Identification of influencers and characterization of the advertising of drugs and dietary supplements in Instagram.

Abstract

Introduction: Social networks serve as a rapid and effective communication tool for product advertising. However, research related to social media advertising of pharmaceutical products, such as medications and dietary supplements, is limited. Objective: This study aims to characterize the advertising of drugs and dietary supplements conducted by influencers on Instagram. Methods: We employed the influencer marketing platform “StarNgage” and conducted a survey among students and professors to identify a group of influencers. These influencers were then monitored for their Instagram postings. Data collection was facilitated by a Python-developed data scraping bot, which downloaded the influencer-selected posts for subsequent analysis. The products being advertised were characterized, and the frequency of advertising appearances was examined; finally, the information was compared with the current regulations in Colombia. Results: A total of 28 products were promoted by 42 influencers, including three medications and 25 dietary supplements. Notably, 27 of these products (96.4 %) did not adhere to Colombian advertising regulations for such products. Three products (10.7 %) had expired health authorization, and for seven products (25.0 %), the authorization could not be identified. Conclusions: This study successfully characterized medication and dietary supplement advertising conducted by influencers on Instagram. Despite relatively infrequent appearances on Instagram, most of the pharmaceutical product advertising does not comply with Colombian regulations. It can be concluded that drugs and dietary supplements advertising on social networks in Colombia lacks specificity for this media and requires regulatory attention.