Keys to transparent Influencer Advertising

By QuikPlace | November 5, 2021

With the maturing digital industry, advertising has moved on from print medium to social media platforms into the hands of influencers. Influencer advertisements are all over social media, and it does no good if these are misleading.

There have been a couple of instances when influencers have endorsed fraudulent products and events. The trade and advertising authorities have come together to regulate influencer advertising and make the influencers accountable for brand endorsements. Many online platforms have also introduced clear rules for influencer advertising. The rules and regulations vary from one country to another. In the U.S, it is governed by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), while the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) is responsible for policies in the United Kingdom.

It is the responsibility of brands and advertisers to regulate the content as much as the influencers. We, as a responsible influencer marketing platform, guide brands and influencers to follow the influencer advertising rules. QuikPlace is a reputed influencer marketplace, and we assure brands that we verify the influencer posts when we run campaigns for them. All the stakeholders must take collective responsibility and comply with the rules and regulations laid down by the competent authorities.

The FTC has been closely monitoring influencer advertising. They ran campaigns to inform influencers and marketers about the guidelines. Some of the influencers were even sent warning letters when they didn’t pay heed to the guidelines. So, the influencers can’t get past the eyes of the FTC.

Let’s take a look at the FTC rules and how influencers should ensure transparency in influencer advertising.

When should influencers disclose advertisements?

The FTC in the U.S. released guidelines for social media influencers regarding online advertising and its disclosure.

How should influencers disclose advertising?

The FTC has laid down some guidelines on how the influencers should disclose the endorsement on social media.

Visibility-

The FTC makes it clear for the influencers that the disclosure of endorsement has to be in such a way that it is visible clearly and cannot be missed.

Simple & clean language-

Just like the disclosure placement, the FTC has framed rules on the language for disclosure.

What are influencers not allowed to do?

How QuikPlace is helping with transparency for influencer advertising?

Quikplace, the best influencer marketplace, takes the onus to bring transparency and consistency in influencer advertising. We ensure that influencers make a disclosure when a post is a paid partnership. The influencers have to obtain consent from the brands while tagging them in paid partnership posts. The benefit of ensuring transparency in brand endorsement is to inform the audience about the partnership and guide them in making informed buying decisions. As a responsible influencer marketing platform, we collaborate with clients and influencers to create meaningful content that resonates with the brand identity.

Bottom line

It is the responsibility of the brands and marketers to ensure that their influencers follow the guidelines of the FTC and the social media platform. Violating the rules can lead to fines, penalty or profile deletion.

Here, at QuikPlace, a trusted influencer marketing platform, we take our roles seriously and ensure that our clients or influencers follow the influencer advertising regulations. You can count on our influencer marketplace services when we take up assignments to promote products for our clients.

The influencers, brands, and advertisers must pay heed to the code of ethics in influencer advertising. Else, they can kiss their campaigns goodbye forever.