Gushcloud draws up rules on good social media marketing practices

SINGAPORE — Social media agency Gushcloud has come up with a set of guidelines on good conduct when engaging social media “influencers” for its staff, in the wake of a debacle earlier this month that saw the agency come under heavy criticism for work done for a Singtel marketing campaign.

The draft guidelines include an ethics assessment checklist for influencers, advertisers and agencies to clarify the ethical obligations of each party. The checklist includes questions such as “Is there anything about this campaign that we/I would be embarrassed to discuss publicly?” It also provided examples of how influencers should pen disclosures on relationships with advertisers.

Gushcloud, along with other digital media industry players, is also in discussion with the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) to create guidelines for the industry, especially when engaging influencers, a term used to describe those who have a substantial following on social media platforms.

ASAS deputy director Wang Chee Yan told TODAY that a subcommittee formed for this purpose is working with different players to develop the guidelines. The subcommittee is still in the midst of understanding the issues and needs of the industry, Ms Wang said, adding that she could not elaborate as talks are in the early stages.

“We are reviewing the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice to see how we can build on it,” she said, adding that the discussion with industry players, which includes blog advertising platform Nuffnang, began after a controversy last year between Gushcloud and blogger Wendy Cheng, better known as Xiaxue.

Gushcloud found itself in an embarrassing position this month after one of its briefs incentivising its influencers to complain about Singtel’s rivals M1 and StarHub was made public. Singtel later apologised to the two telcos and one staff member involved in the campaign left the company. It also terminated its relationship with Gushcloud. The brief was made public by Ms Cheng on her blog.

Asked about the new guidelines, Gushcloud co-founder Vincent Ha would only say: “We are currently updating our internal guidelines and standards. We are also committed to collaborating with all members of the industry and the ASAS on guidelines for the industry.”

Mr Jeremy Seow, managing director of digital marketing agency Zeno Singapore, said it was the norm for social media agencies to have their own guidelines. “Most agencies would have a code of conduct or disclosure policies (to ensure) transparency, including while working with bloggers and influencers,” he said.

He added that influencers should take their ability to shape opinions seriously and use it responsibly. “They need to be cautious about what they say and do.”

While some industry observers said Gushcloud’s guidelines would help improve accountability by agencies and influencers, others said the onus to discern between credible and non-credible information remained largely on consumers.

Professor Ang Peng Hwa from Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information said the guidelines would spell out more clearly the confines within which the influencers engaged by Gushcloud should behave. “(The influencers) will have to follow the rules Gushcloud has set if they are acting for the agency. They cannot just write whatever they want.”

Technology commentator Alfred Siew said that if content creators wanted to be taken seriously by their followers, they must be honest with them, with or without guidelines.

But consumers should also question what they read on blog posts and social media. “Don’t just read one review of an item. Ultimately, readers should ask for higher standards in terms of a site’s credibility and truthfulness. All consumers should demand for good content, not just in social media, but from all forms of media,” he said.