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Influencer Marketing Disclosure Guidelines in Australia
Introduction
In the world of social media, any brand that wishes to grow must adapt to social media marketing. Known as “influencer marketing,” individuals can use their widespread social media influence on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok to enhance communications between brands and consumers.
Most such people owe their entire livelihood to the Internet and social media and have a great deal of expertise in marketing sponsorships as a result. Depending on their field and niche, SEO techniques differ, and these influencers know how to work around the algorithm. This is why brands prefer influencers to be their ambassadors, as they already have a strong hold on marketing.
For example, an influencer whose main field is Instagram and whose main niche is makeup would be a great asset for any brand in the beauty industry. This includes campaigns for face makeup products, SFX makeup products, skincare, and so on. Travel influencers would be great for travel accessories or travel agencies, while fitness influencers would be great for health brands and gyms looking for promotions. This is what influencer marketing entails.
Disclosure Requirements for Australian Campaigns
While the exact legal requirements depend on the sort of campaign it is, there are some basics that every brand should make sure they’re familiar with.
AANA Code (Australian Association of National Advertisers Code)
Section 2.7 of the AANA Code refers to advertising and essentially requires all marketing communication to be distinguishable in clear terms, and it must not be vague. This means that people who follow an influencer must know that your collaboration is a paid project. The campaign-related post should avoid misleading the audience to believe that the opinions asserted are completely unbiased, but rather, notify them that the promotion of a said product is a part of a paid collaboration.
The easiest way to do this would be to include a hashtag such as #Ad, #Advertisement, #BrandedContent, #PaidPromotion, #PaidPartnership, and so on. While a hashtag is not always necessary, the wording of the caption may also indicate that it is an ad. Simply saying it’s a sponsorship or that it’s a gift from a brand does not suffice as appropriate disclosure that it is an advertisement.
ACCC (Australian Competition & Consumer Commission)
The ACCC ensures that laws regarding consumer protection, fair trading, and competition are all followed by businesses and individuals. The ACCC has the right to take legal action against any page on social media where the claims made constitute a breach of the law.
AiMCO (Australian Influencer Marketing Council) Code of Practice
The AiMCO Code of Practice for Australian Influencer Marketing is great for any business or brand that aims to use influencer marketing or aims to include it in their marketing plan sometime down the line. It covers a wide number of areas listed below.
- Disclosure requirements for advertisements in light of the Australian Consumer Law;
- Considerations for brand safety;
- Making sure influencer vetting is transparent;
- Reporting and metrics transparency;
- Inclusion of content rights; and
- Intellectual property in contracts.
Importance of Disclosure in Influencer Marketing
One might think that disclosing a collaboration would lead to low sales, and this may be true to a certain extent. People, under the pretence of knowing someone was paid to promote a certain product, may doubt the authenticity of said product. However, it is a widely accepted concept that transparency is much more valued than engagement.
Influencers and marketers need to be open and honest about when a brand has hired them to promote their product and when it is not sponsored. This will allow the general public to make a more informed decision about making a purchase, and is lilkely to elicit a more positive response.
For example, a fashion influencer may post a picture of themselves in a faux leather jacket claiming the material is exceptionally comfortable. For the followers of that particular influencer, word of mouth is often enough to believe what is being claimed. On the other hand, if the fashion influencer discloses that the faux leather jacket was sent as a PR gift, the audience will be more critical of the influencer’s opinion of the jacket.
Using Branded Content Tools for Disclosure
Thanks to the growing prevalence of influencer marketing, most social media platforms now offer tools to disclose branded content. Individuals and brands can use these tools to post about collaborations, be more transparent about the fact that it is a paid partnership. Despite these tools, it is still important to mention that it is an advertisement, as not all laws consider branded content tools to be adequate disclosure. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram’s branded content tools allow influencers and brands to seamlessly share metrics while also providing additional data and clarity regarding the collaboration.
Key Takeaways
- Influencers are people with a large number of followers who hold a social standing. Influencer marketing is when these individuals enter into brand deals to market a certain product or business to their social media followers.
- Multiple legal frameworks in Australia set the guidelines for disclosure when influencer marketing is used to allow consumers to make an informed decision about the products or services they intend to purchase.
- The AANA Code requires brands and influencers to be completely transparent about paid partnerships, including using hashtags to indicate the partnership is an advertisement.
- The ACCC are a regulatory body which ensures that competition is maintained in the consumer sector and consumer rights are protected. If an influencer makes a false claim, their social media post can be held in court as a breach of law.
- The AiMCO Code of Practice related to Influencer Marketing offers a wide range of guidelines concerning almost every aspect of social media advertisements.
- Disclosure is important when it comes to influencer marketing because audience trust is built on transparency. Followers are likely to be more inclined to engage brands for their services or products if they came to learn about it through an open and unambiguous campaign.
- Many social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have recently introduced branded content tools. These allow brands and influencers to disclose their collaboration seamlessly while also being able to track the metrics of their campaign.
- While branded content tools are a great help, they may not always qualify as an adequate disclosure. As such, it is necessary to make sure that in addition to using these tools, clear wording is employed to make the audience and general public aware of the advertisement.
Connect with us
At Immerse we can help you navigate the numerous guidelines in this space.
Contact us today to safeguard your business from liabilities and learn more about how we can help you with all your legal queries.
Mark Lazarus
I am not your typical suit and tie lawyer. As you will note from my LinkedIn Profile, I was the Legal Director of the famous energy drink brand, Monster Energy for almost 6 years (based in London), and currently an Australian and UK qualified lawyer with experience across APAC, EMEA and the US.
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