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When fashion blogger and L’Oréal ambassador Kristina Bazan shows off a “gem” of a handbag to her 2.3 million Instagram followers or when top fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad shares her favorite mascara for a morning jog, it seems to viewers like insider information, or a hot tip.
That, after all, is the beauty of fashion bloggers. Real people following real trends and sharing the products that make their glamorous lives possible. Right?
Well, think again. Getting fashion inspiration from Instagram influencers often means wholehearted product recommendations aren’t always as genuine as they seem.
Welcome to the murky world of sponsored posts: from the Kardashians shilling weight loss teas to Danielle Bernstein of @weworewhat making upward of $15,000 per post promoting everything from make-up to hotels.
There’s no problem when those paid to pose with products admit that’s what they’re doing, usually through hashtags like #ad and #sponsored or — as in the unfortunate case of Scott Disick — by simply posting the PR email as the picture caption. Sure, the Kardashians may not need the money, but most of us understand that bloggers are doing a job and need to get paid.
But when it comes to fashion promotion, many bloggers are less than transparent with their followers, blurring the line between call-out and endorsement. Julie Zerbo, founder of The Fashion Law blog, recently published an investigation into opaque sponsorship practices and found big blogging names like Chiara Ferragni repeatedly failed to disclose the financial incentives behind their product photos by not clearly signaling sponsorship with the appropriate hashtags.
“Many are well aware of the legally mandated disclosure requirements but are under the impression that if they disclose that something is an ad, consumers will respond with less vigor — and, as such, their behavior is really quite deceptive,” Zerbo said in an interview, explaining that many bloggers swap “#ad” for something more vague, like “#partner.” Some don’t do even do that.