[Whitepaper] Five Common Compliance Missteps of Financial Bloggers
Compliant digital content has become a hot topic in many financial blogger circles. We recently sat down with Phillip Taylor, CEO at FinCon, the peer conference for the financial media community, to discuss the industry’s key compliance pain points. Below are the five topics that bloggers need to manage to maintain compliance.
Ability to add URLs and Editorial Content
Financial Bloggers sometimes struggle managing their entire URL inventory because of tedious manual updates required on each link due to content or offer changes. To combat this process you may minimize the number of URL’s or those with editorial content—limiting the potential to drive additional revenue. This does not have to be the case. By using an automated compliance monitor, you can continue to develop and build on the number of URLs and content. Don’t be a slave to the process anymore. Spend time on what’s important: Increasing your presence and growing your revenue.
Credit Card or Offer Feeds
Keeping up with credit cards and their offers can be challenging. Some blogs have lender feeds incorporated directly into their site. While this makes being compliant easier, it can limit the material they want to present to their audience. Others will manually incorporate the information into their sites, which again requires continual discovery and maintenance as these offers can change on a monthly or even weekly schedule. Top industry bloggers have found compliance automation is the key to spending less time on discovery and more time adding blog content.
Content Inventory
With the vast number of contracted publishers, affiliates and free publishers in the market, many bloggers struggle with maintaining an accurate inventory of their content and where it is located. Unlike larger companies or corporations that may hire compliance teams to review and maintain content, bloggers often are on their own to manage this task. Don’t be a slave to spreadsheets anymore. Identify strategies to automate your search for URL lists containing specific brands, content, or links.
Search Phrases and Link requirements
There are many variables on how content can be presented to stay compliant. Do you include links to drive traffic to other URLs? Creating an efficient system to display content regarding links and where they point creates additional challenges to the blogging industry. Compliance automation will not only pick up the link copy as shown on the URL, but can also display where it being directed. To assist with requirements for certain language before and/or after a link, seek technology that is smart enough to search and flag instances of potential deviations to the required content.
Disclosures
Bloggers must be mindful of exact wording and phrasing mentioned with offers. Include additionally required disclosures from other regulatory bodies such as the FTC, FCC, CFPB and State Attorney Generals. A good compliance monitoring partner will have rule sets to help you navigate policy and guidance to mitigate your risk.
Considering these five areas will help bloggers maintain compliance in this growing industry. Take control of your digital content to avoid compliance infractions and protect your brand. As you develop a process to manage this content, remember: consistency is key.
For more information on compliance monitoring, contact IntegriShield at 888-547-7110.
Revisiting TCPA Language
In 2015 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) outlined new rules regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This anticipated ruling brought into light the definition of “capacity” with respect to “automatic telephone dialing system”.
Let’s take a look at what this means for your organization and how you can maintain compliance in 2016. We’ll start with the FCC’s definition of the autodialer in the Declaratory Ruling.
Scope and Definition of an Autodialer
equipment which has the capacity—
(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and
(B) to dial such numbers. 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(1) (emphasis added).
The FCC concluded that “the TCPA’s use of ‘capacity’ does not exempt equipment that lacks the ‘present ability’ to dial randomly or sequentially.” Rather, “the capacity of an autodialer is not limited to its current configuration but also includes its potential functionalities.” This clarification of the definition of an autodialer is really important, because it voids the widely adopted strategy of manually dialing mobile phone numbers. If the phone you are using to manually dial mobile phone numbers is still considered an autodialer under the law, it doesn’t matter if you manually dial or autodial the number.
This is especially important in the for-profit school sector as it defines what is considered consent when dealing with TCPA language in respect to prospective students. Not only is it important to gain permission once the prospective students’ identification has been established, it is imperative that there are clear steps and language to opt-out of receiving calls or text messages should the consumer decide no further contact is desired.
To learn more about the ruling and how to maintain your TCPA compliance, contact us at 888-547-7110.
Creating a Culture of Compliance
Every few months, the story repeats itself: Company X suffers a major security breach or unexpectedly enters a legal battle due to an industry compliance violation. Fortunately, there are several steps organizations can take to protect themselves. It starts with creating a “compliance culture”—a workplace operating on a set of policies that foster compliant behavior as everyday best practice.
Click here to read the full IntegriShield’s article as published in Thinking Bigger Business magazine.
This article will help you understand:
– Why a data breach is more than a “tech problem”
– Best practices for handling confidential records
– When and how to implement non-compete and non-disclosure agreements
Vlog: Text Messages and the FCC
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Your Mistakes Are Giving Prospects Cold Feet
The first contact a potential student has with your school can make or break their choice of attendance. Is your admissions team unknowingly causing potential students to get cold feet and not follow through with an interview—or choosing your institution at all? After auditing hundreds of mystery shopping calls, we’ve compiled the list below of the four most common mistakes representatives make during first contact—and how you can avoid them.
- Unresponsiveness of Representatives – Potential students that do not get a call back, especially after leaving voicemails, may feel under appreciated. That the lack of response could be an indicator of what to expect after enrollment. It should be top priority for representatives to return phone calls within 24 hours. Remember, you don’t know how many institutions they might be calling to get information.
- Over Promising Financial Aid – At some point during communication it is important to disclose the fact that financial aid is only available to those who qualify. Without this disclosure, prospective students could be misled to believe they will receive grants and scholarships to cover tuition costs then discontinue the enrollment process as a result.
- Slow Response to Lead Forms – Its best practice to contact potential students submitting a lead form on an institution or vendor’s website within 24 hours. Schools often wait days or even a week to follow up. At this point the inquiry could have changed their mind, lost interest, or chosen a different institution.
- Unprofessional Language – Representatives need to walk a cautious line when building a rapport with prospects. It’s acceptable to try bonding with potential students by explaining how proud they were to finish school themselves, talking about their children or families, or even recounting a positive story. https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/ https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/ https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/ https://integrishield.com/your-mistakes-are-giving-prospects-cold-feet/Yet, going into financial comparatives, politics, or the foolish things they did when they were younger could make your prospects feel your institution isn’t serious.
By training your staff to avoid these common mistakes, you can help prevent cold feet and transition more prospective students into enrollments. Remember to monitor brand representatives regularly to help limit your compliance risks.
To learn more about mystery shopping click here.
Let’s Talk About Best Practices and Regulations!
Have you seen what’s new in our compliance corner? Each week IntegriShield President, Jennifer Flood, is answering your compliance questions about marketing for lead gen, higher ed, finance and more.
To submit your questions please email Jenn directly or leave a comment below.
Click here to watch more compliance tips from the experts.
To get the latest compliance news delivered straight to your inbox remember to complete the form at the bottom of our website.
Vlog: TCPA Ruling
All marketers are familiar with the wide-sweeping TCPA legislation that has been consumer focused regarding unwanted calls and text messages. Now, the FCC wants to close loopholes and has indicated more restrictions are on the horizon.
Are you unsure of the impact this may have on your organization? Watch the short 4 minute clip below as IntegriShield President Jennifer Flood answers the questions we frequently get from marketers and clients.
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Minnesota Increases Scrutiny of For-Profit Colleges
In the past year, for-profit schools in Minnesota have been coming under increased scrutiny. The state’s Office of Higher Education has created a new watchdog which sends out “secret shoppers” to monitor whether schools are misleading or dealing honestly with prospective students. Schools giving misleading information about job-placement rates or how much money graduates could earn in their field are just a couple of examples that would raise concerns with these shoppers.
The new state watchdog has started to compare notes with Minnesota State Attorney General’s Office. This this office can suspend or shut down a school that gives students misleading information, including institutions that a court or government proceeding concludes they have engaged in fraud or misrepresentation.
Monitoring your staff can shield your institution from potential fines and penalties. Some areas to proactively monitor for compliance may include:
- Scripts: Providing scripts for your representatives to follow enables them to touch on key benefits of your institution and direct the conversation toward enrollment.
- Citing Statistics and Job Placement: When a prospect inquires about job placement or expected salaries, statistics provided must be accompanied by an official source such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment can never be promised.
- Financial Aid: Not every student will qualify for financial aid. It is important to provide this clarification and transfer prospective students to a financial aid representative to receive further information.
Get more tips for analyzing and improving the performance of your admission staff, email Shawn Graybill or call 888-547-7110 today.
Fraudulent Advertising: What Nobody Tells You
Your company is liable for what others do on your behalf. When your business hires an advertising agency, you might very well be paying for a third-party marketer too—even if nobody told you.
That’s because many agencies will subcontract with third-party firms to handle Internet advertising, landing pages and the digital side of promoting your company. These marketers can help you obtain a huge number of client leads very quickly. https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/ https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/ https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/ https://integrishield.com/fraudulent-advertising-what-nobody-tells-you/They can position your business in front of literally millions of consumers. In most cases you and the third-party are not responsible to each other because a direct contractual relationship doesn’t exist.
So what happens when this third party marketer misrepresents your brand through fraudulent advertising? Click here to continue reading the full article on demystifying third party marketers and what you can do to protect your business.
Originally Published in: Thinking Bigger Business magazine – July 2015 (Vol.24 Issue 7)
Vlog: The FTC and Updated Rules on Testimonials
Do you use bloggers and social media to promote your company, school or products? The FTC has released new monitoring method requirements.
Watch as our president, Jennifer Flood, explains how that may impact your organization:
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