Influencer disclosure basics
And a brief history of the specialty coffee menu
Influencer disclosure basics
By Jenn Chen • Issue #139 • View online
- Fun fact- when I was a high school freshman, WNBA star Candace Parker was a senior on the school basketball team. I remember seeing her in the hallways so every time I see a news piece about her, I get excited. For example, leading the Chicago Sky to their first national championship.
- Wired headphones are back in? Apparently, you look effortlessly chic, if you care about that kind of thing. I switched to wireless earbuds this year and tbh, they’ve changed me. Mine are bright red so they’re easy to find if dropped and I no longer accidentally yank them out when I move my arms.
- My weekend getaway in Monterey was beautiful but too short and I had to drive back in the bomb cyclone storm (who names these things?!).
Influencer disclosure basics
It’s been three years since I wrote about influencer tips so I thought it’d be a nice revisit on the basics. I’ve seen quite a few social media posts now where either the influencers or brands or both weren’t disclosing their relationships.
Earlier this month, the FTC sent out official warnings to over 700 brands about their use of fake reviews. Fake reviews include using an endorsement to make deceptive performance claims, not disclosing a relationship with an influencer, and misrepresenting the influencer’s experience as one of an ordinary customer’s.
The FTC has a comprehensive guide on endorsements, it is worth bookmarking for your next influencer campaign. The guide provides advice for regular consumers, individual influencers, and companies. The FTC also published a disclosure guide specifically for digital marketing.
Here are some highlights:
- For influencers, disclosure needs to be “clear and conspicuous.” The small “in partnership” line above an IG post might not be enough so adding #ad or something similar above the “more” line in a caption is recommended. In stories, the text can’t be hidden away somewhere.
- Businesses are also on the hook for disclosures and it does not matter if you use a PR firm. I am emphasizing this because I’ve seen PR firms not remind influencers about the disclosure need and their brand clients not follow up on any influencers. “Advertisers need to have reasonable programs in place to train and monitor members of their network.”
- A relationship with a brand does not have to mean cash was exchanged. It also includes if you’ve been given a free product, a discount code to use, or given cash in the form of a gift card to purchase a product.
- Yes, this includes giveaways.
The FTC is in the US so if you’re outside of it, you should check on your country’s laws regarding influencer disclosures.
Another way of thinking about it is this: if someone is gushing effusively about a product, would knowing that they were given the product for free or at a discount affect your perception of the review? Just disclose.
A Brief History Of The Specialty Coffee Menu
[BYLINE] Oh how the coffee menu has changed over the years.
What is Earned Media? Tips for a Successful Strategy
[BYLINE] Crafting an earned media strategy is the best kind of PR. It can mean the difference between a consumer choosing you or your competitor.
Quick text updates & links on what's new on the networks
Instagram introduced several creator branded toolsincluding a preferred brand list and a DM folder for branded partnerships. It added tagged collabs and ability to upload in the desktop app, live stream scheduling, link stickers for everyone (not just 10k+), and new data analytics. Finally, it’s testing longer videos in stories.
Twitter opened the ability to host a Space to everyone.
Facebook added audio and video calls to the Facebook Inbox. More coverage happened about the Facebook Papers.
Helpful links on how to improve your digital marketing
9 Free Tools for Every Digital Marketer to Get Their Work Done
One tool never fulfilled all our needs and multiple subscriptions are counter-productive. Discover nine free tools to get your work done!
How to Use Instagram Reels for Business: Tips and Examples
See how to use Instagram Reels for business in 7 easy steps, and follow our best practices to connect with your audience in a meaningful way.
5 Easy Places To Curate Content for Social Media
Follow these five ways to curate content to populate your social media channels
contentmarketinginstitute.com • Share
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What'd you think?
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