The Word of Mouth Marketing Association held a very successful webinar on Ethics and Disclosure in light of the anticipated release of the new FTC Guide. WOMMA is taking an aggressive lead to facilitate the conversation with both members and non members and engage everyone’s ideas and concerns on what is effective and meaningful disclosure in this space. The blog will be open to commenting through October 14th to capture all of these comments.
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At the conclusion of this time period, WOMMA will produce minimum guidelines for the industry as to appropriate practices. The key points from our panelists this call included:
· Three areas are needed for effective disclosure:
(1) being complete (explain what was provided by a brand);
(2) be in context (explain clearly the relationship between yourself and the brand);
(3) being yourself (confirm what you say is truly your opinion).
· Bottom line from a legal perspective, disclosure must be clear and conspicuous.
· Sites badges are proving to be effective in disclosing material relationships.
· Marketers/brands should monitor and be responsible for what is being said by the bloggers they are working with.
· In its current state, Twitter is not conducive to disclosure. Not enough space to do it adequately and effectively.
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Please join the conversation and post your comments here as well as pass this link along to encourage others to submit their thoughts. The more people, businesses, etc. that we have involved in this conversation the more robust and positive our outcome will be for the industry. Be part of the solution – participate, advocate and get involved.
