The Ethics of Reaching Out to Bloggers

In my last post I wrote about the challenge that corporations face in building trust with their potential customers.  Not too surprisingly, word of mouth feedback from “people just like me” was seen as more credible than advertising or public relations.

Based on reports like this, it’s only natural then that PR departments decide to influence “word of mouth” marketing by leveraging bloggers to spread the word about products.  Although I’ve shared my thoughts on how to build good relationships with bloggers  I thought it might be useful to see what a highly respected advertising and PR firm has to say on the subject.

Last Fall, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide developed and published their Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics v2.  I like the fact that this is the second version – it says to me that they are taking it seriously, keeping it alive and adjusting it as they learn more, or as they put it – “it’s an ever evolving document“.

Ogilvy does a good job of putting their code of ethics in every day language and focusing on the needs of the blogger as much as the needs of the PR company.

New items added in their version 2 include:

• As available, we will provide you with links to third party information/blog coverage of the campaign we are pitching to you.
• Whenever possible, we will articulate how blogger outreach, and your blog in particular, fits in with our overall campaign strategy. 
• We will seek to present you with a range of opportunities to work together around a campaign, so that you can create the best experience possible for your audience. We acknowledge that, when it comes to knowing your audience, you are the expert.
• We’ll let you know who we are by providing you with a link to some background or bio information on the individual contacting you. 
• We understand that when you agree to blog about a campaign it’s not going to happen overnight. We’ll work with you to develop a reasonable time line for posting that fits with your schedule – and we won’t pester you to put up your post.
• If we reach out to you with news about a product, campaign or issue, we will not provide monetary compensation, because we believe it is unethical to “buy” favorable reviews and not want to appear as if we are.
• If you have advertising opportunities on your blog, we will counsel our clients to consider purchasing advertising as a way to reach your readers. We will make it clear, however, that paying for advertising does not mean that you will post about the campaign or that, if you do, you will do so in a way that is favorable to them. 
•  If we ask you to review a product and, therefore, provide you with the product to enable you to “experience” it, we will ask that you be transparent and reveal that you have been given the product temporarily, or permanently.
• If we engage you as an advisor on a specific project, we will consider providing you with compensation (agreed upon at the start of the project). This compensation will solely be for your time as an advisor and will not include an expectation that you will write about the project – favorably or unfavorably.

(read the full Ogilvy blogger outreach code of ethics)

The Ogilvy code of ethics is longer than the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) guidelines listed below,  although they both cover a lot of the same general points. 

1. I will always be truthful and will never knowingly relay false information. I will never ask someone else to deceive bloggers for me.
2. I will fully disclose who I am and who I work for (my identity and affiliations) from the very first encounter when communicating with bloggers or commenting on blogs.
3. I will never take action contrary to the boundaries set by bloggers. I will respect all community guidelines regarding posting messages and comments.
4. I will never ask bloggers to lie for me.
5. I will use extreme care when communicating with minors or blogs intended to be read by minors.
6. I will not manipulate advertising or affiliate programs to impact blogger income.
7. I will not use automated systems for posting comments or distributing information.
8. I understand that compensating bloggers may give the appearance of a conflict of interest, and I will therefore fully disclose any and all compensation or incentives.
9. I understand that if I send bloggers products for review, they are not obligated to comment on them. Bloggers can return products at their own discretion.
10. If bloggers write about products I send them, I will proactively ask them to disclose the products’ source.

I was struck by the fact that while WOMMA created a useful guideline for PR professionals to remember and use, Ogilvy deliberately created a code of ethics directed at what they would do for the blogger (”you” used in every line).It led me to think that even in their code of ethics they are thinking about the need to establish and build a relationship.

So now, let me ask you – what have been your experiences in reaching out to bloggers? what questions do you have in avoiding issues and getting the most out of the new word of mouth media?

photo credit: Delcio G. P. Filho