Pay to Blogpost?
The FTC’s recent staff opinion might cast the legality of paid blogging programs in the U.S. in a questionable light. Underscore Marketing’s president discusses what this opinion means for marketers.
Over the past few months, several companies have entered into the business of making it easy for marketers to incentivize bloggers to write about their products and services. The most popular of these companies is PayPerPost, but others have also entered the space, including LoudLaunch (which hasn’t yet formally launched) and ReviewMe.
Back in October, a watchdog group known as Commercial Alert filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission, requesting an investigation of companies involved in “buzz marketing,” defining the term as “a technique by which corporations seek to influence buying decisions, often by stealth.” Earlier this month, the FTC responded with a formal staff opinion, and while it declined to issue guidelines concerning the practice at the time, it did indicate it will “determine on a case-by-case basis whether law enforcement is appropriate.” So, while there won’t likely be a sweeping investigation of numerous companies at this time, the staff opinion left the door open for individual cases to be investigated.
If you’re a marketer paying people to write favorable blog posts about your company or its products, now might be the time to start sweating bullets.
Hat tip & Full article @ Imedia Connection
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