Google Trends has shown influencer marketing’s rapid displacement of traditional media vehicles such as print, and it is predicted to close in and overtake video ads. Edelman’s 2017 Trends Report predicts influencer marketing will play a central role in the marketing mix. Influencers have proven to be catalysts for audience growth, as well as powerful storytellers who can help educate audiences and whose trust often overshadows that of the brand.
It’s never been more important for this burgeoning industry to tame the wild, wild west and create and uphold standards to ensure the longevity of what has become an important quiver in a brand’s marketing arsenal.
One of those standards is following the FTC’s rules for proper disclosure of sponsored content. The FTC continues to hand out fines to influencers for non-compliance of these disclosures. Most of those fines have been sent to celebrities or web celebs, not mainstream influencers. It is difficult to fathom why companies and brands continue to ignore the rules when they are so simple to follow. Every time the FTC issues warnings and fines, the offenders taint the industry for all of us.
Until recently, the FTC has allowed a bit of ambiguity when it comes to specific questions and details regarding compliance -- until they hosted a Twitter chat to answer those details by platform. Here are some of the main takeaways:
The FTC doesn’t think built-in YouTube and Facebook disclosure tools suffice.
To answer the FTC’s concerns regarding non-compliance of sponsored content, social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have developed tools to help expedite and simplify compliance. A word of caution though, the FTC stated during the Twitter chat that they believed the built-in disclosure tools for influencers are not sufficient for proper disclosure. If you're unsure, the FTC just published updated guidelines.
Influencers know about the disclosure tools but aren’t using them.
We asked 600 of our influencers exactly that question: "Are you aware that Facebook, Google and Instagram offer newly developed branded content tools for disclosing sponsored content?" The good news is that 90% of the influencers we asked said they were aware of the new branded content tools from Instagram and YouTube. However, 66% reported they were not using these tools. That doesn’t mean they weren’t being compliant. It just means they were choosing to ignore the tools the social platforms were offering and choosing to disclose manually.
For context, those surveyed were not celebrities or web celebs. These were either micro-influencers or what we quantify as the “power middle.” Seventy-four percent of the surveyed influencers told us they made $25,000 or less from sponsored content on an annual basis. Twenty percent reported an income between $25,000 and $50,000, and the remainder reported income between $50,000 and $100,000-plus. Most of these influencers expressed they have been in the business of being an influencer for between 3-9 years.
Of note, and particularly disturbing, was that 26.4% of the influencers surveyed stated they had been asked by brands to not disclose the nature of a sponsored post. A study over a year ago also showed that one in four influencers reported were asked to not disclose. This is especially troubling given all the news around fines for non-compliance, including highly public fines against Warner Bros. and Lord & Taylor.
The good news is, many influencers we surveyed know the FTC rules: 61.3% were very familiar with the FTC disclosures, 31.8% were somewhat familiar and only 2.4% were unfamiliar with FTC rules.
Why would a brand or company choose not to disclose?
There is no reason for a brand or company to not disclose. I can only surmise that they believe disclosures will make the content less valuable. In fact, 80% of influencers in this survey reported they had never received negative feedback about any of their sponsored content. Plus, 13% went as far as saying they saw more engagement with sponsored content and an even larger portion said they saw no change in engagement between sponsored and non-sponsored content (55.9%). Only 31% said they saw less engagement with sponsored content.
However, a recent WWD story reported fashion influencer Katie Sturino's response to sponsored content: “Immediately it just feels like, ‘Ugh, she’s just getting a paycheck.’ Everyone tries to work with brands that they feel good about.” And yes, they are getting a paycheck, but in so many cases influencer marketing has given opportunities to women and moms that are critical to their family's well-being.
Many influencers will tell you that disclosure is an important aspect of building trust with their audience. They are proud of their sponsored content and their relationships with brands.
