Continuing the Discussion on Instagram and Advertising Ethics.

[ivegotatheoryitcouldbebunnies1]

Let’s try and keep this one on topic so it doesn’t get deleted like countless others. So no focussing on one individual instagrammer. Please keep it more broad!

The frugality forever writing kindly sent, regularly omitting #gift. She made a comment on stories recently about instafamous items, and being put off by seeing them too much which put her off, especially if they’re gifted. Then her post on her grid was a gifted item she hadn’t tagged! It’s a shame as I think she has a fab account, she’s likeable and I enjoy reading her blog too, but transparency is very much an issue with her for me.

I also want to know if, like you can have an adblocker on a desktop, can I install an affiliate link blocker on my phone?

How does it work if multiple grammers are posting affiliate links to the same product, eg the m&s dress, whose link earns the money if I purchase?

I guess the first link you hit, as it will be logged. I’m led to believe even if you order something else, weeks later, they still get money!

The ASA guidelines state it's only an AD if you receive some form of compensation (so a product counts) AND any influence (a hashtag, link etc all count as influence) from the client. They state they expect you to declare it's been gifted and another agency has rules around that, but not ASA.

This seems to be a massive grey area.

If you look at Mrs Hinch for example, she's touting clothes and products daily without declaring they've been gifted. She has a promo code for lashes as an example which would count as brand influence as render in an ad. But it's not declared properly.

This is the norm at the moment and it makes you assume all products they feature are gifted.

Affiliate links work on cookies so it would be the last one you clicked before the purchase, not the first. And yes even if you make the purchase later it may still track back to their link.

Affiliate marketing in itself is not a bad thing. If someone has made a recommendation you've followed, why shouldn't they earn a tiny bit for that?

The issue I have with it is how overdone it is, when it's not declared and the fact Instagram only allows swiping up for accounts with over 10k followers.

I don't follow Mrs Hinch, have watched the stories a few times but have given up now, I don't have a 'favourite Zoflora', nor do I particularly want one

This seems to be a massive grey area.

Influencers want you to believe it is a grey area, but it really isn't. The ASA/CMA flowchart is super clear. If you are sent a freebie from a brand and feature it on your business page, you declare it. Couldn't be easier to understand.

I agree with affiliate marketing in principle too, I don't agree with spamming links with click bait content, using links when you have already been remunerated by the brand (greedy imo), concealing links, nor the fact the links remain on your computer for so long after you clicked on them. It's a no from me.

How on earth MrsHinch is getting away with all her undisclosed advertising when she is with a massive agency such as Gleam is beyond me.

"Kindly gifted" makes me want to hurl.

There’s so much kind gifting going on it drives me up the wall. And all the fawning ‘it’s so unclear, such a nightmare, hugs’
MOD. Is currently setting my teeth on edge with her ‘presence and influence’ post. And the comments suggesting all accounts are verified so there’s no trolls. It’s clear the trolls are just frustrated followers. I used to think the midwifery was fab, but it’s just a money spinner for her, a part time hobby whilst she has jewellery collaborations, the life of an influencer appears shallow as all you are ever trying to do is flog crap to make money, but politely and as though you are not.
I like it when she was a midwife and mum, and fod was a hapless harmless loon. Now it’s just a cash cow.

Influencers want you to believe it is a grey area, but it really isn't. The ASA/CMA flowchart is super clear. If you are sent a freebie from a brand and feature it on your business page, you declare it. Couldn't be easier to understand.

Absolutely, it's more down to sheer laziness. On the one hand, they want to be taken seriously as influencers, but complain constantly when asked to behave in a professional manner over disclosure.

Mrs Hinch must have been reported multiple times for breaching ASA rules.

So much kindly gifting, so much. So many kind businesses happy to gift expensive product with no expectations of anything in return. So unbelievably kind

Absolutely, it's more down to sheer laziness.

That is a very generous description of what is going on

I wonder if my salary could be 'kindly gifted' to me each month. That way I wouldn't have to declare it, pay tax on it...

I don’t think it’s laziness. To the brands they want to be professional but to the followers they want an innocent gift, more likely to get sales and more money/more brands.

I don’t think it’s laziness either, they don’t want people to know how much free stuff they are then pushing on others with aff links. Because they want us to feel like they are our friends doing us a favour!

Is Mrs Hinch with gleam? Are Anna and lily her mates now? always happens, they seem to have to be friends with each other.

Yes she is with Gleam.

They don't seem to be doing much, based on the level of AD activity on her account . Makes you wonder what they are doing exactly.

The trouble is the followers, as consumers, have been misled to the extent they don't know what is and what isn't gifted or bought anymore. Even those influencers who do declare get caught up in it and those who don't continue to flout the rules and cry when caught. As a PP said the flow chart makes it clear that if not an #ad (so outside ASA), if gifted then should be declared per CMA as Advertisement Promotion or some such. ASA even say to steer away from misleading # like #spon or #gifted and just be as transparent as possible. I don't get this whole "it's so murky and people not in the industry don't understand" bs. That's the whole point - you need to declare clearly to not mislead your "non-industry" followers so if you think they'll find it hard to understand what benefit you have received from a product then don't post until you're happy you have made your involvement clear in your #. And do it upfront too - not hidden away at the end in 20 other #.

So what’s the deal then with posting ‘gifted’ items? The last outfit post from an influencer with a very large following was a dress outfit with trainers. All brands were tagged and the trainers referred to as gifted. This person has made an unusual decision (for them) to leave negative comments and respond in a different way (passive aggressive really as pretending to not care)
Some comments called out all the gifts and brands and asked if it was to get more ‘gifts’ etc, and some commented rightly that the outfit was terribly unflattering. For an attractive woman, it was, I actually thought it was a pregnancy announcement.
So what is the deal with things that are #gifted in that they were sent with perhaps no specification or contractual agreement? And if you post an outfit that really doesn’t do you any favours, how can people comment it looks great if it doesn’t (but she does look amazing in most of her posts) I wouldn’t personally say anything on her post as #manners but where’s the line? What can someone delete without looking like they are deleting selective comments?
I would not want to be an influencer!

If you have a contractual obligation to post and are gifted then it is an AD and covered by ASA and CMA rules. If you are gifted and post on your business page without any element of control by the brand then it is an 'advertisement feature' or sponsored post as it is covered by CMA rules, but not ASA. I hope that page starts adhering to the CMA rules for all the gifts featured, as it would be a good example for others in her friendship group to follow.

People with a business page shouldn't really delete any comments, it is misleading and unprofessional. They should just deal with them politely. If the followers start to hound someone (as they do), they should step in and diffuse the situation, imo. Not many of them are good at doing this.

@Fallingout interestingly that very same influencer has been gifting 'friends' with items from her new collaboration. So far I've seen gifts to another influencer who lost a relative and to another who recently had a baby. Now, lovely to gift a friend, but essentially a #gift is required as it is promo. This, to me, is the seediest part of this whole discussion. Once they start releasing and gifting their own products, they are a brand and recipients need to act appropriately, even in extenuating circumstances.

I’m exhausted from reading all the beginning of the week “I don’t do Black Friday” posts to the 180 spin “here’s eleventy thousand codes for aul’ shite you don’t need (but I benefit from the affiliate links ” posts.

Seems like only 3 weeks ago they were getting all emotional about the Stacey Dooley documentary and swearing they weren’t about the rampant consumerism....

But I supposed that doesn’t pay the bills...

Is there a new thread on the latest CMA rules?

There's an interesting discussion about the new rules on a thread in Style and Beauty at the moment...I'm on the app so no idea how to link it but it's called something like 'Can we chat about fashion instagrammers / influencers?'.