Branded Content on Social Media
You might have read some of our blog posts on disclosure requirements when utilising Influencers to market products or services on social media. Local laws, regulations and codes aside, Instagram and Facebook have their own policies on what’s required when it comes to sponsored content (or branded content as they refer to it). Brands and Influencers also need to be familiar with these policies and comply with them where applicable.
This blog post discusses the branded content policies adopted by Instagram and Facebook at the time of this blog post. It’s important to note that Instagram and Facebook can change their policies at any time and you should ensure that you refer to the current version of the policy from time to time.
What is Branded Content?
Facebook and Instagram define branded content as a creator’s (celebrities, influencers or public figures that post branded content) or publisher’s (media companies and entities that post branded content) content that features or is influenced by a business partner (brands, advertisers, marketers or sponsors that sponsor branded content) for an exchange of value, such as the business partner paying the creator or publisher for creating and posting the content.
What’s required under the Branded Content Policy?
The branded content policy requires creators and publishers to use the branded content tool to tag the featured third party product, brand, or business partner with their prior consent when there’s an exchange of value between a creator or publisher and a business partner.
Branded content can only be posted by Facebook Pages and profiles and Instagram accounts with access to the branded content tool.
If a post appears to be branded content, the creator or publisher may be prompted to tag the business partner and reminded of the policies.
It’s also important to note that under the branded content policy, creators cannot accept anything of value to post content that does not feature themselves or that they were not involved in creating.
It is also a requirement under the branded content policy that the parties comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including by ensuring that all necessary disclosures are provided to people using Facebook or Instagram indicating the sponsored nature of the post.
What does Branded Content look like?
When a creator tags a business partner in branded content, people will see “Paid partnership with…” followed by the name of the business partner above the post.
The branded content tag can be used with the following post types and formats:
- Photos
- Videos
- Links
- Text
- Live broadcasts
- Carousels
How to create Branded Content ads
Branded content ads can be created in Ads Manager.
Goods, Services and Brands which cannot be promoted with Branded Content
Not all brands, goods or services can be promoted with branded content. The policy prohibits promoting any of the following with branded content:
- Violations of Facebook’s Community Standards or Instagram’s Community Guidelines
- Illegal products or services
- Tobacco products, vaporizers, electronic cigarettes, or any other products that simulate smoking
- Drugs and drug-related products, including illegal, prescription, or recreational drugs
- Unsafe supplements
- Weapons, ammunition, or explosives
- Adult products or services, except for family planning and contraception
- Payday loans, paycheck advances, and bail bonds
- Multilevel marketing
- Initial coin offerings, binary options, or contract for difference trading
- Controversial political or social issues or crises in an exploitative manner for commercial purposes.
Restricted Content
Under the policy, the following can only be promoted with branded content with some restrictions (for example, age or location restrictions).
- Alcohol
- State Lotteries
- Over the counter drugs
- Subscription services
- Financial and insurance products and services
- Weight loss products and plans
- Family planning and contraception
Business Partner Authorisation
The following categories require the business partner intending to sponsor the branded content to obtain a written pre-authorisation from Facebook or Instagram before they engage in branded content:
- Dating services
- Real money gambling
- Online pharmacies
- Cryptocurrency products and services
- Drugs and alcohol treatment centres
- Government, elections or politics.
A few things to note for your Influencer Agreement purposes
Advertising Permissions
The creator can give their business partner permission to turn a branded content post into an ad. Once the ad ends, the creator can toggle off the “allow business partner to promote” option. The Influencer Agreement should therefore set out the business partner’s rights in relation to using the post as a ad.
Access to Insights
The creator has control over the organic insights of the branded content and will be able to see how people are reaching the content organically. Business partners that choose to boost a post will only have access to the paid insights from their ad in Ads Manager and will not be able to view the organic activity on a post. The Influencer Agreement can include an obligation to provide the business partner with a copy of the information relevant to the campaign from the creator’s Insights at certain intervals.
Deleting and archiving posts and stories
When a branded content post is used as an ad by a business partner, the creator will not be able to edit or delete that post. The post can however still be archived by the creator.
When a branded content story is used as an ad, the creator won’t be able to edit or delete it. While the story is active (within 24 hours of posting), the creator can remove a business partner to prevent the story from being promoted. The story can only be deleted from the archive if it was never turned into an ad.
If a business partner requires the post or story to remain on the creator’s account for a set period of time then this should be set out in the Influencer Agreement.
Ad creative
The policy requires that for branded content posts to be promoted, static photos or videos must be used. For Stories, photos or videos that use stickers, @mentions, hashtags, GIFs, music, or other creative tools are not able to be promoted. For branded content posts to be promoted in feed, single image or video posts must be used. The Influencer Agreement should therefore include an obligation for the creator to only post content that is able to be promoted by the business partner if that is the intended arrangement.
Branded content ads vs promoting existing posts
Creating a new Branded Content ad on Instagram will not show up in the creator’s profile. Promoting an existing post will show up in the profile. The agreed method should be detailed in the Influencer Agreement.
For some further important points for inclusion in an Influencer Agreement, refer to this blog post.
If you have any questions about the branded content policies or legal requirements in Australia relating to influencer marketing campaigns, contact us.
Information contained within this blog post is intended to be general information only and is not in any way intended to constitute legal advice. You should not act or rely on any information found in this blog post without obtaining prior advice specific to your circumstances.
