I know a few people have seen "ad" written all over Instagram stories over the past few weeks, and you're probably wondering "why" and "should I be doing that too?". Cue this blog post! Hopefully, I can answer some of your questions and enlighten you as to if you need to be doing this too. 

So no matter if you have 5 followers or 5000, if you are sharing content around a brand or company (even your own), you are classed as an influencer. This now means there is a set of self-regulated rules which apply. 

All advertising MUST be easily identifiable by consumers, so people shouldn't have to use a magnifying glass or message you to ask if the product or service you are talking about was given to you either for free or at a discounted rate. You will need to use the following:

AD
AD | Gifted/ PR Product
AD | Ambassador

These will need to be used on EVERY SINGLE SLIDE when talking about or sharing an item that comes under the AD classification. They must also be used on the first line on a post. So not at the bottom of the description and definitely not in the comments, you must be upfront and clear.

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What is classed as an AD?

The ASA's definition of advertising is broad and includes any content that is controlled directly or indirectly by an advertiser.

The way in which I see this is:

• If you are sent a message from a company saying "we would love to send you one of our products" this product arrives and you decide to share it on your stories, this is an AD!
• You have a partnership with a company which gives you a discount on products with the intention you share them with your followers, this is an AD!
• You have been given a discount code after you brought a product and you share it with your followers, this is an AD!
• You go to the shop and you buy a new tool and you love it so much you want to share it with your followers, this IS NOT an AD.

So for something to be classed as an AD, you DO NOT have to be getting paid for this. Anything which you are sent with the brand's intention that you share is classed as an AD.

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How do I share with my followers that my stories or posts are an AD?

You get given a new tool or product by a brand, or you are given a discount from a company so that you can purchase the rest of an item, you get it home and you want to show it off to all your followers. BEFORE you start posting about the product you MUST let your followers know that the following stories are an AD, that you were gifted the item, or given it at a discounted price. You may then proceed to share the item BUT each story must clearly show either AD, Advert, or Advertising. 

If you are being paid by a company or brand to post about an item, you can also use the Branded Content or Paid Partnership tools that Instagram offers through Business accounts.

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What if I was given workwear, a tool, or a discount code AGES ago, do I still have to say its an ad?

If you have shared the product prior and declared that it was an AD then 5 weeks later you want to share it again, you don't have to declare that it is an AD as long as you are not tagging the company.

If you choose to tag the company in your stories then you must declare that it is an AD.

And last but not least, if you are from overseas and thinking, oh this is just for New Zealand, it has nothing to do with my page.. this next one is for you.

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I don't live in New Zealand, this doesn't apply to me

Just because you don't live in New Zealand doesn't mean you are exempt from the ASA Guidelines.

If a proportion of your following is from New Zealand you are essentially advertising to New Zealand consumers. This will mean you are required to abide by the ASA guidelines as well, regardless of what country you live in. 

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Although there are no fines if you don't cooperate with the ASA guidelines, it does mean that if someone does complain about your post or stories via the ASA website, then you will be made to remove them. Even though this may not affect you, it may cost the company you are dealing with as they could lose sales or service which were intended to come from supplying you with free/paid product or service.

Hopefully, this helps you figure out if you should be using the word AD on your posts or stories. This information has all been taken from the original ASA Guidelines document which can be viewed here. 

If you have any more questions on this, leave a comment below, and ill try to answer them for you