Kolsquare's Compliance Score feature has just launched in the UK. It helps brands and agencies assess whether an influencer complies with advertising regulations.
The Compliance Score evaluates key opinion leaders' (KOLs') Instagram posts and Reels over the previous three months to determine whether they comply with regulations. Our unique algorithm analyses brand mentions and post captions to identify whether they feature a collaboration. Profiles are scored on a five-point scale from ‘Very Good’ to ‘Very Bad’ based on their compliance with labelling regulations.
Profiles are rated highly if they clearly label posts as ads, feature the company’s name, and fit UK regulations. On the other hand, low ratings are given to those who use unapproved labels or do not adequately inform their followers about the commercial nature of the publication.
We originally developed and implemented the Compliance Score in response to the introduction of new influencer laws in France, which indicated that brands and communication professionals were also liable for illegal content published by influencers as part of a collaboration.
Now, this tool is coming to the UK market, adapting to increasingly rigorous regulations emerging in this territory. These new regulations seek to ensure that both brands and influencers operate with greater transparency and accountability. As a result, agencies and content creators alike must be more aware of the laws and regulations to ensure their campaigns are legal and ethical.
In the past, brands and influencers operated in a relatively lawless space, where rules around paid promotions were rarely enforced. However, those days are over.
The UK has now introduced strict regulations governing influencer marketing, with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) overseeing marketing transparency and consumer protection.
The regulations are comprehensive, with The CMA stating, “If you’re an influencer or content creator, whenever you’ve been incentivised to post, all: ads, endorsements, commercial relationships, including sponsorships, competitions, prize draws or giveaways, affiliated links or programmes, discount codes, business partnerships, own brand promotions, product placement, reviews, content about gifts received for ‘free’ must be clearly labelled as an Advert or ad.”
Brands must ensure that all sponsored content is clearly marked as such, whether using hashtags like #ad, #sponsored, or a non-hashtag identifier like “Ad”. Influencers can’t hide disclosures in a sea of hashtags or vague language; they must be prominent and clear. The ASA has emphasised that easily misunderstood labels such as “Brand Ambassador” or “Funded by” do not qualify, aiming to protect consumers from being misled or confused about the nature of the content.
The CMA stresses that the goal of transparency is more profound than simple legal compliance; it is about maintaining consumer trust. It has stated that fines can reach up to 10% of a non-compliant brand’s worldwide annual turnover. Though unlikely to be given lightly, these devastating consequences reveal the criticality of brands staying informed about and adhering to the latest guidelines and best practices.
One of the Compliance Score's most valuable benefits for brands and agencies is that it allows the detection of influencer marketing posts that are improperly labelled or contain unapproved terms. In today's environment of increasingly stringent social media advertising regulations, early detection is crucial. By identifying these violations quickly, brands have the opportunity to correct any unregulated content before they receive severe penalties. This not only helps to avoid fines but also protects the brand's reputation by demonstrating a proactive commitment to regulation and transparency.
In addition, as mentioned above, the Compliance Score ranks influencers on a five-level scale. This ranking allows companies to choose to work with creators who obtain the highest ratings, promoting more responsible and transparent collaborations.
But this rating system is not only beneficial for brands. It also helps influencers. The Compliance Score allows creators who strive to comply with advertising standards and receive positive scores to differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace. Brands are increasingly looking to work with influencers who not only have extensive reach but also work with integrity and responsibility. Therefore, a high Compliance Score can become a valuable asset for influencers, helping them to secure more partnerships and build a solid reputation in the industry.
Finally, implementing the Compliance Score function also sends a clear message to consumers about the brand's commitment to transparency and accountability. In a world where consumers are increasingly informed and concerned about ethics in advertising, working with compliant influencers can improve public perception of the brand. Indeed, in the UK, 66% of consumers aged 18-24 stated that they are more likely to buy from ethical brands. In addition to 58% in the 25-44 age brackets.
This confirms that consumers tend to trust and value brands that demonstrate a commitment to fair and transparent business practices, which can translate into greater loyalty and better long-term performance.
Choosing the best influencer for your campaigns among so many options can be overwhelming, especially while checking that collaborations are legal and responsible. In this context, the Compliance Score filter becomes an invaluable tool. This filter automatically discards profiles that do not comply with legal and regulatory requirements, significantly simplifying the selection process. Brands can be confident that influencers selected through this filter operate to the necessary standards. This is reassuring for brands as it eliminates much of the uncertainty and risk associated with collaborations.
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In addition to the Compliance Score function, the Kolsquare team has developed several tools that enable companies and organisations to create responsible influencer campaigns. These tools are designed to ensure compliance and promote ethical and sustainable influencer marketing practices, creating an environment where transparency and accountability are the norm.
Within the platform, you will find a series of filters that help simplify your selection of the most responsible and ethically engaged influencer profiles. For example, the #influencerforgood filter allows you to identify KOLs who volunteer their influence to brands and organisations affected by crises or dedicated to charitable causes. This filter is especially useful for campaigns seeking to promote products or services while also generating a positive impact on society, aligning the brand's values with those of the selected influencers.
Similarly, the ARPP’s Responsible Influencer Certificate filter, currently available only in France, helps select the KOLs most committed to ethical conduct on the web. This certificate guarantees that influencers have been rigorously evaluated and meet high standards of transparency and accountability.
Furthermore, in collaboration with Sami, a company specialising in carbon footprint solutions, we have developed an open-source tool that will allow brands, agencies, and content creators to accurately measure the impact of their publications and campaigns in terms of CO2 emissions. This innovative tool is designed to help companies make more informed and sustainable decisions, reduce their environmental footprint, and contribute to the fight against climate change. The ability to measure and manage the environmental impact of marketing activities is a crucial step towards corporate sustainability.
To learn more about this tool, which is currently in beta, read our article: Sami: helping start-ups and SMEs to reduce CO2 emissions.
Finally, you can also access a series of free guides and documents we have developed on responsible marketing practices. These guides are designed to inspire and help companies in the UK and across Europe take actions that positively impact the environment. They offer practical advice, case studies, and effective strategies for implementing marketing campaigns that are not only commercially successful but also promote ethical and responsible values.
Stay on the cutting edge of influencer marketing by following our blog, where we discuss all things related to influencer marketing. We also invite you to download our free study now, with up-to-date data, creator rankings, interviews, and key metrics on ‘Influencer marketing trends for 2024’.
Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, a data-driven solution that allows brands to scale their KOL Marketing strategies and implement authentic partnerships with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders). Kolsquare’s technology enables marketing professionals to easily identify the best Content Creators profiles by filtering their content and audience, and to build and manage their campaigns from A to Z, including measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors. Kolsquare has built the largest community of influencer marketing experts in the world, and offers hundreds of customers (Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, El Corte Inglés, Lacoste, …) the latest Big Data, AI and Machine Learning technologies to drive inspiring partnerships, tapping into an exhaustive network covering 100% of KOLs with more than 5,000 followers in 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. As a Benefit Company, Kolsquare has been pioneering Responsible Influence by championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations to inspire change.
