The rapid growth of social media platforms and the popularity and rise of sponsored social media posts has attracted a lot of attention lately—and not necessarily the good, ROI-driving kind of attention. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. government agency responsible for overseeing ads and advertising practices, has started to closely scrutinize influencer marketing campaigns for indications of deceptive marketing practices.
Make sure your following the guidelines
Here’s what you can do to make sure your influencer marketing is following the FTC’s guidelines:
Know when to disclose
Money isn’t everything. If you’re related to the influencer in some way or have given that person a gift (not one of your brand’s products), he or she needs to reveal that connection to the audience.
Create rules for disclosure
Be upfront and clear with your influencers about the importance of disclosure in any posts they create for you. You can decide on the type of disclosure to use, such as #ad or “paid for by brand X.” Just make it plain to any influencer you work with that a disclosure isn’t optional.
Get the placement right
Disclosure needs to come first. Bloggers create blog posts about brands that give them free products or monetary compensation. However, because of this that person has to disclose who sponsored or paid at the top of the post.
In social media posts, the hashtag disclosure needs to come first. If your influencers create videos, they need to put the disclosure at the start of the video, not the end. If a follower has to hunt for the disclosure, it’s not in the right spot.
Don’t rely on the “In Partnership With” feature
Instagram and other social networks now offer an “in partnership with” or “paid partnership with” option when influencers create posts. While that feature can be convenient, it’s not always enough for full disclosure, according to the FTC.
Making sure your brand is following the FTC’s influencer marketing guidelines will help you avoid legal hassle. It can also help you avoid a hit to your reputation, that can occur if people find out your influencers haven’t been fully honest about their partnerships.
FTC Guidelines for Sponsored Social Media
Know the Rules
Knowing the latest FTC Social Media Guidelines can help both sponsoring brands and influencers from violating government policies while still providing valuable recommendations to social media audiences.