• by Rosanna Fiske , January 14, 2011

Buzzwords abound in the marketing, public relations and advertising industries. Phrases like "convergence," "cord-cutting" and "engagement" quickly come to mind. Each captured our attentions, invaded our Twitter streams and just as often, was trite from the moment it was first uttered.

But one crucial word has often been missing: disclosure.

To earn the public's trust, it's crucial that we provide transparency and truth regarding the motivating factors of online marketing and social media campaigns, who's running the show and what information is being collected. Unfortunately, this key word, which is becoming increasingly relevant to the public and to government regulators, is often absent from the industry's trending topics.

If disclosure isn't on your list of words to tweet, blog or chat about this year, it needs to be because it's primed to be the next big thing in online marketing and communications. We just may not realize it until it's too late.

That's because at this very moment -- and for perpetuity -- we have a responsibility to better self-regulate our practices and ensure consumers are getting the full picture every time they interact online with our brands.

To be sure, efforts are already underway to raise the profile and importance of disclosure in online marketing. Last November, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) examined as part of its annual ethics code review a key question concerning the level of disclosure within social media contests.

As chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America, I submitted commentary to WOMMA, which noted: "Disclosure of relationships, motivation, compensation and other pertinent factors should be the basis of all forms of marketing and communications, including emerging practices like social media and online contests."

Not exactly a Twitter-friendly comment, but a vital point for marketers to consider as they aim to improve relationships with consumers, while ensuring the public is fully informed.

WOMMA's effort to help digital marketers navigate the often confusing precepts of digital disclosure is commendable. So is the discussion that took place around its review process and any ensuing provisions adopted by the association.

A snapshot of recent online marketing mishaps more clearly illustrates the value of greater disclosure in online marketing practices:

From cheating allegations in the Pepsi Refresh campaign to concerns over data scraping within online message boards to the Federal Trade Commission's calls for companies to voluntarily let consumers opt-out from having their browsing data collected by Web marketers, a view from the outside would likely show a profession that is incredibly innovative, but struggling to convince people that it has their best interests in mind.

It doesn't have to be this way. We can and should do more to help the public understand the value of the information they provide when interacting online with our brands. But we must be willing to give them the peace of mind they desire and already receive in many offline marketing practices.

With the FTC taking an increasingly refined look into digital marketing and advertising practices, it behooves all communicators to be on top of this now, before government regulators begin to crack down -- even more so than they already have.

Disclosure within digital marketing and social media has always been fraught with technical challenges, concerns over best practices and standards and a bevy of other legitimate (and sometimes, not so legitimate) concerns. One area that should engender unilateral agreement among marketers, however, is that now is the time for better self-regulation and a higher degree of disclosure.

In order to keep consumers coming back for more, and to reap the rewards without stringent regulatory oversight, we must adopt a far more sophisticated and responsible approach to disclosure.