Advertising Age has a front-page article in its 14.September issue on “Paid Tweets Just as Healthy as Organic Word-of-Mouth?” Given the publication, it’s no surprise that the sub-title is “Still seen as a scourge, sponsored posts can boost an online effort.” The article discusses the ethics, merits, and drawbacks of paid social media efforts. Though for the most part editorially balanced, the article left me feeling the author truly wants folks to believe paid social media or, as I call it, word-of-web is no worse than celebrity endorsements in television commercials.
In trying to distinguish between PR and advertising perspectives, the article conveys a quote that “Advertising theory… says it’s OK to pay people to endorse a product.” Well, sort of. There is more to the question of why unpaid, earned endorsements carry weight versus paid shilling for products or brands, right?
The answer, of course, is a resounding “YES!” The strong skepticism about paid blog mentions and tweeting for dollars is a reflection of the amazing underlying value of genuine person-to-person word of mouth endorsements. Mimicking news broadcasts in late-night infomercials, clumsily placing products in movies, or hiring street teams to “create buzz” for brands are all pale imitations of editorially unbiased news reports, true observation of product use, or a friend’s recommendation for a brand.
Gatorade figured the distinction out long ago. It’s why Gatorade coolers are prominent on the sidelines of college and NFL football games. Real use by real athletes. Integrity. Positive brand-building.
Paying someone to retweet a message with an embedded brand mention? Not so much. What’s lacking is the authenticity and integrity to be viable word of mouth (or web). And, in those cases when the respective blog post, tweet, or commentary is undisclosed as a paid action, there’s a potentially disastrous outcome: the underlying brand will be exposed as manipulative, dishonest, and deceiving.
In my blog, I’ve written about the benefit of transparency when communicating about big issues. Well, transparency pays dividends in advertising, too… Consumers will forgive clunky, awkward, even bad ads as long as it’s clear they are just that, ads. But the most cleverly devised undisclosed paid solicitation will be skewered once discovered for what it is, an ad wolf in PR’s clothing.
As for the genuine, earned media exposure PR professionals work so hard to achieve, can it be augmented by paid endorsements? Absolutely, provided they are disclosed as such openly and honestly. In this case, each aspect of the marketer’s arsenal works synergistically, building a brand story that is compelling, motivating, and (we hope) profitable!
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