What is sponsored content?
Sponsored content is stuff you see online that a company pays to put there. It can look like a regular article, video, or social media post, but a brand or company pays the website or creator to create it and put it there.
Why do we have sponsored content
Websites, newspapers, and media companies make most of their money from ads. But now, many people block ads or ignore them. So media companies work with brands to create sponsored content instead. The brand pays them to write articles, videos, or other content about their product or something related to it.
Sponsored content vs ads
Sponsored content is different from regular ads in a few ways:
- It looks more like the regular stuff on the website or social media feed. It blends in.
- The company has more control over what it says and looks like.
- It’s usually longer and tells more of a story than a normal ad.
- The website or creator often helps make it, instead of just posting what the company gives them.
Native advertising
Another word for sponsored content is “native advertising.” That’s because it’s native to the site it’s on – it looks like it belongs there. It matches the other content.
Examples of sponsored content
You’ve probably seen sponsored content all over the place and maybe didn’t even realize it. Here are some types:
Sponsored articles
An article on a news site that’s really long and tells a story, but it talks a lot about how great a certain product or brand is. At the top, it says “Sponsored” or “Brought to you by.”
Sponsored social media posts
Like if you’re scrolling through Instagram or Twitter, and you see a post from someone you follow, but it says “Paid partnership with [some brand].” They got money to post that.
Product placements
In a YouTube video, the person suddenly starts talking about how much they love their new headphones or water bottle. Surprise – that company paid them to say that!
Sponsored search results
When you search on Google, some of the top results say “Ad” next to them. The company paid to show up first when you search for that thing.
Sponsored shows and series
There are whole web series and video shows now that are really just a bunch of sponsored content put together.
Issues around sponsored content
Of course, a lot of people have issues with sponsored content. Here are some of the main ones:
Transparency
Sometimes sponsored content isn’t labeled super clearly. You might not realize at first that someone paid for it. That feels sneaky to a lot of folks.
Objectivity
If a company pays a journalist or creator to talk about their stuff, can you really trust that they’re being objective about it? Maybe they’re just saying nice things because they got paid.
Separation of content and advertising
It used to be that ads and content were separate. You knew an ad when you saw one. With sponsored content, the lines get blurrier. That makes some people uncomfortable.
Evolving landscape
Whether you like it or not, sponsored content isn’t going away anytime soon. Online advertising is always changing, and sponsored content is the hot thing right now. Brands like being able to tell their story directly, and a lot of media companies need the money to stay in business.
New rules and guidelines
Groups that make rules for advertising, like the FTC in the US, are starting to come out with guidelines about sponsored content. They want to make sure it’s clearly labeled so people know what they’re looking at.
Tips for viewers
So how can you tell if something is sponsored content? And what should you do about it? Here are some tips:
- Look for little labels that say “sponsored,” “paid promotion,” “partner content,” stuff like that.
- See if the article or video seems to focus a lot on one specific brand or product
- Think about whether the person talking seems to really love the product they’re talking about, or if it feels forced
- Remember to always be a little skeptical of reviews and recommendations you see online – you never know if someone was paid to say those things!
If you think someone isn’t labeling their sponsored content clearly enough, you can report it to the social media platform or the FTC.
The future of sponsored content
Sponsored content probably won’t look the same forever. As advertising keeps changing and the internet keeps growing, it’ll keep morphing into new forms. Maybe we’ll have:
- Sponsored virtual reality experiences
- Sponsored content made by AI
- Sponsored thoughts beamed directly into our brains (okay, hopefully not that last one)
The importance of media literacy
At the end of the day, the most important thing is for all of us to be media literate. That means thinking critically about the media we consume, asking questions about who made it and why, and not just believing everything we see online.
If we can all get better at spotting sponsored content and understanding the role it plays, maybe it won’t feel so sneaky anymore. We can appreciate it for what it is – a way for companies to tell their stories and for creators to make some money.
Just as long as they’re upfront about it. No one likes feeling tricked.
