11,000 Reasons to Listen to the FTC

Hannah is an attorney at Hollingsworth & Zivitz, PC where she focuses her practice on business law and entrepreneurial services. Hannah is one of the few attorneys in Indiana to offer experienced legal guidance on promotional law, including advertising, sweepstakes, contests, consumer privacy, and e-commerce related issues.

Have you ever used your blog to review a product you received for free?  Have you ever offered a fellow blogger a deal where you review his product or service if he reviews yours?  Did you disclose that deal to your readers?  If not, it is time to start.

This week, the FTC announced new rules aimed at increasing transparency used in social media advertising.  Starting December 1, 2009, bloggers and other users of social media such as Twitter and Facebook must disclose if they have received any type of payment in exchange for promotion, advertising or endorsement.  This seems to include in-kind exchanges, free product or good old fashioned money.

Almost every business has a blog these days.  It is a free, easy way to reach existing and potential customers.  And there is a lot of trade going on out there in the blogosphere.  Bloggers commonly receive gratis products or services in exchange for a positive write up.  Companies who send out free stuff have nothing to lose, because if a blogger doesn’t like their product or service, the blog simply doesn’t review or promote it.

In many communities there is a spider web of connections among successful social media sites.  But the era of “you scratch my back and I will scratch yours is over.”  Bloggers who promote one another for pay, free goods, free services or simply shared promotion now face significant penalties from the Federal Trade Commission, up to $11,000 per violation!

What does this mean for your business?  Well some common social media practices that may be affected include anything from writing a positive comment on Facebook in exchange for a free hat to writing a recommendation for a CPA on LinkedIn for a discount on your taxes.  You may think that the blogosphere is so vast and there is too many infractions out there for the FTC to catch you, but don’t forget about Naptster.  The federal government cracked down on anyone and everyone, including teenagers living in their parent’s homes, simply for downloading a few songs.  The FTC is primed to make an example of any business violating these new rules.  Don’t subject your business to an $11,000 fine.  If you are promoting another company’s product or service on a social media site, and you have ANY kind of relationship with that company, be sure to disclose it.

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Traditional Media Blasts Google

I have always been under the assumption that traditional or “old” media has lost its’ mind. I have looked at traditional media (mainly newspapers) as a dying breed of communication that will not change with the landscape of technology. If you do not shift your paradigm you will die and currently.. that is what is happening.  Traditional media never ranked high with me but I have started to see another side to this coin.

Recently the Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson blasted Google and other content aggregators as “parasites of the Internet.” I thought this was a little over the top and then I read a little deeper into the article.

I am going to stop there for a side comment. The simple fact that I decided to read the REST of the article before making a qualified decision is probably part of the problem. We are way… way.. way.. to ADD as a society and social media is not helping in that arena.

I am starting to understand the concept behind the value of premium content. I can see where WSJ is coming from when it comes to content aggregators. I can also see where the Internet model is changing the way we consume media. Rupert Murdoch at News Corp is trying to be innovative with the media shift but I do not see the WSJ making any HUGE strides to welcome the new wave of communication tools. Please, correct me if I am wrong.

There is going to come a time when the shift is over and traditional media will be mutated into a massive conglomerate of data and information. Until that time, Google and premium content portals like Wall Street Journal will need to become even MORE innovative than before.

The world is consuming content at an unbelievable speed. The question is… how do you monetize that consumption?

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Announcing a Bid for Congress on Facebook

(hat tip to Hoosier Access for the post about Brose McVey)

In my opinion the political world received a massive dose of social media when (now) President Obama created a massive viral MACHINE using sites like Facebook and Myspace. We are now experiencing a shift between traditional and new media marketing in the political world. This shift may be small but it is still being pushed across the mainstream world.

Brose McVey is running for the 5th Congressional District against Congressman “Indiana” Dan Burton. Where did I witness the announcement? Facebook. Brose McVey’s update status read something like this:

Brose McVey is running for Congress in the 5th CD.

Now… I know that Mr. McVey will have something extremely formal for his ACTUAL announcement but it is encouraging to see the political world embracing the use of tools like Facebook and Twitter.

As long as the use is genuine and not a hard sell.. Is Dan Burton on Facebook?

Economic Downturn? Now Is The Time To Innovate!

I recently posted a video on my other blog about the concept of revamping a static site into a website that can be changed and monitored. The economy is sharply declining and the status of small businesses are hanging in the balance because of the lending crunch. Money is hard to come by and it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet payroll without a credit line to back up the lack of cash rolling into a business.

As a business owner you may be asking yourself, “When is the best time to start innovating the way I do business? When is the right time to switch up and try something new?” I am in the same boat as an owner of a social media marketing firm in Indianapolis. As a small business owner of  you can get bogged down with daily routines and projects (external influences) that keep you from focusing (at least a bit) into the internal processes of your company.

When is the time to switch up and think differently? NOW. Matt Rhodes at Freshnetworks recently wrote a post entitled Innovate through a downturn, but make it customer led. He gives a few ideas on how a business owner can innovate and take control of their companies to make it through the downturn.

Some thoughts from Matt:

Make sure you are close to your customers and that they are close to you. It should be your brand they think about when they do want to make a purchase and you should be aware of what they think and how their habits are changing.

Innovate to stay ahead of the game. A crisis is a great time to innovate – you have to think of ways of staying ahead of the competition, of being more efficient or of new products that you can offer. It’s true of war-time, where many of the best innovations (from the pie-chart to nylon) originate; and it’s true of business during challenging economic times.

It was exactly the medicine I needed as a business owner to think a little differently when going about my daily routine.

You cannot be afraid of a declining economy. Fear turns into miscalculation which can morph into a disease that spread throughout your company and ruins productivity.

So how do you become innovative in your thinking and switch up the way you have been doing business? How do you create something that can be a vehicle to drive new business into your company? New business means an increase in cash flow (we hope) which can take your mind off the credit line that is slowly dissapating.

Answer: Crowd Source your current customers. Talk to your current customers and ask if there is anything you can do BETTER for them. Lorraine Ball at Roundpeg wrote a post yesterday about rethinking the way you “surprise and delight” your customers. Guess who can give you ideas on how to surprise? The actual people you are trying to delight: your customers.

Other Ways to Innovate Your Business and Marketing Message:

1. Send a thank you card to all of your clients. Thank them for their business and let them know you are here if they need anything from you.

2. Do small projects on the side for free for clients that may be having financial difficulties.

3. Revamp your static website into a content driven website. You can use wordpress for free and have something up within 12-24 hours.

4. Dive further into your social media networks through LinkedIN, Plaxo, Facebook, or Smaller Indiana.

Take control of your company. Innovate through the downturn and do not give into the fear of losing money or losing your business. Be strong and make a difference!

Politicians Do Not Understand Social Media!

I say this with some exception. There are a few political hopefuls browsing around the Smaller Indiana site. I give them respect for keeping with it and igniting conversation. Now, on to the people who do not understand.

We had a political hopeful, Jill Long Thompson, browse through the site recently. She (we think) posted a couple of thoughts on her personal page, as well as starting a forum post about her Green Job’s Initiative. She was given front row promotion from our great co-founder, Pat Coyle. She also had up to 8 comments and 2-3 wall posts the day she joined. All that said, we haven’t heard from Jill since then. Maybe I have a problem with ignoring a website with up to 3,000 members and daily hits. Maybe I have a problem with posting content and never sharing your own opinion. Maybe, just maybe, I have a problem with politicians not understanding the POWER of social media. Anyone ever heard of Barak Obama?

I’m not talking about the power of viral marketing or word-of-mouth promotion. I am talking about the raw power of 3000 people (linked to an exponential amount of others in the State) sharing information and CARING. I was excited to see Jill Long Thompson joining the community. I was less excited when I read her profile. I was even less excited when she didn’t respond to ANYONE. I wouldn’t even care if I got a response from an intern!

When joining a social media platform do it with authenticity. Do it with some type of human interaction. I can at least give Mitch Daniels credit for not even joining the conversation. Jill joined and failed miserably. Don’t hire a 21 year old college student to repost information to your page. Take some time and do it yourself. If you love your job. If you love what you are doing, you can take 30 mins a day to promote yourself and collaborate with people who matter.

I love Smaller Indiana and I will not tolerate individuals using it as a promotional platform.

Here is my call out to political hopeful, Jill. Redeem yourself. Because in the end, without authenticity and utilizing tools like Smaller Indiana, you are just another cardboard sign on the side of I-69.

And.. I don’t … care.