FTC to Regulate Social Media Marketing

I first heard about an update that dealt specifically with endorsements, testimonials and product reviews. The issue is with deceptive claims, but also with atypical results. Apparently "results may vary" and "results not typical" will no longer be sufficient disclaimers. They now want us to use typical results only.

In what seems (to me) to be well-planned timing, the FTC recently fined the QVC home shopping network $7.5 million for that very thing. A very public example of what we could see filtering down to the work-at-home mommy blogger.

The question everyone is asking is just how far this will trickle down - and how this will ultimately affect bloggers, online advertisers, affiliate marketers, and even the unsolicited & unendorsed opinions and comments that are posted across discussion forums and social media sites every single day…

The FTC is planning to hold marketers liable for false statements published on blogs and social networks—meaning companies or bloggers could get sued for saying a product was good if it really wasn't. source

I've read about half a dozen articles on the topic already, and it just keeps raising more and more questions in my mind. Like do they think consumers are stupid? What ever happened to personal responsibility? Perhaps the FTC could regulate common sense, and make sure everyone has an equal amount.

What if I think a product is great, and you don't? Where do you draw the line between opinion and fact? Does an opinion become a fact if you get paid for that opinion? Or is an opinion simply an opinion, whether you are paid for it or not? And if it's a fact that your opinion of the product is that you like it, does that make my opinion wrong if I don't?

I understand that the proposed regulations target paid bloggers, word-of-mouth marketing, product review type sites, etc. The question is not where it will start, but where it will end. And what effect it will have on social media as we know it.

What if you do have atypical results? Wouldn't you want to share that with all of your friends on Twitter or Facebook? And if you do, will you be held liable just for talking about your personal experience? Sure you can prove that you purchased the product and that you are not being compensated for your comments or recommendation - but will it stop people from sharing out of fear of being put through that kind of hassle?

First Google, now the FTC. Google has been "regulating" Affiliate Marketing, Paid Blogging and the sale of Text Link Ads for some time now. See:

Agree with it or not, these things do have their impact. And more often than not they affect legitimate marketers far more than they do spammers, liars or con artists. Think Can-Spam. I dont know about you, but I now have problems with email deliverability between friends… yet don't seem to have any trouble receiving an email ad for Viagra.

The current proposal is not just about false advertising. The FTC is talking about atypical results. Let's say, for the sake of example, that I bought the AffiliateTheme from Unique Blog Designs. I used it, made a million dollars with it, and published the case study here on my blog. My results would be "atypical" for a number of reasons. First because I have over a decade of online marketing experience. Second because 98.3% of the people that bought that same theme never did anything with it (note: I made up that statistic - just to clarify :P ).

If I did have that kind of result with my AffiliateTheme, I would want to share it publicly - and I would use my affiliate link for that product in the recommendation, of course. Wouldn't you want me to share my results with you? Would you like to read what I used, the details of how I used it, and the exact results I experienced - so that you could duplicate that same success for yourself?? Of course you would.

But should I be held liable, fined $7.5 million dollars per se, if you don't follow the steps and achieve the exact same results? Or if your circumstances prevent you from achieving the same results?

And what if you were fine with it, having your own common sense and personal responsibility in tact, but the FTC put me "out of business" over it? How would you feel about that?

The FTC would instead require advertisers to display typical results instead of hyping up one spectacular atypical result… The first update to these guidelines since 1980, the new rules would apply to all forms of advertising, including online advertising. source

In the FTC ruling against QVC, they went back to the advertisers and merchants that aired the offending infomercials to chip in on the $7.5 mil. Could this happen to you for testimonials you've submitted to merchants online? It sure does make you think twice about sharing your "atypical results", yes?

To state the obvious: you should always be completely honest in your reviews, and of course never say (or blog) anything that you can't back up or stand behind. My issue with these potential regulations is in the FTC judging whether my opinion is offensive - according to their strict guidelines - or whether my results are typical or not.

How in the world am I supposed to know if my results are typical? If I eat cheerios every day for a month and my cholesterol levels improve, I might tweet that. What if General Mills paid me to tweet that? What if they didn't and "I'm just sharin". Even if it is true, and you received NO free cheerio (not a single one), the FTC may just have their eye on you for it…