Marketers should not target children under the age of 13, as it can be more difficult for them to distinguish between authentic content and advertising content on social media than adults. Influence, option motivates consumers. Existing systems should be set up across Canada, the Quebec organization adds.

Canadian advertising standards regulate marketing practices on all platforms, but currently only in Quebec, due to its Consumer Protection Act, advertising for children is prohibited. However, these bans and advertising standards fail to specifically target the relationship between the creators of social media content, which are often referred to as “influencers” and a small segment of their audience.

Young people know and love influential people, but they do not always distinguish between authentic content and advertising on social media. For the youngest, it is sometimes unthinkable that this content will be public, even if it is clearly recognized. ”^E Now published by Clarice N.C. A study in this topic for Option Consumers.

To conduct a qualitative study, Shri.^E N’Ka interviewed people of all ages living across Canada. Attempting to measure this phenomenon – estimating the proportion of publications targeting Canadian Internet users who are young and young – will have to wait for further study, which may require significant effort, because the phenomenon of influencer marketing is still very bad.

“Advertising is a source of information that is becoming a reference for many people, including children, who are often turned away from traditional media such as TV, which is well-designed and well-understood,” M adds.^E N’Kaa.

Contains inspiration from Europe

Influencer marketing is more difficult to oversee when crossing borders. Many Canadian Internet users controlled by people living in the United States or Europe subscribe to channels on YouTube, Instagram, or other social networks.

This undermines the effectiveness of national initiatives. In Germany, it was decided to use a hashtag in advertising publications that clearly indicate that it is an advertisement – but in German, of course – that it is an advertisement. The English hashtags #Ad and #Sponsor do not work better in Quebec than anywhere else in Canada. There is no doubt that other systems will be more effective, option consumers believe. The organization cites the case of Ireland as an interesting example. The Irish government is demanding more transparency when sharing ads on social networks. In particular, the Internet user should be able to know who paid for the ad, how much he paid to display it, and why he was targeting it.

Facebook and Twitter do not support such an approach. Earlier this year, they called on Ireland to suspend its policy and wait for the European Union to publish its own policies. The European Union plans to legislate for social media advertising – especially for political purposes – before the end of the year.

It is hoped that the desire of European governments to better regulate advertising on social networks will lead to the creation of transferable systems within these platforms in Canada or elsewhere.^E Clarice N’Kaa.

In Canada, for the time being, the Competition Bureau is evaluating possible cases of misleading advertising on a temporary basis. We can follow the global effort to standardize what we demand from the owners of these platforms. Giving some order in this area is good for everyone: the public, the platforms, the influencers, ”she says.

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