You know the rules, right? If you live in the US and you are endorsing products online, you must disclose that you received payment or payment in kind.
This rule applies to using social media too. So if you want to write sponsored posts — where you promote a product or service — or get paid to promote products on social media, there are new rules. Let’s go through them.
According to the FTC in its most recent update on endorsing products online:
1. Do you have to disclose? Yes. These rules come from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US, which protects consumers and promotes competition.
If you don’t live in the US, these rules do not apply. But they are a best practice. Please consider adopting them anyway.
2. What does it mean to endorse? Let’s say you show a photo of a product, or discuss a product or service in a positive way. Those things are enough to warrant disclosure, if a company paid you or paid you in kind.
If no one paid or paid you in kind to promote, then there’s nothing to disclose.
3. There’s a way to disclose. Don’t be coy about stating your arrangment.
Just say a restaurant invited you, a company sent you an appliance for review, or that a brand hired you to write about its butter.
4. Payment doesn’t always mean money. If you got a coupon, a free meal, or a new saucepan, all require disclosure if you are endorsing those products online.
Instagram users, particularly, raise the ire of the FTC. It sent educational letters to 90 social media influencers and brands earlier this year. Twenty one of those got warning letters next because they still did not follow the guidelines. Legal action could follow.
Earlier this month, the FTC released an updated version of endorsement guidelines, titled The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People are Asking. It answers frequently asked questions in a conversational way.
Topics covered in the FTC update on endorsing products online include:
- tags in pictures
- Instagram and Snapchat disclosures
- disclosure of free travel
- whether a disclosure must be at the beginning of a post
- the adequacy of various disclosures like #ambassador
- whether a “buy now” button requires a disclosure if it is to an affiliate program.
Why print and TV don’t have to disclose
The issue is “whether the audience understands the reviewer’s relationship to the company whose products are being recommended. If the audience understands the relationship, a disclosure isn’t needed,” says the FTC.
Perhaps this clarification came about because many people complained — incuding on this blog — about why there seems to be a double standard for traditional media. Here’s what the FTC says about that:
“If you’re employed by a newspaper or TV station to give reviews – whether online or offline – your audience probably understands that your job is to provide your personal opinion on behalf of the newspaper or television station.In that situation, it’s clear that you did not buy the product yourself – whether it’s a book or a car or a movie ticket. On a personal blog, a social networking page, or in similar media, the reader might not realize that the reviewer has a relationship with the company whose products are being recommended. Disclosure of that relationship helps readers decide how much weight to give the review.”
So, I hope you’ll read over this FTC update carefully. It is reader friendly and answers several common scenarious. You’ll find that it’s a lot more thorough than previous guidelines. The commission understands the issues better each year, as brands become more sophisticated in how they target influencers. More people are getting into the game, and there are more new ways to promote.
***
Thanks to Melissa Hatfield, co-founder of Food Bloggers of Canada, for bringing this update to my attention in the FBC newsletter.
You might also like:
- Are You Making These 2 Mistakes When Writing Sponsored Posts?
- “Blogger Blackmail” Surfaces as a Trend
- Are Sponsored Press Trips Worth Your While?
It needs to be read very carefully.
Yes it does. And preferably several times, because there’s lots to ponder.
Thanks for this. You’re very clear :o)
I hope that’s a good thing! You are welcome, Rita. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for this, Dianne! I’ve bookmarked it for future reference. I’m thinking of all the articles and posts I’ve read recently on the Instant Pot.
Oh yeah. That InstaPot is so popular. I know people are making money on it through Amazon. Nothing wrong with that, as long as it’s disclosed.
Not a dud, this post! Very helpful. Keep ’em coming.
Aww, thanks Tori. (To anyone who’s reading this post, she’s referring to a newsletter I wrote about the lack of interest in it.)
Since I was one of the original two commenters, here’s some follow-up. I’d heard at International Food Bloggers Conf last month in Sacramento about the increased FTC and Google attention to endorsement disclosures.
I asked my web tech to look into adding no-follow links. Meanwhile I received an email from Bob’s Red Mill last week requesting to remove links. I have one post linking to Bob’s but I had zero compensation for the mention. It was a mass email from Bob’s, so I understand, though I wrote to them to explain, didn’t get response. I have subsequently added a no-follow plug-in (have no idea if it’s working, my web tech is impacted by the fires and not immediately available to check). My understanding is I need the no-follow as I frequently mention products for which I’ve been paid for recipe development not for the specific post.
PS – To me, figuring out tech stuff is like making someone who hates to cook, cook every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking before they can eat. So I appreciated the article listed in your newsletter https://www.bonappetit.com/story/learning-to-cook?nl=cooking&em_pos=large&emc=edit_ck_20171008
I believe not everyone will or must like to cook. Difference is they can function on other’s cooking, and I pretty much can’t function (or play in this world now) if I can’t figure out at least some technology.
As always Dianne, thanks for your astute and timely posts 🙂
I think that’s correct, that if you’ve been paid by Bob’s Red Mill and you link to the company or one of its products, you need a no-follow link. Although it’s kind of secondhand. I use no follow links when I link to an affiliate like Amazon, where I will be paid some meager amount if someone buys a book.
It is frustrating that we have to figure out so much technology to do our work. Probably 50 years from now, this will all be child’s play and people will be off trying to master something else.
Thank you Rosemary, for being a commenter for years! I appreciate what you have to say.
You have not written a dud yet. I enjoy reading your posts, but simply do not have anything to contribute.
Hi Tom, that is sweet of you. I appreciate the note.
Well for sure, you’ve proven that a good way to rescue a 2-comment post is to share it in your wonderful newsletter and draw attention to it. 😉
Oh you are funny, Clotilde! I was worried that I sounded like it was a pity party or begging for comments, and that was really not my goal. More that you never know why something doesn’t interest your readers enough to comment. Of course comments have declined for everyone, not just me.