Influencers who fail to disclose ads are ‘tarnishing industry and brands’

Artwork depciting a social media influencer.

Influencers and digital creators who fail to disclose adverts and commercial content within their posts are damaging an industry which has managed to shake off the “wild-west” tags of the past.

That’s the view of influencer marketing agency, Disrupt, following a European Union study released this week, which shows that four out of five influencers on social media fail to disclose commercial content, as required under EU and UK law.

Stevie Johnson, MD of...

22 February 2024 | Advertising

Digital Marketing Institute launches AI in Digital Marketing course to plug AI skills gap 

The Digital Marketing Institute (DMI), a provider of Digital Marketing Certification, has launched its first Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Digital Marketing course, following overwhelming demand from marketers. 

The decision to launch the course comes following DMI’s latest Membership Survey in 2023, which found AI to be the top skill members are looking to develop over the next 12 months.  

The course will bridge the AI knowledge gap for marketers of all...

20 February 2024 | Advertising

Why social listening platforms can’t listen – and how SocialVoice is looking to step in

The market opportunity for brands who get influencer marketing right is huge.

According to Goldman Sachs, the creator economy is worth around $250 billion (£205.4bn) today. By 2027, it could hit $480bn (£394.5bn), in line with predicted growth for global digital advertising spend. In line with this trend is an increasing preference for brands to use nano- and micro-influencers in their campaigns. The State of Influencer Marketing 2023 Report puts this at 39% and 30%...

31 October 2023 | Data-driven marketing

Digital marketing skills show positive growth but sector demands outpace professional development 

Core digital skills marketers rely on have improved but that the growing demands of new and evolving technologies are contributing to a skills gap across the majority of industries. 

This is according to research published by the training body Target Internet, in association with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

This year’s report analyses data from more than 10,000 marketing professionals, gathered between 2018 to 2023 and highlights key short and...

24 October 2023 | Advertising

Brands spent a £71bn on influencer ads in five years

Over the past years, influencers have become one of the top choices for social media marketers, providing brands an opportunity to reach millions of potential users practically overnight. The rising popularity of influencers has boosted the total spending in this market to record highs.

According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, brands have spent a whopping $90bn (£71bn) on influencer ads in the past five years.

Ad Spending in the Influencer Market Skyrocketed by...

15 August 2023 | Advertising

Sprout Social acquires Tagger Media

Sprout Social, a provider of social media management software, has acquired Tagger Media, an influencer marketing and social intelligence platform.

This acquisition will further establish Sprout as the leader in the social media software market with a comprehensive platform that empowers brands to execute a holistic social strategy at scale.

Justyn Howard, Sprout Social’s CEO and co-founder, said: “As influencer marketing has changed the way brands build awareness...

15 August 2023 | Influencer Marketing

Chinese, US and UK brands generate two-thirds of total influencer ad spending

The influencer advertising industry has skyrocketed by a massive 330% over the past five years, becoming one of the leading online marketing channels.

With budgets growing fast and marketers seeing strong returns, the entire market is expected to increase by another 17% year-over-year and hit a $30.8bn value in 2023. Most of that value will come from only countries.

According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, Chinese, US, and UK brands will generate around $22.7bn or...

1 June 2023 | Advertising

Retailers feel there are too many channels to effectively sell through

A TV remote control.

Online shopping has never been more convenient for consumers, who have access to a plethora of channels through which to engage with their favourite brands.

However, this same variety is confounding retailers, with 47% saying there are simply too many channels for them to effectively deliver the best sales experience.

This is according to Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology’s “Brands don’t fail... eRetail!” report, which found nearly all (94%) retail...

19 April 2023 | Content Marketing

David Shadpour, Social Native: Why brands should focus on authentic content creation

Social Native's founder and CEO urges brands around the world to build an army of creators, and embrace user generated content.

For anyone who doesn’t know about Social Native, what's the company all about?

The name itself, Social Native, has some depth to it. In the early print days, you'd hire a big agency, they would do a photo shoot and they'd print it for you and put it in a magazine. 

Then television came out and you had to do sight and sound. You hire a big...

15 September 2022 | Advertising

Room Unlocked, Alex Payne: Authenticity and purpose in influencer marketing

Alex Payne, Room Unlocked's co-founder, discusses the future of influencer marketing and how it can successfully form part of an overall marketing strategy.

Could you tell us a little bit about what the company does?

Well, several of our clients have described us as a cross between Tinder and LinkedIn, which we quite like. Room Unlocked facilitates partnerships between interesting brands and celebrities and influencers - but our point of difference is that it is all mutually...

12 September 2022 | Advertising