Hey gals, do you do sponsored posts? Giveaways? Free product reviews?

If so, you need to be aware of the FTC released staff guidance document from March 12, 2013. This document provides information regarding disclosures in online advertising, yes, this includes Facebook and Twitter, not just your blog.

You MUST let your readers know in a  “clear and conspicuous” manner, that means no small print or hiding it away on an obscure page on your website. You have to let your readers easily notice the disclosure, and you want them to understand it.

For receipt of products for review:

1. Place your disclosures early in your post, above the fold if possible, and before any outbound links, especially if the links are to a page associated with the products.
2. Repeat your disclosure at the end if the post is long or if you continually repeat an endorsement.

For social media:

1. Put social media disclosures up front.  For example, a paid tweet should start with “Ad” or “paid tweet.”
2. Do not rely on hashtags or bit.ly or comp.ly links to disclose.

Cover yourselves ladies!

For more info, go read this from BlogHer.