LinkedIn urges creators to disclose brand deals until it gets new format
- There have been growing concerns over misleading sponsored posts and increasing popularity of influencer marketing on LinkedIn. Over 60 incidents of misleading sponsored posts have been flagged on the platform
Mumbai: LinkedIn, India’s second most popular social platform after Instagram, has urged its users to disclose brand affiliations with appropriate hashtags as per regulatory guidelines until it introduces in-app disclosure tools. The platform said transparency is crucial to maintain trust and engagement in its professional community.
This response comes amid growing concerns over misleading sponsored posts and increasing popularity of influencer marketing on LinkedIn. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) recently flagged over 60 incidents of misleading sponsored posts on LinkedIn.
"As the world's largest professional community, with over 1 billion global professionals who turn to each other for career advice and inspiration, authenticity matters on LinkedIn,” said the platform in reply to queries by Mint.
“While we continue to develop new formats and ways to share and surface content on the platform, we expect all our members to adhere to our professional community guidelines and disclose any promotional content as #ad, #sponsored, or #partnership to build trusted connections and engagement,” it said.
The ASCI has asked creators to disclose material connections with any brands or advertisers they endorse. The application currently does not have any such in-house provision.
Influencers here are not just content creators but respected industry leaders whose opinions carry significant weight, Manisha Kapoor, secretary-general of ASCI told Mint.
"LinkedIn being a hub for professional dialogue, personal branding, and even commerce, the role of LinkedIn influencers becomes integral to brands looking to establish credibility and connect with niche audiences,” she said.
“The sharp targeting and trust associated with the platform make it a critical space for influencer marketing. This is why ensuring transparency and adherence to disclosure norms is essential—not just to comply with regulations but to maintain audience trust and integrity,” Kapoor added.
LinkedIn creators said self-regulation is the key to navigating the platform without getting in trouble until formal regulations are in place.
Dhairya Gangwani, a LinkedIn first creator and podcaster who has gained over one lakh followers by creating content on the platform over the past 4.5 years, said, “LinkedIn did not start out to become a creator brand ecosystem, rather a professional networking platform. Unlike other platforms that have built a long term partnership and set up rules and guidelines in place for its creators, LinkedIn has just started out.”
“Only in the last one and a half years there has been a surge in the platform. We are moving in that direction but we are only 5% there yet and the regulation would come in eventually. In the time being, the responsibility lies upon the creator to self regulate,” she said.
LinkedIn has recently grown in popularity, and it beats YouTube and X as the second most popular content platform in India after Instagram.
A report by adtech platform Icubeswire, that came in earlier this month, highlighted that one in three social media users it surveyed used LinkedIn most frequently after Instagram.
The growing popularity of the professional social networking application has provided the opportunity to several of its billion users to create content and build their personal brand amid a niche audience.
The growth in India’s internet users has pushed this social media disruption. According to a report by Kantar marketing research platform Kantar and Internet and Mobile Association of India, almost 60% of the Indian population uses the internet. India will cross over 900 million internet users by 2025, and 36% of them use the internet for social media and networking, the report highlighted.
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First Published:18 Jan 2025, 02:52 PM IST
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