Influencer marketing is an increasingly common alternative to more traditional forms of marketing, involving the use of personalities to influence consumers on social media. It has developed rapidly in recent years to the extent that 80% of brands now have some relationship with an influencer. Influencers often have a large number of followers and can capture the attention of the masses with a single post.

This can be great news for promoting a product or service, however businesses large and small must be aware that the UK Advertising and Standards Authority (ASA) has warned over 200 social media influencers over the past 12 months that they were breaking the rules about revealing advertising that has been paid for.  Similarly if you are using an influencer to promote your product or service you must make it clear in your advertising that ad has been paid for and that there is a commercial relationship with the influencer. You must be certain you are following the ASA’s rules and regulations – the responsibility falls on both the influencer and the promoter’s shoulders. Here is a summary of the rules.

Influencers and celebrities should always make it clear when content is ‘paid-for’, rather than consumers have to guess or work it out. This means the status of a tweet, blog, vlog, Instagram post or story should be clear.

What are the 4 main categories of content?

1.     Clearly promoted posts influencer has a commercial relationship with the brand (cash or products) and the brand has element of editorial control

2.     Affiliate marketing – content links directly to product or discount code

3.     Own ads promoting own influencer’s own products, competitions etc.

4.     Advertorials –brand paid for the placement and has full editorial control

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code says ads ‘must be obviously identifiable as such’ which means you and they need to clearly label all ads.

Recommended ad labels on Instagram posts

·       #Ad

·       #Advert

·       #Advertisement

·       #AdvertisementFeature

Remember, these labels should always be placed at the beginning of a post clearly, and they should be clear and not ambiguous. If you fail to comply with these rules then the ASA can “name and shame” your business by publishing a ruling prohibiting further use of the advert.