Companies paying celebrities to endorse products aren’t new, and with the rise of “influencers” in today’s social media age, sometimes those endorsements aren’t so obvious, and government agencies like the Federal Trade Commission in the US aren’t too happy about it. This is why social media platforms like Instagram are introducing methods to make sponsored posts more obvious.Earlier this year Instagram rolled out a feature for influencers where they could label sponsored posts so that their followers know when a post has been paid for, or if they’re simply posting it on their own. Now Instagram has announced that they will be rolling out that feature on a wider scale to more users on its network.
According to the company, “Since introducing the branded content tool in June, creators on Instagram have been able to easily communicate when they are working with a business. This means more transparency for people whenever they swipe, share and explore their passions on our platform. Today we are expanding availability of the tool to Instagrammers with high levels of engagement and access to insights. This expansion will allow us to continue to learn how creators, businesses and the community engage with branded content.”
So for those of you guys who are on Instagram and have particularly high levels of engagement, don’t be surprised if you receive a notification from the company informing you of posts that could potentially be an ad but has not been tagged as such.