| Course | MT358 Social Media Marketing and AI Optimization |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Influencer and disclosure plan |
| Length | About 1,030 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT358 Unit 7
Terms Before the Deal: An MT358 Unit 7 Influencer and Disclosure Plan for Three Knitting Designers
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT358: Social Media Marketing and AI Optimization
Unit 7 Influencer and Disclosure Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The studio, designers and terms are composite; the FTC guides and rule cited are real, and current versions should be checked before use.
Choosing Partners
The plan's first protection against a disclosure problem is an honest endorsement. Knitters told the Unit 2 research that they distrust endorsements from anyone who has not worked with the yarn, so every partner must knit the sample garment herself, start to finish, and may say only what she found.
Three independent designers are chosen. Each has published patterns knitted by thousands of people and an audience of knitters rather than general lifestyle followers. One designs cardigans and pullovers for sweater knitters; one designs socks; one designs shawls and accessories. None currently works with a competing dyer.
Compensation
Each designer receives yarn for the sample, worth about $150 at retail; a flat fee of $600 for knitting and photographing the sample and writing two posts; and a personal code that gives her followers ten percent off and pays her a ten percent commission on each sale made with it. Itemizing compensation in the contract makes it clear what the designer is receiving, which matters for disclosure.
Every Connection Listed
The contract lists each material connection separately, because each one on its own would require disclosure. The free yarn is a connection even if no fee were paid. The $600 fee is a connection. The commission code is the connection designers forget most often, because it looks like a favor to followers rather than a payment to the designer. The contract therefore requires the designer to disclose the relationship, not merely to share the code, and a caption that says only use my code for ten percent off does not meet the terms.
Disclosure Obligations
The FTC's Endorsement Guides, as revised in 2023 and consulted for this plan in October 2026, say that when a brand and the person praising its product are connected in a way the audience would not expect, that link must be disclosed in a clear and conspicuous way (Federal Trade Commission, 2023). They describe such a disclosure as one that is difficult to miss and easily understood, and on social media they expect it to be unavoidable.
The contract applies those principles concretely, format by format. Each post must disclose the relationship at the start of the caption, before the "more" cut-off, using plain words such as "Paid partnership with North Shore Fiber; they sent me the yarn and paid me to knit this." In videos, the designer must say the disclosure aloud near the beginning and show it on screen. The platform's paid-partnership label may be used, but it does not replace the designer's own disclosure, because the guides caution that platform tools may not be sufficient on their own. Hashtags alone, such as a short sponsored tag buried among others, are not enough. On each designer's pattern page, where the sample is shown, a line under the photo notes that the yarn was provided by the studio.
A disclosure the reader has to hunt for is not a disclosure, and the contract says so in plain words.
Reviews and Testimonials
A second federal text, the FTC's final rule on fake reviews, which took effect in October 2024, adds obligations that fall on the studio itself (Federal Trade Commission, 2024). The studio will not give free yarn on the condition that a review is positive, or conditioned on any particular sentiment. Reviews written by staff or their family will be disclosed as such. The studio will not suppress or remove negative reviews on its own website except for content that is abusive or unrelated to the product, and it will not buy followers, likes or reviews for any account. Each of these is written into the studio's internal review policy, and the designers' contracts state that the studio will not ask them to post reviews on its product pages.
What the Designers May Say
Designers may say anything true about their experience with the yarn, including criticism. If the yarn split, faded or bled, they may say so. The studio may correct factual errors, such as the wrong yardage, but may not ask a designer to remove an honest opinion. Leung et al. (2022) found that sponsored posts from influencers perform worse when they read as advertising rather than as the creator's own voice, and permitting honest criticism is the strongest protection of the partnership's credibility.
Monitoring
Every post by a partner is checked within 24 hours of publication by the community manager. The check confirms that the disclosure appears at the start of the caption, that it is spoken in any video, that the discount code works and that no claim about the yarn is false. If a disclosure is missing or unclear, the community manager contacts the designer the same day and the post is corrected within 24 hours. A second lapse ends the partnership. A log records every check.
Review and End of Partnership
At the end of each partnership, the studio reviews the posts, the code's use and any comments about disclosure. Partnerships are renewed only if every post met the disclosure terms.
Costs
Three designers cost $450 in yarn and $1,800 in fees, plus staff time for contracts and monitoring of about six hours. Discount codes cost ten percent of the sales they generate.
Why Write the Terms First
Writing disclosure into the contract before payment means a designer agrees to the terms before any money changes hands. It also means the studio cannot later claim it did not know what the designer posted, since the same contract made the studio responsible for checking.
What Counsel Should Review
This plan is a course document, not legal advice. Before any contract is signed, the studio's attorney should review the disclosure wording, the removal clause, the commission terms and the reviews policy against the current text of both FTC documents, which may have changed since October 2026.
References
Federal Trade Commission. (2023). Guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, 16 C.F.R. pt. 255. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/guides-concerning-use-endorsements-testimonials-advertising
Federal Trade Commission. (2024). Trade regulation rule on the use of consumer reviews and testimonials, 16 C.F.R. pt. 465. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/rule-use-consumer-reviews-testimonials
Leung, F. F., Gu, F. F., Li, Y., Zhang, J. Z., & Palmatier, R. W. (2022). Influencer marketing effectiveness. Journal of Marketing, 86(6), 93-115. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221102889
The Purdue Global MT358 Unit 7 instructions
Unit 7 asks students to plan a paid partnership with creators and build the legal and ethical obligations into it. The plan should explain how partners are chosen, itemize what each receives and state every disclosure obligation with its source. Instructors expect students to cite the FTC's Endorsement Guides and, where reviews are involved, the 2024 reviews rule, noting the date each text was consulted. Obligations should be translated into concrete behavior for each format, so a partner could follow the contract without help. Monitoring needs a named owner and a timeline. Students should avoid presenting the plan as legal advice and should say what counsel ought to review.
How the MT 358 Unit 7 example is put together
Partner selection opens the sample, because an honest endorsement is the plan's first protection, and the Unit 2 finding about unearned endorsements sets the rule. Compensation is itemized next, and a separate section lists each material connection, warning that a code shared without disclosure fails the terms. Obligations follow, citing the Endorsement Guides and setting placement for captions, videos and pattern pages under a highlighted line about disclosures a reader must hunt for. The 2024 reviews rule is applied to the studio's own practices. A section on what designers may say permits honest criticism, citing Leung and colleagues. Monitoring, review, costs and a closing list for counsel complete it.
Reading the MT358 Unit 7 grading rubric
Plans of this kind are usually assessed on partner selection, accuracy in applying the FTC texts, the specificity of disclosure terms and the strength of monitoring. Choosing partners whose opinions are genuine shows the student understands what disclosure protects. Obligations earn credit when each cites its source and states the exact behavior required. Listing every material connection, including commissions, demonstrates care. Monitoring that names who checks each post, how soon and what happens after a lapse shows the plan can be enforced. Treating the reviews rule separately shows awareness of the brand's own obligations. A note that the plan is not legal advice reflects judgment. Citations to the FTC texts and research follow APA 7, with dates.
Common MT358 Unit 7 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Disclosure plans often stop at telling creators to use a hashtag, which the FTC has said may not be enough. Others rely entirely on a platform's paid-partnership label. Many forget that free product and commission codes are material connections even without a fee. Some plans forbid partners from saying anything negative, which undermines the honesty that makes an endorsement worth having. Monitoring is frequently left vague, with no one responsible, no deadline and no consequence when a creator ignores the terms. Check your draft by reading each obligation as if you were the creator: could you follow it from the contract alone, without asking? If not, rewrite it as a specific instruction about where the words go.
Get an MT358 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Share the brand, the partners or type of creator your Unit 7 prompt describes, and how they would be compensated, whether yarn, fees or commission codes, plus the rubric. A first plan comes back free in 24-48h, listing every material connection, placing each disclosure by format and citing the FTC texts by name and date. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT358 Unit 7 questions, answered
Does free product count as a material connection?
Generally yes. Under the FTC's Endorsement Guides, a connection that might affect how the audience weighs an endorsement should be disclosed, and free product, payment, commissions and family or employment ties all can. Check the current text and the FTC's guidance pages, note the date you consulted them, and list every connection your partners have.
Is a platform's paid-partnership label enough?
Not necessarily. The FTC's guidance has cautioned that built-in platform tools may not be sufficient on their own, depending on how visible they are. A plan usually strengthens the label with a clear disclosure at the start of the caption and, in video, a spoken and on-screen statement. Say which you require and why.
What does the 2024 FTC reviews rule add?
It targets specific practices around reviews and testimonials, including fake or AI-generated reviews, compensation conditioned on a review's sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, suppression of negative reviews and buying fake followers or views. An influencer plan that also governs reviews should show how each prohibited practice is avoided. Cite the rule and the date you read it.
Where can I find a free MT358 Unit 7 sample paper?
This page holds the complete MT358 Unit 7 influencer and disclosure plan, with contract terms for three knitting designers and a 24-hour monitoring rule.
Why is the commission code singled out in the MT358 Unit 7 sample?
Designers often treat a code as a favor to followers rather than a payment to themselves, so the plan requires the relationship to be disclosed, not just the code shared.