Our checklist combines advice from market regulators around the world. This will help you stay on the right side of the law if you use social media influencers to promote your business. Social media has radically changed advertising. In addition to more conventional forms of marketing such as print, television, radio, and pay-per-click ads, companies are buying the influence of social media personalities. It is the responsibility of brands and influencers that consumers see this. Through the use of analysis tools and regular review of contributions from different devices and browsers, visibility must be controlled. Transparency is the most important thing between an influencer and the audience. It helps to build trusting relationships with influencers and, therefore, with the brand the influencer is working with. This idea of transparency is supported by a survey report that states: 94% of marketers agree that «transparency and authenticity are key to influencer marketing success» and 92% agree that «working with influencers who have a natural affinity with the brand and share a common ethic with the brand is crucial.» Influencers and companies that use their endorsements should also take precautions to avoid liability for infringement of third parties` intellectual property or publicity rights. While a prominent mega-influencer may very well have a sophisticated team of consultants to help them create advertising messages, commonly used macro, micro, and nano-influencers may not be familiar with the legal implications of capturing images, music, videos, or graphics that are not part of it. In 2009, the FTC published approval guides («the Guidelines») to provide advertisers, intermediaries and endorsers (including influencers) with guidance on how to apply Section 5 to ads that are based on recommendations and/or testimonials and to illustrate best practices to facilitate compliance with Section 5 requirements (see 16 CFR 255). The guides consider a recommendation to be «any promotional message (including oral statements, demonstrations or representations of the name, signature, likeness or other personally identifying characteristics of a person or the name or seal of an organization) that consumers are likely to believe reflect the opinions, beliefs, conclusions or experiences of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser.

even if the views expressed by that party are identical to those of the sponsoring advertiser. (16 CFR 255.0(b)). As explained in more detail in the guidelines, compliance with Section 5 of the FTC Act requires, in part: As described above, it`s important that influencers don`t make false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about your business. Your social media policy should make this clear. In fact, Ipsos Mori research on influencer advertising suggests that less than a third of UK consumers felt confident identifying influencer recommendations as ads. Influencer marketing goes far beyond celebrities who have millions of followers. Companies often hire ordinary people with a small audience in a niche category. The industry typically classifies influencers into four groups based on the size of their social media followers: Mega (1 million > followers), Makro (100k-1 million followers), Micro (10k-100k followers), and Nano (<1k-10k followers). A related study on Latin American influencer marketing of breast milk supplements for infants found that social media influencers "induce" the risk of misinformation and inappropriate use of breast milk supplements. Here are the key takeaways from the FTC`s requirements for influencers: There`s no doubt that influencer marketing can benefit brands, engage consumers, and increase sales. However, as we`ve described in this article, requiring and enforcing influencers` legal and regulatory obligations plays a critical role in mitigating the risks associated with influencer campaigns and ensuring that the campaign doesn`t backfire through liability or negative publicity. Since the influencer landscape is subject to a complex set of rules, we recommend getting legal advice before hiring influencers to promote a company`s products and services.

Brands are increasingly using influencers to use social media marketing as a crucial part of their marketing strategies. The NCAA`s decision to grant college athletes the right to use their name, image and likeness has significantly increased the pool of influencers. Given the legal risks associated with influencer marketing, brands should familiarize themselves with applicable law and proactively address these risks in their contracts, policies, and procedures. Third, brands may consider providing the job classification of their social media influencers. For example, if a brand chooses to treat influencers as independent contractors rather than employees, it may make sense to clarify this relationship in the agreement, including setting payment terms and the fact that the brand cannot control how services are provided. In the independent contractor relationship, brands need to be very careful not to exert too much control over the influencer or the content of posts. Excessive control of influencers carries the risk of establishing that the parties are in an employment relationship rather than an independent contractor relationship. Detailed instructions on what should be included in positions or a cumbersome pre-approval process could expose the brand to various labor laws that apply to employees. An explicit commitment that the influencer complies with applicable laws (including FTC guidelines). For micro and nano-influencers, it may make sense to include stricter compliance requirements (e.g. the requirement to clearly disclose any meaningful link to the advertiser in plain language in the supporting post), as these influencers may not be familiar with the applicable requirements. disclosure of an important link between an influencer and the advertiser that could have a significant impact on the weight or credibility of the recommendation; that the recommendations reflect the honest opinions and experiences of the influencer; The FTC said the relationship between the influencer and the company should be clear and eye-catching.

To achieve this standard, the FTC argued that influencers should disclose the paid partnership in the first part of the Instagram post caption so that followers can easily distinguish the post as advertising. Although Teami provided these instructions to influencers in their contracts, the FTC claimed that the influencers were not complying with these guidelines, not the company. While this form of advertising isn`t exactly new, it has received a lot of attention from regulators in recent years. A number of countries have introduced new rules and stricter laws that govern the relationship between businesses, online influencers and their followers. Influencers are primarily regulated by the FTC under Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, which prohibits «unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.» The FTC clarified how influencers can comply with Section 5(a) in 2009 when it issued a series of approval guidelines. The guidelines state that in order to comply with Section 5(a), influencers must, among other things, generally disclose the fact that the promotion is an advertisement, express their honest opinion, use the product they support, and accurately express the qualities or performance of a product. Many advertising regulators, including the FTC (in the US), the Competition Bureau (in Canada) and the ASA (in the UK), provide market-specific advice to companies and influencers engaged in social media marketing. Brands should assume with great caution that anything posted by an influencer who has been inspired in any way by the brand is subject to the FTC`s disclosure rules.