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Influencer Engagement Self Regulating Guidelines
The following is a set of guidelines assembled by the WOMMA Influencer Council. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a set of best practices for word of mouth programs that target or include influencers. These guidelines are written to include the principles and best practices found in WOMMA’s Ethics Code. The Ethics Code can be found at http://womma.org/ethics. Although following these guidelines is not a requirement for WOMMA members, doing so will help to ensure program continuity, as well as positive results for both the brand and the customer.
1. Always abide by the WOMMA Honesty ROI when engaging influencers to participate in brand marketing activities.
2. Make an effort to listen to and understand an influencer's point of view about my brand before and during their engagement in a brand program or marketing activity or simply, in their role as a customer of my brand.
3. Understand the savvy nature of influencers and will commit to personalizing my invitations for brand participation. I pledge to respect the rights of influencers as individuals and agree to maintain a level of personalized or individualized interaction with them separate from automated or mass-customized communications. Furthermore, I understand that if an influencer does not reply to my request for participation, I will respect that individual's privacy and cease to solicit them. Finally, I agree not to share their personal information without their express permission.
4. Make an effort to build a respectful and open relationship with my brand’s influencers, where collaboration (instead of expectation) is the guiding nature of communication. Additionally, I will communicate with influencers in a timely manner.
5. Ask influencers to transparently represent the source of their information when communicating about or representing my brand to others, whether on or offline. I will proactively provide influencers with guidelines for transparency and actively support this transparency within the company, media, and marketplace.
6. Invite and respect the opinion of participating influencers, even if this is contrary to the brand's position. I agree to share or make available these opinions throughout my organization as is appropriate. Furthermore, I will allow influencers to evolve or remix messaging so as to be relevant to how they communicate with their community.
7. Never ask influencers to falsify or "hype" any product claims, make usage claims without direct experience, or back claims that neither they nor the brand can substantiate. I will never request an influencer to undertake on my behalf a task that they are uncomfortable with or do not believe in.
8. Provide incentives for participation in brand programs, I will fully disclose the nature of the program so as not to give the appearance of a conflict of interest or shilling. I fully understand that I am not establishing rewards as a payoff for opinions and am ensuring transparency of any marketing efforts.
9. Don’t manipulate advertising or affiliate programs to impact influencer involvement or income derived by the brand from influencer programs. I will not falsely manipulate program findings or influencer opinions in any way, nor will I manipulate or falsely communicate a program’s progress or result to any party internal or external.
10. Thank influencers who have participated in brand-initiated programs.
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