Image: Shutterstock/Jacob Lund Image: Shutterstock/Jacob Lund SPONSORED POSTS ON social media channels have become big business in recent years, with some Irish internet stars earning thousands of euro for a single Instagram post.
Data provided to Fora by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland shows that the organisation received 107 complaints related to the activities of influencers throughout 2018. Under ASAI guidelines, bloggers must ensure that marketing communications are clearly disclosed as such. It recommends that bloggers use “identifiers” on paid posts like the hashtags ‘#ad’ or ‘#sp’ for ‘sponsored’.
Other bloggers that have been given a slap on the wrist by the body include Faces by Grace blogger Grace Mongey and, in recent weeks, fitness influencer Siobhan O’Hagan. Both were the subject of complaints for not labeling sponsored posts correctly.Since 2016 the Public Relations Institute of Ireland has campaigned for greater transparency and accountability of influencer marketing and provides its own guidelines on the subject.
“There was a lack of understanding and appreciation of the rules and regulations, but I think that is changing on foot of work by the likes of PRII, the Revenue Commissioners and ASAI react,” he said.Gerard Murnaghan, the EMEA general manager for social media management and analytics provider Sprout Social, said consumers today expect greater transparency around commercial partnerships.
Murnaghan said one of the main concerns for brands that engage in influencer marketing is potential reputational damage.
Sure the majority of them don’t say there sponsored, the influencer “industry” should be more regulated