Moving and storage and relocation 'floggers'

October 19, 10:22 AMMoving and Relocation ExaminerEric H. Anders

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'Rating and Review' Flogger

Ever since RELO Roundtable started collecting and reporting on relocation related news relevant to the moving and storage industry, it seems that the popular news aggregators have become clogged with ‘flogs’ .

What’s a flog?
In most instances, it’s a malicious and corrupted form of covert public relations.  In the virtual world this type of ploy is frequently used by an unknown ‘flogger’ to avoid authenticity and transparency – two of the cardinal rules of the hugely popular social networking communication tool known as blogging.

Flog, according to Widipedia, is “a fake blog sometimes referred to as a flack blog. It “appears to originate from a credible, non-biased source, but which in fact is created by a company or organization for the purpose of marketing a product, service, or political viewpoint. The purpose of a fake blog is to inspire viral marketing or create an internet meme that generates traffic and interest in a product, much the same as astroturfing (a "fake grassroots" campaign).”

In case you haven't noticed, ‘reviewing’ is becoming the newest form of effective advertising in the ever evolving cyber-marketplace. Consumers worldwide seem to quickly embrace the ‘rating and review’ recommendations they uncover online, especially if the opinions expressed are left by ‘credible experts’ or persons like themselves shopping for similar goods or services.

A recent Nielsen survey “shows that nine in every ten Internet consumers worldwide (90 percent) trust recommendations from people they know, while seven in every ten (70 percent) trust consumer opinions posted online.”

“Although brand websites score highly amongst Internet consumers, the survey shows that other forms of digital advertising are trusted less than ads appearing in traditional media such as TV billboards, radio, magazines and newspapers – despite the latter being the only form of advertising to experience a drop in levels of trust since the 2007 survey. Text ads on mobile phones (24 percent), online banner ads (33 percent), online video ads (37 percent) and ads in search engine results (41 percent) are the forms of advertising least likely to elicit a degree of trust.”

Why’s this important to product suppliers and service providers in the relocation industry?
Successful bloggers and freelance writers are routinely approached by organizations or companies that cater to their niche communities or area of special interest to ‘review’ or endorse their product or service.

Recently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published the final version of its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. These new rules dramatically change how companies and corporations can use consumer, expert and organizational endorsements to make claims about their products or services. They become effective December 1, 2009.

Under the new FTC guidelines, celebrity endorsers and bloggers must clearly state when they receive cash or "payment in kind" for endorsing a company's products or services. If a ‘news’ or informational post is deemed an “endorsement” and a celebrity reviewer or blogger includes false claims into a review, then both the blogger and the advertiser become liable for the misleading statements.

Companies and endorsers who fail to disclose their material connections, or who make false, misleading or unsubstantiated claims could be exposed to fines up to $11,000 per violation.

What’s it mean for consumers?
Thanks to this FTC ruling, hopefully your news aggregators, online bulletin boards, or favorite community blogospheres won’t be clogged with unbelievable claims or suspicious posts as much in the future. You know … the ones prepared by an anonymous ‘admin’ praising the world’s greatest moving company, most stupendous move brokerage product or best virtual relocation service.

According to the FTC, endorsements by industry organizations such as the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) or Worldwide Employee Relocation Council (ERC) are “viewed as representing the judgment of a group whose collective experience exceeds that of any individual member, and whose judgments are generally free of the sort of subjective factors that vary from individual to individual.”

That means that consumer protection and certification programs such AMSA’s ProMover designation become even more important as a way the public can separate reputable, professional movers from con artists in the virtual marketplace. “The ProMover program promotes ethical principles in the moving and storage industry and works with federal and state governments to mitigate unethical moving practices; it clearly separates professional movers from rogue operators masquerading as legitimate movers.”

From time to time various moving and storage services and relocation related products have been reviewed or highlighted at both the Moving and Relocation page at Examiner.com and RELO Roundtable. Up to now, I’ve never accepted any payment, free products, or other personal or professional consideration in return for my observations, comments or opinions.

I promise you’ll be the first to know if that position changes in the future. In the meantime I hope the FTC flogs the floggers.