How influencers can stay within the ASA influencer guidelines
Back in April the Advertising Standards Authority announced that they had conducted a ‘monitoring sweep’ over a three week period to assess and quantify breaches of their influencer guidelines. 122 UK-based influencers accounts were checked to see if paid-for branded content was being properly declared.
The ASA were displeased with the amount of non-disclosure they discovered in regards to clarifying sponsored posts, and have threatened to name and shame “non-compliant” social media influencers.
Non-disclosure is a real issue, and undermines the great work being done by upfront, ethical influencer marketing agencies, and within the industry as a whole. As the landscape of influencer marketing continues to mature, and brands assign larger budgets to influencer content, adherence and compliance to ASA rules will become increasingly more important.
What is “#Ad”?
Following discussions with influencers and agencies, CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice) and CMA (The Competition and Markets Authority) published the first edition of this influencer guidance on 28 September 2018, in order to bring together all the advisory information that influencers and brands needed to ensure they were disclosing partnerships correctly.
Brands can advertise in a number of ways on social media, from the content posted on their own feed, to ‘affiliate’ or ‘advertorial’ posts that have been published by a contracted influencer.
As some audiences have less understanding and experience of this latter form of advertising, the ASA introduced compulsory disclosure rules for when brands and creators collaborate. AS of 2018, the ASA requires all influencer/brand content to be disclosed with “#Ad”, to make it easier for audiences to distinguish paid/gifted/or otherwise incentivised content over content that has been created without a brand involvement.
Tips for influencers regarding ASA advertising guidelines
Understand what correct disclosure looks like
This may seem a little daunting, but it is very important to understand how to disclose your brand partnerships. There are three key factors that the ASA and CMA have determined as required for proper disclosure.
Clear labelling. “#Ad” must be visible to the user, and not buried in a sea of hashtags. If you have to go searching for it, it probably isn’t acceptable.
Be timely. Your audience should be able to see that the content is an ad before having to click on the caption, link, or video.
Universality. Obscure jargon and abbreviations don’t count. Your disclosure must be universally clear.
2. You can’t plead ignorance
There simply isn’t a case in not knowing or understanding the rules. While there is a responsibility for brands to ensure that they give influencers a clear brief that includes disclosure guidelines and other ASA advice, influencers are responsible for understanding what is expected of them when publishing content.
3. No brief doesn’t mean no disclosure
In the event that you are gifted a product or service free of charge but without any obligation, request, or agreement to post content around it, do you still have to disclose the content with an #Ad?
Yes! According to the ASA, any “beneficial arrangement” is considered payment, and therefore has to be disclosed properly.
4. Use the official, platform-specific tags
All social platforms have their own, official disclosure tags (such as Instagram’s “Paid partnership with” label). The ASA encourages influencers to use these platform-specific tagging features, because users will already be accustomed to and familiar with them.
5. Know that the rules won’t hurt your reach or reputation
Creators worried about disclosing #Ads needn’t worry. As the shift towards better disclosure is embraced by platforms, brands and creators, so too will audiences accept the process.
Trust and authenticity are the cornerstones of success. Creators who respect their audiences enough to be honest with them about their brand partnerships will flourish, and could even see much deeper connections with their followers and subscribers as a result.
Creating great content for your audience, supported by great brand partners, is something to be proud of, not something to hide.
Interested in influencer marketing? Find lots of great articles and insight at our Influencer Marketing Resource.
