The Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA) is heading up a new industry council for influencer marketing, as it closes in on a new code of practice for the space.
The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AIMCo) will provide a platform to develop best practice standards, particularly around improving transparency and disclosure standards, as well as promoting positive marketing outcomes for influencer marketing.
The code will also oversee the enforcement of the new Influencer Marketing Code of Practice which has been in development following months of consultation with the industry.
“It’s been great to see the enthusiasm and commitment the influencer marketing community has brought to this process,” says AMAA CEO Josanne Ryan.
“The move to collectively embrace industry best practice and embed this into their business model signals the maturing of influencer marketing.”
It comes as transparency in social media marketing continues to be called into question, with influencer provider Hypetap reaching out to the AMAA to help standardise the growing space.
“We’ve advocated for best practice and standards for a number of years, as we know how important this is to harness the true power of influencer marketing as a channel,” Hypetap CEO Detch Singh says.
“AIMCo is a positive step towards creating safer and more impactful influencer campaigns, and we’re pleased we’ve been able to play a leading role in this initiative alongside the AMAA.”
The consultation process has involved influencer platforms such as Born Bred Talent, Jooc’d, Social Soup, Tribe, Vamp and The Right Fit, as well as media agencies such as Publicis Media, Hyland, Wavemaker and MediaCom.
“Over the past year our clients have questioned the trust and transparency of influencers, it made it important that we brought together the industry, across agencies, agents and vendors, to create a council to lead best practice and champion the business outcomes of this growing marketing sector,” says Patrick Whitnall, head of content & Sport at Publicis Media.
“Our hope is that AIMCo creates an agenda of guidance and confidence around advertising disclosure, content usage and metrics for social media influencers."
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