Financial firms warned on use of influencers

Companies using brand ambassadors for marketing campaigns have been issued new guidance on the acceptable terminology that influencers should use so followers recognise a paid-for commercial relationship.

In an update, the Advertising Standards Authority said its research found that people often struggle to identify when social media posts by influencers are advertisements.

“At a minimum, the ASA is likely to expect such posts to include a prominent label upfront to highlight that a post is a marketing communication.”

Retail-facing banks and fintechs are increasingly using influencers for content creation such as vlogs, blogs and social media posts.
Starling Bank, for example, used professional footballers Lauren Hemp, Jill Scott MBE and Rachel Yankey MBE as brand ambassadors for its #OurTime campaign, in the lead up to the UEFA Women’s European Championships in 2022.

Lloyds Banking Group, meanwhile, is recruiting students to be on-campus brand ambassadors in 2023, with duties that include “creating engaging social media content”.

In its latest guidance, the ASA said any posts where a commercial relationship exists should be marked “Advertising”, “Ad Feature”, “Advert”, “Ad” or “Advertisement Feature”, dependent on the context and the social media platform.

The Financial Conduct Authority has also announced it has started work with influencers and their agents, amid growing concerns.
“We’ve seen more cases of influencers touting products that they shouldn’t be," said Sarah Pritchard, the FCA's executive director, Markets.

“They are often doing this without knowledge of the rules and without understanding of the harm they could cause their followers.
“We want to work with influencers so they keep on the right side of the law, as this will also help protect people from being shown scams or investments that are too risky.”