Instagram has announced new rules for branded content on the platform. Are they a game changer for influencer marketing?
There has been a lot of conversation about the rules for properly highlighting advertisements. The Swedish Advertising Ombudsman (Reklamombudsmannen) and the agencies put in a lot of work to educate and discuss, but far from everyone meets the standards.
The rules have at times felt vague why influencers and advertisers easily end up in a gray zone. Now Instagram are dealing with the situation by creating new possibilities for branded content. The changes introduced are among other things:
1. The influencer can brand the post with a text that says “paid partnership with” followed by the advertiser name. The text is placed above the photo or video.
2. Companies can create a list of influencers who will be able to tag their corporate profile in sponsored content.
3. Companies will be able to see statistics for posts or stories that they have been tagged in through the Facebook statistics tool.
Here are some of the implications Cure Media believes that these changes will bring;
1. Easier for the consumer
It will be easier for the consumers to recognize sponsored content. This is something very positive. Followers appreciate being able to tell if something is paid for as they can then easily decide if they are interested or not. This increases the importance of finding influencers who match the brand when doing sponsored campaigns to ensure that the relevant audiences are reached.
2. Boost for the sincere
A more transparent standard for the advertising business benefits the honest, hard-working influencers who want to be sincere about their partnerships. As a rule of thumb for influencers maximum 30% of their content can be sponsored before followers start losing interest.
3. Transparency of statistics
Sharing statistics with a corporate sponsor can be tricky for many influencers as they might not have had to do that in the past. Influencers are in high demand and can often choose which sponsorships to partake in, and with the statistics now being available through tagging they can now focus on other things when making sponsored content.
4. Data for branded content
It will become increasingly important for those working with influencer marketing to gather and use data from branded content on Instagram. This will help them analyze and benchmark to help advertisers make the right decisions in the future.
Source *Instagram
