Social media influencers under investigation for not labelling paid posts
Social media influencers are receiving heat.
Influential people in social media have a lot of power; the world is watching them and consumers will buy whatever they endorse. Naturally, companies want that power so they often pay influencers to use their products.
The problem lies in the deception of this sort of “guerrilla marketing” where influencers don’t properly indicate when they have been paid to endorse a product or experience. To the consumer, it seems that influencers naturally endorse the product, whereas it’s actually just marketing.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expressing concern regarding this issue, launching an investigation into the matter because people with large internet followings could impact the shopping preferences and habits of potentially millions of people so motives need to be transparent.
With great power comes transparency
As part of the investigation, the CMA is reaching out to influencers to “gather more information about their posts and the nature of the business agreements they have in place with brands,” and are enlisting the public to share their experiences and feelings regarding celebrity endorsed products.
The consumer protection law states that influencers must disclose or clarify that they are being paid for their post, opinion and endorsement so that consumers will not be misled to believe that the endorsement represents the influencers own personal view or opinion.
Senior director for CMA’s consumer protection, George Lusty explains:
“Social media stars can have a big influence on what their followers do and buy. So, it’s really important they are clearly told whether a celebrity is promoting a product because they have bought it themselves, or because they have been paid or thanked in some way by the brand.”
Social media influencers are free to do as they choose, as long as they are transparent regarding their motives.
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