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The Truth About Sponsored Posts

These days, it’s impossible to go on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even Snapchat without seeing a sponsored post from your favourite blogger or celeb – a paid-for post by a brand, marked #ad. You’ve seen ’em – lipsticks promoted by make-up artists, skin care hawked by lifestyle bloggers, protein powder gushed about by fitness Instagrammers. […]

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The Truth About Sponsored Posts
These days, it’s impossible to go on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even Snapchat without seeing a sponsored post from your favourite blogger or celeb – a paid-for post by a brand, marked #ad. You’ve seen ’em – lipsticks promoted by make-up artists, skin care hawked by lifestyle bloggers, protein powder gushed about by fitness Instagrammers. GQ recently reported that Instagram saw over 300,000 sponsored posts in the month of July alone.

Yep, advertising via influencer is skyrocketing, and it’s a trend that sees no sign of slowing. Question is, for something that’s now such a normal part of social media… why are we so secretive about it?

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Alright… it’s time we started talking openly about sponsored posts.

The truth is that there are plenty of bloggers and influencers out there creating – well, let’s be honest – shitty content for a lot of money. These are the ones you can spot from a mile away (it’s usually a selfie of them holding some magic hair pills or teeth whitener), who have nothing of interest to say about the product they’re hawking, yet continue to get money thrown at them from brands simply because of the number of followers they have (let’s not even get started on the fact that they likely bought some of those followers).

But here’s the other truth, and the one I want to focus on – not all sponsored posts are shady. In fact, a good chunk of them aren’t. Plenty of bloggers, photographers and storytellers out there are producing excellent sponsored content – they promote only products that they actually use, made by brands that they genuinely love. They respect their readers and wouldn’t compromise their trust by posting generic crap. And for many of these content creators (including myself), sponsored posts are a main source of income and a means to create content as a full-time job.


Perhaps the idea of paid content wouldn’t seem so dirty if we just tackled some of the misconceptions surrounding ‘sponsored posts’ – the business behind them, the question of their authenticity and the responsibilities that both brands and bloggers have when it comes to delivering sponsored content. To help expand on my own experiences, I reached out to my friends Sasha Exeter of SoSasha.com and Nathalie Martin of Woahstyle.com for input on the topic, both full-time content creators who regularly work with brands to develop sponsored posts (and do an excellent job of integrating them into their regular content).

So, let’s start with the question that’s on everyone’s lips these days…

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Why should brands pay for content?

Ahhhhh, the constant debate between content creators and brands. It’s interesting to note that while many brands are at the stage where they struggle to decide which influencers to work with, there are plenty still stuck back at stage one, asking the question, “Ummmm, WHY should I pay you to promote my brand?” For some, they can’t get past the old way of doing buisness – having their PR agency pitch to magazines and newspapers, hoping and praying they’d get featured in the next issue.

But the landscape has changed. Now there are Instagrammers and bloggers who have built audiences bigger than most magazines, whose influence spans continents and can generate immediate purchases through a click on a link in their bio. They have followers who are heavily invested in their content, who trust their individual opinion and who feel a genuine connection to them.

“More and more brands are acknowledging that bloggers are true influencers not just in trendsetting, but also in our connection with our audience,” says Nathalie. “Bloggers are able to interact with an audience directly through social media and blog comments, which means we have a solid trust foundation with our followers. If a blogger or YouTuber recommends a product, I know I’m more likely to buy it versus seeing it in a print ad with models or celebrities.”

It’s that trust, that immediate connection to their audience that makes influencers, well, influential. Followers can ask questions about the brand, exclaim their mutual love for a product or tag friends in the post to spread the word. The engagement is immediate and authentic and has the ability to grow past the influencer’s direct audience.

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For Sasha, the payment from brands is often more about the hours and quality of work that go into a sponsored post: “For me, accepting paid opportunities is simply being compensated for the hard work I put in to produce original content for a brand,” she says. “If you look at most successful websites and blogs today, the quality of content posted on there is no different than editorial content you may see in magazines, newspapers and digital publications. So why shouldn’t we be compensated for it?”

It’s really no different to the way things have been done traditionally – it’s simply the medium that’s changed. Instead of brands buying ad space in a magazine (which, newsflash, impacts which brands are featured within editorial as well), they can buy space within a blogger’s content. And if a blogger already loves a brand, what’s the harm in them getting paid to genuinely talk about that love?

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‘Sponsored post’ Doesn’t Equal ‘Sponsored opinion’

If there’s one thing I want to get across to my readers (and the general public) about sponsored posts, it’s this – just because someone paid me to talk about their brand, doesn’t mean they paid for my opinion.

When a brand approaches me to work with them on sponsored content, my first thought is, “Is this a brand that aligns with the values of This Renegade Love?”, followed shortly by, “How can I integrate this into my life story?” If a brand isn’t a natural fit or I can’t easily incorporate their product into my content using my own voice, I won’t do it. Simple as that.

In fact, I’ve declined many more paid opportunities than I have accepted. There are red flags that I can spot from the beginning, like when a brand states in the contract that ‘all reviews must be positive’ (um, BYE…. don’t tell me how to live my life). Or like when a brand asks me to talk about a product without giving me the opportunity to try it out first (I’m not going to promote a skin cream that, hey surprise, actually gives me hives). Because although money can buy space within my content, it can’t buy my opinion.

And since launching my site, the number one thing I’ve learned is that if your readers smell bullshit, they’re gone. Why compromise that loyalty and trust for a brand that will move on to someone else in a heartbeat?

“I know that my readers are smart and I never want to insult their intelligence by writing bullshit posts on brands I don’t really stand behind, just to put a couple extra dollars in my pocket. Not worth it,” claims Sasha. “As a blogger or ‘influencer’, all you really have is your word – once you become known for selling out, you immediately lose credibility.”

And when it comes to things that really get under our skin, many of us bloggers are on the same page as our readers. “I can’t stand when influencers say ‘I love my new product from brand. @brand #ad’ “, Nathalie groans. “It’s so annoying. It’s not original and it’s not authentic. It’s my biggest blogger pet peeve.”

No value ever comes out of a generic post like that – a good content creator will come up with the concept for their Instagram shot or story angle for their blog post organically, then build the brand into it. This summer I worked on a project with Australian wine producer, Ringbolt, to promote their Cabernet Sauvignon (a wine I already drink and love). Because I knew that a stock-standard blog post raving about the flavours and notes of the wine would put my readers to sleep, I instead built it into a story on 5 Things that Aussies Do Better, including wine as one of those points. I was able to keep the reader engaged, honour their trust by writing in my own style and tone, and openly disclose that the post was sponsored without anyone thinking that my opinion was paid for.

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To hashtag or not to hashtag 

….that is the question. An easy way to spot a sponsored post is to look for ‘#ad’ or ‘#sponsored’ within the photo caption, or a blurb at the end of a blog post saying the content was in partnership with a brand. In the US, you don’t have a choice on whether or not you include these disclaimers – FTC regulations require bloggers and influencers to disclose when they’re paid to promote products. And although the same regulations haven’t been extended to Canada (yet), many influencers and brands are picking it up, regardless of lack of legal requirements.

While I personally prefer to have total transparency on content that’s been paid for, I know plenty of bloggers who prefer to keep it ambiguous simply because of all the misconceptions around sponsored content and the question of authenticity.

“I don’t have a problem with stating #ad at all – I think it’s fair to be transparent with my audience,” says Nathalie. “That being said, I have received low very engagement on a couple of posts that have been obviously sponsored and with captions or styling that was dictated by the brand.”

Sasha echoes that sentiment, and because of the often negative view given to sponsored posts, she’s apprehensive to talk about whether or not she was compensated – especially since she’d give the same opinion whether it was paid or not. “At first, I had some tredpidation when brands began requesting that I disclose ‘Sponsored’ or ‘Paid’ on my content,” says Sasha, who admits that 90% of her blog content is sponsored by brands. “I take my site and personal brand very seriously and put a lot of time into the content that I produce. I felt like my followers would make the assumption that because I clearly indicated that a post was sponsored by a brand, that my opinions were skewed because I received monetary compensation to share on my site and social channels.”

Unfortunately, this mentality isn’t going to change overnight – it’s natural for readers to be wary when they discover something that they’re viewing has been paid for. But the more transparency there is with sponsored posts, the less it will feel like a dirty little secret of the blogging industry.


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Make sponsored posts great again

Okay, here’s what we now know: there’s nothing wrong with sponsored posts. If a blogger already use a brand’s products, then hell, they may as well get paid to share with their engaged audience and start a conversation. But we can’t deny the fact that there’s still A LOT of shitty, lazy sponsored content out there. And that the shitty content often discredits the authenticity of the good sponsored content simply through association.

So… how do we fix it?

Well, it’s up to all of us, really. Both brands and content creators need to take responsibility for the way the industry is shaped and for how it will look in the future. The quality of sponsored content can only improve if brands start being more selective with who they work with, and content creators are true to who they are.

Here’s what I suggest:

Content Creators

  • Produce shit-hot content. Plain and simple. Your sponsored posts should be of the same quality and produced in the same voice and style as your non-paid content.
  • Be selective with brands you work with. If it’s not something you would recommend to your friends at brunch, don’t do it to your followers.
  • Don’t allow brands to dictate your tone-of-voice or creative concept – your sponsored content should fit in seamlessly to your other work, and when it sounds scripted, your readers will disengage.
  • Respect your followers. They’re not idiots and don’t deserve to be treated as such by you trying to pull the wool over their eyes with a product you don’t even use.
  • Be original. Don’t just tell people why you love a brand or product – give examples of how it’s actually impacted your life.

Brands

  • Do your research when it comes to content creators. Stop throwing money at people who don’t fit your core values or are lazy with their work. Look for people who tell a story with their content and can creatively do so with your brand.
  • Pay fair rates for the work being done. When you’ve done your research and found a perfect brand fit, you’ll see that the fee is worth it.
  • Let content creators do their thing. If you’ve worked hard to find a great brand fit, trust that they know their audience and what they respond best to.
  • Understand the difference between reach and engagement. Whilst audience reach is hugely important, engagement is worth its weight in gold. You can buy followers, but you can’t buy an organic conversation started about your brand.

Sponsored posts aren’t going anywhere. Hell, I think it’s plain to see that from the 300,000 that were posted on Instagram alone in one month. But it’s the way we collectively approach sponsored content that will take it from being a dirty little secret to being an acceptable way to make money from online influence.

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What are your thoughts on sponsored content on blogs + social media?

Leave your comments, rants and praises below!

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  1. Jackie says:

    YES, this was such an incredible read!! You all hit the nail on the head with the points you’ve made in this post.

    It’s a very fine balance to work sponsored content into blog and social posts. I think that takes more effort than weaving product into magazine ads! For instance, I just published a sponsored post on my blog today, partnering with McCafé…and turned it into a “10 of my favourite things about fall” post, rather than just, “Buy coffee at Mc Donald’s because it’s good.” It took a lot of time and effort to build that content, but I think it shows.

    I also only try to work with brands that I truly love and stand behind, and hope that comes across to my readers, too.

    Thanks for the great post…and sorry about the essay of a comment 😉

    Jackie
    Something About That

  2. Lauren !! I love this post so much. I connected with it entirely and really enjoyed reading it as words on a page. As you know, I’ve been trying to figure this all out + this post has really helped me understand more about the perceptions from both sides involved in sponsored posts. I feel extremely inspired now to work even harder on my content and to fight for the quality of my own work 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing. Xx

  3. ahhh i love your posts Lauren. I also find it interesting how many offers you have declined! I used to be so awkward with captions and thinking of what to say for a sponsored post (though I still am a bit, I will admit), that I hated thinking I looked like a sell out. Like you said though, I will only work with brands that fit my niche, and I will never promote protein or workout supplements (unless Costco sends me all their protein powder cause it’s actually the best).
    And I also think it’s really important to be able to keep publishing your own content as often as you would sponsored content. Recently i’ve seen a LOT of food bloggers share more and more sponsored recipe posts. It gets old, especially when the product is something that is expensive, hard to come by, and something i’d never use except in that recipe.

  4. Abigail says:

    I couldn’t agree more that Sponsored content doesnt mean sponsored opinion. I certainly don’t have heaps of followers but being asked for sponsored posts makes me feel like I’m doing something right with my blog. It’s also really nice to get these great opportunities that also pay well because as a student I’m often struggling to make ends meet.

    Abigail Alice x

    • Lauren | This Renegade Love says:

      Cheers Abigail! I think it’s great that brands are approaching you – it certainly can be a great way to make extra money as long as you just remember why you blog in the first place (for passion!).

  5. Abhishek says:

    I absolutely loved reading every bit of this article. You basically voiced the thoughts and opinions that many are shy to share publicly. Thank you for always keeping it real! Your posts are empowering. Keep them coming!

  6. Crystal says:

    This was an excellent article. I cannot believe how many Toronto bloggers pay for followers, I think that sponsors should be more careful with whom they select to promote their brands because if a blog suddenly spikes 500-1000 new followers overnight something is sketchy. When you look through some blogs followers the majority are egg heads or the traditional six posts or one post with a picture, these are bought or fake followers and will not engage the brand. I would like to see more bloggers maintain the sincerity of their blogs by removing the fake followers and becoming more authentic. It’s sad to see people with tons of Instagram followers and half are fake but when you visit their blogs the same three or four people are the only ones reading and commenting. You have a few fake profiles but you can really tell that you don’t buy followers and that you actually delete a lot of the fakes you spot (hard with 25 k followers)
    Bloggers need to be more aware of how they affect other people too, recently a certain blonde blogger went so far as to follow like four photos and then delete as soon as they got a follow back, when you confront bloggers like that, they simply delete your comment and block you and move on like they have integrity it’s not nice at all people didn’t naturally follow them they followed out of respect that they had been followed its so tacky to see someone behave that way to try to succeed. I express that bloggers should be more authentic kind and responsible when it comes to how they get followers. Other bloggers whose followers instantly spike, block and and pretend they aren’t fake when people notice.
    If I was choosing people to sponsor I would rather see that someone had a smaller number of real true loyal and interested followers than see a large number with majority egg heads egg heads and fake profiles it looks really bad. Eggheads aren’t going to make anyone sell anything and I feel some brands must be dissapointed with the influencers they choose to represent their brands. I apreciate your honesty and that your blog and Instagram has so much integrity.

  7. Becca says:

    I LOVE this! I’m not at the point where I have sponsored content on my blog yet, but I follow a lot of bloggers on Instagram that do. I love the posts that integrate a sponsored product into the blogger’s story. It makes me want to try that product. Alternatively, I hate when its so obvious that it’s sponsored content. It feels desperate. And it certainly won’t make ME use that product.

    Your post should be required reading for all bloggers who have sponsored content! Thank you so much for writing it.

  8. Jill says:

    GREAT post!! It was so eloquently written and you made so many great points.

  9. lea says:

    Very good read thanks!

  10. This was a very insight and helpful article for a pr person like myself who is navigating through the social media sphere, trying to align my beauty and lifestyle clients with blogs that fit, make sense. Really great info! Thank you!

  11. Brad says:

    Great post, Lauren. You nailed it when you challenged brands to do their due diligence, and engage storytellers who represent their core values and do/would actually buy their product as consumers. More important than the number of likes and followers is the organic audience a storyteller speaks to and represents.

  12. Alma says:

    I read this till the end and as soon as I saw teapigs, I screamed! I love teapigs!! Haha. But yeah, I totally agree with everything said. There’s nothing hidden about sponsored posts anymore, what I don’t understand are followers that get mad when you disclose you were paid to promote a product. I often wonder “do you not want me to have enough money to keep running my life?” shit is baffling tbh.

    http://thealmachronicle.com

  13. […] Lauren of This Renegade Love wrote an excellent post on this very topic, which I’d encourage you to read here. […]

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I'm a Brand & Content Strategist with 15 years of experience in helping businesses craft their brand story and build trust through authentic storytelling.

I'm Lauren, the creator of This Renegade Love and your new brand BFF.

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