Advertising Disclosure for YouTube & Instragram (2019)

Guidelines: https://www.asa.org.uk/resource/influencers-guide.html

This is a blast from the past back in 2019, but I thought it was interesting to revisit what was put out over 5 years regarding guidance on advertising for influencers. I have included a link above to the original website and guide if you want to dive further into it.

I highly recommend reading the entire guide, but the two big points I want to draw your attention to are “When I Need to Disclose” and “What Counts as Payment”.

1. WHEN YOU NEED TO DISCLOSE: “If you’ve received payment or any other incentive from a brand, or you are otherwise personally or commercially connected to the brand, any related content will need to make clear that it’s advertising. This means that whenever you receive any sort of incentive from a brand (even if it’s not money – free products and other benefits count too, see p5), or you are directly connected to a brand e.g., you’re an owner, employee, shareholder, director or have any other commercial or personal interest (i.e. family and friends), you need to make clear in any content where you feature or refer to the brand, that it’s advertising. This is the case even when the brand doesn’t know if or what you’re creating. The same is true for content containing affiliate marketing links (see p6).”

2. WHAT COUNTS AS PAYMENT: “Obviously, if you’re paid by a brand to post a particular piece of content, that counts as ‘payment’ – but any incentive, even if it’s not money, counts as a ‘payment’ for any resulting content. If you have any kind of commercial relationship with a brand, this qualifies as ‘payment’. This includes; • being a brand ambassador; • being a shareholder; being a director or having a position in the company; you are collaborating on your own ‘edit’ or ‘collection’; you are receiving an exclusive discount or a commission; or you are given products, services, trips, hotel stays, event invites, loans, leases, rentals, or shares etc. for free (whether requested or unsolicited). It doesn’t matter if there was no obligation to post about free items/services received, it still counts as ‘payment’ and needs to be disclosed.

There is a lot more information in the guide that you should read and understand if you accept products from companies, if you run advertisements, or if you use affiliate links. At the end of the day practicing strict disclosure isn’t only necessary to ensure you’re not breaking any laws, but you should aim to disclose everything to ensure you’re honest and open with people who are watching your content.

It takes a long time to build up trust with people online, but it takes a second to throw it all away. So don’t be scummy about it.

Clip from BSP-154: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXuUeUoYJ4
Originally aired 27 JAN 2019

The Harm of Cross Posting Content

Clip from BSP-402: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHPcF6nWDKI
Originally aired: 22 SEP 2024

3 Best Value Electronics

Clip from BSP-386: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRAMyU7dmew
Originally aired 21 APR 2024

Why do Hobbyists Care About Growth?

Clip from BSP-402: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHPcF6nWDKI
Originally aired: 22 SEP 2024

YouTube's AI Comment Replies are WILD

I have seen “comment auto-reply suggestions” on YouTube studio for quite a while, but last week while pulling comments for the Bandrew Says Podcast, I looked a little bit closer at the suggestions and something caught my attention. In the past the auto replies consisted of generic canned responses such as “Thanks for watching”, “You’re welcome”, “I really appreciate that.”, but now the suggestion was inserting statements about my knowledge level and adding humbling statements.

Here’s the example I pulled:

Upon further review on 15 OCT 2024, YouTube put a blog post about “Testing AI-enhanced comment reply suggestions”, and they outline how the suggestions will start to include the content creators “tone and style”.

I find this to be completely and utterly baffling. I understand that all tech companies are trying to find a way to implement AI in new ways to try to find the trillion dollar idea, but this seems silly to me. The entire purpose of comments is to have interaction with people, and this is attempting to trick someone into thinking they’re having that kind of engagement with minimal input from the creator.

The wildest thing about all of it is that it actually made a statement about my knowledge “I’m just trying to figure out how this YouTube thing works” and then threw in that artificial humbleness “I’m not sure how much help I am, but thanks for watching!” which is incredibly disingenuous.

As soon as I saw this I had to share it because it’s just hilarious and interesting.

Clip from BSP-407: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2dPeR02I-g
Originally Aired: 3 NOV 2024

I Started a Shorts Channel, This Happened...

Improving a Lav Mic's Sound

Clip from BSP-397: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=639HbyIO8Ok
Originally aired 11 AUG 2024

The Problem With Podcast Conferences

Recently Todd Cochrane (the CEO of Blubrry) posted a question on Podcastindex.social and he asked “Where are all the new podcast creators?” along with a photo showing an empty hall at Podcast Movement 2024. I want to clarify that James Cridland from Podnew.net pointed out this photo was taken prior to the event even opening, so the hall being empty is misleading. But I want to share my thoughts on why I, a lowly hobby podcaster, have not attended a single podcasting event as well as what I think may cause low attendance of “new podcast creators”.

1. The Schedule: Most podcast events are held in the middle of the work week. This means that in order to attend an event, us hobbyists or new podcasters, would need to take time off from our day jobs to attend.

2. The Podcast Economy: A few years ago there was a podcasting gold rush and millions of corporate dollars were being thrown around to acquire shows and launch new shows. Over the last few years there have been a few scandals about non-payment of guarantees due to lower than expected ad income. There has also been a skyrocketing of interest rates which makes borrowing money to launch shows much more expensive. I think that the lower than expected ad dollars and the more expensive money has led to fewer new shows launching which will also decrease the amount of new podcast creators.

3. The Cost: A big reason I won’t attend one of these events is the cost of it. Ignoring local transportation and food, we are already at $2,000 to attend this event. An estimate I came up with was $600 flight (round trip), $900 hotel ($300/night), $500 event ticket. Those three thing alone total $2,000 before tax, and it doesn’t account for transportation or food. That’s quite a big ask for a hobbyist or new podcaster just starting out.

When it comes to the value proposition of attending these podcast conferences, I don’t really think there is a good argument for hobbyists to attend. $2,000 + time off from work will be hard to justify unless there is INCREDIBLE information that is unavailable anywhere else. If networking is the main selling point, I understand a hobbyist maybe attending if it’s held within their city, but having to travel to the event removes any appeal for the hobbyist in my opinion (unless you are monetizing your show and earning a lot of money).

And the final question to ask is, could we be spending that money more effectively? To get the information, I could listen to any number of podcasts about podcasting, and watch YouTube videos for free. Then with the $2,000 I could get a podcast setup that will last me the entire podcasting career without ever needing to upgrade.

Clip from BSP-398: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQVCkRmVqG
Originally aired 25 AUG 2024

I Like Oranges

Clip from BSP-403: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-60QAwupyA
Originally aired: 29 SEP 2024

Someone Stole My Thumbnail

Clip from BSP-405: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SCpiCKV0TI
Originally aired: 13 OCT 2024

This is NOT the end of the world, but I wanted to go on a rant about this. Some idiot took my thumbnail and used it on their twitter post without any credit. Normally, I would not care much about this because any YouTuber or content creator understands this will happen. It’s inevitable. There are a few issues I have with the situation though:

1. When I called this person out, they took no corrective action to credit me. I do not expect someone to delete their post or anything. A simple reply to their own post stating “credit for artwork: link here” would have been enough. Days after the communication, nothing.

2. The type of content this person advocates for. They post about FACELESS SOCIAL MEDIA! I downright loathe this type of content as well as all the social media accounts that advocate for it.

3. And lastly, a question. If you are such a skilled faceless channel content creator who earns thousands of dollars from your brilliant strategies, why couldn’t you just make your own graphic? Why would you need to go out and take someone else’s work?

This may seem petty to you, and perhaps it is, but I have a strong disdain for faceless social media advocates and for fully AI-channel advocates for a plethora of reasons that were outlined in episode 388 of the BSP (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz4hpFUO2jU).

I believe the thing that makes YouTube and Podcasting so special is the fact that it started with people who only made content because they are passionate about a topic. It was not tainted by the idea of getting reach or famous, it was someone in a spare bedroom who felt the need to make a video about topic X or they would freak out. That passion comes through in a video; it’s not some sterile corporate nonsense, it’s authentic.

Enter these advocates for full-Ai content and faceless channels, they prey on people who are desperate to earn money with screenshots showing massive monthly earnings and views, promising that “you can do it too with these 10 steps”. I am highly skeptical that they are earning any significant income utilizing the advice they’re giving. My estimation is that they are earning money off of giving advice to people who desperately want to get rich and famous through social media.

Not only do I think they’re lying, and that their claims are bull crap, but I think they are advocating for content that ruins the quality of content available on platforms. The first place I noticed this was Everyday Carry. I used to search this topic regularly on YouTube, but now when I do it is flooded with crappy AI & Faceless Channel videos that are unwatchable. It led to me no longer searching for that type of content.

Bottom line, don’t be jerk and steal other people’s work.