Instagram Ramps Up ‘Branded Content’

Ad disclosure is being taken seriously with Instagram’s new measures to extend adoption of its ‘Branded Content’ feature. We asked some industry experts for their thoughts.

In October 2020 Instagram announced that it’s taking new measures to prevent hidden advertising being posted on the platform. By January 2021, anyone attempting to endorse a business or brand on Instagram will be prompted to confirm before posting if they have been paid or offered an incentive for the content. If they have, they will not be able to publish their post until they have included clear disclosure by activating Instagram’s Branded Content Tool.

The tool clearly communicates when a commercial relationship exists between a creator and a business. When a post is tagged, people see “Paid partnership with [business partner]“ in the post's header.

The Partner Approvals feature provides business partners with the option to approve the content in advance before the creator tags them in a post. This is cited by Instagram as a brand safety feature. This shift towards enforcement of the Branded Content tool has global implications for all influencers regarding how they work and how they tag brands.

The move by Instagram comes after regulators around the globe raised concerns regarding advertising disclosure. In the UK the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) - the government watchdog charged with protecting the consumer - raised concerns that Instagram was not doing enough to address UK consumer protection law. Influencers were at risk of breaching the law by endorsing brands and businesses without making it clear that they had been paid or given free gifts to do so. The Australian Consumer and Competitions Commission (ACCC) has also indicated that advertising disclosure to ensure consumers are aware of incentivised and paid product endorsements on social media was also in their sights.

We asked our members their thoughts on the changes and what they mean for brands and influencers.

Chris Morfis - Morfd Connections / Allegiant Tagger

“The Branded Content Tool is a move to not only bring transparency and legitimacy to the influencer space but also efficiency. Combined with the Brand Collabs Manager we are seeing Facebook take positive steps to democratise the process. By providing tools to access creators and their content, Facebook is streamlining approval, access to data and opportunity to amplify to a defined target market all while protecting the consumer. 

While late to the market with these developments they should give companies greater confidence in participating in the social content space. Transparency here washes both ways, while there has always been provision to access content and to amplify from the influencers profile, there has been some resistance from talent. Hesitancy from the creators was driven by stories of hacked accounts and a lack of understanding of what these permissions allowed. The Branded Content tool executes on a post-by-post level giving greater confidence to the creators and protecting their data.  This streamlined process provides clear benefits for creators, clients and all those navigating and managing influencer marketing campaigns.”

Ben McGrath, Co-Founder Vamp

”Branded Content Ads were already a powerful tool for brands, but this update, which allows creators and brands to set age requirements on who can view them, makes them more compelling. 

Firstly, it adds relevance. Making sure the person viewing the ad is able to buy that product, creates a better experience for the audience and better results for your brand. It also avoids budget wastage. More precise targeting means marketers won’t spending advertising dollars showing their ad to people who can’t buy their product. Finally, it will give brands greater protection and make it easy for them to comply with local laws. 

However it’s important to note that these benefits aren’t exclusive to Branded Content ads. Any influencer campaign supported by paid media brands can target their customers with precision. Using audience data, we can reach not only specific age ranges, but genders, locations, interests and behaviours.”

Detch Singh, Founder and CEO Hypetap

“Age gating is an important benefit to brands, particularly those who have a responsibility to target specific audiences. It will be even more useful for brands promoting products in different regions where age restrictions in different product categories vary.

The update is also fantastic for influencers - by increasing transparency through ensuring ad disclosure and age gating it adds another layer of confidence and trust for advertisers. This increased confidence should lead to more brand deals.”