Instagram is an ideal platform for advertisers due to its lack of transparency and ability to provide native advertising. It can be difficult to differentiate between paid and unpaid content, especially when it comes to the vast number of influencers and sponsors. To be more honest and forthright with consumers, Instagram is testing a feature similar to Facebook’s.
Instagram is testing their new transparency feature. How it works is an influencer or sponsor is required to tag the brand they are representing in their posts. The brand is then responsible for confirming the relationship. Once this happens, there will be a clearly marked tag on the top of the post that says, “Paid Partnership”. If this feature is successful then it will be implemented right away. Instagram is all about the community and is constantly working on improving for its users.
There have been complaints to Instagram about this issue with the lack of transparency. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned Instagram about its disclosure practices. They are hoping this new disclosure feature will solve the problem with the FTC; however, it isn’t certain.
Instagram is trying to incentivize brands to utilize this feature by offering access to more data on their posts. They will get data about who is viewing their posts and which posts are more popular. This is a step in the right direction for Instagram. It is better to be on good, undeceiving terms with users. Instagram is hoping to receive tons of feedback on bettering their practices. Read more on Instagram’s lack of transparency and how they are willing to solve it.
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