(Illustrations courtesy of Louis Gray and Jeannine Schafer)
The FTC revised its guidelines regarding truth in advertising practices. Specifically targeting Internet Marketers and social media. The main focus of the revised guidelines are on stating your relationship with the product/advertiser and not using any deceptive marketing practices.
The FTC wants bloggers to disclose the relationship with the product they are promoting on each entry. One broad disclaimer is not enough in their eyes – whether it is in your terms and conditions, on a FTC Disclosures link on the home page (or all your pages).
This even applies to tweets and facebook status updates. The FTC recommends using hash tags on twitter for example: #ad or #paidreview. Even videos, such as those posted on youtube channels, must also adhere to the same disclosures.
While the FTC will not likely go after individual affiliates, it is putting the burden of regulating affiliates on the advertisers and networks. Most advertisers and offers have stipulations that you can not use fake testimonials and must follow applicable laws, however until now they haven’t really been monitored or enforced by most companies. The new FTC focus will force advertisers and networks to more closely monitor affiliates and stop any questionable marketing tactics.
Here is a FAQ the FTC put together regarding the new guidelines: