Disclosure in Social Media: How transparent should bloggers be?

Paid bloggers have been a dirty secret for a number of years.

If it’s immoral for John Laws to spruke his private sponsors on radio without disclosure, then the same is true for bloggers.

But when I’ve suggested this to various digital media bods over the years, they virtually froth at the mouth and trot out the old “you don’t understand digital’ tripe.

I’ve been blogging since 2006 and I’m GLAD that we now have to disclose any sponsored posts.

As a journalist, I get sent so many products through the post, do I think I should have to declare they were free if do a post on them (since I’m technically not being paid) – no I don’t. Do I declare it? Yes, I do.

I think it’s extremely important to be transparent. You don’t see an advertorial in the newspaper without it stating that it’s an advert so it should be the same across all media boards.

Plus, why be ashamed of it?If you’re collaborating with a brand – stand tall – you’re clearly happy to take their cash.

Section 18 of the ACL prohibits a person, in trade or commerce, from engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct. This prohibition is not limited to the supply of goods or services and creates a broad, economy-wide norm of conduct.

So bloggers might get in trouble if they have any revenue whatsoever, as they may be viewed as engaging in ‘trade or commerce’.

I am astounded that the idea of having to disclose a potential conflict of interest even needs discussion. It it ignorance (which can be fixed with knowledge) or plain old moral and ethical bankruptcy (which can also be fixed, with a baseball bat) that causes people to imagine they might not disclose this stuff?

This article about disclosure includes a plug for third-party-disclosure-manager website cmp.ly… the details of which are undisclosed?

This leads in to the whole tax issue for bloggers.

Gifts are considered income but I bet most bloggers fail to disclose the Red Rockport shoes that were “gifted” by Foot Locker, or the $100 gift voucher they were given by Sportscraft etc etc.

Which brings me to another point, why do bloggers say something was “gifted” do they think that saying gift makes us not think they were paid to write about it?

Brands also need to be way more selective with their blogger campaigns. When I read 4 or more bloggers all talking about the fabulous washable rockport shoes they love to death then I know that

A. Rockport is paying bloggers in goods
B. All the bloggers belong to the same blogger agency.

Sort of loses its impact after the 3rd blogger tells me about the great new shoes

@Jackson Because being ‘gifted’ a product is completely different to getting paid to promote a brand. Bloggers get sent products as gifts all the time that we are under no obligation to write about or promote.

Jackson,
Seems to me that Rockport must have done a great job with their campaign, as you’re pretty clear on the brand benefit of those “fabulous washable rockport shoes”.
#justsayin #thismessageisnotsponsored
Jo

Jo, you are making the assumption that so many mummy bloggers all talking about the same product in the same week would make me want to buy it, when the opposite is in fact true.

Because I can see that it is over saturated I will make a point of avoiding that brand.
So actually it is a marketing fail.
It works against the company, yes I remember the name, but only so I can avoid it.

Not the marketing recognition any brand wants, and I know for a fact from other places I read, it has had the exact same impact on many many others.

@Laura, but when you DO write about it, it becomes a financial in kind transaction and becomes taxable and no longer a gift, so the fact you are writing about it means you have entered into a contract with that brand and you have received monetary value for your opinion, therefore the item is no longer “gifted”

So saying something that you have just written about and saying it was “gifted” is still wrong.

@Jackson strange, I would just call that another way of gaining Reach & Frequency as part of a broader campaign. You must then hate watching the same old TVC being repeated over and over and over and over again when you’re on the tube. And those bus shelters that you see that have the same creative when you drive too and from work must be really annoying to you.
At least in this context it’s original content, and done in an advertorial context.

I wholeheartedly disagree, with all and sundry. In a perfect world, Alan Jones and Ray Hadley could possibly be held to the same standard as small time small business bookkeeper like myself, however, lets get REAL here….Please!

I would seriously doubt that the small business punter in Sydney, would have the time for the “niceties” that corporations and their hired marketing extend to each other.

Here in small business land, we are just flat out making ends meet.

@Laura thanks for the mention. BTW, we love your posts from Down Under and we wish that we had an inflatable swan here in NY as we kick off our Summer season in the Northern Hemisphere.

@Omega there is no disclosure needed for Laura’s plug of CMP.LY since she is a user of CMP.LY’s services giving an honest review/testimonial based upon actual experience. We do not incentivize her or provide her with our products as part of a marketing initiative. She is simply using our free product for individuals.

Note that we will be updating our badges in the coming weeks to make them more readable and informative. More updates to follow…

@ Hornsby Girl, I would agree with you regarding receiving goods and reviewing them. All rather petty and not worth declaring in my view.

My issue is with a number of high profile bloggers who I know have received substantial amounts of money to be “ambassadors” of brands, and these have not always been declared.

In my view, Bloggers gain a reputation for interesting, relevant, and independent opinion. Where those opinions are paid for under the table and not declared, then that is dishonest. When it IS declared, then they are nothing more than cheap mouth pieces

@CMP.LY Thank you for making it so easy to disclose everything now! Can’t wait to see the new badge updates. Have a great summer 🙂