Instagram to 'bring transparency' to influencer marketing

Lindsay Bennett
By Lindsay Bennett | 15 June 2017
 

Instagram has unveiled a number of new features that will allow influencers to clearly disclose when they have been paid to post content and share campaign metrics directly with brands, in a move to “increase transparency across the board".

The first tool, which is being described as a ‘paid partnership’ tag, is rolling out to a select number of global creators, including influencers, publishers and business pages, over the coming weeks.

The feature is designed to help content creators communicate to Instagram users that they are working in collaboration with a business. It will mark content as paid in the Instagram feed as well as within the Stories section of the app.

instagram paid for posts

The launch comes just months after the Australian Association of National Advertisers (ANAA) introduced guidelines that brands must disclose paid posts using hashtags such as #ad or #sponsored. 

While most influencer leaders welcomed the guidelines, others in the industry said they were “unfair”.

Many influencers are still using less obvious tags like #sp – or simply fail to note the relationship out of concern they’ll appear inauthentic. 

Instagram is initially launching the tool with a small group of creators, including blogger Aimee Song, who is currently collaborating with Volvo, and BuzzFeed Tasty, which has been posting sponsored content with yoghurt brand Chobani.

In the coming months it’s understood the tagging feature will be opened up to a broader group.

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