In talking with my mom today, we had a discussion that naturally turned towards blogging. Full disclosure: Mom and I have been freelancing for over a decade. Mom got her start with AC a long time ago and got me started there as well. While our paths have taken different roads, she's always enjoyed blogging and her natural style is to talk about the stuff she uses and how she feels about it. For her, product review blogging is a natural extension.
Myself? I've gone down the Digital Media Management/Social Media Strategist road. I love blogging - don't get me wrong. I'm a Leo and a theater kid, so talking about myself is one of my favorite hobbies - but I tend to fall into a more "copywriting" voice compared to other bloggers.
Anyway, back to what this was about. We were discussing Google Analytics (GA) and the dependency that these product dealers have on it. In the Social Media Strategy (SMS) world, GA is really seen as an iffy indicator of the actual pageviews. Blogger/Blogspot is notoriously raked by spam spiders, and the majority of PV's on GA are from bots.
Something that we've observed in the time that we've been doing this is the slow shift of advertising. I discussed this briefly in this post, but it's something I think is worth covering a little more in-depth.
Again, it's no secret that the face of modern advertising has changed crazy fast since the advent of American internet usage. Nearly 3/4 of all households have access to the internet, and with the increasing affordability of smart phones and data plans, that number is rising even faster. This means that while in 1999 - 2002, the internet and home computers were limited to a certain income demographic as the cost of entry was much higher. The fact has changed, however, and it's for the better.
Marketing professionals and advertisers know this, which is why they reach out to bloggers for product reviews. People don't trust advertisements anymore, and they are blind to them. Additionally, "paid promotional consideration" is a death knell to youtubers all over the place. Remember the uproar when people figured out that Microsoft was secretly paying youtubers to create videos praising the XBone when they completely booted the launch last year? Many trusted and popular youtube personalities lost viewership and their channels by violating FTC guidelines that say that a blogger is supposed to disclose if something is a paid advertisement.
This brings us to the point. A lot of bloggers will get asked by promoters to remove a negative review of a product. They'll threaten blacklisting, or send passive-aggressive "But No one else has EVER had an issue" type emails. They'll flag your reviews on Amazon and use every trick in their books against you.
So what does that mean? They really aren't looking for a review, but rather copywriting.
Copy writing is a very valid form of advertising and advertisers have been using it for decades. Unfortunately, promoters say they want "real" feedback from bloggers in order to build brand loyalty and promote transparency, but they don't. They want to bribe bloggers into writing copy for the cost of a product.
This leaves you in a precarious position. How does one give negative feedback and still maintain their integrity, compliance with FTC laws and regulations, keep their followers happy, and of course the promoter?
Well, first and foremost, there's nothing wrong with providing feedback. I personally use a 2:1 type ratio. I'll compliment the packaging, customer service, and then name an issue. Or, you can write about the positives and then write about the negatives.
What about a package that just sucks? Or an experience that was horrible from start to finish and there are no positives whatsoever? It's gonna happen.
The best way to do this is to remain neutral. Remember, you're not ranting to your facebook friends, but rather fulfilling a professional contract. The language should indicate this professionalism.
For instance, a review like this:
"I HATE THESE PEOPLE!!!!!!This product was NOT as advertised, was SHIPPED BROKEN AND THESE IDIOTS REFUSED TO FIX IT!!!!!!!"
is going to be flagged and asked to be removed.
However, something like this:
"I got a chance to try this product and was very disappointed. It's advertised as a 2.5 oz jar but I received a broken 1.5 oz jar. I tried to contact customer service to get the issue fixed, but there wasn't a positive resolution. Buyer beware of the possible problems you might encounter!"
hits professional language, is reasonable in tone, and says the same things as above. For someone to ask for this review to be removed gives you traction, because of the very nature of how it's written. It also fufills your agreement with the promoter, which is to provide an honest account of the product and your experience in exchange for the product. By giving your HONEST feedback, this counts as a review.
Once you start changing your language to suit the needs of the promoter, you're writing copy and not only in violation of the FTC rules, but endangering your reputation as an honest blogger, further blurring the lines of what counts as an advertisement and what counts as a paid or compensated review.
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