TO CONCLUDE

Sponsored content is very popular to both brands and content creators alike. For brands, it allows ways to connect to potential buyers. For content creators, it is a way to make an income and expand their influence in this ever crowded media landscape. It is extremely important for the two of them to properly disclose any sponsorship or endorsement, for two main reasons. The first one is for legal reasons, the Federal Trade Commission is very clear on how branded content needs to be disclosed, and influencers have gotten into hot water by not disclosing sponsorship. The other reason has to do with the relationship between the influencers and their followers/subscribers. If they do not disclose sponsorship and their followers/subscribes find out, it could ruin their reputations and livelihood. Looking at different examples of sponsorship across different platforms proves that while disclosure is mandatory, it can happen in very different ways. Some content creators make it very explicit (using the example of Estée or Carly), while for others the sponsorship disclosure is slipped in (like with Casey). In the future, I think that there needs to be a standardization of sponsorship disclosure within the different platforms. This will allow viewers and readers to quickly and efficiently understand what is and is not a sponsored post or video.