The holiday season is often the busiest and most lucrative time of year for influencers, with brands rolling out campaigns and promotions to capture eager shoppers.
From Black Friday sales, Cyber Monday promotions, deal day events, and last minute Christmas gift offerings, there are TONS of ways that brands and companies capitalize on this time of year and one of the best ways they do it is through influencer marketing.
Before you know it, your TikTok feed, Instagram stories, and YouTube ads will be filled with your favorite creators showing their take on popular products that just might catch your eye and persuade you to “add to cart.”
Influencer marketing has truly taken over the advertising world in the last few years and it’s shown to be super effective. And honestly, the cool part is that truly almost anyone can identify as an influencer these days.
While you of course will always have your big name influencers and bloggers who dominate the space, we’re starting to see more and more everyday people like you and me step into the world of paid partnerships, gifted collabs and more.
While this is amazing, it can also pose some major risks to those participating if they aren’t aware of the legalities behind it all! Which is why in this blog post I’m covering the top 5 most important reminders for influencers during the holiday season.
Whether you’re partnering with a company with a paid advertising campaign, are gifted product to talk about the brand, are promoting a product with a discount code where you can earn commission, or anything of the sort, this is for YOU!
5 Legal Reminders For Influencers During The Holiday Sales Season
1. Always Disclose Paid Partnerships
One of the biggest mistakes that I see influencers making all throughout the year, but especially during holiday sales seasons, is forgetting to disclose their paid partnerships.
Per the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC), influencers are required to disclose when they are compensated to promote a product or service and failing to do so can lead to fines for both you AND the brand.
The good news is that there’s a super easy way to avoid getting into any hot water with the FTC.
Simply use clear terms like “#Ad,” “Sponsored,” or “Paid Partnership” at the beginning of your post or in a prominent location so that your audience is well aware that the content is an ad.
Ambiguous phrases like “Thanks to [Brand]” are not enough and do not protect you!
2. Disclose Free Gifts and PR Packages
In addition to disclosing your paid partnerships, it’s also a requirement to disclose receiving any free products or services in exchange for promotion.
So for example, let’s say your favorite skinscare brand sends you free product in the mail and all they ask in return is for you to promote the product on social media.
Easy, peasy! But in order to stay in compliance with the FTC, all you’ve gotta do is be transparent with your audience by adding disclosures like “Gifted by [Brand]” or “PR Package from [Brand]” when you feature these items in your content.
Not only does this keep you in compliance, it also helps you build transparency and maintain trust with your audience, which is extremely important for continuing to build your audience and build true relationships with your followers online.
3. Be Honest About Your Experiences
I know I can’t be the only one that questions whether or not an influencer is being actually honest about their experience with a product or service when I see it online.
The second I hear “it’s the BEST product I’ve EVER tried” or something along those lines, I feel a little apprehensive.
“Is it really?! Or are you just saying that because you’ve been paid to do so?”
In my opinion, both from a consumer and lawyer perspective, the best influencer ads are those that talk about both – what you loved and what you didn’t.
Not only does exaggerating benefits or making false claims make you seem a bit inauthentic, it can also lead to legal trouble.
Instead of making statements just for the sake of the advertisement, only share about products or services that you genuinely care about and use! Additionally, if you make any health or performance claims, it’s important that you can back that up with evidence if you ever needed to.
4. Clarify Collaborative Content
Next up, make sure that any collaborative content is clarified so that your audience is always aware.
Whether it’s a co-created product, a joint campaign, or shared promotional efforts, your audience deserves to know who is involved and how. Proper disclosure not only builds trust but also satisfies legal requirements.
And as always, this is super easy to do! Simply use clear language in your captions or posts, like “In collaboration with [Brand]” or “Co-created with [Influencer],” to ensure your followers understand the relationship.
Transparency like this helps avoid confusion and keeps you compliant while fostering credibility in your content.
5. Don’t Overlook Platform-Specific Rules
Many people may not realize that each social media platform actually has its own set of guidelines for branded content and ignoring these rules can lead to flagged posts, reduced reach, or even content removal.
For example, Instagram requires the use of its “Paid Partnership” tag for sponsored posts, while YouTube has specific settings for indicating paid promotions in videos.
These platform-specific guidelines are in place to ensure transparency and compliance with advertising standards.
To avoid complications, it’s best to familiarize yourself with the rules of each platform you’re using and integrate their disclosure features alongside your FTC-compliant language.
Overall, holiday campaigns are a great opportunity to grow your influence and collaborate with amazing brands, but they come with responsibility.
By staying transparent and following these reminders, you’ll not only protect yourself legally but also maintain the trust and loyalty of your audience, which is crucial to building your following and brand over time!
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