The FTC, in an attempt to keep up with the ever-changing nature of social media, put forth a series of “educational” letters concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. The letters were in part sparked by questions regarding “influencer marketing.” Influencer marketing, which is where social media influencers create content to engage followers about a particular service or product, is not exclusive to social media advertising, but does create sticky issues about what to disclose and more importantly – how.
Social media platforms have responded by takings some of the guess work out of the disclosure process. Below are explanations of four different social media platforms’ approaches to handle this new wave of branded content.
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Influencers can now add a “Paid partnership with” tag in both posts and Instagram stories to indicate that the content is part of a brand partnership. The tag appears beneath the user’s Instagram handle in the post or story. |
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Facebook’s Advertising Policies now require that “Ads promoting branded content must tag the featured third party product, brand, or business partner using the branded content tool.” This allows creators and publishers to add the term “Paid” beneath the content. |
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YouTube
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YouTube allows content creators to include a written disclaimer directly in videos posted on that platform in the bottom left corner at the beginning of a video that reads “Includes paid promotion.” |
