Ad Standards is the standard for how to disclose on social media for any Canadian influencer or businessperson who uses any social media platform to advertise for another company. These standards are in place to protect consumers.

It’s important for influencers and bloggers to understand these guidelines and adhere to them in order to ensure that they are always transparent and authentic. Ad Standards recently updated their Influencer Marketing disclosure guidelines, and just this week I did a webinar with a PR agency I often work with, so I thought I’d pass on what I learnt.

Ad Standards Wants to Ensure Awareness

Ad Standards partnered with an industry panel of companies from the influencer marketing space to create guidelines that ensure best practices for influencers regarding market disclosure. While many influencers already know the proper disclosures and rules pertaining to Canadian Ad Standards, some might be new and not be aware. And in fact social media changes so much that it is vital to keep up with changes. This information will help ensure that influencers disclose properly.

Advertising should truthful, fair, and accurate. This criteria is also in place to ensure that consumers can continue to trust brands, influencers, and the entire process associated with their partnerships.

Definitions

While many of you may know the following, newbies may not. That’s why it’s so important to include it before any overview of actual disclosure rules.

The following definitions come straight from Ad Standards.

Material Connection

Any connection between an entity providing a product or service and an endorser, reviewer, influencer, or person making a representation that may affect the weight or credibility fo the representation, and includes: benefits and incentives, such as monetary or other compensation, free products with or without any conditions attached, discounts, contest and sweepstakes entries, and any employment relationship.

Payments

Payment does not necessarily mean only financial compensation. Other arrangements, such as the provision of free products in return, may constitute payment.

Brand Ambassadorship or Exclusivity

Material relationship for a longer-term engagement from the above, including employment, often with both defined and undefined content production and distribution. Typically includes roles, responsibilities, deliverables, and a set time period outlined in a contract.

Advertising

In this context, advertising and the disclosure guidelines apply to all exchanges of value between an advertiser – or a party working, on behalf of, an advertiser – and an influencer. This may include free products, monetary exchange, or other perks with the expectation – explicit or implied – that a promotion or inclusion of the advertiser’s products occurs in the blog.

“Advertising” and “advertisement(s)” are defined as any message where the content of which message is controlled directly or indirectly by the advertiser expressed in any language and communicated in any medium to viewers with the intent to influence their choice, opinions, or behavior.

Influencer

Someone who possesses greater than average potential to influence others. The people whom influencers affect are defined as a person or group of people who take action or change opinion/behavior as the result of exposure to information provided by an influencer. This may occur on a blog, social media site, or other media publications.

Brand

This includes the professionals who work with the advertisers, their affiliated parties, which may include media agencies, PR agencies, creative agencies, or influencer marketing companies that work with them.

So what does all this mean?

• Material Connection – An influencer is directly connected to a brand.
• Payments – Payments can be anything from a check to a free item or hosted event.
• Brand Ambassadorship or Exclusivity – An influencer is directly connected to a brand for a protracted period of time.
• Advertising – Anything you do in exchange for payment or perks/items from a company.
• Influencer – Bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, etc.
• Brand –The company/person paying you or giving you items in exchange for exposure.

The Do’s and Do Nots of Disclosures

According to Ad Standards, disclosures are meant to provide transparency and honesty to all parties involved with the sponsored post. The following best practices are intended to catch the viewer’s attention and ensure the disclosure is clear, conspicuous, and broadly understood.

The Biggest NEWS:

1. BE super clear on video where there is a material connection to an object or brand.
2. Video is the biggest change in the last few years and Platforms like Snapchat, Youtube and Instagram have grown dramatically. BUT not everyone has kept up or noted the need to disclose properly on video.
3. Snapchat – include a #ad notice on any snaps where money or product has been exchanged.

The Do’s

• Disclose independently of social media networks or channel-specific settings. For example, don’t rely on the Facebook Handshake.
• Make disclosure upfront and identifiable in videos, so viewers can see it immediately. (So on Youtube for instance include in the video, and/ or mention during the conversation. Youtube provides a disclosure box that you can tick when  editing your video.
• Disclose in the language of the endorsement. That means disclosing in the language of the overall video or post.
• Disclose along with every endorsement. Each sponsored post, video, or social media post should have a disclosure.
• Disclose in a specific manner, including the product/service/monetary compensation recieved.
• Ensure disclosure is clearly communicated.
• Use conspicuous hashtag disclosure such as #ad.
• Use conspicuous disclosure language.

The Don’t’s

• Hide the disclosure, intentionally or unintentionally. For example, #ad, should always be the first hashtag in any social media post.
• Use blanket disclosures. Be specific to each partnership.
• Simply tag the brand. You must be conspicuous with disclosures.
• Use ambiguous hashtags. Stick with common hashtags such as #ad, #sponsored, and the like.
• Use fabricated hashtags such as #travelwithXYZbrand. Stick to common disclosure hashtags.
• Use ambiguous phrases like “Thanks to XYZ for X product. Be specific. “I received x product from XYZ company for review”.

Ad Standards Wants YOU to Disclose Properly

The preceeding definitions, standards, and best practices will help ensure that you always disclose in the manner required by Canadian law. I recommend bookmarking this page and referring back to it whenever you need to disclose anything as an influencer. It will help ensure that your disclosures are correct and adhere to the Ad Standards guidelines.