Wednesday, May 3, 2017

What's With All Those Hashtags?






 You may have noticed lately that titles have changed on my blog. I've been adding things like #ad or #sponsored or even sometimes more specific hashtags to the front of the post. Why? The FTC or Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on disclosure on social media. They want to be clear that - you- the reader know when we've had a partnership or relationship with a brand we've recommended. It was once okay to write a disclaimer at the bottom of the post (like I have) but many brands have been requesting that it goes at the beginning or even at the top of the title.




Where to place that recognition is tricky because many of us bloggers use programs that automatically post for us. That means the twitter will get my post title and link when I hit publish on this blog. If the disclosure isn't in the title it won't be there and I would be breaking rules.

I decided to write this post because I want to be open with you all and clear up any confusion. Some of the brands/products featured on this blog, I've purchased myself and some are sent to me in hopes that I will feature them. I'm never obligated to say anything nice about the product but the FTC believes social influencers might be swayed to say positive things so that is part of the reason they want the disclosure so big, bold and upfront.

What do some of these things mean?


#AD, #PARTNER, #PARTNERED, #SPONS, #SPONSORED, #GIFTED - these basically mean a company has reached out to work with the blogger. It can mean that they are paying for the review or that they just want a product featured. The might ask me to include specific links to where to buy or read more about a product. They might ask me to include a giveaway or share an event. I tend to use #ad because it only uses 3 characters. This frees me up for more space. I also use #nonspons on social media when I've paid for the product myself.


I hope this clears things up for you. Have you seen other bloggers or YouTubers using this language? Leave a comment letting me know what you think about all these hashtags.







ARupLife.com DID NOT receive product, press or compensation to facilitate this review. This post may contain affiliate links, which means that by clicking on an affiliate link I may receive a small amount of money. We only give our honest opinions of products. This post is in accordance with the FTC 10 CFR, Part 255 concerning the use, endorsements or testimonials in advertising.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Lisa,
    Thanks for the explanation. I'm sure this will be very helpful for anyone who had questions. I've heard different reasons and meanings, which led to some confusion.

    ReplyDelete

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