Social Media Guidelines for Suppliers

INTRODUCTION

When advertising in an online environment, it is very important to be considerate of the relevant Laws. 

Under most advertising law, it is unlawful to ‘mislead’ consumers. This is a very broad concept, but it includes:

Pursuant to the Terms and Conditions, before you publish content, amongst other things, you must send it to Agency to review, however you are responsible for ensuring that your content is compliant with Laws. This document has been prepared for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, so is not to be relied upon as such. As a result, should you have any queries, you should raise these with Agency, who may require that you take independent legal advice at your own cost. Even when Agency approves your content, Agency accepts no liability whatsoever and does not waive its rights against you should such content breach the Term Sheet, the Terms and Conditions or Laws.

GUIDANCE ON HOW TO STAY SAFE

To seek to ensure that your content is lawful, you must make your connection with a brand clear. It is important that a consumer understands that you have a business relationship with a brand when publishing material, so that they can judge its credibility. 

X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and similar sites

If you are communicating content via social media, your post must include ‘#ad’ which explains that there is a connection between you and the relevant brand. 

Where your post is purely a visual or audiovisual asset without the ability to create associated post copy (such as an Instagram story post), your post must include ‘#ad’ as above as text over the visual or audiovisual asset.Mentioning the product, brand or related hashtags, tagging the brand or posting links to the relevant products or brand will also assist you in disclosing your commercial relationship, but you should always use ‘#ad’ as set out above. Any disclosure should be clearly visible on the asset, without the need for those viewing it to expand the text or comment, or interact with the asset in any way. Disclosures such as #spon, #sponsored, #partner or #partnership are not acceptable.

Snapchat

If you are communicating content by SnapChat, your post must include ‘#ad’ as text over the relevant content which explains that there is a connection between you and the relevant brand.

Mentioning the product, brand or related hashtags, tagging the brand or posting links to the relevant products or brand will also assist you in disclosing your commercial relationship, but you should always use ‘#ad’ as set out above. Any disclosure should be clearly visible on the asset, without the need for those viewing it to expand the text or comment, or interact with the asset in any way. Disclosures such as #spon, #sponsored, #partner or #partnership are not acceptable.

YouTube and similar sites

If you are posting content on YouTube or similar sites, you should, in a manner, volume and speed that can be clearly understood, state your relationship with the relevant brand. If the post is solely related to a brand’s products, then your statement should be made at the start of the video. If the post is only part related to a brand’s product, then your statement should be made at the relevant time, but before promoting the product. You can communicate your relationship in a number of ways, for instance:

A similar comment should also be included in the written description of the post with ‘#ad’ used. Any disclosure should be clearly visible, without the need for those viewing it to expand the text or comment, or interact with the post in any way. Posting links to the relevant product and brand will also assist you in disclosing your commercial relationship. Disclosures such as #spon, #sponsored, #partner or #partnership are not acceptable.

Blogs

If you are communicating content in a blog, you should consider using one of the following comments to disclose your relationship with the relevant brand.

You should also consider stating that the product(s) are “c/o” care of the relevant brand and posting links to the relevant product(s) and brand will also assist you in disclosing your commercial relationship.

Podcasts and similar

If you are creating a podcast, you should, in a manner, volume and speed that can be clearly understood, state your relationship with the relevant brand. If the podcast is solely related to a brand’s product then your statement should be made at the start of the podcast. If the podcast is only part related to a brand’s product, then your statement should be made at the relevant time, but before promoting the product. You can communicate your relationship in a number of ways, for instance:

A similar comment should also be included in the written description accompanying the podcast (if any). Any disclosure should be clearly visible, without the need for those viewing it to expand the text or comment. Posting links to the relevant product and brand will also assist you in disclosing your commercial relationship.