Pub. 8 2013-2013 Issue 5

www.nebankers.org 30 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. innovative Nebraska banks provide innovative financial solutions to the communities they serve. We are here to enhance your success. Loan Origination and Workout Loan Participations Bank Mergers and Acquisitions Succession Planning for Owners Commercial Litigation Regulatory Consultation and Compliance Loan Default Remedies and Bankruptcy Representation Real Estate Purchase, Sale and Leasing General Business Representation Lincoln Omaha Denver www.woodsaitken.com FINRA The FINRA document has information on social network- ing and blogs. It is organized as follows: • Executive summary: The executive summary explains why this document was prepared (just like the FFIEC document, different businesses had asked for guidance) and provides contact information so you can get answers to any additional questions you might have after reading it. • Background: This section explains that, as a result of in- creasing social-media usage throughout the U.S., FINRA created a Social Networking Task Force to study how com- munication rules should be applied to social media sites. • The remainder of the document consists of questions and answers that have been grouped according to the general topic; for example, a section about types of interactive electronic forums contains the answers to two specific questions. FTC The FTC document has guidelines for using endorsements and testimonials in order to advertise a product. Each section consists of a general explanation followed by a series of helpful examples. The sections are organized as follows: • Purpose and definitions: The FTC uses this document to tell readers how its administration interprets the laws that it enforces by explaining the general principles, defining the terms (endorsement and testimonials, endorsers, products, and experts), and then listing eight examples of situations that are or are not categorized as endorsements. The last example deals specifically with a personal blogger. • General considerations: This section contains the general rules for making an endorsement. For example, it is illegal to lie about your opinions when youmake an endorsement. As with the previous section, one example deals with a blog- ger. • Consumer endorsements: The idea is that if you endorse a product, you need to have enough knowledge about the product to make the endorsement; your own experience needs to support the claims you make; and if an ad claims you are an actual customer, then that has to be true. If you are not an actual customer, then that information has to be made plain. • Expert endorsements: If someone gives an expert endorse- ment, then that personmust have the necessary credentials to make the endorsement and the endorsement can’t be deceptive in some way. • Endorsements by organizations: Organizations consist of people with many different opinions and, often, different levels of expertise. Therefore, if an organization endorses something, the organizationhas to have some kind of process in place to ensure the endorsement really does fairly reflect collective opinion about a product and also that the organiza- tion as a whole is qualified to make the endorsement. • Disclosure of material connections: If a business hides information that would reasonably affect the way some- one evaluates a product, then that information has to be disclosed. Two of the examples deal with social media (the first involves a blogger, and the second involves an online message board). Summing Up Part of being a banker is being prudent, thorough, and methodical. Many people consider these to be old-fashioned virtues, but the truth is they continue to be useful because they help financial institutions stay out of all kinds of trouble, legal and otherwise. Social media may be new, but applying these virtues to your policies and procedures will go a long way toward keeping you, and your company, away from the court system and the kinds of headlines that no banker ever wants to see.   Social Media — continued The newsLINK Group, LLC is a marketing firm that specializes in communication strategies for nonprofits, trade associations, and professional service firms.