A Beginner Guide to Facebook

8/12/2019 A Beginner Guide to Facebook

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White Paper

A beginners guide to Facebook

Published by

DMA Social Media Council

First Edition

dmawe are the


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WHITE PAPERA BEGINNERS GUIDE TO FACEBOOK

COPYRIGHT:THE DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION (UK) LTD 20122

ContentsAcknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .4

2. What is Facebook? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .52.1 Setting up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .5

2.2 Facebook profile vs Facebook fan page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .6

2.3 Facebook fan page vs Facebook group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .6

2.4 What is a Facebook wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .7

2.5 Creating a Facebook fan page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

3. Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .8

4. Moderation of Facebook pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

5. Facebook Promotions Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .10

5.1 Other Facebook rules that may come into play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .11

5.2 Promotion legality and terms and conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .11

5.3 International promotions on Facebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .126. CAP Code points to watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .13

7. Responding to consumer postings on Facebook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .14

8. Product endorsements and reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .15

9. Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .17


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AcknowledgementsThe DMA would like to thank Jai Kotecha, The Red Brick Road; Janine Ococks, AEGON Direct Marketing Services;

Stephen Groom, Osborne Clarke; Joel Davis, agency:2 and the DMA Social Media Council for their contribution to this

document.

All rights reserved

The Direct Marketing Association (UK) Limited

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of The Direct Marketing Association

(UK) Limited


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1. IntroductionThis guide to Facebook is one in a series of white papers published by the DMA Social Media Council. This white

paper is designed to help make Facebook marketing more readily understandable, so that you can implement this

within your organisation. These guidelines explain the process of setting up a Facebook page and some of the pitfalls

which marketers should be aware of.

Because this area is subject to constant change, this guide will be updated regularly. The next round of updates will

include the recently launched Timelines feature and a section on Sponsored Stories.


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2. What is Facebook?Facebook is the worlds leading social networking site. According to the companys advertising, it has over 750 million

global users.

Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 while he was at Harvard University for its students. It was later

made available to UK university and college students and then rolled out to the general public.

Essentially, Facebook is an online space where people can communicate with each other. Each user has a wall, which

is generally open to be written upon by their friends (see Facebook settings for full details on privacy), allowing users

to interact with each other. Facebook also has a microblogging facility that allows users to update their status and say

whats on their mind and what they are doing.

Additional features include photo uploading and sharing capabilities, creation of events using Facebooks calendar,

live chat and groups.

Facebook also provides access to third-party applications, which can host a range of tools including competitions and games.

Facebook is restricted to users over 13 years old.

2.1 Setting up

It is very important to set out your objectives when considering developing a Facebook page. The objectives of a

company Facebook page are completely different to that of a personal page so this needs to be defined early on.

First of all, set up some monitoring, such as Google Alerts, and just check what is being said about your company. This

could help you position what you want to use your Facebook fan page for.

Why is the page required?

What are the objectives? Are these pages just to build a community or are they going to be used for marketing?

(ie to collect advocates, sell products and start viral marketing)

Who is going to monitor the pages? Is this going to be customer services?

Are there set maximum response times from customer services?

Have all the members of staff within this department been trained to answer the questions or will there just be

one spokesperson?

Do they need legal or compliance guidance?

Are there terms and conditions on the site which state that inappropriate comments will be removed?

Is there a disaster recovery policy should things go wrong?

Does everyone who is going to monitor the pages have access to the site?

Is there a company social media policy in place so staff understand the rules?

What form of tracking is going to be used?


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2.2 Facebook profile vs Facebook fan page

A profile

When you set up a Facebook account for the first time you normally are setting up a Facebook profile. Facebook

rules state that you can only have one Facebook profile and this should be set up by a person which means that

a profile is not for company use. The profile is unique to one person. This is where friends and family personallycommunicate. The top of the page usually gives some personal information about the person, it details friends and

photos. Facebook profiles should not be used for monetary gain which means they should not be used to promote

a business.

A fan page

A Facebook fan page is meant to market a business, build relationships with clients and prospective clients, and also

showcases who you are and what you are about.

2.3 Facebook fan page vs Facebook group

Fan pages

Fan pages are used to promote brands, people, places, celebrities and much more. They represent a space within

Facebook where brands can interact with current customers and potential customers. Some brands also use

fan pages to deal with customer service issues and respond to disgruntled customers. Others use it to provide

information and build relationships with consumers.

However, its not only brands that use Facebook fan pages there are also generic pages such as Golf. These pages

attract people with similar interests and give them a space to have conversations. Once a user likes a Facebook fan

page, it appears on their wall and acts as a status badge, telling friends that the person likes a particular brand/sport/

area etc. Friends of that person then also click on the page, and so the number of followers grows. These pages are

not private pages, so anyone can access the information, even if they havent liked it.

The benefit of a fan page for a marketer is that you can see insights and analytics relating to those who have liked

the page.

A compelling, active Facebook fan page should be an integral part of your marketing plans. With over 750 million

users and an average daily session time of around 25 minutes, Facebook provides an excellent opportunity for fan

engagement. Fans discuss brands; they provide valuable feedback and a chance for brands to build meaningful

relationships and engage with their customers. To keep fans engaged there are two primary components:

Sharing relevant quality content

Encouraging comments

Facebook group

As the name implies, a group is designed for socialisation and interaction between members who have been brought

together for a purpose. A group is run by administrators, who can change information, photos etc, as well as accept

members. Although an administrator should only be one person, companies must bear in mind that if that person

leaves a company the update of a page is at risk.

There are a number of options for a group, including making it a private, closed group where members can discuss

sensitive and confidential information. People need to request to join these groups.

There are a few additional benefits to creating a group for your business, including being able to send an email to

members.


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2.4 What is a Facebook wall

A wall is an area where users can communicate and post messages. All spaces including profiles, groups and fan

pages have a wall.

2.5 Creating a Facebook fan page

Once you have logged in, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and locate the small Advertising link on the

right-hand side.

Click through to the Advertising landing page.

Select the Pages option from the toolbar that appears at the top of the page (underneath the main toolbar). You will

see a small flag icon to the immediate left of the Pages link.

Click the green button that says: Create a Page.

You will now be taken to the page that will allow you to actually make a Facebook fan page.

Designate a category for your Facebook page. Your choices will be Brand, Product or Organization or Artist, Band or

Public Figure. Depending on which option you choose, additional categories will appear in a drop-down menu. You

should then choose the most relevant category.

Enter the topic/theme of your Facebook fan page. This will also become your page name. Confirm that you have the

authority to create the page.

Click: Create Page.


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In addition to advertising opportunities, Facebook offers a broad set of targeting parameters. Basic options include

demographic and geographic targeting, category targeting based on clusters of users like small businesses, and

keyword targeting based on declared information in profiles and status message content.

Facebook also offers a product called learned targeting, which examines those people who engage with your media

and then develops a cluster of people that have similar attributes for you to target.

There are four main steps to create your advert:

Identify your goals

Define who you want to reach with your advert

Create your advert and set your budget

Understand Facebooks advertising policies and advert approval process

Before you get started it is useful to know there are two main types of Facebook adverts available to you:

Premium: contact Facebooks sales team

Marketplace: available through Facebooks self-serve tool

Facebooks main focus within this guide is Marketplace Adverts. When you promote something youve created on

Facebook, such as a page or event, you have the opportunity to show social endorsements in your advert, making

them more personally appealing and relevant to your audience. This appears as an advert with information about the

viewers friends who have engaged with the Facebook page, event, application or advert.

For more information please click here.

Please remember that the UK CAP Codeof Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing [Insert

Link http://www.cap.org.uk/The-Codes/CAP-Code.aspx ] covers online marketing so displayed material needs to

conform to it. The basic requirements of the CAP Code (administered by the Advertising Standards Authority) are that

all advertising must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. It must also be prepared with a sense of responsibility to

consumers and society and should reflect the spirit, not merely the letter of, the Code. For more information about

how to comply with the CAP Code see the CAP Code Points to Watch section below.

3. Advertising


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Who has control over the page?

Administrators have control over the page, but they cannot stop people posting; therefore, its very important that

fan pages are moderated. Someone who knows about social media should conduct moderation. A social media

policy should be in place for staff guidance and there should also be terms and conditions or (house rules) on the

Facebook page as guidance to posters.

The layout: the size/spec of the Facebook fan page is in accordance with the overall Facebook design template

and cannot be changed. Facebook is at liberty to change the template of its site. Therefore, its important for the

moderator to be kept up to date with Facebook changes. Please click herefor more information. Facebook is also at

liberty to delete a persons profile or a fan page if a comment or post is flagged to them as inappropriate. This is part

of the Facebook process and is not something that can be controlled by page administrators.

If a page contains offensive material, Facebook may choose to close it down. It is also at liberty to do so if the page

does not adhere to the Facebook page rules of conduct. For more information, click here.

Updates can consist of either stand-alone text or be accompanied by content such as a video or picture. All updates

should be checked thoroughly before being posted.

Videos shared on the page may be sourced from YouTube or other video-sharing sites, where people have agreed

that their comments may be shared. These videos are shared on the page as a link, thereby sourcing the creator. If the

content is not owned by the brand, it is important that you obtain approval before using it on a branded page.

When the administrator updates the page, all communication will appear to be coming directly from the page. Any

responding comments will appear in the comment box underneath the update or user post.

All spam and swearing should be deleted by the administrator, which can be done by clicking on the remove post

button. Negative comments should not be deleted unless they are offensive or include swearing, as its not bestpractice to remove such comments because consumers feel that they should be heard.

Please refer to this Nestl case studyas an example.

If a user is persistently negative and intent on brand bashing, if they are rude or offensive, or if the community

complains about the poster, it may be necessary to remove them from the page.

To do this, log in as the administrator and go to the main page:

View all fans1.

Scroll through to find the fan you want to remove from the page and press the x button2.

This will remove the fan from the page and disallow any further posts from this person. All previous posts will also be

automatically removed.

This should only be implemented as a last resort or in extreme cases.

4. Moderation of Facebook pages


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The Facebook Promotions Guidelines (FPG) apply to any contest, competition, sweepstakes or other similar offering

using Facebook.

Sweepstakes is defined in the FPG as a promotion that includes a prize of monetary value and a winner selected

on the basis of chance while contest or competition are defined as a promotion that includes a prize of monetary

value and a winner determined on the basis of skill (i.e. through judging based on specific criteria).

Therefore, any promotion with prizes which uses Facebook is very likely to have to abide by the FPG or face the

prospect of being pulled from the site without warning, part way through the promotion. In serious cases, the

promoter may be banned from further use of the site.

The FPG apply to the administration of the promotion and to any communications advertising it.

So it is critical for businesses planning a Facebook-based prize promotion to familiarise themselves with the current

FPG. They should do this at the early stages of planning the promotion and regularly between that point and launch.

This is because the FPG are subject to change and this can happen with little or no notice..

For full details of the current FPG, click here.

In the last round of changes, the Guidelines were dramatically shortened and simplified. Restrictions were relaxed

such as the ban on promotions being open to under-18s (although under-13s are still banned from the site) and the

earlier ban on purchase to enter promotions.

The most important points now are:

The promotion must be administered within Applications (Apps) on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or

an app on a Page Tab

The promotion terms and conditions must include a complete release of Facebook by each entrant, an

acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with,

Facebook and a disclosure that entrants are providing information to the promoter, not Facebook

While it is acceptable to make liking a Page, checking into a Place or connecting to the promoters app a

condition of entering a promotion or registering for it, these Facebook features cannot be used as an automatic

entry mechanism or as a voting mechanism

Winners must not be told through Facebook (e.g. posts on profiles or pages or Facebook messages) that they

have won

Except for fulfilling your obligations under the second bullet above, the Facebook name, trade marks or other

Facebook intellectual property cannot be used in the promotion terms and conditions or in any other way in

connection with the promotion

Promotions involving alcohol, gambling, tobacco, firearms, prescription drugs, dairy products, firearms or

gasoline are no longer banned, BUT care should still be taken here because there are inconsistencies between

the FPG and other Facebook rules, and the position needs to be checked to clarify which rules apply. (See the

section below)

5. Facebook Promotions Guidelines


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5.1 Other Facebook rules that may come into play

The FPG point out that promotions run off Facebook (as well as any other marketing or advertising activity conducted

using Facebook) must comply with other Facebook rules such as the sites:

Statement of Rights and Responsibilitie s

Extract: You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious or discriminatory

Advertising Guideline s

Extract: You may not use user data you receive from us or collect through running an advert, including information

you derive from your targeting criteria, for any purpose off Facebook, without user consent.

In this context, it is also worth noting this even although the last round of changes to the FPG dropped various

restrictions.

Platform Policie s

Extract: You must not incentivise users to Like any Page other than your own site or application, and any incentiveyou provide must be available to new and existing users who Like your Page.

There is an issue here, however, because there are currently inconsistencies between the FPG and one or more of

these other Facebook rules.

For instance, the Facebook Advertising Guidelines still state that Facebooks permission must be obtained before

running a Facebook-based prize promotion.

Also, the Advertising Guidelines still forbid any adverts which contain, facilitate, promote or reference tobacco,

firearms or gambling services, while the FPG no longer forbids the offering of these products as prizes. Also, while the

blanket ban on offering alcohol as prizes has gone, the Facebook Advertising Guidelines contain detailed rules for

alcohol advertisements.

It is reasonably clear that the first discrepancy is simply a typo, but in the probably rare cases where prize promotions

may be offering tobacco, firearms, gambling services or alcohol as prizes, the prudent course may be to check with

Facebook before proceeding.

5.2 Promotion legality and terms and conditions

Those looking to run a prize promotion using Facebook will not just need to ensure that Facebooks own guidelines

and policies are followed.

Potential legal/regulatory risks will also need to be addressed and controlled. Perhaps most importantly, problems

under the Gambling Act 2005 (GA) should be avoided at all costs, unless the promoter is prepared to go through the

substantial inconvenience and expense of obtaining relevant gambling permits from the Gambling Commission and

paying gambling duties.

In essence, the way in which participants enter, participate and win must not classify as betting, gaming or a

lottery as those terms are defined by the GA. As the penalties for gambling without a licence can be high, advice

should be taken at an early stage to ensure that no issues will arise.

Another key point to watch is the drafting of terms and conditions for the promotion. Again expert advice should be

taken on these rather than simply cutting and pasting other promotion rules.

Particular care will be needed here if entrants are being asked to submit their own user generated content for

judging. Among the issues that should be clearly addressed are unacceptable content, third-party elements,copyright and other intellectual property rights, judging criteria and reservation of the right to moderate, and adapt

if entries are to be displayed on a contest website.


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5.3 International promotions on Facebook

If a promotion is being run internationally, it may also be necessary to ensure compliance with local laws and codes

in other countries. These laws and codes may vary. For instance EU promotion laws have not yet been harmonised,

so Sweden forbids random prize draws, while Italy requires that any prize promotion allowing residents of Italy to

participate is administered in Italy, with no residents of other countries allowed to participate.

Time and budget should therefore be allowed for a state-by-state clearance procedure to be completed and

necessary changes made before promotion launch.


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On 1 March 2011, the scope of the CAP Code was dramatically extended with regards to online marketing. It now

governs not only marketing communications on brand owners own websites but also any other marcoms in other

non-paid-for space online under their control that are directly connected with the supply or transfer of goods,

services, opportunities or gifts.

This is generally regarded as covering a brands Facebook Page as well as any other marketing communication

appearing on the site when that appearance could be said to be under the control of a brand.

This would extend to user-generated content (UGC) for example, if the brand owner had adopted any UGC as part of

its own marketing message on Facebook.

The same would apply to user posts that a brand endorses. Say Justin posts on a brands Facebook wall Im really

enjoying your new chocolate bar even though I am on a calorie controlled diet and the brand responds Were over

the moon that you are loving our new zero-calorie chocolate range, Justin.

In this scenario, as soon as the brand responded to Justin, the CAP Code would apply to Justins posting and thebrand owner would have to have documentary evidence in place, before it responded in this way to the posting. This

would have to substantiate the implication that the product was suitable for those on a calorie-controlled diet.

But could responding to consumer comments or even complaints found on Facebook give rise to other legal issues?

6. CAP Code points to watch


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Brand owners are increasingly looking to specialist agencies to trawl social networking sites on their behalf forconsumer comments or complaints.

Software is available which can detect key words or phrases indicating, for example, negative comments about a

particular product or brand. If these are found, it may be in the best interests of the brand to take the conversation

private as soon as possible. Therefore, the brand owner or its agency may seek to get in touch with the consumer

who has posted the comment to get into a dialogue with the consumer and see if their perception can be corrected.

The question is, does this activity, however well-meaning, put the brand owner or its agency in breach of any laws or

codes?

The short answer is that the practice does not, so far, seem to have generated major consumer or regulator concerns

in the UK or elsewhere. However brand owners contemplating this strategy might want to consider the followinglegal and practical issues before taking the plunge:

Individuals making the negative remarks are, by definition, both active in social media and not best disposed

towards the brand. Therefore, there may be a risk that whatever the exact legal or code rights and wrongs, the

individual could react badly to being approached and make matters worse by sounding off about it on Facebook

etc

Great care should be taken with the nature and content of the first communication with the individual. If the

message is conveyed by email and it can be characterised as a marketing contact, for example, then since it is

unsolicited and the recipient is unlikely to have given prior consent, it may put the brand owner and its agency in

breach of both the CAP Code and the law in the form of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations

2003. There are no past cases to provide guidance on the sort of tone and content to use in the first contact so

as to maximise the prospect of arguing successfully if challenged that the message is a service message rather

than a marketing communication. If there is any doubt, then expert advice should be taken. However if, for

example, the individual is complaining of defects in the product in question, the chances of sustaining service

message status for a first email or text approach should be improved by an offer to take the product back for

repair or replacement, or a request for more information about the problem so that all possible steps can be

taken to put things right

Successfully calibrating the first approach so as to avoid legal or CAP Code pitfalls may not be the end of the

story. Suppression files should be checked to see if the individual has previously contacted the brand owner and

asked not to receive marketing messages. The intended approach may technically qualify as a service message

but the recipient, having previously opted out, may still react negatively

Depending on the exact circumstances, making contact with the individual may put the brand or its agency inbreach of the Facebook site terms of use such as the Facebook Platform Policies or the Facebook Statement of

Rights and Responsibilities.

7. Responding to consumerpostings on Facebook


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Handpicked are nicked

In late 2010 the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the UKs leading consumer protection watchdog, took enforcement

action against a PR agency called Handpicked Media. The agency arranged for individuals to post positive comments

about its clients products on niche websites and blog sites, as well as social media sites such as Twitter.

The concern was that none of these comments disclosed that they had effectively been paid for by Handpickeds

clients. The OFT issued a reprimand to the agency, alleging that the practice breached the law in two ways.

The law in question was contained in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (PECRegs).

The first alleged breach was of the prohibition on using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a

trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear in the content

This is at paragraph 11 of a list of 31 always unfair commercial practices at Schedule 1 to the PecRegs, although

purists will point out that, curiously, this is one of only two practices in the list that are not automatically a criminal

offence.

The second alleged breach was of the general ban on misleading omissions in commercial practices. In this case

the omission was of material information (in the form of a disclosure that the blogging was paid-for) which the

average consumer needs. to take an informed transactional decision. Regulation 3 (4) (b) and Regulation 6 of the

PECRegs set out the relevant rules here.

Handpicked was not fined but required to give undertakings for the future. The OFT made it quite clear that if similar

cases came to its attention in the future, the same or tougher enforcement action could be taken.

Celebrity endorsements?

The same principles applied, the OFT stated, to celebrity endorsements on Facebook or Twitter, so that if the

personality was being paid or otherwise rewarded, this should be made clear in the comment.

Other laws and codes that such practices could breach include the ban at paragraph 22 of Schedule 1 to the PECRegs

on Falsely claiming or creating the impression that the trader is not acting for purposes relating to his trade,

business, craft or profession, or falsely representing oneself as a consumer.

Possible jail terms for marketing directors

In this context and that of the PECRegs generally, marketers should not lose sight of the fact that it is not onlycompanies such as brand owners and agencies that are at risk of criminal prosecution and fines.

Also at risk might be any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer (such as marketing or account director

for example) or any person purporting to act as a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer. Any such

individual could be fined personally or sentenced to up to two years imprisonment if the prosecution satisfied the

court that the offence was committed with their consent or connivance or was attributable to their neglect.

CAP Code issues

Also potentially breached would be the CAP Code now that it extends to non paid-for space online under [the brand

owners] control.

8. Product endorsementsand reviews


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Among the CAP Code rules potentially breached would be CAP Code 2.1 and 2.3 which state that marketing

communications must:

be obviously identifiable as such (2.1); and

not falsely claim or imply that the marketer is acting as a consumer or for purposes outside itsbusiness(2.3)

make clear their commercial intent. (2.3)

talkSPORT Radio weblog falls foul

An employee of talkSPORT radio fell foul of these rules in 2006 when he placed a weblog on various football-related

websites, stating:

Fellas. Have you heard what talksport radio are doing this season. They are recruiting a fan from every club in the

premiership and football league who will become the voice of their club on their station.I found this link on their

website, so head there of you wanna registerI just hope we get someone who knows what he is talking about.

A reader complained to the ASA that it was not clear that the weblog was an ad placed by talkSPORT radio.

In their defence, talkSPORT said that the club fan spokesperson initiative was certainly genuine, but the weblog was

the result of an individual member of staff acting independently. They had now taken steps, they said, to ensure that

employees were aware that such actions were not permitted without prior approval.

This was noted by the ASA but it still upheld the complaint on the basis that in practical terms the radio station had

still been responsible for the weblog and this had not clearly identified itself as an advertisement.

In conclusion, it is clear that the regulators are sensitive to the issues arising with product reviews in a social media

context and advertisers need a good appreciation of when reviews are within their control and hence become their

responsibility.


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All advertisers using Facebook will naturally need to be aware of and adhere to the Facebook Privacy Policy.

Clearly advertisers must also not collect or process Facebook users personal data in a manner contrary to the Data

Protection Act 1998.

Facebooks own terms and conditions add further restrictions as follows in their Statement of Rights and

Responsibilities:

You will not collect users content or information, or otherwise access Facebook, using automated means (such as

harvesting bots, robots, spiders or scrapers) without our permission

If you collect information from users, you will: obtain their consent, make it clear you (and not Facebook) are the

one collecting their information, and post a privacy policy explaining what information you collect and how you

will use it

You will not tag users or send email invitations to non-users without their consent.

In the Facebook Platform Policies are special provisions for Apps on Pages including:

Apps on Pages must not host media that plays automatically without a user s interaction

When a user visits your Page, if they have not given explicit permission by authorising your Facebook App or

directly providing information to your Page, you may only use information obtained from us and the users

interaction with your Page in connection with that Page. For example, although you may use aggregate analytics

for your individual Page, you must not combine information from any other sources to customise the users

experience on your Page and may not use any information about the users interaction with your Page in any

other context.

More special provisions that apply to operators of Apps and websites feature in the Facebook Statement of Rights

and Responsibilities and include:

You will only request data you need to process your application

You will have a privacy policy that tells users what user data you are going to use and how you will use, display,

share or transfer that data

You will delete all data you receive from us concerning a user if the user asks you to do so and will provide a

mechanism for users to make such a request

We can require you to delete user data if you use it in a way that we determine is inconsistent with users expectations.

The first three of these are also essential parts of the data privacy framework here in the EU.

9. Privacy

Documents

A Beginner Guide to Facebook