The Federal Trade Commission means business when it comes to regulating Instagram advertisements.<\/p>\n
The consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen recently complained celebrities weren\u2019t being upfront about which of their posts were sponsored. So, the FTC responded\u00a0by reviewing the photos and sending warning letters to more than 90 Instagram users.\u00a0The commission has discussed its standards for advertising on social media before, but has not directly confronted the celebrities named in complaints until now.<\/p>\n
Public Citizen wasn\u2019t alone in its push to make sponsored content more transparent\u2014this past summer, the nonprofit Truth in Advertising filed a complaint against the Kardashian family for \u201cdeceptive marketing.\u201d Though the FTC won\u2019t name which celebrities received the letters, Public Citizen also included the Kardashians in its\u00a0petition, in addition to well-known Instagrammers like Rihanna, Michael Phelps, Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lopez, Lindsay Lohan, Lebron James, Drake, Mark Wahlberg, and Blake Lively.<\/p>\n
The 113 photos Public Citizen referenced\u00a0in its complaint usually show the celebrities using a product from the brand that has paid them, with an accompanying caption endorsing it. Products range from makeup and hair care from companies like L\u2019Oreal to athletic gear from Nike and Adidas to snacks from Lay\u2019s and Dunkin\u2019 Donuts.<\/p>\n The release adds that Instagrammers should be clear that their post is an ad within the first three lines of the photo caption, and should avoid writing too many hashtags that could bury disclaimers. The use of hashtags and captions like \u201c#sp\u201d (short for \u201csponsored\u201d), \u201cThanks [Brand],\u201d or \u201cpartner\u201d do not directly communicate that the post is sponsored and can confuse followers, the FTC says.<\/p>\n In its Endorsement Guides, the FTC writes that ads should be \u201chonest and not misleading\u201d\u2014and consumers should know when they\u2019re reading an endorsement that has been paid-for, because it can affect the way they \u201c[evaluate] the endorser\u2019s glowing recommendation.\u201d<\/p>\n Read full article and learn more about the FTC and Deceptive Advertising here<\/a>.<\/p>\n By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?<\/p>\n Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help ofFTC Guardian.<\/p>\n FTC Guardian is a service that is 100% focused on helping to keep you get and stay FTC compliant and fully protected. And right now, we are offering a free training to give you the knowledge, information, and guidance that you need to stay out of trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/images\/button_banner-7TLM_Cheat_Sheet.png\")
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