Instagram: Mark posts as advertising - you need to know that

Advertising on Instagram must be clearly marked as such. Because: Recently, there have been frequent warnings and even legal proceedings due to unmarked advertising posts on Instagram. We show you how to do it correctly.

That is why advertising on Instagram must be marked as such

The problem with advertising on Instagram is less the question of whether advertising was done. The question is whether the blogger has clearly marked the advertisement as such or not. In addition, when something is considered advertising and when it is not. Especially on this question, opinions are often divided.

• The anger about the obviously unrecognizable advertising is by no means new and it is also not a problem of the so-called new media. The forefather of the clever PR strategists, Edward Bernays, knew more than 100 years ago how to cleverly carry out surreptitious advertising or successful product placement. At a time when nobody thought of Instagram and Co. in a dream.
• The medium is different, but the goal is the same: to advertise something or someone so cleverly that no one notices that it is targeted - and that's the problem with Instagram bloggers lately have to fight increasingly.
• Running a good blog is hard work and usually hardly anyone works without taking advantage of it in any way. Of course, the dream of many bloggers is that they ultimately generate so many followers that they can make a living from their blog, and that means in most cases through advertising. It must be clearly emphasized that the advantage does not have to be exclusively monetary. If the blogger receives a so-called monetary advantage, for example in the form that he can keep expensive branded clothing as a sample or is invited to travel or the like, this is equivalent to payment.
• In addition to the consciously placed advertising, there are of course cases in which the blogger neither wanted to advertise nor had an advantage from the supposed advertising. Nevertheless, it can happen that you get not inconsiderable annoyance when you upload pictures on Instagram, for example showing products.
• According to a decision by the Berlin Regional Court on May 24, 2018, advertising can already be assumed if you place products or services in such a way that the company in question could benefit, i.e. increase sales or awareness. And that can also be the case if you link to a product or manufacturer page. It does not matter whether you have any advantage or not. In addition, it may be very difficult for you to prove in individual cases that you did not benefit from having a product in your post.

So you label properly

Basically, the more followers you have on Instagram, the greater the risk of being warned, of course, and the more carefully you should act. But regardless of this, you should either carefully avoid any form of advertising - in whatever form whatsoever - or carefully follow the requirements of the labeling obligation. Otherwise you may find yourself in court faster than you uploaded your post.

• Theoretically, you only have to explicitly mark advertising as such if you had a benefit of whatever kind - for example, that a product could be seen in your pictures or that you had set a link. However, as already mentioned at the beginning, the degree is narrow and you should therefore try to avoid anything that could even start to bother you. If your blog is going so well that companies are ready to advertise with you for a generous amount, this is of course great for you. You then just have to remember to label them accordingly.
• Important: The most beautiful marking will not help you unless it is unmistakable and clearly recognizable.
• Specifically, this means that you have to point out at the beginning of a caption or text that it is advertising. With a tiny note hidden in a hashtag or somewhere in the post, you will not meet your labeling requirements. In this case, you can assume that this will be treated as if you had not marked the advertisement at all.
• The designation must also be clear and easy to understand. English terms such as sponsored by, abbreviations such as ad or phrases such as paid partnership are not sufficient to identify the advertisement.
• However, if you simply use the term advertising, you are on the safe side. The term advertisement is also generally recognized. Upload a video to Instagram, for example by introducing the function of a new product, call it a promotional video. It is important in this context that the term advertising video must be clearly visible throughout the video.
• In short: Since more and more bloggers, for example on Instagram, have made really good money from advertising, the scene has been observed more closely. And since there are definitely people who have specialized in something like this, you shouldn't take the topic of advertising lightly. The competition center has published a multi-page work on the subject that may also be of interest to you.