Today, i’d like to bring up an ethical issue of a business due to social media which i found noteworthy. Through my research, i came across a meltdown of 5 deadly sins of social media (Forbes) in businesses that would cause ethnic problems if not avoided.
1. Unreported Endorsements
2. Improper Anonymity
3. Compromising Consumer Privacy
4. Overly Enthusiastic Employees
5. Using the Online Community to Get Free Insights
Avoiding these 5 Deadly Sins cannot guarantee complete safety in social media but it will reduce risks and that’s the best any marketing business leader can hope for. One of the issues I’d like to touch on is ‘Unreported Endorsements’ by the leading supermarket chain, WalMart.
In brief, if a company gives any form of compensation (free products, sponsored trips etc.) to a social media user who would be speaking about your product, it is considered a compensated endorsement and should be disclosed to the public.
In 2006, Wal-Mart suffered a slew of negative publicity when its PR agency Edelman supported two bloggers road tripping across the U.S. writing positive stories about Wal-Mart through the organization Working Families for Wal-Mart. The blogging was gaining traction until BusinessWeek broke the story that the trip expenses for the blogger were being paid indirectly by Wal-Mart.
It features the journey of a couple on their maiden trip in an recreational vehicle, capturing lives and stories of every Wal-Mart employee that they run into, from store clerks to photogenic executives, ‘absolutely loves to work at the store’ as they journey from Las Vegas to Georgia, and park for free at Wal-Mart Stores parking lots.
Sounded like a great Wal-Mart publicity campaign hence Working Families decided to sponsor the couple’s entire trip thus Walmart paid to fly the couple to Las Vegas, where a mint-green RV emblazoned with the Working Families for Wal-Mart logo would be waiting for them.
While there is a ‘Working Families’ banner on the Web site named “Wal-Marting Across America”, nowhere does it mention that Wal-Mart has paid for the flight, the blog entries and expenses. Readers were unhappy and felt that such blogs are misleading and deceptive.
It’s true that companies are turning to social platforms like Youtube and Blogger or even Instagram as an advertising tool due to their large audience and followers. These days, it is expected for online celebrities to state whether it’s a sponsored post to avoid outbursts of hating comments regarding the undisclosed sponsorship. I found that people even created the word ‘FLOG’ after the Walmart Incident which means fake blogs that deems to create fake content! How interesting.
Stay tuned for my next Reflections post!
x
References :
Gogoi, P., 2006. Wal-Mart’s Jim and Laura: The Real Story – Businessweek. Business Week. Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-10-09/wal-marts-jim-and-laura-the-real-storybusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice [Accessed December 5, 2014].
Simmons, M., 2014. How To Win Friends And Influence People In The Digital Age | Thought Catalog. Available at: http://thoughtcatalog.com/michael-simmons/2014/09/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-in-the-digital-age/ [Accessed December 4, 2014].
Staff, W. pro, 2006. Wal-Mart, Edelman Flogged For Blog | WebProNews. Available at: http://www.webpronews.com/walmart-edelman-flogged-for-blog-2006-10 [Accessed December 5, 2014].
Vinjamuri, D., 2011. Ethics and the Five Deadly Sins of Social Media. Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2011/11/03/ethics-and-the-5-deadly-sins-of-social-media/ [Accessed December 5, 2014].
Sherdale. G 
A very insightful post Sherdale! The “genuinity” of content that marketers generate may be questionable at this day and age. Even with “endorsed” campaigns, such as the Snickers’ Twitter Campaign (a brief video to introduce the campaign http://youtu.be/Cb9f6GoFPsM), it brings about some “ethical” issues that businesses face.
Even though the Snickers’ Twitter Campaign was cleared off by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as it did not breach the advertising code (The Guardian 2012), many of the followers of the celebrities were displeased by such act. This calls upon the “genuinity” of a “paid campaign”. As we have moved towards an “interactive” web, marketers are hungry for the “voice” of the consumers that will amplify the “genuinity” of their products (The Independent 2012). Endorsements of such products by celebrities will act as a catalyst to reach out to the masses. So the real question is, even with an “endorsed campaign”, is it still ethical and will it still be as effective?
References:
Econsultancy, 2012. Snickers “hijacks” Katie Price’s Twitter account for PR stunt. Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/8768-snickers-hijacks-katie-price-s-twitter-account-for-pr-stunt [Accessed December 8, 2014].
The Guardian, 2012. Snickers Twitter campaign cleared by ad watchdog. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/mar/07/snickers-twitter-campaign-watchdog [Accessed December 8, 2014].
The Independent, 2012. Rio, Katie and the Twitter Snickers adverts that left Mars feeling bitter. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/rio-katie-and-the-twitter-snickers-adverts-that-left-mars-feeling-bitter-6295398.html [Accessed December 8, 2014].
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