“They Sent Me a Whole Lot!” A Content Analysis Assessing Compliance with Social Media Advertising Regulations

• In Event: Search, Use, and Compliance in Online Environments

Abstract

This study discusses compliance with the legal and self-regulatory provisions on social media advertising in blogs in the Netherlands and the US. These provisions require bloggers to explicitly disclose any advertising or influences from advertisers in their blog posts. With a content analysis of 200 blog posts of the 40 most popular blogs in the US and the Netherlands, we systematically assessed the relevance of these regulations, and whether and how bloggers comply with them. Results showed that 65% of the blog posts mentioned brands and product names, suggesting that the disclosure regulations are relevant. The discrepancy between the mentioning of brands and the provision of disclosures (22% of branded blogs), revealed that compliance with the regulations is low. Additionally, the manner of disclosing advertising is often not as prescribed in the regulations. These findings have important implications for advertisers, bloggers and regulators, as well as for further research regarding the effectiveness of blog advertising disclosures.

Authors

• Sophie Carolien Boerman, ASCoR / University of Amsterdam

• Guda van Noort, U of Amsterdam

• Melanie de Looper, U of Amsterdam

• Natali Helberger, U of Amsterdam