I’ve written in detail about the Federal Trade Commission’s updated disclosure guidelines from March 2013, but for every point they clarified, they left 5 questions unanswered.

Fast forward to June 2015: the FTC has updated its “What People are Asking” PDF document to address some common questions and shut down some approaches brands, bloggers and influencers had been using to inform the public about sponsored content.

Essentially, the law hasn’t changed, but the FTC has clarified what does and does not pass muster. We can all expect them to skip the warnings from now on and move straight to enforcement.

Here’s the gist of things, bearing in mind that the law hasn’t actually changed since my original post on disclosure.

 

1. Disclose any information that’s not obvious to the reader. “The issue is – and always has been – whether the audience understands the reviewer’s relationship to the company whose products are being recommended.”

Basically, if there’s ANY chance the reader or viewer wouldn’t realize that you received something for free, disclose. Hint: there’s almost always a chance, so disclose any free sample, free trip, sponsorship or client relationship, etc.

2. If you don’t get anything free, you don’t have to disclose. If it makes you feel better to emphasize that you paid your own way to that fancy resort, be my guest, but you don’t have to.

The FTC made it clear that “if you write about how much you like something you bought on your own and you’re not being rewarded, you don’t have to worry.”

3. Even if you just get a coupon or other small item or benefit, it’s safer to disclose. The FTC indicated that you should consider whether the $1-0ff coupon or other benefit might impact your opinion or bias your review, but as they point out, you might receive small things all the time from a single brand. If the FTC doesn’t seem sure whether that might require disclosure, how can you know for sure?

For me, the most important sentence in the FTC’s updated response is this: “it’s always safer to disclose that information.” And how. Just mention the coupon. Let readers decide whether something that small might bias your review!

4. If you’re doing a video, disclose at the beginning. (Not everyone watches to the end!) And make sure to include the disclosure in BOTH the video itself and the written description. Don’t rely on either alone.

5. Even if the sponsored relationship has ended, disclose that the company was a client or that you originally received the product for free, etc. As the FTC cautions, “each new endorsement made without a disclosure could be deceptive because readers might not see the original blog post.”

Why chance it?

6. Employees at your company must disclose the employment relationship if they share branded content (or client content) to their own social networks.

Just because you list your employer in your profile doesn’t mean people saw it. Disclose with each post in which you talk about one of your company’s awesome products or your upcoming conference.

7. While we’re on the subject of conferences, disclose like crazy if you’ve been hired as an ambassador to promote one. Anytime you write a post, share a video, tweet, etc., disclose the relationship you have with event organizers. “Sponsored,” “Ad,” “Client,” etc. Something. Get the point across that you’re being paid.

Even if you’re just posting a badge for the event on your site, include a caption that says “sponsored” or something similar. Not everyone will see the disclosure on your blog posts or profile page.

There’s more. Lots more. So be sure to read the FTC’s updated “What People are Asking” PDF. But if 23 pages constitutes tl;dr for you, check out my infographic above.

Let me break it down for y’all:

If you got something, say something. If you got ANYTHING from a brand, say something about the relationship when you post.

Even if it’s lame. Even if it’s just a coupon. Even if you give it back later. DISCLOSE.

Don’t waste time wondering if you need to disclose: just disclose. Seriously, it’s easier, safer, and a better use of your time than trying to save the 3 characters taken up by #Ad.

 

Influencers and brands alike should be aware of the FTC’s guidelines for making necessary disclosures in sponsored content. The guidelines have been in place since 2000, but were updated in March of 2013.

I’ll give you the short version: if bloggers receive anything of value (free samples, payment, sponsored trips, etc.), this needs to be made clear to the reader up front. Like this. (Nice job, Chris Brogan!)

 

Disclosure rules apply to your social networks, too. If you’re tweeting about how great the new Mercedes-Benz is, and you received a week-long test drive of the car for free, you need to disclose that in the tweet. Like Steve Garfield does:

Yes, 140 characters doesn’t give you much space. No, the FTC doesn’t care. Disclose. If necessary, use a short URL that clearly indicates important disclosure information is available, and when using hashtags, use #ad or #sponsored. Readers don’t all understand what #spon means.

That said, adding a hashtag doesn’t necessarily make or break your disclosure. After all, when was the last time you searched Twitter for #SPON or #AD? Save the space and just say “Ad” or “Sponsored.” Most people will understand that you’ve received something in exchange for the post, or at least that you received something for free that might make you more favorably disposed towards the product or company mentioned.

Make sure that disclosures display properly on mobile, as well.

Responsive design is an amazing thing, but it’s your responsibility to ensure that site visitors see the any required disclosures without having to scroll.

Realistically, you can’t know how your site will display on every browser and device, so you’ll want to present the disclosure and acknowledgement as an obstacle for site visitors: don’t let them proceed to make a purchase or visit the sponsor’s site until they acknowledge having seen the disclosure.

When disclosing, pay attention to the 4Ps:

• Placement (Put disclosures close to the claim they qualify.)
• Proximity (Don’t make users scroll or zoom to see disclosure)
• Prominence (Make it stand out on the page.)
• Presentation Order (Make it “unavoidable” that consumers see disclosure before they can proceed.)

Even 140-character tweets must comply with FTC guidelines. The FTC has made it clear that if you can’t fit your disclosure on a platform because of limited space, then you shouldn’t use that platform. Sending a series of tweets (with the disclosure in one of them) is not sufficient, because people most likely won’t read every tweet in succession.

Also be aware that it’s your responsibility to monitor your website’s analytics and confirm that site visitors are seeing your disclosures. If there’s any reason to suspect they’re not, you need to correct it by adjusting the placement, proximity, prominence, and presentation order of the disclosures until everyone sees them before proceeding. If you don’t correct the problem, you’ll run into trouble if someone files a complaint with the FTC.

Blogger outreach and influence marketing are great additions to a company’s marketing mix, but everyone (influencers and brands alike) needs to ensure that any content they create complies with consumer protection laws and truth in advertising laws.

And don’t think you’re off the hook if it’s just your employees tweeting on behalf of the brand: the FTC recently settled a lawsuit against Sony and agency Deutsch LA for encouraging Deutsch LA employees to promote the Sony PS Vita on their personal social media accounts without also telling them to disclose their connection with Sony.

Err on the side of caution and disclose. “So excited my employer, Sony, is rolling out the PS Vita!” Incidentally, phrasing disclosures in natural language also makes you more human to readers, which is always a good thing.

For more information, visit FTC.gov.

UPDATE: In June 2015, the FTC updated its “What People Are Asking” guide to clarify their answers to common questions that arose after the 2013 revision to their Dot Com Disclosures. I’ve provided my analysis of the changes here.