Influencer Guidelines

The ASA (NZ Advertising Standards Authority) have recently released a ruling with new requirements for social media posting.

You can access full documents at the end of this blog but some main points to take away from this are:

If you’re a content creator (even if you don’t specifically identify as an “influencer”) and you have a mix of organic content and that which is deemed “Ad content” either from paid posts, gifted items, promoting your own business or someone else’s, using a discount or affiliate code or even sharing items gifted in the past then all posts and stories must be clearly labelled to identify these as “advertising”.

This must be by using the word Ad, Advert or Advertisement.

“Sponsored”, “Gifted”, “Spon”, “Collab” etc. are all no longer sufficient unless used alongside “ad” or “advertisement”. You do not need to include these complementary words such as Gifted or Sponsored but you can choose to.

Ad, Advert or Advertisement can be used with or without hashtags but must be clear, prominent, in every instant and in the beginning. E.g. Within the first two lines of a post and in the beginning of a story featuring the product or service and in each subsequent story frame. Prominent means the user can clearly see them in the story without having to search for a small font hidden in the corners or blending in with the background. It can’t be “voiced” in a story where the follower would miss it if their sound was muted.

Some extra points are:

·       This is regardless of how many followers you have and is not intended only for those who identify as an “influencer”.

·       This applies to historically gifted items if they feature prominently in the content in question, if you’re tagging the business who gifted them and/or if you have an on-going relationship with that business.

·       Both “advertiser” and “influencer” are responsible for ensuring these requirements are met.

·       If a business is gifted a product or service from another brand and they post about it then this is considered advertising and needs to be labelled as such.

Full details:

https://www.asa.co.nz/codes/code-guidance-notes/guidance-note-identification-advertisements/

http://www.asa.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Guidance-Note-on-Identification-of-Advertisements-MASTER-COPY-02-09-2020.pdf

http://www.asa.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Influencer-AdHelp-Information-September-2020.pdf