What Are Sponsored Posts and How Do Influencers Disclose Them?
So Corinth, what are sponsored posts? What’s a collaboration? Are PR packages sponsored? What’s an affiliate link? What’s paid? What’s not?⠀⠀
Why thanks for asking so I can clear the confusion! (I hope you hear the sarcasm in this dialogue haha) But all kidding aside, I’m going to explain to you how I’ve defined these terms for me. Some influencers might have a different definition for themselves. I’m just sharing mine. If you're an influencer, I'm curious to know if we share the same definitions!
SPONSORED -
These posts are paid. I usually disclose this by tagging my business partner for said sponsored post which you'll visibly see as "Paid partnership with xxx” at the top, and by adding the "#AD" at the beginning (or end) of my caption. For my blog posts, I always write “This post is sponsored by xxxx” at the beginning of my post.” Influencers are ALWAYS required to disclose paid campaigns, and it has to be clear! No “spon” or #ad in the comments. Learn more here.
PR PACKAGES -
PR unboxings aren’t sponsored posts, and usually, influencers aren’t obligated to post these on IG stories. Influencers usually do this as a thank you to the brand for sending the gifts. I disclose this by adding "#gifted" to my posts.
COLLABORATIONS -
to me, a collaboration is unpaid work. I usually say yes to these partnerships if I know my followers are going to benefit from it (giveaways), or if it’s something I really want to have and it’s a way for me to not buy it myself. But the product has to be worth the rate I would usually charge for a sponsored post. I would disclose this as "#gifted" or "#collab".
AFFILIATE LINKS -
These are commissionable links that I share on IG Stories and blog posts. When you buy something through the link I share, I get a small commission. I disclose this by adding *affiliate link* to my posts.
Below are examples on how I’ve been disclosing both paid and unpaid brand partnerships.
I hope this gives you a better idea on what posts (of mine) are paid for or not. Also, I'm trying to be better at disclosing all gifted and affiliate posts so you never think I'm trying to trick you to earn commissions or that I buy those gifted products myself. Transparency is everything when it comes to these things so I hope you appreciate the steps I'm taking to make things clearer for you.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!
