Instagram tightens implementation of rules on paid posts

Instagram tightens implementation of rules on paid posts
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Instagram has announced that it will increase its efforts to catch influencers who not practice proper disclosure for paid posts.

The move by Instagram to be stricter on influencers who fail to disclose when they have been paid for their posts follows an investigation by UK watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) showing that the social media platform was failing to protect consumers from being misled.

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Users who fail to properly label their paid posts will also be reported to the businesses whose products they endorse.

Labeling paid posts

Under UK rules, social media influencers have to clarify if they are being paid by a company to promote its business. This if often done by using the hashtag ‘#ad’ in such posts.

Instagram will launch new tools over the next year, including a prompt that requires influencers to confirm whether they have received incentives to promote a product or service before they can publish their post, and new algorithms designed to determine potential advertising content.

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According to the CMA, its investigation had discovered that numerous influencers were not following the rules. It commended Instagram’s decision, saying it was “an important behavioral shift” for social media platforms.

A CMA spokesman pointed out: “This will make it much harder for people to post an advert on Instagram without labelling it as such.”

Hiding disclosures from plain view

In September, a study revealed that over three quarters of influencers hide their disclosures on Instagram ads somewhere in the post, whether in the middle, at the end or in a comment.

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Conducted by the team behind global affiliate network www.Awin.com, the research analyzed the top 100 posts for each disclosure hashtag, whether the hashtag was visible in the original post, or needed expanding to be seen.

Under the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules, influencer marketing labels “must be prominent enough that consumers will easily notice it”, and that “burying a label in list of hashtags … or placing it ‘under the fold’ where consumers would need to click ‘see more’ … won’t be sufficient.”

The researchers found that 76% of the analyzed posts hid the disclosure from view and did not follow the ASA guidance.

The study showed that influencers were most likely to place the disclosure in the middle of the post as 59% of the posts were using this pattern, 24% were found at the end, while as much as 12% were hidden in the comments section.

Only 5% of the posts had the disclosures at the beginning of the post.

Kevin Edwards, Global Strategy Director at www.Awin.com, said: “Disclosure is a really important part of being an influencer, not just because of the legal ramifications but also to have complete transparency with your followers. It was surprising to find that so many influencers were ‘hiding’ the disclosure of their advertisements from followers, and something we hope to combat this year.”

Why hide disclosures?

Sara Tasker, an Instagram coach and author, said influencers try to disguise endorsements because of followers’ perception. She said: “They don’t want to turn their audience off with ads, or risk a drop in engagement or losing followers by being seen to ‘sell out’.”

Tasker argued: “Clear disclosure regulation means the content can speak for itself, and puts the onus back on the influencers to create posts that are valuable and relevant, regardless of payment or #ad.”