In a world where businesses are moving away from traditional advertising like newspapers and magazines, you must get creative. One effective approach is to use influencers to market your products or services on social media. But what exactly should you know about influencer marketing?
In today’s internet driven world, it is now very popular to use influencers for marketing. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have seen significant growth in user engagement. However, before you start advertising on social media marketing and advertisement, you need to understand influencer marketing in detail and the social media laws that govern it.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer Marketing is now an effective form of social media advertising, where a brand collaborates with a well-known influencer who has a significant online presence and a dedicated following, to promote and endorse their products or services to a highly targeted audience. By leveraging the influencer’s following, a brand can gain exposure, and ultimately drive sales. This new marketing channel has revolutionized the way brands connect with their target market and has proven to be a game-changer.
What laws govern influencer marketing?
There are no statutory laws, which dictate social media influencer marketing. However, in England and Wales, there are two main bodies that regulate advertising and marketing, such being:
- Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA plays a vital role in ensuring businesses comply with advertising regulations. Its key responsibilities include:
- Protecting consumer interest – One of the crucial roles of the CMA is to hold businesses accountable for their advertising and other claims, to ensure consumers have access to accurate information and do not receive inaccurate or non-misleading information.
- Enforcing legal compliance – CMA’s duty is to use legal action to prevent businesses from violating competition or consumer law.
- Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP). This is an organization which is responsible for non-broadcasting advertisement, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, which is the main code of practice for self-regulation of the non-broadcast advertising industry in the UK. The CAP Code also applies to influencer marketing, ensuring that businesses do not mislead consumers or distribute harmful content through influencers. According to the CAP Code, ads must be clearly identifiable as advertisements. If not, CAP, in conjunction with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), will likely initiate an investigation.
What to consider when signing and influencer?
- Audience alignment – make sure to choose an influencer whose audience aligns with your target audience.
- Authenticity – consider whether the influencer resonates with your product or service for authentic marketing.
- Transparency – make sure you and the influencers you are working with are transparent with any sponsored deals or advertisement to ensure compliance with advertising regulations.
- Influencer agreement contract – most importantly, have a clear contract that outlines the responsibilities and duties of both parties. Establish clear terms and expectations through the agreement, including expectations on deliverables, and copyright over the content.
When signing an influencer agreement, it is essential to ensure that both parties fully understand the obligations and all the terms and conditions in the agreement. By carefully reviewing all the clauses and addressing any potential concerns or queries, you can reach an agreement that both parties agree to.
What are potential issues that come with influencer marketing?
- Misleading content – it is important to ensure that your adverts accurately represent your product or service, otherwise you could face an investigation from ASA.
- Defamation – Defamation occurs when content damages another business’s reputation. The consequences of such actions are serious, and it could lead to another business taking legal action against you. Therefore, ensure that your content focuses solely on promoting your business without making harmful claims about others.
- Breach of contract – A breach of contract happens when one party fails to fulfil their duties. For example, the influencer does not follow the terms of the agreement or does not post the required content at the scheduled Agreement.
We hope that this post helps you understand influencer marketing. For any help with such matters or more information, please contact us at contact@freemanharris.co.uk or call us on 0207 790 7311.