FTC Updates Guidelines for Social Media Marketers

[djbaxter]

FTC Targets Social Media Marketers with Guidelines
by Pace Lattin, Performance Marketing Insider
June 15, 2015

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just announced a significant update to their FAQ page regarding the endorsement requirements, and it appears to be focused on how people are using social media for marketing. This is the first update they have made since 2010, and many expect them to begin cracking down on social media marketers who aren?t in full compliance.

If, for example, you hire celebrities or other influential people to post about your brand, you will want to make sure you take some time to closely look at the updated FAQ. If you hold any type of contest, or anything that could be perceived as a contest, this update will likely impact you as well.

The FTC has always said that any relationship between all brands and all endorsers on social media must be, ?clearly and conspicuously? disclosed. With the update, however, they are providing a much more detailed set of rules...

The article notes that this includes things like Facebook Likes and Twitter endorsements that lack full disclosure.

See the FTC document at FTC Endorsement Guides.

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