Roger Pepperl is marketing director at Washington-based Stemilt Growers, LLC, which has an extensive online and media presence. Though he has often been surprised and buoyed by positive feedback, Pepperl believes criticism or complaints also have their benefits. “Three people is enough of a trend,” he stresses. “If they didn’t like something, we send it off to production, to R&D, and to our president. We use it as a tool to get stronger.”
Watch Your Language
It’s important to be mindful of language when talking about products on the Internet—whether yours or competitors. Goldstein warns that “a claim on a website is the same as any claim in an advertisement”—open to criticism and fair game for being labeled ‘deceptive’ or ‘unfair.’ ‘Puffery,’ he notes, is acceptable, such as stating “We’re America’s favorite lettuce” or “Kids love our carrots” because the claim it isn’t provable. However, if you’re trying to claim “four out of five kids like our carrots” or “our product has 42% less fat than the next guy”—you must have data to back it up.
Goldstein also advises avoiding words like wholesome or guaranteed “unless you have gone through the process of proper testing and have the data to support it.”
If you wish to use terms like organic, sustainable, natural, biodegradable, green, etc., be sure to consult the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “Green Guides” which spell out the types of ‘environmental claims’ the agency might consider deceptive. If you happen to be a publicly traded company, another federal agency—the Securities and Exchange Commission—recently ruled it was acceptable to use social media to communicate with shareholders, as long as investors know in advance which media portals will be used to disseminate information.
Beware Of Bloggers And Children
Yes, be aware of social perceptions…or at least beware of how you deal with them. Bloggers can be a huge source of publicity for your products. Pepperl says Stemilt has tried to attract health-oriented bloggers to get the word out about their specialty products and brands. Buzz related to the release of Stemilt’s trademarked Piñata apples had people asking grocers for them by name.
But Goldstein advises caution as the FTC recently revised its policies on testimonials and endorsements “specifically with blogs in mind.” One regulation requires bloggers to reveal if they have received products free of charge. Goldstein says having a “Blogger Policy” can help ensure writers follow rules and are transparent, so your company isn’t exposed to liability.
Another concern is when your website attracts and deals with children. The Child Online Privacy Act (COPA) stipulates that companies with web pages that appeal to kids under the age of thirteen must obtain parental consent to collect any data. This can come into play if your site has interactive games or educational information, but is only relevant if you collect data about the kids visiting your website.
