Are you following the rules with your Instagram contests?

The FTC has recently revised its rules regarding social media endorsements, which may indicate stricter enforcement. While the current guidelines, which we’ve previously reported on, remain unchanged, this update emphasizes greater transparency to help brands and influencers better understand the rules. However, this increased transparency might also mark the end of just receiving simple warnings. This means it’s more important than ever to be aware of these guidelines to ensure your influencer marketing campaigns fully comply with the FTC’s regulations.

One way to stay compliant with these rules is to collaborate with a company that knows these guidelines and can help shape your influencer marketing strategy effectively and lawfully. Partnering with influencers from a network like Snapfluence will make sure you’re working with influencers who are a good match for your brand and are also well-informed about how to post appropriately for your brand.

You can view the full guidelines on the FTC website and we’ll outline everything you need to know about the FTC guidelines to get you familiar with how to run smart influencer marketing programs on Instagram. And subscribe to the SEEN blog to remain up to date on social media marketing best practices.

Advertising posts must be marked

All paid influencers posts need to be clearly disclosed. Using words like “Sponsored” “Promotion” or “Ad” are all acceptable. Character limits won’t be an acceptable reason for not including these disclosures

Relationships must be disclosed

Whether it’s an influencer you’ve hired, an employee or even a family member, if there is a relationship to the product being shared, it needs to be disclosed in order to remain compliant. Simply having that information in a bio won’t be sufficient. It will need to be included in the post.

Honest reviews

Your brand is allowed to solicit reviews for your products and services. You can send products to people to review but you may not solicit positive reviews. Sending free products to people is permissible but you’ll have to be open to allowing them to review the products openly and honestly.

Open contests & sweepstakes

When you’re running social media contests & sweepstakes they need to be defined as such. This can be done simply by including ‘contest’ or ‘sweepstakes’ into your campaign’s hashtag.

This overview will help keep you on track with a successful Instagram influencer campaign that abides by the FTC guidelines for social media promotions. To plan your next influencer campaign, download our free guide to Instagram influencer marketing.