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Persuasive Speech On Social Media

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I fondly remember the days when I was naïve enough to think that when someone went through the trouble of uploading a photo of a product into their Instagram account (or Facebook, or any other social media handle) it was because they actually, truly enjoyed using it (eating it, wearing it, you get my point). Oh, how social media has grown and changed in recent years! There are various studies that indicated that to be considered an “influencer”, a person had to have over 10,000 followers. More recent data shows that 50,000 is what companies are now looking at. But we in this industry know that followers can be bought and even if they do have the “correct” number of followers, that doesn’t necessarily equal good engagement; but that’s a subject that we can touch on another occasion. Today I’d like to guide you on the recent legal guidelines for advertising your client online, aka, a product. Does a recommendation from a trusted friend influence your decision to try it? Probably. In today’s world, that very important recommendation is gold. And guess what? Influencers know it. What if that recommendation (endorsement) came from a celebrity you follow and trust? Would that influence your decision even more? Now, if your friend or that celebrity had been paid or works for the company that sells the product, would you want to know it when you’re evaluating the endorser’s glowing review? That’s the premise and focus of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Endorsements Guide.

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