Influencer marketing under the spotlight but marketers can easily protect themselves.
After the updated AANA’s Code of Ethics took effect in February social influencer marketing has been firmly brought into the industry’s self-regulation system. Often criticised as the ‘’wild west” of marketing, this was an important step to take for this rapidly growing communication channel if it is to meet community standards on responsible marketing. Ad Standards has had an influx of complaints from the public, some of which have received widespread publicity in the mainstream and industry press. Brands and advertisers can suffer reputational damage if influencers they commission fail to disclose that they have received some form of reward for making a comment in favour of your brand. But here’s the good news. Avoiding this risk is simple. The AANA offers two tips any advertiser can decide to follow; firstly read up on and follow The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO)’s Influencer Marketing Code of Practice found here.
The AANA endorses this code and AANA members were involved in its development. It is simple and straightforward to follow. Secondly, work with social media agencies that practice this code. All AiMCO’s members are doing so and there is a wide choice of agencies to choose from. Your agency partners can make sure that the influencers that promote your brand are compliant. Even if you are not using an agency or using an agency that is not an AiMCO member, just follow the code of practice yourselves. It is that simple. Happy influencing!