Making it clear that ads are ads

Recent changes to advertising standards have increased the need for influencers to make it clear when social media posts are advertising. Find out what this means for people promoting health messages online.

New advertising standards have been introduced to help protect consumers in the rapidly evolving space of influencer social media advertising. The standards apply to all influencer ad content posted from 14 September 2020.

For the purposes of applying the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes, an influencer is a broad term used to describe people who have influence over the choice, opinion or behaviour of their followers. As long as your practice operates a business page it is clear your posts are business related - influencers are individuals, not businesses. 

It is also important to note the ASA's definition of advertising is much broader than what many think of as an ad. 

The onus is on the influencer/advertiser to ensure it is clear the content is advertising, at the first interaction with that content (i.e. not in a list of hashtags at the bottom, or after expanding to read the full caption).

The intent of the post is important. If the individual making the post intends to promote a service in return for some form of payment, it is an ad.

This change in standards is designed to protect the general public/consumers from being marketed to unfairly. For example, a person could follow a celebrity sportsperson on Instagram and choose to eat and drink the things shown on that influencers Instagram account without realising the person is paid to make those posts.

What this means for us

We sought clarification from the ASA on posting on matters of public health, such as on time immunisation for children. Your practice will claim for the service provided, but the visit is free for the patient.

• Practices posting on business pages are absolutely fine to do so. You are a business, people can work out quite easily discern advertising material. 
• Individuals who work in your practice are advised to either share a post from another source, e.g. your practice, the Ministry of Health or the Health Promotion Agency. Sharing can make the intent of the post clearer for those who view it.
• If wording your own post individuals - especially owners who could/will financially benefit - are advised to state it is an advertisement. This is especially important where the audiences is made up of followers who the person doesn't 'know' and could potentially have influence over. This mix of audience is more likely to be found on Twitter or LinkedIn, but if can happen on Facebook and Instagram depending on how an individual chooses to manage their friends and followers.

For individuals writing posts that promote services consider prefacing the caption with something such as 'ad' or 'advert'. Examples are shown below.

• AD// Don't get caught short this holiday season - organise your repeat prescriptions early.
• ADVERT// Don't get caught short this holiday season - organise your repeat prescriptions early.
• AD: Don't get caught short this holiday season - organise your repeat prescriptions early.
• ADVERT: Don't get caught short this holiday season - organise your repeat prescriptions early.