Marketing Roadmaps

Susan Getgood

Facebook ads, getting too spammy?

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This post started out with the intent to be about online privacy and advertising.  I was going to talk about the issues raised at last month’s FTC roundtable on online privacy including behaviorally targeted advertising. Maybe even float around in cloud computing, the topic of next week’s session at the FTC. Talk a little about Facebook’s privacy woes in the aftermath of changing its privacy settings.

But I have bronchitis and a terrible sinus headache, so that post is on hold.

Instead, I am going to have a very  little rant about the demographically targeted ads on Facebook.

Ads like these that pull age related data from my Facebook profile and “fill in the blank” in an otherwise generic ad.

This isn’t targeted advertising.

It’s spam. And it’s lazy.

<Rant off>

Blogs you can learn from simply by reading

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As many of you know, I am currently writing Professional Blogging For Dummies, due this summer. One chapter of the book will cover ten blogs you can learn from simply by reading.

I have a working list of blogs I am considering for this section (below, in no particular order) but I thought I’d throw it out to you for your suggestions as well.

The audience for the book is small business owners and individuals who want to use a blog to promote their business or as their business.

I plan to divide the list into:

  • blogs that contain excellent tips for professional bloggers and small business owners
  • successful blogs that exemplify how to do it right

Here’s my working list. Yes, I know it is more than 10 blogs, and I am still working through my feed reader. Take a look, and if you’ve got a suggestion for a blog I should consider, please email me at sgetgood@getgood.com or leave a comment.

  1. ProBlogger
  2. Copyblogger
  3. Cool Mom Picks
  4. WantNot.net
  5. Diva Marketing
  6. Duct Tape Marketing
  7. Notes from the Trenches
  8. Global Voices
  9. Common Craft
  10. Passive Aggressive Notes.com
  11. Cake Wrecks
  12. Lip-Sticking
  13. Small Business Trends
  14. Mom 101

Note: The book is chock full of examples. Rest assured that all the blogs mentioned above will be included somewhere, even if they don’t make the final cut for this particular list.

When a disclosure policy discloses that the blogger doesn’t disclose…

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Recently, a blogger friend noticed that the disclosure policies on some of the blogs she was reading effectively said that the blogger didn’t necessarily disclose compensation:

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

I recognized the language immediately as language from disclosurepolicy.org’s Disclosure Policy Generator, but thought that certainly the tool would have been updated to reflect the requirements set out by the FTC guidelines on endorsements and testimonials. A disclosure that you don’t disclose is not in compliance.

Nope. The option is still in the generator.

While it is better to write your own policy, in your own words, I do understand the appeal of widgets. Do yourself a favor, though. If you use disclosurepolicy.org, tweak it to fit your circumstances, and definitely make sure you don’t have this language in your policy.

Latest Lands’ End Contest on Facebook DOES comply with new rules

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In my post earlier this week, I mentioned  Lands’ End’s after-Christmas contest, which let Facebook users enter simply by becoming a fan. I know, because I did it.

Unfortunately, it’s a violation of Facebook’s new promotion guidelines to use “become a fan” as a way for people to  enter a contest. You can require that someone be a fan to enter, but they have to explicitly enter.

I was pleased to see that Lands’ End’s newest contest complies.