[Post by Venkat Balasubramani]

I’ve posted on the FTC endorsement guidelines, which broadly require disclosure of relationships, and incentives provided to those who endorse products or companies. (See “FTC Cracks Down on Misleading Online Endorsements by Affiliates.”) The FTC recently closed an investigation on Hyundai, whose marketing agency gave bloggers gift certificates as an incentive to “incline links to Hyundai videos in their posts and/or to comment on . . . forthcoming Super Bowl ads.” You can access a copy of the FTC’s closing letter here [.pdf].

The FTC provided two reasons for why it closed the investigation into Hyundai’s promotions.

1. Hyundai did not know in advance about the incentives, which were offered by an employee of Hyundai’s marketing agency.

2. Offering an incentive to post about or endorse a Hyundai product was contrary to the social media policies of both Hyundai and its marketing agency.

The FTC’s reliance on the social media policies of Hyundai and its marketing agency is interesting and yet another data point in favor of adopting a social media policy. The FTC’s press release provides some additional details as to its rationale and guidance for companies who use social media in their marketing efforts. The FTC recommends following the “3Ms” principle:

1. Mandate a disclosure policy that complies with the law;

2. Make sure people who work for you or with you know what the rules are; and

3. Monitor what they’re doing on your behalf.

Check out the FTC’s release, which provides guidance to companies who use social media in their marketing.