Navigating Inflencer Campaigns With Your Clients

By Sabrina Kidwai,APR, CAE, PRSA NCC Ethics Office

When I was younger, I always thought being ethical would be easy. Boy, I was wrong. Sometimes ethics can be clear cut and other times messy. Navigating what’s right for yourself and your organization is hard, especially if they cross an ethical line.

Here’s an ethical dilemma:
Dear Sabrina,
I’m running an influencer campaign for a brand. Some of the influencers are asking if they can skip the #sponsored disclosure on their posts to keep things feeling more authentic. My organization also prefers this approach since it results in higher engagement. I know transparency is important, but I’m under pressure to go along with this strategy. Should I push back, or am I overthinking it?
— Struggling

Dear Struggling:
This type of situation is difficult because you are trying to balance your clients’ wants with the need for transparency. For this situation, you need to focus on the professional values of honesty and Disclosure of Information. Under Disclosure of information, members shall reveal sponsors or influencers they are using for causes and interest represented. It’s important for the influencer to reveal that it’s a sponsored post.

That trust is so important for your client and your audience. If your audience finds out that it was a sponsored post without the label it will impact on how your audience perceives the brand and the company overall. Adhering to the highest standards of truth while advancing the interest of your organization is instrumental.

If your employer pushes back, you discuss the FTC Act with them. The FTC has guidelines on how brands need to include #sponsored or #ads by influencers because the audience must understand the relationship the influencer has with the brand. If you don’t include the labels in the post, the FTC can start an investigation and bring a case against your company for deceptive advertising. That’s something that no brand or
organization wants to experience.

Anytime you work with an advertiser, and they pay you or give you something of value, you must mention the relationship. If you receive a free product or another perk and the expectation is that you’ll promote it, the FTC Act applies.

I know this approach may not bring high engagement, but it’s important to be honest with your customers and audience as well as keeping your company out of legal issues, too.

If you have an ethical dilemma and want advice, reach out and let me know.