134
Flickr
the regulators get you!
As of today all websites in the UK are to be subjected to similar rules to paid-for adverts, with the ASA monitoring the content of sites to counter 'a growing number of complaints about the way companies sell themselves on the web.'
However it's not just your website you need to worry about, the new regulations also extend out to a company's social media presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn - even though these are not usually under the juristiction of UK-based enforcement.
How this will pan out for b2b marketers remains to be seen. I'm sure there are much higher profile (and frankly, shadier) targets that the ASA will be monitoring before your typical b2b brand, but a word of caution is necessary - think carefully before you post unsubstantiated comments about your company, your products or your competitors - you never know who is watching.
Currently the powers of the ASA are not too onerous, but they have indicated that they will be happy to name and shame repeat offenders and even move to have non-compliant content removed from search engines.
As more and more people in your organisation have access to social media channels and the proliferation of CMS driven websites opens up the publishing of information to a wider internal audience it is more important than ever that marketing keeps a tab on what is being said, and by whom, and lays down some rules for employees to follow, whilst still giving them the freedom to exploit these new channels.
You have been warned, if you, or they get it wrong you may suffer the wrath of the ASA using words not unlike the Duke of Wellington, 'Publish and be damned!'
