Make sure partnerships are disclosed and track whether they worked.
Before you agree terms with your first creator, look back at a few sponsored posts you've seen recently. For each one, note where it said it was paid for, and how far in you were when you noticed. Often a creator praises a product for a full minute, and the post only says it was sponsored at the end, in small print. Sometimes you never notice until a commenter points it out. When disclosure is hidden like this, most viewers feel somewhat cheated, and some stop trusting both the creator and the brand.
Clear disclosure protects the viewer, the creator and your business. Measuring results is the second part of the job, because it shows whether the collaboration was worth doing.
Most major platforms have a built-in label for paid or sponsored content. It is often called a paid partnership label or a branded content label. It appears on the post itself, usually near the account name, and everyone who sees the post can see it. Some platforms also let the creator tag your brand as the partner, which links the post to your brand's account.
Ask creators to use the label on every post you pay for or gift. Where the platform allows it, ask them to tag your brand as the partner too. Put this requirement into your creator terms (lesson 8.2) so it is agreed before any content is made. Viewers find the label clearer than a hashtag buried in a long caption, and it is the method the platform itself provides.
Many creators also put a plain statement such as "Ad" or "Gifted by" at the start of the caption, or say it early in the video. This is good practice, so encourage it. Placing the disclosure early matters because viewers see it before they decide whether to trust what follows. A disclosure at the end of a long caption, or tucked among twenty hashtags, comes after they have already made that decision.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) sets the advertising code that advertisers in Singapore are expected to follow. It has published guidance on disclosing paid and gifted content in social media and influencer marketing. The guidance is updated from time to time. Read the current version on the ASAS website before you work with creators, and point your creators to it as well.
The core principle is that a viewer should be able to tell clearly, without digging, that content is a marketing communication. Clear labels, plain words and early placement help with this. Hiding the disclosure at the end of a long caption or among many hashtags does not meet it.
Make disclosure part of the brief, so the creator doesn't have to remember it on their own. If a creator resists disclosing, treat that as a reason not to work with them.
Stricter rules apply if your business sells financial products, or if you are a financial adviser building a personal account. Financial advertising and the promotion of financial products are regulated, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sets requirements for financial institutions and their representatives. Paying a creator to promote an insurance plan or an investment product raises questions a cake shop never faces. If you promote financial products, or work with creators who do, check the current MAS requirements first. If you represent a financial institution, talk to its compliance team before any content is made. This course does not cover the financial rules, because they change and getting them wrong has real consequences.
Views and likes on a creator's post tell you something, but they don't tell you whether anyone bought. To count results, give each creator something unique to share:
A UTM link, which is a link with tracking added. Your website analytics will show how many visits came from that creator. A unique discount code tied to that creator, so you can count how many orders used it. A simple phrase for customers to repeat, if you sell through WhatsApp or direct messages, such as "Tell us Aisha sent you". Log every message that mentions it.
Then compare what you got with what you spent. Farah (an invented example) pays a creator a fee of S$300, and the creator's code is used on 12 orders. S$300 divided by 12 orders is S$25 per order in creator fees. Whether S$25 is good depends on what an order is worth to Farah. Digital marketing foundations, lesson 6.3, "What a customer is worth and what you can pay for one", shows how to work that out for your own business.
Codes and links undercount. Some people see the post, remember the name and search for you later without using the code, so their orders never appear against the creator. Treat your tracked count as a floor, since the real number of orders is likely to be higher. The course Marketing analytics: GA4, attribution and testing goes much further into tracking and undercounting.
Write down what you would require from your first creator partner. Include the exact disclosure wording you want at the start of the caption or spoken early in the video. Add that the platform's paid partnership label must be used, with your brand tagged as partner where the platform allows it. Finish with the tracking link or discount code you'll give them so you can count their results.
Write the disclosure wording you would require from your first creator partner, and set up the tracking link or code they would use.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).