Ads: labeled.

Since September 2022, almost any paid online advertising in Russia must be labeled, and information about it must be submitted to a state register. For social media, this means that a blogger's post, a placement in someone else's Telegram channel, and an ad in an ad account all require a label, a token, and reporting.

Let's break down in plain terms what erid and ORD are, who is responsible for labeling, which posts fall under it, and what violations can cost.

What ad labeling is

Ad labeling is the mandatory marking of advertising posts and the submission of data about them to the unified register of online advertising maintained by Roskomnadzor (the Russian communications regulator). The requirement is set out in the law on advertising and applies to all platforms that show ads to a Russian audience.

The point is for the state to see who places advertising, where, and for what money. For businesses, it is above all extra paperwork that has to be built into the launch process of every campaign.

What a labeled post consists of

A properly formatted ad post has three elements:

• the label "Advertisement" at the beginning or in a prominent place;
• information about the advertiser: the company name or a link to a website with this information;
• the erid ad token, a unique code for the ad.

Without any one of these elements, the post counts as a violation, even if the reporting has been submitted to the register.

What erid and ORD are

Erid is the identifier of a specific ad creative, issued by an advertising data operator, abbreviated in Russian as ORD. An ORD is a company from a state-approved list through which information about advertising is submitted to the register.

How to get a token

The advertiser or agency signs a contract with one of the operators, registers its contract with the platform or blogger in the operator's account, uploads the ad creative, and receives an erid. The token is added to the post, usually together with the ad label, and to the link according to the requirements of the specific platform.

Ad reporting

The work doesn't end after the placement. Every month, impression statistics, certificates of completion, and amounts are submitted to the ORD. If this isn't done, the violation is no longer a missing label but unsubmitted information, and that also carries liability.

Which social media ads must be labeled

You need to label posts that were paid for in order to draw attention to a product, service, or company. The format doesn't matter: a post, a story, a video, a mention in a live stream, a link in a description.

Ads in ad accounts

In the ad accounts of major platforms, such as VK Ads, the token is often assigned automatically, and the data is submitted to the ORD by the platform itself. But you shouldn't rely on this blindly: check that the contract and the account contain the correct advertiser details. We covered how to prepare such campaigns in general in our article on how to set up targeted advertising.

Telegram seeding and blogger ads

Seeding in Telegram channels and blogger integrations are most often labeled manually. This is where most mistakes happen: the channel owner waits for a token from the advertiser, the advertiser assumes the channel will handle the labeling, and in the end the post goes out without an erid. It's better to spell out the procedure in the contract in advance. The specifics of this channel are described in detail in our piece on advertising in Telegram.

Barter counts too

If a blogger received a product or service in exchange for a post, it is advertising just as much as a paid one. A label, a token, and reporting are required in this case as well.

Posts in your own community

Posts about your own products in your own community, which no one pays to promote, usually don't need to be labeled. But as soon as such a post is promoted for money or placed in someone else's community, it becomes advertising. Borderline cases are better discussed with a lawyer than decided by eye.

Who is responsible for labeling

Responsibility lies with every participant in the chain: the advertiser, the agency if there is one, and whoever places the ad, whether it's a platform, a channel owner, or a blogger. The parties decide by contract who exactly obtains the token and submits the reports.

In practice, it's convenient when one party takes on the labeling, most often the agency or the advertiser. Then all contracts, creatives, and tokens are collected in one ORD account, and there's less risk of something getting lost between participants.

What violations can cost

Fines for violating labeling rules are set out in Article 14.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (KoAP). You can be penalized for a post without a label or token, for information not submitted to the register, and for errors in the data. Both companies and officials are fined, and separately for each case.

The most common violations among businesses:

1. The post went out without an erid because there wasn't time to get one.
2. There is an "Advertisement" label but no information about the advertiser.
3. The token was obtained, but the monthly statistics were not submitted to the ORD.
4. One token was used on different ad creatives.

Banned platforms

A separate risk is advertising on resources of organizations designated as extremist in Russia. Since September 1, 2025, placing ads on such platforms has been prohibited, and labeling doesn't help here. We collected what is permitted on Russian social networks in our article on the ban on advertising on social networks.

How to build labeling into your workflow

Labeling is easiest when it's a routine step in launching a campaign rather than a separate task. Then SMM promotion on social media runs without interruptions, and reporting doesn't pile up by the end of the month.

Steps before every placement

First, a contract is signed with the platform or blogger and registered with the ORD. Then the creative is uploaded, an erid is obtained and passed to the contractor together with the label text. After the post goes out, the link to it is saved, and at the end of the month the statistics and certificates of completion are sent. If there are many campaigns, it's convenient to keep all tokens in one spreadsheet with dates and platforms.

Labeling and budget

Working with an ORD takes a specialist's time, and some operators have paid plans. So SMM promotion on social media with ad placements costs a bit more than without them. Keep this in mind when you compare contractors' prices for SMM promotion and what they include.

When to entrust labeling to an agency

If you have more than a few ad placements a month, it makes sense to hand labeling over to whoever runs your social media. An agency already works with ORDs, knows the platforms' typical mistakes, and is contractually responsible for the result.

Who in the company should handle labeling

Labeling is part of the daily work of whoever runs the advertising. If you use a freelance SMM manager, clarify whether working with the ORD is part of their duties or remains with you. The services of an SMM specialist at an agency usually include labeling by default, but this is also worth checking in the contract.

The question is especially important when SMM marketing on social media is tied to a website: for example, when SMM promotion of a site through seeding and ads drives traffic to lead pages. Every such link must come from a labeled post, otherwise the violation appears right at the top of the funnel. Whoever handles SMM promotion has to keep the creatives, the contracts, and the reporting deadlines in mind.

What the cost is made up of

The cost of SMM with labeling depends on the number of placements, the platforms, and who takes on the negotiations with bloggers. Running SMM for one company's social media and launching dozens of seeding placements a month are different volumes of work, so the estimate is drawn up after a conversation about the goals. When comparing SMM promotion services from different contractors, ask whether labeling is included in the price.

At epic name., labeling is part of our SMM promotion services: we obtain the tokens, check the posts, and submit the reporting, and you see all placements in one report. We work with companies in Moscow and across Russia. If you want to order SMM, order turnkey SMM, or find out the price of SMM promotion for your goal, see how our SMM promotion on social media works and write to us. It suits both businesses that need SMM growth from scratch and those that already run accounts but want to put their labeling in order.