The Regan Group stays connected to the latest online marketing guidelines impacting your business year-round. The Federal Trade Commission has been particularly active lately in the realm of online content aimed at children and mom-targeted blogs.
Disclose It or Else
In the case of bloggers targeting moms, fresh guidelines were recently released that put the onus on the source, digital advertiser, agency copywriter or any other content provider “pushing” facebook posts, Twitter tweets, blogs or even Instagram photos.
Content disclosures should be:
- Placed at the start of any blog (not at the end).
- Consistent with the overall blog’s font and format.
- Conspicuous: never use a light or hard to read font color.
Even if your agency or brand manager plans to use testimonials from bloggers in paid endorsements or advertorials, the disclosure guidelines still apply. If you pay, you need to be open about it.
HashTag with Care
To ensure all consumers are clearly advised of advertiser or sponsored content when Hashtags are used (vs. non-commercial comments between online social butterflies), the FTC suggests content providers, brands or agencies include either “Ad” or “Sponsored” at the front end of blog post. Hyperlinks, as an alternate mean to disclose the content’s source, are not advised. It’s still unclear if abbreviations are permitted, but we recommend going the safe and sound route whenever the FTC is watching (and reading). If you’d rather push the envelope and use abbreviations, post at your own risk.
Everything in our fast-changing blogosphere — regardless of whether you’re a mommy blogger, aspiring copywriter or passionate digital marketing manager — is inherently fluid and will likely be seen by thousands of eyeballs. Consequently, agencies and digital marketers have a greater responsibility to blog (and disclose) with care.
