For readers interested in additional background on Google’s stance, Ben’s post on the topic is a great overview: http://bit.ly/Zw97w

One more point: It’s worth noting Google has weighed in against paid posts, too. Google requires bloggers who accept compensation for writing on a topic to include a no-follow tag — which means the post is never picked up by search engines. Bloggers who do not comply risk having Google remove their page rank. (So much for blogging fame…)

For marketers and PR professionals, this means that trying to game social media with paid posts really won’t work — because Google is not going to allow such paid comments to be used to improve a brand’s ranking online. For bloggers, this means you’re taking a risk that the world’s biggest search engine may make you invisible.

Apparently Google thinks this is more than an ethical issue. Google is worried that paid posts will pollute its ability to offer relevant search results, so it is coming down hard telling bloggers who do so to get off the Google map.

Great debate, as always! Cheers…

Ben

Ben Kunz’s last blog post..Why we’ll miss Dos Equis’ dos demos

PR and marketing pros will encounter bloggers of various ethical stripes. Yours is a great reminder that some bloggers still adhere to a journalistic standard.

If prostitutes *disclose* they take payment from a client, does that make it OK? If you *disclose* to your spouse you slept with another person for a gift, is that cool? How is your reputation afterward? Bloggers who accept compensation for writing reviews risk permanently damaging their voices — because trust me, taking a gift card to write a review means you are shilling.

If you doubt this, why not go all the way and drop brand names into your oral conversations, too? Just think how delighted your friends will be to hear you over barbecue segue into a Kmart riff. But that’s OK. Just disclose you got a gift card.

Now, let’s turn it around. Imagine what happens if you DON’T shill. One of the big breaks in my career came when an editor from BusinessWeek called and asked me to write a column, based on the authenticity he saw in my blog. I don’t have the best blog in the world, but I don’t write about clients, I don’t take payment — instead, I offer my real, real view. Somehow he stumbled upon it, and decided I was a person he could trust. (Thank you, Tom…)

It’s all a choice. You really need to think hard, though, before you sell out your voice. You only have one. If you are authentic, people will notice you, and it will lead you places. Be careful, because your voice is worth far more than you think.

Ben Kunz
c 203 506 7269

Ben Kunz’s last blog post..Why we’ll miss Dos Equis’ dos demos

Affiliations only become an issue when readers can sense the writer is selling something to them just to make a buck. Being open and true to yourself, as you were, is always the best policy. Thanks for the comment!

I was recently speaking at the MarketingProfs conference and in return for having a badge on my site, I was paid an affiliation fee for anyone who purchased a conference pass via my blog. I wrote a post about the conference, how much I respect MP and how I was looking forward to attending. That said, I linked it back to a post that I had written about a previous MP conference that I paid out of pocket for. I think being up front about the affiliation and my past experiences provided credibility and balance (at least, I hope!). That was the first time I had to disclose that type of information. I think being upfront is all that people ask for so that they can make their own decisions.

Beth Harte’s last blog post..The Social Media Leech

Fake blogs, fake comments, fake social media accounts, etc. are deception pure and simple, and have no place in the ethical practice of PR. If ethics alone aren’t enough, you also have a good chance of getting caught (e.g., Whole Foods’ CEO – http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN1725360820070717).

Thanks for bringing up this related point!

@Erica- Thanks for this comment! You raise another important issue: the applicability of a product/service review to the blog’s established subject matter. Some blogs have strayed from their typical content to review unrelated products, and the result is jarring to the reader. Your approach is certainly best for building and maintaining blog readership in the long-term.

I’d recommend this post to every PR department at every company, and I think mom bloggers should read it too.

erica mueller’s last blog post..Disney Pixar Cars 3-Tier Storage Organizer Review