Social media continues to offer an invaluable platform for natural products brands to engage and expand their customer base. In these times, consumers are using social media more and more—particularly on their mobile devices—to stay informed, explore new products, and shop. This rapt audience allows brands to provide authentic and of-the-moment communications to their customers, … Continue Reading
On the heels of issuing more than 90 letters to celebrities, bloggers and other influencers in April 2017, as well as receiving continued petitions by watchdog organizations such as Public Citizen, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought its first direct action against individual influencers for failing to disclose their material connections on social media. At the … Continue Reading
Instagram recently unveiled a new “branded content tool” that will allow influencers who are paid to endorse consumer products to tag partnering brands with an automated “paid partnership” disclosure. This new feature is intended to create more transparency in the Instagram community and to provide sponsors and influencers the ability to track the performance of … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent more than 90 letters to celebrities, athletes and other influencers – as well as to marketers – highlighting the need for influencers to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose their relationships to brands when they promote or endorse them on social media. The FTC letters mark the first time that the … Continue Reading
Lately social media has drawn a lot of attention in relation to unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices. Most recently, the Danish consumer ombudsman has reported the media bureau MemeCph and the toothpaste producer Unilever for being responsible for hidden advertisement through a Danish pop singer on her Instagram-profile. Furthermore, the consumer ombudsman in 2015 published a guideline … Continue Reading
Social media sites are becoming increasingly popular for marketing a company’s goods or services. Facebook is commonly used to promote sweepstakes and contests intended to attract new customers and increase “likes.” However, if a contest contains a popularity feature, such as a photo contest where the public can vote on which image they prefer, it … Continue Reading