Coverage of this session by SAP’s Marilyn Pratt. Follower her on Twitter at @marilynpratt.
3:10 — Kurt Vanderah introduces the Social Media Business Council’s CEO, Andy Sernovitz.
3:12 – Andy: It’s all about trust.
3:13 – Andy: You can’t tack the ethics stuff on the end. Trust is the right thing to do and the only way to be successful
3:13 – Andy: Disclosure is the difference between honesty and sleazery. Disclosure makes your message more credible and powerful – it’s not “that extra thing that gets in the way of your marketing campaign.”
3:15 – Andy: Disclosure is the law and it isn’t different in the new media.
3:16 – Andy shares his three guides for safe social media outreach: 1) Require disclosure in your outreach; 2) Monitor conversation and correct misstatements; 3) Create policies and training programs.
3:18 – Andy shares his personal additions to the FTC rules: 1) Never pay for it – if you pay, it’s advertising – once you pay for word of mouth it never goes away; 2) Use real disclosure – that means clear and conspicuous to average reader; 3) If your mom can’t figure out what is an ad and what is editorial, you have a problem.
3:21 – Andy shares his 10 Magic Words for ethical disclosure: “I work for __________ and this is my personal opinion.”
3:22 – Andy’s three keys of disclosure: 1) Who are you? 2) Were you paid? 3) Is this an honest opinion based on a real experience? Andy explains that the more you disclose, the easier it becomes because it is part of a real program.
3:23 — Andy says the rules of ethics and honesty are often overlooked in the rush for cool factor, and that the biggest risk is a failure to properly train your team.
3:25 – Andy: 18 months before the FTC ruling, the Social Media Business Council created the Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit. It focuses on:
- Discosure of identity
- Personal blogging
- Blogger relations
- Compensation disclosure
- Agency and contractor
- Maintaining creative flexibility while doing the right thing
3:27 – Andy: You are responsible for what your employees do on your behalf. You need to take care with who you hire.
3:31 – Andy’s final rule of thumb: If you have to ask, the answer is “no.”
Q&A
Q: Where to get the disclosure guidelines and what do they cost?
A: The Social Media Business Council’s website – anyone can access it: http://www.socialmedia.org/disclsoure
Come to our upcoming BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media conference in Atlanta to hear UPS, The Home Depot, Coca-Cola, Solo Cup, Newell Rubbermaid, NCR Corporation, DeVry University, and Georgia-Pacific share 8 great case studies on corporate social media.
