The development of social media platforms has followed a similar trajectory, while fundamentally changing marketing and advertising along the way. That’s why businesses of all sizes now turn to social media influencers to help them reach consumers.
At the LawPLA, we help influencers and businesses understand and comply with applicable laws.
Legal areas of concern
As an influencer or brand working with an influencer, it is essential that you understand:
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules regarding deceptive advertising.
- FTC rules regarding endorsements
- FTC rules regarding disclosure of relationships
- Intellectual property (IP) law, including copyright and trademark infringement
- Contract law
Types of influencers we represent
When most people hear the term “social media influencer,” they immediately think of celebrities. While we are certainly open to representing celebrity clients in this arena, the legal team at LawPLA provides legal advice and representation to macro-influencers (lesser celebrities or experts with 40,000 to 1 million followers on any given social network); micro-influencers (average people who are knowledgeable in one or more areas and have 1,000 to 40,000) followers on any given social network; and nano-influencers (specialists in select fields with relatively few followers).
You may need legal advice or representation if you are paid or receive special consideration from one or more brands to endorse their products on your:
- blog
- podcast
- YouTube channel
- one or more social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so on)
Why you need an attorney if you are a Los Angeles area influencer
As an influencer you can easily run afoul of federal laws governing product endorsements and disclosures without proper legal representation or advice. Furthermore, there’s always the chance that an honest mistake may result in serious accusations of wrongdoing, such as breach of contract or violation of intellectual property law.
If you are currently engaged in social media influencer marketing or thinking about becoming an influencer, you don’t have to try to navigate this tricky legal environment alone. Contact LawPLA to learn more about how we can help.