Some 13 per cent of UK bloggers do not believe it is important to disclose the fact that some of their posts are sponsored, a survey has found.
The statistic, revealed in a survey of bloggers by the media directory provider Vuelio, suggests that hundreds of website writers in the UK may be flouting Advertising Standards Association guidelines.
The ASA states that all marketing information needs to be clearly labelled as such (this includes online editorial content and posts on social media).
Those who pay bloggers for editorial coverage which is not declared could also be committing an offence under the Bribery Act 2010. This states that it is against the law to pay someone to perform their functions improperly.
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Vuelio sent a questionnaire to all the 11,000 bloggers on its database and based its report on 586 usable responses.
It found that some 50 per cent of bloggers surveyed said they believe they should be paid for all coverage they give to brands.
Asked whether sponsorship disclosure was important for every collaboration, some 87 per cent said yes – leaving 13 per cent who either did not agree with this, did not know or declined to say.
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The survey found that some 12 per cent of UK bloggers say their personal website is their main source of income.
Of those who blogged professionally, only 76 per cent said they agreed that sponsorship disclosure was important.
The report found that Lifestyle is the most popular blogging category, followed by parenting/family; fashion and health, travel and then food and drink.
Some 31 per cent of those surveyed said their blogs attract more than 10,000 unique visitors per month.
Picture: Reuters/Phil Noble
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