By Drew Schulthess
Digital Influence Strategist

First and foremost, I was not endorsed or sent any special gifts to write this blog post. I did however go as far as printing out and glancing through the 81 page Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising guide released by the FTC this week. Can we go as far as calling this heavy bundle of ink on my desk a gift? I don’t think any 81 page regulatory document is a gift. However, I think that the actions from the FTC have gotten a bad rap and will end up serving the general good of consumers, marketers and organizations across the board. Don’t believe me? Here are three good reasons you should:

1. Rapid increase in transparency = happier consumers – If you have been following the noise/buzz surrounding the recent announcement you will quickly discover a trend. The complaints and issues with the new regulations are coming from bloggers, marketers and organizations. Hmm, but what about the consumers, general public and everyday people in which content on the web was intended for? Are they complaining about the outlook of a more honest, credible and transparent landscape on the internet? I think not.

   In reality, the increase in transparency created by these new regulations will create happier and better informed consumers. Why? For starters, 90% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know and 70% of them trust consumer opinions that are posted online, as found by the Nielsen Company in their latest Global Online Consumer Survey? That’s right, nearly three quarters of consumers online trust the opinions posted online by other consumers which is higher than all other traditional formats like editorial content, TV, newspapers, magazines and radio. With that said, isn’t it a good thing we now have some rules that promote transparency within these online opinions? After all trust is everything, is it not?

2. Products – Survival of the Fittest not the Richest! Real simple–money can change the game for underperforming products. Let’s let products speak for themselves in the opinion platforms of the online world. Is that too much to ask? If you can’t make it out there without paying people off for their opinions then you don’t deserve to be there in the first place.
3. Accurate Diffusion of Content – Here is a simple example: You go to read a blog in which the blogger was swayed into liking a product via a payment or special gift. You read how they love the product and highly recommend it. You trust them, in fact, you typically buy whatever they recommend. As a result of reading this post you make a tweet about the product to 150 of your followers, tell five of your best friends at your next party and make a post on your Facebook wall. Get the drift?

When it comes to blogger engagement at MicroArts, we have always relied on our client’s true value offering or product to do the talking and nothing else. For many, this development by the FTC probably came as a shock. We hope for those upset or angry with the FTC they can see the positives in this development. We would love to connect with you and chat about it. Please drop us a line or come visit us anytime.