Public Relations Online is Engaging in Sponsored Conversation
Brand Managers and Online Marketing Professionals Debate FTC Guidelines
06.17.2009 – Social Media Conversation is moving into the paid advertising space. As public relations online moves into the social media marketing space, Internet marketing professionals are developing golden rules to secure market share though what is known as Sponsored Conversation. These rules will be exponentially golden to those who mentor today's great brand managers into the social media space.
Just as brand managers once experienced a transition of offline brand management into the online marketing space, they are now working through a new perspective in Internet marketing. Social Media professionals in Public Relations Online are incorporating blogging and comments into the paid Internet marketing strategy and brand managers are embracing the new social media strategy. Sponsored conversation is here to stay.
The FTC and Sponsored Conversation" was released by Sean Corcoran on Forrester's blog for Internet Marketing professionals, noting..... "There is no doubt that the use of sponsored conversation is growing and at Forrester we believe that marketers can compensate certain bloggers to create content for their brand in an above board fashion �" one that follows all of the necessary rules so blog readers know when they are reading legitimate editorial content and when they are reading paid content. Sponsored conversations are a form of paid media but they do have the ability to create earned media (i.e. word of mouth conversation) when done the right way."
Released recently on Ad Age by Josh Bernoff, "When and How to Pay a Blogger" we find the proposed FTC guidelines on sponsored conversation as they relate to paid endorsements:
"If you don't want to lose your job -- and if you want to retain any credibility -- you should move forward very carefully here. We strongly recommend that you heed these key elements of the FTC rules:
• Advertisers must disclose "material connections" between themselves and their endorsers that might "affect the weight of credibility of the endorsement" (i.e., if you compensate or pay in any way, you must disclose that).
• Endorsements by bloggers must "reflect honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experience" of the endorser.
• Both the marketer and the blogger can be held liable for misleading or false statements made by the blogger about the brand."
These golden rules of social media in public relations online are the newest public relations obstacle course, which if used appropriately, could be the brand manager's dream. Managed with absolute disclosure and transparency, social media will allow direct communication between the brand manager and the consumer.
The key to the golden equation will be whether or not the brand manager has the ability to make the transition from offline public relations practices to public relations online. Those who are able to invite conversation through social media content without extinguishing that conversation will benefit in increased market share and brand interest of the consumer.
- Twitter Pitch
- Sponsored Conversation: Are You Being Paid To Blog?
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- News Facts
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- Social Media Conversation is Accepting Sponsored Content
- Brand Managers are Incorporating Social Media Marketing Strategies
- FTC Establishes Guidelines for Social Marketing Content and Sponsored Conversation
- Sponsored Conversation is Penetrating the Social Communities Online
- Public Relations Online is Migrating to Incorporate Sponsored Conversation
- Resource Links
- Social Media Marketing is Engaging Sponsored Conversation
- Sponsored Conversation: Are You Being Paid To Blog?
- Sponsored Conversation: The Golden FTC Rules
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- sponsored conversation, sponsored conversations, public relations online, ftc, forrester, internet marketing, paid blogging
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