Social Media Marketing and ethics were never separate. Now the FTC is taken a legal stand on the issue. Jordan McCollum quote above sums it up beautifully. More details here on Jordan McCollum’s article.
However the issue goes beyond Social Media, it actually deals with the ethical boundaries of all forms of advertising. Forbes talked about how it relates to blogging and how the FTC already saw problems with paid endorsements that were not being disclosed.
Nowadays that Social Media has become a powerful tool for endorsing products or services, or in other words another medium for Word of Mouth Advertising the same laws would apply to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other social network.
FTC’s legal stand on endorsements is here, and although it’s legal power is in the US, most countries do have similar laws for truth in advertising, and will probably soon follow suit for Social Media venues.
On an ethical stand however we must recognize that being honest about paid Social Media campaigns is the smart thing too. Truth in advertising and social media is always wise decision, and a good policy.
