HOW TO BE COMPLIANT WITH F.T.C. GUIDELINES

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Endorsement Guidelines are focusing more on influencers and disclosures for sponsored and affiliate content. Since we want to help you comply with FTC rules, here are best practices to follow when promoting any ShopStyle Collective affiliate content, as well as sponsored content. Per our Terms & Conditions, you must adhere to FTC Endorsement Guidelines and disclose any time you use our tools. If you do not comply, ShopStyle Collective may terminate your ShopStyle Collective account and disclaim any obligation to pay you your earnings.

Each post using our tools (links, widgets, Looks, etc.) as well as any paid campaigns, must include a clear and conspicuous disclosure. When you receive product for free it is considered the same as being paid and must include a disclosure. By disclosing the relationship between you, the Merchant, and ShopStyle Collective, a viewer of your posts can decide how much weight to give your endorsement.

Use the examples below as a baseline for how to craft clear, FTC-compliant messaging.

Types of Disclosures for paid/sponsored campaigns:

• Facebook: #Sponsored, #Promotion, #PaidAd, #ad, #CommissionLink
• Instagram: #Sponsored, #Promotion, #PaidAd, #ad, #CommissionLink ** Please note the disclosure must be placed before the “more” link to open up and see more hashtags. When posting to Instagram, even if you utilize the “Paid partnership with [sponsor name]” tool, ShopStyle requires our influencers to provide additional disclosure (i.e. #sponsored or #ad) in the caption.
• Blog post: “I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.”, and Sponsored by [sponsor name]
• Pinterest: #Sponsored, #Promotion, #PaidAd, #ad, #CommissionLink
• Video: Clearly state in the video that it’s sponsored by [sponsor name], that the content in this video has affiliate links you can make money off of when clicked on (if it does), and add in disclosure (#CommissionLink) under description in video.

Types of Disclosures for affiliate links used in blog and social posts:

• Facebook: #ad #CommissionLink
• Instagram: #ad #CommissionLink
• Blog post: “I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.”
• Pinterest: #ad #CommissionLink
• Video: Clearly state in the video that it’s sponsored by [sponsor name], that the content in this video has affiliate links you can make money off of when clicked on, and add in disclosure (#CommissionLink #Ad) under description in video.

Best practices to follow for all disclosures:

• Disclosures must be next to the content to which it relates to; a viewer should not need to scroll to view the disclosure
• Disclosures must be in a font of the same size as the rest of your post
• Disclosures must be obvious, not buried in a long paragraph of unrelated text or hashtags
• Disclosures should be visible every place the post appears, not only be accessible by clicking a hyperlink such as your Bio or About Me page
• Always disclose if a brand sent you product for free. e.g: Revolve sent me this jumpsuit or #FreeSample c/o Revolve

Thanks for being a part of our community! If you have further questions see here for official answers from the FTC. The Fashion Law also has informative content surrounding FTC guidelines for influencers. If this still isn’t making sense please add in your questions below and we’ll answer them.

Examples of how to incorporate these guidelines into your posts/content:

Blog:

Instagram:

Please note, ShopStyle will be auditing bloggers for compliance purposes. As a member of our program, you may be subject to an audit at any time.This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal advice. Please visit FTC.gov for guidelines.

-The ShopStyle Collective Team