Influencers and bloggers don’t need a code of ethics if they conduct themselves professionally

I wonder whether there should be a cross-platform valuation of influencers. For example, should a ‘retweet’ be valued more than an FB ‘like’, is an FB ‘like’ the same value as a WordPress ‘tick’, and is a direct in-channel sale of endorsed product worth more than these other positive influencee actions.

If influencers trade upon authenticity, then a code of ethics should be redundant. Their sustenance of influence should be predicated upon influencees being continually convinced of their authenticity. Anyone chasing the quick dollar will surely and instantaneously be discovered and should theoretically lose favour with influencees. Unless of course there’s something else that attracts influencees to influencers apart from just authenticity.

Shouldn’t their ethics be self-evident?

Great article Nikki.

Like you, I also knock back a number of paid posts if they don’t fit in with my blog, and I also have a disclaimer. Many people have no idea the amount of work and hours it takes to run a successful blog, so some sort of compensation shouldn’t be frowned upon as long as it fits in with the blog and audience.

While I understand and want to agree with your comments about the practice of newspapers/magazines and other “pro” outlets not fully disclosing paid opportunities, I work for one of the world’s largest brands and specialise in social media. I have done many blog/social media influencer campaigns and while you choose only the brands that you believe in and want to support, many self-proclaimed social media experts being invited to/attending events and promoting things on their channels would promote literally anything, whether they use it themselves or believe in it, if it means a free trip or a few bucks. Especially those influencers just starting out and not getting a wide range of opportunities to pick and choose from.

I have hosted bloggers and influencers who have proven that they know nothing about our products coming into an event or campaign and the content that they posted after an event showed that they were never interested in learning more or becoming a true and genuine brand user. This is where disclosures become important – because at least then the people following these influencers know in the back of their mind that the post is paid and can come to their own conclusions about how genuine the coverage is. This is different than magazines and newspapers who have paid employees under Fair Work and employment contracts that set basic rules of engagement. Social media influencers aren’t employed by anyone – so there’s no one governing what they do at a higher level, or questioning them on whether they might be breaking the rules of ethics.

Antony G: You will find that there are different rates charged for each social media platform and different KPIs around what the result is on each (often the KPIs are set by the client/brand) And yes, to my mind, ethics should be self evident.

Deb Carr: Yes, it does take a lot of work to run a blog/online site. Thank goodness it’s the best job I’ve ever had!

Lauren C: I totally agree with you that as more people enter the influencer space, this is a reality but I argue that those people won’t be around for the long haul with that kind of practice. I’m represented by an agency, so while I’m not employed by them there is a code of conduct we have to abide by within our contract.

The UK has actually gone down the path of producing guidelines for bloggers and vloggers, and disclosing commercial relationships is one of the key compliance requirements.

In Australia, the ACCC has published guidelines for online reviews, and both bloggers and brands should make themselves familiar with them. Misleading and deceptive conduct is a very real risk if commercial relationships are not disclosed – bloggers and brands alike need to ensure that they don’t wander down this particular garden path.

I agree on the topic of magazines. Maybe you can’t trust a blogger talking about a particular product if they “love it” or are “obsessed with it”, but by the same token can you trust a beauty editor who may also be putting forward an article on a product they don’t even like themselves, purely because they have that “relationship” to uphold with a brand?

That being said, if there is going to be a code of ethics for online influencers, why shouldn’t there be one for magazines? I believe it’s too hard to monitor.

If a consumer is seduced into purchasing because of an ‘online influencer’ that’s fine. It’s just a stupidity tax.
Toby Ralph

Bloggers? Influencers? Ethics? How can these words be used in the same sentence? The internet and social media in particular are like the wild west where anything goes and is regularly gotten away with.- plagiarism, mutual back-scratching and unedifying self-promotion are just the start of it. When it comes to products, the blogger, influencer, scrounger writes something nice about whatever it might be or they find themselves without a seat on the gravy train. Please…give us a break.

Great piece Nikki. As another journalist, blogger and ‘influencer’, you speak the truth. Most bloggers – the ones who have been around since the early days in any case – are honest and ethical and disclose. While some newbies (not all) do not seem to follow the same guidelines, and spoil it for many, they are easily found out. And with respect Lauren C., if you work for a major brand and you are inviting bloggers like these to your events, you have not done your research. Ethical, responsible bloggers are easy to find, and if not, many PRs and brands contract people like myself to recommend responsible bloggers with engaging followers who want to work with brands. These bloggers also will disclose, post, share across their social media platforms, and provide feedback on their coverage and engagement. None of the bloggers I would recommend would behave in the manner you describe, or are approached by major brands to work with.

Love this take, Nikki. The relationship of the blogger with their readers is more personal and based on trust than any other media I can think of. You can fool some of the people some of the time…but a blogger selling to the highest bidder is never going to be able to maintain the genuine relationship they need to keep working in the long term.

Social media megastars with followers in the millions notwithstanding (and as if they would give a toss about a code of ethics), the industry works very well on self regulation. Why impose even tougher measures on people who basically work for free for the first portion of their career?

@zumabeach … you might find it interesting to know that my online content was plagiarised by a major metro newspaper. It was straight out copied without any acknowledgement of the source.

And that gravy train you speak of? Definitely. There are some who think that it’s all about the gravy but if that’s all they think about and don’t build a business based on solid ethics then they won’t have a business at all.

@ The Gods Must Be Crazy … absolutely and I’d like to see the same applied to content in commercial journalism products.

@Vanessa … the magazine journalists are working under the MEAA Code of Ethics.

@Bronnie – Maid in Australia – totally agree and it’s so easy for brands to research potential influencers – it’s all there to see online!

@Nikki Parkinson – the problem with major metro newspapers these days is that their ‘content teams’ are usually youngsters who have no concept of copyright laws and attribution. Nary a journalist among them. Sad, really.

@ Carolyn Tate … it’s SO personal and trust is everything.

I’ve just recently undertaken100s of hours doing research before rebranding my Instagram account. There are a plethora of bloggers out there but you soon learn which ones are here for the long haul, do it because they love writing and engaging their readers and don’t just solely rely on half naked pictures of themselves to increase their followers. I did a journalism degree at uni late in life and went straight into corporate comms and freelancing on the side – so my radar is well and truly up when it comes to content. Nothing annoys me more than continually seeing pictures of well known personalities with product placement that has not been listed ‘sponsored’. I see this all the time. They immediately lose credibility with not only me, but their readers. The biggest mistake they make is thinking down their readers – they know when they are being duped. Ultimately they pay the price. Influencers like Nikki Parkinson have set a precedent we should all follow.

In response to Lauren C – my experience (on the blogger side of the fence) is that PR/marketing people often choose their guest lists unwisely. Often it’s pretty obvious who accepts any and all invitations with very little interest, but I’ve also seen cases where bloggers whose core interest lies outside a market niche are invited to (and attend) events. Just a little bit of research would go a long way.

Given that google has published disclosure guidelines, and frequently updates these, I suspect we’ll find that bloggers who don’t disclose are penalised. And let’s face it – for a blogger google is much more influential than the ACCC!

@ Gaby – thanks so much

@ Alex – research is so easy as it’s all online … and yes, Google is proving to being a strong force on penalising blogging platforms

Great piece Nikki. Influencers should disclose each time they work with brands because — it’s the legal thing to do. It’s the ethical thing to do. It’s best for business.

Influencers are influential because they consistently create compelling content that is relevant and resonates with their select audience. If they shill too many brands or start promoting brands, which seem at odds with their values, influencers will lose their authenticity, and shortly after, their ability to influence their following.

Once they lose that ability to influence they lose any ability to command money from brands from promotional work.

In the UK the Advertising Standards Authority enforces online ads, the Competition and Mergers Authority enforces transparency in sponsorship, reviews and endorsements. In the US the Federal Trade Commission is ramping up its role as enforcer of native advertising and influencer marketing.

There is a sea change regarding disclosure and influencer marketing globally. Yes, influencers should disclose for ethical reasons. Regulators are beginning to enforce relevant legislation.

disclosure #4 – as you might have guessed, i am an arrogant prick

Excellent article Nikki. I have worked with Nikki and she is a true professional. She is honest and open in all of her dealings with products and brands.

The biggest thing for me when working with influencers is that they need to like the product/brand and not just promote it for the sake of making money. If I approach an influencer and they said no based on the fact it wasn’t a right fit with their audience, then I am certainly not offended. I don’t like is when you approach influrencers to collaborate on a product, takes money, doesn’t seem to like or care about the product or brand and at the end of the day it really it wasn’t a good fit. I feel if both parties are honest and open and are on the same page then it works magically, if not it leaves a bad taste and both sides walk away disappointed.

There is a growing trend of influencers that will take on any brand as long as you pay money. These are some of the top influencers you see throughout social media. I do question the ethics here and hope that professionalism prevails in the end.

“Look at the travel section of a major newspaper. Is it a coincidence that stories included heavily favour the bigger advertising accounts?”

The professionals are dodgy, so we can be dodgy too.

So readers should “trust” a group of people – while those people argue that an unenforceable minimum ethical standard would be a catastrophe.

On the matter of journalistic ethics, I agree that some publications bend the rules.

But even in those situations, the beauty editors of old school publications were/are being paid by the publisher/editor, not the advertiser.

Yes the money in the business for journalists often comes indirectly from advertisers, but it is the publisher and editors that decide the fate of any journalist in a traditional publication.

@Deanne. ‘There is a growing trend of influencers that will take on any brand as long as you pay money. These are some of the top influencers you see throughout social media.’

You touch on an interesting point here. As the market matures, it moves away from its purist roots. If an influencer becomes clued-in as to how to appear authentic with regards an endorsed product, they might be able to replicate that methodology for products not so close to their heart. Once an influencer is reliant upon the income from their influence, might it not lead to instances of fake authenticity in order to maintain that level of income? Maybe some will be exposed as floggers, but maybe others will be able to sustain the illusion.

I’m a food and travel writer and I’ve been blogging for eight years. It’s time to stop the blogger bashing and focus on the people who are doing it well. We bring plenty to the table and we do it ethically. Don’t lump me with those who have different morals.

If you work with people who don’t subscribe to the same ethics, that’s poor research on your behalf. It’s not new for anyone to jump on a bandwaggon if they see an opportunity.

Well done Nikki. It’s about time these things were said.

@Antony G and @Deanne These are good points. I was asked recently whether I would ever endorse anything with leather as I am a vegetarian. My answer was a very clear cut no. Not only would this not be a good fit for me, but it would shred any ounce of credibility I had for my readers. Not to mention the brand damage for the person wanting me to endorse their leather products. In my mind, credibility and ethics are much more valuable than income.

@ Jen … I most certainly don’t think that dodgy professionalism is a green light for more dodgy. I just wonder who is policing journalism ethics codes and who would police online influencer ethics codes.

@Sebastian … totally agree about beauty eds being paid by the editor/publisher but what keeps the publication afloat? Advertising … that’s where the lines get very blurred, no matter how personally ethical those who involved in the editorial side of things are. The pressure I felt as a journo came from above, which came from above those people. It didn’t matter about the code I was supposedly working under. If I wanted my job, I just had to do what was asked.

@ Jim Beam … ahhh anonymous keyboard warriors. So ethical.

@ Scott Guthrie … great points.

Sorry my previous comment should have read
Should we be able to not disclose an sponsored post… sorry ad? Umm,,, no we should always disclose. Are sponsored posts real the view of the author? Umm… Probably not.

@ Travis, I can’t speak for all influencers but I don’t accept a sponsored post campaign unless it is something that IS my real view. It’s always disclosed as sponsored but it wouldn’t have made it on to my blog unless it was something I backed.

Thanks Nikki for putting your points across clearly and well. As someone who follows your blog and has bought items you’ve recommended, I know that you are doing a good job for your readers as well as the brands you work with.

Thanks also for being a real leader for the bloggers who’ve come after you. You have been making a positive impact all the years I have been working in the online space, and myself and other continue to learn from you. People need help with these ethical issues, and they need clear leadership.