Marketing Mistakes That Trigger FTC Investigations (and How to Avoid Them)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Marketing Mistakes That Trigger FTC Investigations (and How to Avoid Them) Special Ops with Emma Rainville – Episode Released on July 11, 2025

In this pivotal episode of Special Ops with Emma Rainville, host Emma Rainville teams up with Ryan to delve deep into the intricacies of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations and their profound impact on marketing strategies. The duo explores common pitfalls marketers encounter, especially within the realm of influencer marketing, and provides actionable insights to ensure compliance and safeguard businesses from hefty fines and legal repercussions.

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1. Common Misconceptions in Marketing Compliance

Overview:
Emma and Ryan kick off the discussion by addressing prevalent misunderstandings marketers have regarding FTC compliance. A significant misconception is the belief that if "everyone else is doing it," it's permissible.

Key Points:

• "Everybody else is doing it. So I can do it." [01:02]
  • Marketers often justify non-compliance by observing others' questionable practices.
• Enforcement is Arbitrary:
  • Emma compares FTC enforcement to a "roll of the dice," highlighting its unpredictability.
  • "It's like speeding on the highway. You can't pull over just because everyone else is doing it." [01:15]

Insights:

• Relying on competitors' actions as a benchmark for compliance is risky.
• Marketers must prioritize adherence to regulations over industry norms to avoid legal troubles.

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2. Subscription Billing Compliance

Overview:
The conversation shifts to the nuances of subscription billing and the critical need for transparency to prevent FTC violations.

Key Points:

• Clear Disclosure is Essential:
  • "The FTC is going to say the material connection disclosure needs to be unavoidable. So you couldn't possibly miss this." [00:00]
• Common Issues:
  • Non-disclosure of subscription enrollments leading to hidden continuous billing.
  • Pre-checked boxes that cannot be unchecked mislead consumers.

Notable Quotes:

• Emma emphasizes the importance of simplicity and clarity in disclosures:
  "Your subscription billing disclosure... needs to be clear, unavoidable, like all the... everything." [05:30]
• Ryan advocates for upfront honesty to maintain conversion rates:
  "I would choose my way where the person is disclosing in a way that's letting their audience know that they get paid to share..." [15:13]

Insights:

• Transparent communication about billing cycles and cancellation processes is non-negotiable.
• Utilizing straightforward language and prominent placement of disclosures can mitigate compliance risks.

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3. Deceptive Advertising and Influencer Marketing

Overview:
Emma and Ryan delve into deceptive advertising practices, particularly focusing on influencer endorsements and testimonials that may mislead consumers.

Key Points:

• Truthful but Misleading Statements:
  • Example of highlighting positive reviews without mentioning negative ones can create a deceptive net impression.
• Regulatory Scrutiny on Endorsements:
  • Influencers must disclose material connections to brands to maintain transparency.

Notable Quotes:

• Emma succinctly summarizes the essence of truthful advertising:
  "An advertisement needs to be truthful, not misleading, and properly substantiated." [06:46]
• Ryan highlights the challenge of balancing authenticity with compliance:
  "I think that... there's an authenticity that... does higher conversion." [20:08]

Insights:

• Even truthful statements can become deceptive if they omit essential information.
• Influencers and brands must collaborate to ensure all endorsements are transparent and comply with FTC guidelines.

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4. Material Connection Disclosures

Overview:
The discussion emphasizes the necessity of clear disclosures regarding any material connections between influencers and brands.

Key Points:

• Placement and Visibility of Disclosures:
  • Disclosures must be prominent, ideally above the main content, to ensure visibility.
  • "The FTC is going to say the material connection disclosure needs to be unavoidable. So you couldn't possibly miss this." [14:22]
• Different Methods for Different Platforms:
  • Utilizing built-in features like "Paid Partnership" on platforms such as Instagram to ensure compliance.

Notable Quotes:

• Emma advises testing the disclosure process with relatable scenarios:
  "Give your enrollment path to somebody who's older than you... have them walk through it." [04:31]
• Ryan discusses operational strategies to maintain transparency without compromising engagement:
  "Like, I am beyond blessed that this is my life and this is my job and I get paid to share this with you all." [15:13]

Insights:

• Regular audits and clear guidelines for influencers can prevent accidental non-compliance.
• Leveraging platform-specific tools can aid in maintaining visibility of disclosures.

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5. Risk Management and Responsibilities

Overview:
The conversation turns to the liabilities brands and influencers face in the wake of non-compliance, highlighting the shared responsibility in maintaining ethical standards.

Key Points:

• Joint Liability:
  • Both brands and influencers can be held accountable for non-compliant content.
• Contracts and Agreements:
  • Establishing clear contractual obligations ensures that influencers adhere to disclosure requirements.

Notable Quotes:

• Emma asserts the importance of contracts in mitigating risks:
  "The contract is great to have because you're going to say... the material connection disclosure and every single post that you put on social media about our brand, this is what you must say." [16:34]
• Ryan emphasizes proactive monitoring:
  "Whether it's the influencer emails, an inbox somewhere that has a link to all the ads... doing keyword searches." [19:05]

Insights:

• Comprehensive contracts and ongoing monitoring are essential in safeguarding against potential violations.
• Brands must take an active role in overseeing influencer content to ensure compliance.

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6. Testimonials and Reviews Compliance

Overview:
Emma and Ryan explore the delicate balance between leveraging customer testimonials and ensuring they meet FTC standards to avoid false advertising claims.

Key Points:

• Unsolicited vs. Incentivized Testimonials:
  • Unsolicited reviews typically present no liability, whereas incentivized testimonials require strict adherence to disclosure norms.
• Handling Negative Reviews:
  • Businesses must tread carefully when engaging with negative feedback to prevent perceived endorsements of misleading claims.

Notable Quotes:

• Emma differentiates between types of reviews:
  "Testimonials endorsements, just put it in one bucket. Consumer unsolicited, incentivized consumer reviews in one bucket..." [27:29]
• Ryan discusses operational best practices for managing reviews:
  "If you're running ads and you've got a community... your customer service team needs to respond to every question or every statement." [26:09]

Insights:

• Clear policies and training for handling testimonials can prevent inadvertent endorsement of false claims.
• Maintaining authenticity in responses to reviews enhances brand reputation while ensuring compliance.

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7. Final Thoughts on the Future of Influencer Marketing

Overview:
Wrapping up the episode, Emma and Ryan share their perspectives on the evolving landscape of influencer marketing and its future trajectory concerning regulatory compliance.

Key Points:

• Balancing Authenticity with Compliance:
  • Striking the right balance ensures sustained engagement without compromising ethical standards.
• Evolving FTC Guidelines:
  • Staying abreast of regulatory changes is crucial for marketers to adapt and maintain compliance.

Notable Quotes:

• Emma underscores the importance of authentic brand engagement:
  "It's the most authentic way to do it." [19:52]
• Ryan predicts that transparent disclosures can enhance trust and conversion rates:
  "I think it would have much higher conversion by being extremely upfront." [20:08]

Insights:

• The future of influencer marketing hinges on transparent and ethical practices.
• Brands and influencers must collaborate closely to navigate the complexities of FTC regulations effectively.

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Conclusion

This episode of Special Ops with Emma Rainville serves as an essential guide for marketers navigating the intricate web of FTC regulations. By highlighting common pitfalls, offering practical solutions, and emphasizing the importance of transparency, Emma and Ryan equip listeners with the knowledge to conduct compliant and effective marketing campaigns. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or a budding entrepreneur, the insights shared provide a robust framework to enhance your marketing strategies while safeguarding your business from regulatory challenges.

For actionable strategies and detailed playbooks, visit Special Ops Podcast and download the free resources to elevate your business to new heights.

Transcript

[A]

The FTC is going to say the material connection disclosure needs to be unavoidable. So you couldn't possibly miss this, that the consumer would read this and understand it. Number one, make sure that the influencer actually uses the product.

[B]

If you're going to do a product endorsement, make sure that they're continuously using the product. We stand behind our product so strongly that we will give you a 120 day money back. You can end up with a letter, a takedown letter, millions in fines, even real fines. What is the most common misconception in our industry? Even a pause and say this, why your marketing might be illegal. I'd love Ryan, for us to talk about first misconceptions. Very often, commonly marketers have misconceptions about compliance and their duty to uphold the regulations that the FTC has put forth. So what do you see the most, what is the most common misconception in our industry?

[A]

Everybody else is doing it. Everybody else is doing it. So I can do it.

[B]

Even a pause. You say this?

[A]

No, it comes up on everything quite a bit. Quite a bit. No, it's, it's every client call, they're like, well, this company's doing it. This company's doing it.

[B]

You're doing a hundred million dollars, Emma. And, and they're doing it. Why aren't they in trouble? Can't we just tell on them? No, it's not worse.

[A]

Well, no, and it's a crapshoot because enforcement, enforcement actions are just like a roll of the dice. Why? Some people get picked up. Yeah, some, we'll never know for most of them. But yeah, I mean, I, it, it really is. Everybody else is out there doing it, so why can't I? The problem is, is, you know, think about when you're speeding on the highway, you're going 95 and you get pulled over. It doesn't matter if traffic, that's traffic. Or Everybody around you.

[B]

10 cars around me are doing 95. I can't tell the cop who can't pull me over.

[A]

No, I drove up here from Houston, like pulling over people left and right. It didn't matter how fast we were going. So I mean that, that's the biggest one. And I think the other misconception is like, well, if I plug it into chat, GBT or Google or something like that, I'm just going to get some answer that I can basically hobble along with and that'll be fine. Problem is it's a lot, usually a lot more complex. I mean, think of environmental, environmental claims and things like that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But. And so people just don't really know where to look or they can rely on Google or ChatGPT.

[B]

Yeah. So pretty much every aspect of our.

[A]

Businesses is regulated by some law, tangentially at least. So whether or not it's the vertical.

[B]

Opinion on everything we do, pretty much.

[A]

I mean, whether it doesn't matter what vertical you're in, the marketing channel that you're using, there's something out there that's going to govern what you're saying and how you can say it.

[B]

So as consequence of not following their guidelines, their rules, their regulations can end up with a letter, a takedown letter, millions in fines, even jail time. I want to focus for a moment because there's some new things that have happened in January and there are just like some, they've got a hard on right now for certain components. So I'd love to just walk through what are some of the things people don't know that could cost them millions a second they get caught doing it.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I think the easiest one out there, subscription billing compliance. I mean it's continuity continuity.

[B]

Our continuity product.

[A]

Yeah. I think it's, it's not difficult to.

[B]

Do people doing wrong.

[A]

They're either not disclosing that people are enrolling into a subscription or it's a membership program that is not fully disclosed. Basically you get to the checkout page and you're, you're enrolling in a subscription. Nobody really knows that they're enrolling a subscription. I think that. Yeah, everybody. Exactly.

[B]

Tell me. I, I love telling Google what not to do because I think that's important. I think a lot of people don't understand the rules around subscriptions and force continuity and the pre checked box versus the not pre checked box versus the pre checked box. That can't be unchecked. And if you've been listening to me long enough, I've talked about this quite a bit and we'll probably talk about it quite a bit in the coming months on this podcast. But I want to know, I, I want, I want to be compliant. I don't want to get in trouble. I want to make a lot of money and I want to have a subscription. What is your advice to me on how I make sure that my subscription part of my product is on the up and up and I'm not going to get in a whole lot of trouble for it. So the example, besides calling you and having.

[A]

No, the example I use is go ask your grandmother, go ask your parents.

[B]

Go ask your grandmother if it's legal.

[A]

No, no, tell. What. Give them your enrollment path. Okay, okay, Just go ahead. Nana's gonna be fine with that. No, give your enrollment path to somebody who's older than you, you know, preferably over 65.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Not super tech savvy. You know, have them walk through it, have them make a test purchase, or they don't need to click the button, but basically get to the end and then start asking questions. Be like, hey, Grandma, what you buy, how often are you being built? Do you know? And if the answer is, like, I think I only bought one bottle or. Or something, you're going to have a problem because that's the lens that regulators and, to be honest, consumer protection attorneys are going to be using. So, I mean, you're going to get, you know, grandma from Nebraska enrolled in a dietary supplement, and she thinks that she's buying one time, and then suddenly she's in a subscription. So, yeah, you know, at the end of the day, you want your subscription billing disclosure, just your continuity model, to be clear, unavoidable, like all the. Everything.

[B]

Me 49.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm gonna send you X product every month on the 3rd of the month, and this is how you cancel.

[A]

Yep. And if we're hiding the ball, then that's gonna be a problem. I mean, if there's any question, especially now with the new regulations in place, if there's any question, by the time you get by, you hit that either buy now button or whatever you're using at the end on the checkout page. If there's any question whatsoever what you're buying, how often you're gonna be billed, there's going to be an issue, and it's not really defensible anymore.

[B]

Really. Okay. All right, that's. I mean, that's great to know. Terrifying, by the way, the model. But, you know, you gave us a path. So I'd like to go into. Deceptive advertising, to me, means misleading claims, it means exaggeration of claims, and it means improper evidence of claims. So I'd love to dive into that because I think that for the most part, people who are selling understand what. What they absolutely cannot say. What they don't understand is how to say what they can say. And so just because it's true doesn't mean that I can say it. And I. I'd love to. Yeah.

[A]

Well, no, I mean, like, just getting the brass tax of it all.

[B]

You.

[A]

You summed it up. I mean, an advertisement needs to be truthful, not misleading and properly substantiated. And so you can have a statement that is perfectly truthful. I've got 5,000 five star reviews. Look at how great I am. Right, okay, but just because that is true, if you have 10,000 one star reviews, you know, quoting that, hey, I've got 5,000 one star reviews. No, but okay, because the, I mean, no, no. Well, it's all going to be coming through the.

[B]

Can I try and play with words?

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Okay, so just ask one of the 5,000 people that left me a five star review.

[A]

Doesn't matter because the, the impression, the net impression of that statement is going to be, well, a majority of consumers really, really, really, really like my product. And so you're hiding the fact that there's all these. An Overwhelming number of 1 star reviews out there.

[B]

Yeah. Wow. Okay, I would have, so I would have guessed that I could have said that. That's really, that's really interesting, Ryan. The state of influencer marketing in 2024. I actually, when we were going through, we were picking, we don't really plan these out, but we were picking topics. And so when we were picking our topics, I said, ah, this one's probably gonna be the most boring and the fastest. And they're like, this is the most important. Why?

[A]

No, well, I think one of the biggest reasons is the FTC's trade regulation rule on consumer reviews, endorsements and testimonials, immediate access to civil penalties. So that just ups the ante for compliance. But you know, I, it's, it's really easy to comply with. It's just people do it incorrectly all the time and just assume that they can rely on the platforms or, you know, hope that their influencers are going to go out there and do exactly what, what the brand has told them to do.

[B]

And most brands that engage most influencers, they're contacting each other and they have no idea that there is clients. I, I believe that. Okay, can I give you a couple examples?

[A]

Sure.

[B]

We'll do, we'll do three quick examples. Hotel contacts Ryan, who has 120 followers because he loves fishing and he posts videos of him fishing and he's not even really monetizing any of it. But they, the hotel is on like this fly fishing lake. Is it a lake? I don't know this place where people like to fish and they contact you and say, hey, come stay for free, eat for free, drink for free, fish for free, get paid a fish, I don't know, fish for free. And just post about our place so that the people who watch your show will want to come fish Here.

[A]

Yeah, that, that's going to be a testimony or endorsement the person is receiving that they need to disclose.

[B]

How do they disclose it?

[A]

A couple different ways. You could do it in the body of the endorsement or the testimonial. Be like, hey, this is Joe from Fish USA or whatever it is. You know, so and so jokes I.

[B]

Just had to filter out, you know.

[A]

This is Joe, we're on the lake. And so, and so they flew me out here to show me this great place. Like, you're embedding this in a more organic way, saying, hey, like, I'm receiving. Yeah, I'm receiving. So there's a relationship with the brand and that I'm being incentivized in some way. And so that should put the consumer on notice. Hey, by the way, I. You might want to be careful. I mean, I'm getting something. And so this might have influenced what I'm saying.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But hopefully it's going to reflect their experience.

[B]

Okay. Donut shop gets approached by influencer, who does lots of taste tests of local food. Austin, Texas, where I live. Look, tons and tons and tons of local food. We have a donut shop here that I won't say the name, but we have a donut shop here that has the most incredibly strange donuts you've ever seen. But they're allegedly delicious. And so she contacts them and says, hey, I'll make a TikTok of me tasting your donut and telling everybody how amazing it is. And if you're visiting Austin, Texas, they should come to Austin, because I have Austin eats TikTok and sure, come on and get a free donut. Are you in trouble from the FTC for that now?

[A]

The second you start incentivizing them to post something about you. Yes.

[B]

Even though they approached me, even if.

[A]

They approached you, it doesn't matter. Free donut doesn't matter.

[B]

Third, one, last one. I am a large brand and I sell $500 million and I approach a large celebrity and I pay them $100,000 to post my using my brand four times. And they say, oh, I love that. I partnered with so and so. My skin is so much clearer now. Compliant. She's partnering.

[A]

Yeah. I don't think you're going to run into an issue there because I think for two reasons. One, really well known celebrity and then two, when they start, when you hire a really big celebrity, you know, insert famous person's name and they're like, look at my brand of vodka or skin cream or whatever it is most of the time. And There's a counter argument to that where the FTC addresses this and some guidance that, you know, a reasonable person would see. This is like, well, you know, you don't have like an A list celebrity sitting up there talking about some product that they just love out of the kindness of their heart. They're being compensated for it. Which is why when you turn on the television, right, when you see, you know, George Clooney talking about an alcohol brand or, you know, the Kardashians about something else, no reasonable person is going to think that they're doing that just because of, you know, because they wanted to.

[B]

I don't know that I agree with you.

[A]

Why?

[B]

Well, George Clooney, you know, he looks like an alcoholic to me. Seems like it seems fair. Just seems fair. Maybe he's not. I don't know. Definitely looks like he pushes some back. But let's take the Kardashians. There is no aspect of the Kardashians life that isn't lived out on tv. From divorces to births to lies, to big mistakes to sisters bites to hair dye to lip injections, to botch surgeries to mental illness, cheating. Like, they live everything. They wake up in the morning, they get in their glam chairs. You watch them get all their stuff. They talk about the things that they love. There's salads that they like. They partnering with lemons. Like, you know what I mean?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But you can, you could certainly just take it and think that it's just part of their every day.

[A]

No, very true. And that's why the FTC has come out and said yes. Using a celebrity is like one of these factors, but at the same partner is enough. But part partner is not enough to, To. To make a material connection. Disclosure, there's really two portions. You need to put the consumer on notice that there's a relationship between you and the brand.

[B]

So we're partners.

[A]

We're partners. But then the. Whether or not the person providing that endorsement or testimony was actually being incentivized. So it's free.

[B]

Do you believe I get paid to use the skin care product?

[A]

I think you're going to be fine with that.

[B]

Okay, what if I just put hashtag ad?

[A]

Hashtag ad should be fine. But the problem.

[B]

But the quiet, you know, I was about to do.

[A]

But it depends on where it's. Where it's appearing. So if you're on Instagram is above the fold. And so if you. Is it, you know, hashtag ad at the very end of a, of a lengthy discussion about the product Buried Amongst, you know, 15 hashtags, 80 hashtags. No, it needs to be at the top. And the FTC says that the first hashtag. Yeah, it needs to be the first hash, not only the first hashtag. The FTC would say that it actually needs to be above the text. So you can get into these debates with.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

With regulators over where it should be. But the FTC is going to say the material connection disclosure needs to be unavoidable. So you couldn't possibly miss this. That the consumer would read this and understand, okay, well, this person's receiving something or it's an advertisement or a promotion for some sort of brand from an.

[B]

Operational standpoint, to not kill conversions. I would choose my way where the person is disclosing in a way that's letting their audience who loves them know that they love the product while still disposing it. Like, can you believe I got to partner with them And I get paid to actually do this? Or I get paid to use this product. Can you believe that I get this product for free just for posting it on here? Like, I would spend money on this every day. You know what I mean? As you're looking at yourself. So I would certainly do it that way from an operational standpoint.

[A]

Well, yeah. And so, so many of the platforms now have the built in, you know, pay partnership. Yeah, things like that. Now, the FTC has come out and said you can't just rely on that. But even their kind of discussion about.

[B]

You can't rely on it because it might not show up every time.

[A]

It might not show up every time or it's not prominent enough.

[B]

If it shows up, is it enough? What's up? We interrupt this podcast to remind you to like and subscribe so that you can always be in the know of when Ryan and I drop a new episode of Marketing on Trial. Also, sign up at www.specialopspodcast.com for a visionary vault and get all of our freebies.

[A]

Ryan saying, I think it is fine, especially in the meta platforms. I think it is very clear when you're using the paid partnership. I mean, it's right at the very top.

[B]

I mean, you can't even say sponsor to pay.

[A]

Yeah, like, you can't. You can't actually get to what they're saying without missing that. I mean, I guess if you're not, don't have your glasses on. But I, I think that's pretty low risk.

[B]

Okay, all right, so let's talk about risk. I'm the brand, you're the influencer. We go into partnership. The disclosures. The FTC doesn't feel like the disclosures are enough. They go after you or me.

[A]

Both could be liable, but practically it's going to be the brand every time.

[B]

Okay. Even if our contract says that you're responsible.

[A]

Yes. I mean, the contract is great to have because you're going to say, you know, the contract will say, I tried.

[B]

To in good faith.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Like do what I'm supposed to do. And this influencers off the give the.

[A]

Material connection disclosure and every single post that you, that you put on social media about our brand, this is what you must say. Now, granted. Is that going to get you out? If an influencer goes out there and says stuff that one isn't truthful is false about the product.

[B]

Okay, I see that and I send you a cease and desist takedown notice and you don't take it down, then.

[A]

That'S at some influencer. That's going to be the influencer. Because at that point, I mean, if you're talking to regulators, it's like, well, we're trying to actively get this down. Like, you can't just like send a letter and be like, hey, break your links.

[B]

Break your links. Break your links that they're using. If you do that. Okay. I don't want to get too hung up on that. Thank you. That's really good information. So I just want to if, if you, your brand and you hire me as an influencer. Actually, I'm not going to do that. You're my lawyer and you got to give me three, four steps that I need to take every time I hire an influencer. What is it?

[A]

Number one, make sure that the influencer actually uses the product. So there have been instances where you have these influencers that just like come to you and they're like, hey, can I just promote your brand? Can I promote your brand? Like, they just want either free product or money. They don't really care how great the product is. They just want to be something.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Right. So I mean, some of that goes to authenticity.

[B]

They had to use your brand.

[A]

Oh, they absolutely. They have to use the product at least once.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Well, like if they're saying product review, well. Well, product reviews are a little bit different. Well.

[B]

I understand we have two different.

[A]

Yeah, if you want to get.

[B]

Yeah, we have two buckets. Product review, product endorsement. If you're going to do a product endorsement, make sure that they're continuously using your product.

[A]

Yes, continue. So if the, the endorsement is like, I love this guy. I love this skin cream, this is why I use it every day. Like, look, I don't have any wrinkles. Like, this is what I use on a daily basis. If that's not true, then that whole endorsement or testimonials is a lot. Yeah, exactly.

[B]

It's false and not false advertising. Deceptive advertising.

[A]

Exactly. So you want to, I mean, the first thing is make sure that they're actually going to use your product and look at what they're kind of going to be saying about your product. Number two would be if you are incentivizing them in any way, you know, they need to include a material connection disclosure. And that goes back to the contract we were just talking about. You can draft out the material connection disclosures that they need to present in every single one of their ads.

[B]

Whether it's, can you believe I get paid for this? Or do you believe they send this to me for free just because I share it with you? I'm so lucky.

[A]

Exactly. And then I, I, I guess the third point is you might not, at certain size, you might not be able to review every single one of these testimonials or endorsements that gets placed, but you need to have some sort of audit or tracking process in the back, on the back end of all of this. So whether it's the influencer emails, an inbox somewhere that has a link to all the ads, that at least someone at some period of some interval is going on and, you know, either doing keyword searches or something to figure out, like, what these people are saying. I mean, there's an obligation on the business to police what the affiliates, not affiliates, what the influencers. Influencers are saying on their behalf. So those are the big, the three main things that I would recommend.

[B]

Awesome. Before we wrap up, any final thoughts on influencer marketing and what's coming?

[A]

No, I mean, I think it's a great way to build brand engagement. It is the most authentic way to do it.

[B]

And brand reputation is important, truly.

[A]

And I, and I, you know, I think we might disagree or come to, you know, we would politely disagree on whether or not some of these disclosures affect conversion. But I think at the end of.

[B]

The day, you know, we actually avoided that in this podcast somehow. I think that, that I, I think that the, the putting the ads, putting hashtag ad and saying nothing. I think that will absolutely, like, I, I trust you to share with me what you're using as an influencer that I follow. I don't follow influencers, but I'm talking about the mindset of People who sit and watch other people's stuff constantly. We know what I watch. And it's not stuff like it's murder mystery stuff. But I think that when you bury it, when you. And I know you're not burying it, if it's the very top it says hashtag ad, I think it would have very little conversion. I think it had a much higher conversion. Just by being extremely upfront, I am beyond blessed that this is my life and this is my job and I get paid to share this with you all. Or can you believe that they send this stuff to me for free just because of you? Thank you guys for coming in and watching and buying the products that I recommend. Because of you, I get to do this right. So I think that that would be way higher converting than these written disclosures above the fold that you're talking about. I just think that people just aren't going to connect with it in the same way they connect with. Oh, my goodness. Ryan went to this. Ryan went to this hotel and they gave him this free thing so that he could go. And he told me what to eat and he told me what to drink and he told me where to fish. And he was like, make sure you thank them for sending me out here so I could share this with all of you. There's an authenticity that if I'm a follower, you know, they're cult like, right?

[A]

Totally.

[B]

So if they're a follower, they're going to follow you when you lead them. When you try and like have these disclosures that don't make sense to them, I just feel like they're looking at it as, like they're not even, they're not even discussing it with me. They're just getting paid and they don't really feel this way. Does that make sense? So I, I more like doing the bonuses that change for a limited time. When you buy X, you're gonna get this, this, this, and this for free. And then all of these things, they don't even have to massively change. I don't know how you're going to feel about this, but I've done it where it's the same ebook inside contents, different covers and names we didn't make any claims about. The ebook is like, here's a recipe guide for spring. Here's one for summer. Here's one before we did recipes that could go for everything. Right. But anyway, so.

[A]

Well, think Mike Lindell, my pillow.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Oh, God, please perpetuate like he's got a, you know, he's, you see him in the press and he's gotten, you.

[B]

Know, he has a very big brain, too.

[A]

Well, I mean, if anybody.

[B]

Big pillow for his big brain.

[A]

I mean, if you asked anybody, how much is a my pillow? I mean, I think I actually don't know what it is.

[B]

No idea.

[A]

But it's. But it's always.

[B]

Never buy one.

[A]

But it's always 99.95 on sale for like, is it the same. It's always the same sale over and over and over again. And that's why he's got in trouble, because it's, it's. He creates this. I mean, he got a slap on the wrist. Not.

[B]

Yeah, not during certain presidency years.

[A]

No, this is long before.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. Anyway, so guaranteed results. Let's move into that. I love guaranteed results. I absolutely love guarantees. Placed correctly worded compliantly, guarantees can do a lot for your business. What I can't say is 100% results guarantee.

[A]

Yeah. A better way to do this is like we were talking, you tie it to a refund program, we know you're going to love it so much that buy our product if you don't like it, 100 refund guarantee with it.

[B]

Stand behind the. We stand behind the word we used last time that beat control. Anyway, it was something like, we stand behind our products so strongly that we will give you a 120 day money back guarantee just for trying us out. Try us consistently for the next four months. And if you don't see X and differences, we're happy to give you your money back. You're not guaranteeing the product's gonna work. You're guaranteeing that if you don't like the results of the product, you'll give them their money back.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

It's the same damn thing. I think that the money back is stronger, stronger than the results. Like, because you.

[A]

Because at that point there's no risk.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Because it's like, well, okay, try this.

[B]

Free for 120 days. You should see results in 90. Right. I want to just hop the fence for a minute. To testimonials without disclaimers. There are different types of testimonials. The first testimonial I want to talk about is, I didn't ask for testimonial, didn't provoke you, coming and giving me a testimonial. You go on Yelp, trust, pilot my Facebook anywhere, and you say, this product is great. I don't know why I became an image mouse there. This product is great. I loved it. I lost £20 in two weeks. I can't let anyone believe that that's totally fine.

[A]

So long as you do not incentivize it, you're not buying it. You can on your Facebook group.

[B]

You made me remove this before.

[A]

No, let me pull up the email probably. Okay. No. So long as you are not incentivizing it, you can and you're not even soliciting at this point.

[B]

So you're not responsible for the reviews that your customers give. You don't have them up.

[A]

You can leave them up. Think about it. Think about Amazon, right? Amazon storefronts. You have no, you have no control over what they say. You know, somebody can go and take your product and say this made me a million dollars last month or this cured cancer, but you, you have no control over it. It doesn't matter when you start. Now the quite. I think where it gets a little bit more murky is when you start engaging with it, when you start responding to the Q A, when you start.

[B]

You have to respond to reviews.

[A]

Not, not, I would say BBB reviews and well, when you start responding. So if you have somebody who pause. I'm going to pause you for a minute. Okay.

[B]

For those people who are listening that don't you need to respond to your Facebook ads, to your Instagram ads, you'll screw your entire algorithm. You absolutely mess up your, your ads. If you have a bunch of stuff on your pages that you're running ads from and you don't respond to even negative things, we still heart reply. Hi. Never delete. I just, just a little caveat from a marketing operational standpoint. Now from a legal standpoint, since we're talking about here, there's a. This is marketing on trial.

[A]

Well, there's a difference between reviews and testimonials. Endorsements. You know, testimonial endorsements, just put it in one bucket. Consumer unsolicited, incentivized consumer reviews in one bucket and then incentivized consumer reviews in another. So unsolicited, unincentivized person comes to your Facebook page, your website, wherever it is, and just leaves. Just hey, I love the product. I lost £20 last month. I this product cured cancer. You don't necessarily want it on there, but no liability. You haven't done anything with it.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

When you are actively.

[B]

Now let's say it's in a Facebook group, the community. I want to make sure we all understand it's in a Facebook group, a community you're running ads off of. All your buyers are being dumped into. All your potential buyers are being dumped into so you can get organic following as well as run your apps.

[A]

Right? That's fine.

[B]

That's fine, too.

[A]

Yeah, people can go in there. I mean, that's the whole purpose. It's a community group where people are going to be talking, discussing ideas you don't have. If. If. So long as you are not encouraging them, buying the reviews, something like that, there's no liability. They can say whatever they want.

[B]

Thank you for your review. That's it.

[A]

I mean, I. So here. Here's where it gets a little murky when you have. When you start interacting with these reviews.

[B]

So well, from an operational standpoint, you got to.

[A]

Okay, so if you start now. So let's take the example, you know, the products cured cancer. I mean, outlandish example.

[B]

I think that I would. I personally would remove that. I personally would remove that. But I have. I have a different parameter than most people.

[A]

No, I mean, I think you should get rid of it as well. But if you start, then, you know, thank you for review. Liking it. Harding. It. I mean, you say you have to respond to all these things.

[B]

If you're running ads and you've got a community going, rule of thumb is generally that your customer service team that needs to respond to every question or every statement with something, because what will happen is as you're running ads and Facebook sees people posting and you not responding, it assumes that you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing, and you can kind of screw the algorithm.

[A]

Well, so I think a good rule of thumb is whether or not your interaction with that you could leave one.

[B]

Review out of 50. It's not going to be the end of the.

[A]

No, no. But it's whether or not the. The business is adopting that review almost and turning it into kind of like an endorsement or testimonial. And so it's like, I know it's a fine line, but when you're like, you know, I love your product so much, it cured me of cancer, whatever it is.

[B]

And you're like, keep saying cancer. I don't know. I don't know. Manifesting that like this. I keep saying, lost 20 pounds.

[A]

Just go, yeah, thank you.

[B]

Manifest that for you, you jackass. Thank you.

[A]

Thanks, Emma. You know, I love this product so much. It helped me lose £20 in two weeks. You know, there's no way that this product would have ever done that. But you're either saying thank you or.

[B]

Like £700 and they go on a juice fast. They very well could lose £20 in a week.

[A]

Well, that's why I'm trying to pick a more outlandish example.

[B]

The more outlandish.

[A]

Yeah, but. So if you.

[B]

You're not going to lose 20 pounds in six months because you don't have that much loose.

[A]

Yeah, so. But the rule of thumb really is, are you interacting with that review in such a way that it could be interpreted as you, like, adopting or endorsing that review and kind of like touting it?