Social media is no longer a debate but a legal issue; opinion has become law. The three big ideas Andy Sernovitz summarizes are first; require truthfulness in social media disclosure. Basically, do not lie. Disclosure has to be clear to the average reader and there must be a zero tolerance for ambiguity. As Andy simple put it, this is the do not lie to your mom policy. One’s mom and the average reader should understand the relationship you maintain such as if you are a fan, volunteer, or employee. Secondly, monitor the conversation and correct misstatements. This means, clean up your messes. For instance, if you start the conversation, be responsible for the statements and comments that come out of that conversation. Lastly, create social media training policies. The biggest risk to companies is training failure.
A sentence worth rewriting: the biggest risk to companies is training failure. This statement is important to review again because many companies do not understand it. For example, Andy explains that companies do not intentionally go out of their way to create stealth marketing campaigns. However, whether intentions were sincere or not, scandals still happen. Scandals usually occur simply because executives lacked proper training. In addition, it only takes one scandal to embarrass a company and embarrassment does not only affect the company; embarrassment affects the company’s brand and reputation.
Furthermore, after watching this video, I pondered the question: If social media is nothing new, why does it matter so much to us now? In listening to Andy’s commentary, I think social media ethics matters most to us now because people are starting to realize that social media is not easy and straightforward as once believed. I think people have taken social media for granted and used the excuse that anyone can do it. It is this type of attitude and philosophy that can lower ethical standards.
So in order to raise the ethical standards of word of mouth, the FTC is encouraging organizations to create training programs and policies. For example, if companies create a policy and train their staff, then those companies can be protected from liability issues resulting from rogue employees. This example reminded me of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, an act that was implemented to help restore credibility, public trust, and confidence in the auditing profession and the nation’s financial reporting system. Before the Sarbanes Oxley Act, companies like Enron were able to perform material misstatement in their financial statements.
Similarly, the FTC is also trying to gain credibility, public trust, and confidence in the word of mouth marketing profession by implementing new guidelines. If social media ethics does not demand higher standards they could be the next Enron. As the movie mentioned, this a crucial moment in history for social media ethics; this is a time period to make a change. Social media ethics has a chance and opportunity to make standards and guidelines clean, respected, and honest for the next generation. As Andy put it, social media ethics is more than a marketing technique; social media empowers people, frees countries, and opens the world.
Until next time,
Connie Rae
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