Understanding the Rules of The Game: Regulation

“Any society has to delegate the responsibility to maintain a certain kind of order. Enforcing regulations, making sure people stop at stoplights. We can’t function as a society without rules and regulations, and the enforcement mechanism of those rules and regulations.”

- Joseph Stiglitz

Understand your marketing landscape like the back of your hand because, being caught up in a game without any idea of the rules… Well, let’s just say it’s not pretty.

The rapid explosion of new media, technologies, and opportunities is continually transforming the marketing and advertising landscape and revolutionizing the way the industry conducts business. Transparency and consistency must remain constants to regulate the practice of marketing to the highest ethical standard. The goal is to standardise the responsibilities of businesses and demonstrate professionalism at all times. Professional conduct is ethical, that is, it is based on moral principles of right and wrong as expressed in the profession’s ‘standards of conduct’.

To understand the current regulatory structures of any industry, including digital marketing, we must first define and discuss the potential and limitations of the different approaches to regulation. The 3 main approaches being:

Command and control - Under this approach, the regulatory agency sets forth methods, materials, and the processes by which the regulated entity must operate. This approach, in theory seems most carefully curated, and the most efficient mode of operation for the sector and is relatively easy to regulate and determine compliance.

Performance-based – Here, the regulator does not dictate the materials or processes the regulated entity must use to achieve societal goals, but rather sets ultimate production standards that the entity must meet. This approach allows the regulated entity the flexibility to determine the most efficient way to meet that standard and encourages innovation.

Management-based – This approach is more ‘self-regulated’, and by this I mean; engaging in a meaningful assessment and planning process that determines both the institution’s own regulations and the efforts they will undertake to achieve these goals.

The most confusing part… industries can take on a mix of all 3 approaches.

Social media is the PERFECT platform to share content, educate and inform your respective audience as a business, and has become the primary channel for customer engagement, however adhering to social laws and regulations is imperative. However, since brands use social media to interact with their customers, the content is considered “commercial,” and brands cannot defend against the infringement or misappropriation of another’s intellectual property.

If you came here for the basics of social media regulations, we have got you covered:

1. Don’t be THAT person… Please make sure you don't make any false or misleading claims as part of your marketing and promotional activities (It isn’t cute).

2. Draw the line. Don’t let keyboard warriors make misleading claims or comments on your socials, you can be held accountable.

3. M-I-N-I-M-I-S-E T-H-E R-I-S-K. Don’t make statements on your Facebook or other social media pages that you wouldn’t make in any other type of advertising. If you’re unsure about what you can or can’t say, just ask.

4. Monitor your socials like you would your own child. The amount of time you need to spend monitoring your social media pages depends on two key factors: the size of your company and the number of fans or followers you have.

For a more in depth discussion, visit https://www.accc.gov.au/business/advertising-promoting-your-business/social-media.

From data protection to copyright law, ecommerce sales to advertising regulations, digital marketing and communications are highly regulated. This means that marketing should continue to work in unison with sales to create an ethical environment, where the degree of miscommunication can be minimized easily through simple and clear regulation.