggers for their own metrics, finding overlap in your audience, or conducting some sort of survey, I don't see a way. That's the thing about word-of-mouth: It runs fast as hell, but not in one direction - so good luck trying to figure out where it came from or where it's going.

Overheard on the Web...

At Apple Insider: Apple plans to cut costs by shuffling the staff in its retail unit, making its part-time workers clock fewer hours and its full-time "Geniuses" pick up the slack by getting out from behind their service desk, err, "bar," to greet customers and answer basic questions. Apparently this will reduce human resource costs without having to actually fire anyone. But from my experience, part-time workers usually want more hours, and full-timers want less. Okay, Apple, you try this and see how your Geniuses handle it.

On Valleywag: The rumors circulating the tech world that "10,000 Google jobs are on the chopping block" are not true. It's more like 2,000, sources are now saying. And most of them are technically "temporary workers" so Google doesn't even report them to the SEC - though insiders note that many of these employees have been with the company for 5+ years, but keep getting shuffled around so that their status remains temporary and they don't have to get health benefits, insurance, stock options, or an offer for a permanent position.

On the Wired blog: Six Apart - the maker of TypePad, the blogging platform that this little baby is running on - is offering laid off bloggers a "bailout package" that includes a free TypePad Pro account (allowing multiple authors and blogs as well as more storage and control over the design), a spot in the Six Apart Media advertising program, promotion on Blogs.com and other information and advice in how to succeed in online journalism.

Blog Action Day: Shout Out to (Those With) Acumen

Today a 27-year old Canadian's dream came true: bloggers round the world - or at least those that are hip to saving the world - will publish, donate, promote the issue of poverty on their blog.

See the video that inspired this kid to use social media for social change:

 

So, as we're registered and all, I figured I should chime in about global poverty. Here's what I think: it sucks. No, it worse-than-sucks. It's unacceptable. However, I shall leave the job of making it disappear up to those highly skilled in the art of philanthropy and social change.

One opinion I do have, however, is that out of all the solutions presented by world-savers, I think that microfinance is one of the best. I mean, it's sustainable, kids. And harnesses the power of capitalism. Yum.

So, hat's off to the creme de la creme of the microfinance projects in third world countries: The Acumen Fund. Anti-malarial bed net factory in Tanzania? Ambulances in Mumbai? They got it covered.

See the Osocio blog - one of the few blogs about non-profit advertising to make it into the Ad Age Power 150 - for some ads created to further the anti-poverty movement.

Social Media All-Star Shines Bright&Hopeful to the Masses

I have a new crush. His name is Chris Brogan. He preaches social media like Billy Graham - but with a bit more of a rational "twang."

Check out this bite of inspiration:

For every pale imitation and clone out there, someone is shining bright and delivering an original piece of value. Getting there first and doing your own thing well adds value.

It’s not that everyone must blog, but if you’re looking to stand out, to reduce noise, to share your perspective in a crowded space, it can certainly help.

Does every business need to make social media and dive into this space? No. But would you readily throw away a tool that helps your product or service or company stand out, help your customers feel included, and highlight the unique personalities within the organization?

I'm converted. Again.