Archive for the ‘PR – Public Relations & Press’ Category

Testimonial Advertisements & Celebrity Endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission has finally issued an update to their guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials as used on the internet and social media. The last update was in 1980, well before the influence of websites, blogs and social media.

If you are a blogger, affiliate marketer or internet marketer, you need to be aware of how these revisions affect you and your business. You may want discuss these changes with your attorney and make adjustments to your web site, blog or social media campaigns.

The full text of the press release is available here.

The full text of the Act is available here.

In summary, the clarifications to the FTC Act are:

1) Advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect.

2) “Material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. So, Bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

3) Celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.

It’s a good idea to ensure your web site, blog and social media strategy are following these new guidelines for the use of testimonial advertising and endorsements.

Public Speaking

Public speaking is when you deliberately speak to a group of people in order to inform, influence, or entertain them.

The key to success as a public speaker is to be able to change the emotions of the listeners. This is why public speaking is often more effective than recorded audio or video or even streaming media.

In a live in-person format the public speaker is better able to “read” his audience and adjust to their verbal and nonverbal behavior, thereby being more effective. This is your opportunity to establish yourself as an expert, engage your audience and establish a relationship with them.

From there you will move them to the next stage of the sales process, whether it be buying an item from you immediately or simply signing up for your mailing list or handing you a business card.

Tips:

• Identify a topic on which you are knowledgeable. Create a presentation or speech. Have 2 versions of your speech or 2 topics. One should be short 20-30 minutes (for lunch engagements). The other longer, about 45 minutes (for keynote speaking).
• Find organizations of people who could benefit from your expertise.
• Get on their speaker calendar. Book the engagement.
• Start small and grow the group size.
• Start with a friendly audience, people you may know or are acquainted with.
• Get the list of attendees.
• Offer items for sale in the back of the room.

Places for Public Speaking:

• Chambers of commerce
• Professional networking groups
• Professional Associations
• Industry Conferences
• Industry Trade Shows
• Meetup.com Groups
• Guest speaker at colleges, universities and other schools
• Neighborhood groups, Recreation centers
• Free Universities, Parents groups, PTO/PTA’s, Community Center, Continuing Education Programs
• Home-based parties

The Balloon Boy incident that occurred here in Colorado over the last week got me thinking about publicity, what it is, what it isn’t and where did Mr. Heene (the boy’s father) go wrong.

If we define publicity as” one’s deliberate attempt to create or manage the perception the public has of them“, then why was the Heene father so wrong?

First, let’s look at what he did right…

1. He initially created a lot of excitement, noise and buzz as well as concern and fear for the safety of his child.
2. He created intrigue and mystery over the oddity of the homemade balloon.
3. He created a controversy over the whereabouts of his son during the ordeal and the family’s intentions behind it.  Where was the balloon boy and why didn’t he answer when called?
4. He created a debate which led to polls, public opinion, speculation, anger outrage, etc.

So where did he go wrong? If the saying is “any press is good press“, then why do we want to see him sent to prison? Why is he not forgiven for his pathetic behavior like we forgave Paris Hilton for hers (or insert the name of your favorite celebrity here)?

This is where he went wrong…

1. He did not already endear himself to the American people. For most of us, this is our first time hearing of him. We do not have an existing relationship with him.
2. He used an innocent child. While Paris endangered the safety of others when she got drunk and got behind the wheel of a car, she did not use a child to get drunk nor require a child to drive her.
3. He cost us all money before the legal battle. He made a false 911 claim, utilizing resources that we pay taxes to support. He used the military and FAA resources, which also cost us as tax payers money. OK, so Paris only cost us money once she got busted.
4. He diverted life-saving resources away from others and risked the lives of those service people.
5. He lied to us. Americans hate liars.

Where does that leave us? Well, I’d say the next time you plan to create some publicity for your business, try to include excitement, noise, buzz, intrigue, mystery, controversy and a little debate. Endear yourself or business to your customer. Be responsible and accept responsibility appropriately. Find win-win compensation for those involved. And, whatever you do, remember, “Honesty is the Best Policy!”

Is there anything you would add to this?

Free Press Release Distribution Services

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