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I have spoken before about how much I dislike the term ‘influencer‘.
It makes me cringe and I would never dare to introduce myself as such, but as someone who has amassed a fair following on social media, I am technically a Micro Influencer whether I like it or not (I do not).
Ouch right?! The prefix ‘Micro’ is rarely good.
But, I looked it up and it means someone with between a few thousand and 100,000 followers on social media and so, for the purposes of this post at least, I fit the bill.
Yesterday my friend Kate at The Motherload started a discussion in her huge Mum group asking what members thought of influencers; whether they followed parenting influencers and what they thought of product recommendations and sponsored content. I was tagged into the conversation by another friend and it was certainly interesting reading the comments.
It is no surprise to me that the word largely has negative connotations; in general, ‘influencers’ are seen as people with shit tons of followers who have perfect pastel flat-lay lives and dreamy hashtaggable houses (I don’t quite fit the bill there, then) who spend their time flogging products via their social media. The majority of group members who commented said they don’t like being sold to, and so don’t follow influencers.
I don’t blame them, to be honest.
Only last week, such ‘influencers’ were going viral.
This time, offering to ‘help out’ restaurants who had been hard-hit by the lockdown by promoting them in exchange for a free meal.
I won’t lie to you, I love a free lunch as much as the next person. (Actually, I just love lunch – the restaurants opened this weekend and amid all the front page headlines warning of unprecedented chaos, I braved it – I got dressed up, did my makeup and had a wonderful time).
I am also well aware that a restaurant review isn’t actually free.
When you consider the work and time that goes into it; the pictures, the notes, the write up, the obligatory social sharing, it can be pretty poorly paid indeed. Unless you enjoy blogging and creating content, then by the time you’ve thought of sufficient adjectives to accurately describe a souffle you may as well have bought it.
The work of bloggers and influencers is often undervalued and there is no doubt that businesses can benefit from the right ‘influencer’ relationships.
However, even so, this really isn’t the time to be chasing for freebies from businesses who are on their arses after lockdown.
If anything, it is time to use our collective ‘influence’ for good and after heroically boosting the local economy (i.e. ordering a takeaway), and enjoying it, doing the noble thing by sharing the shit out of it.
Some thoughts on Instagram and #ads
Since last November when I wrote my post about hating the word influencer, and my strained relationship with Instagram, things have changed a little.
This year, after a lot of persuasion, I started doing more Instagram stories. At the start I cringed my way through it, now it feels like second nature, and it has opened up a different side of Instagram. It has became more of a two-way community than a gaping chasm into which I poured my work only to have little in return.
Earlier this year, I hit the magical 10k swipe-up level.
It’s not ‘instamum’ level, sure, but since then, I have been approached more by companies asking me to partner with them and share their products.
Some of these collaborations are paid, some are unpaid but I am offered products; clothes, wine fridges and vacuum cleaners in return for coverage. Sometimes I’m offered nothing or a pack of sweets, but that is a different issue.
I, like many other bloggers started off doing this for fun; I was bored whilst on mat leave and I’ve always enjoyed writing and connecting with people. Like a percentage of people who start out that way, my hobby then morphed into a job; and currently thanks to the ‘Rona it’s the only job in this household. I’d be an absolute fool to turn everything that comes my way down on principle.
I don’t have anything against doing adverts; I’m not ashamed of earning money.
While I definitely agree that a feed which has ad after ad after ad* is just not worth following, seeing it from the other side I totally understand that people just cannot create endless content for free. If they are successful at what they’re doing and gain traction then there is generally a tipping point where ads become a feature on their blog or social media page.
*Also as an aside, it is probably worth noting that according to ASA rules, something must be labelled #ad even if it isn’t a paid campaign. So, for example if someone sends me some shoes, then I am meant to disclose this each time I wear them if I tag the brand. I work regularly with Hotter, so the likelihood is that half the pictures that are taken of me contain free shoes, even if that is not the point of the photo, and I have already fulfilled my obligation to them by reviewing their shoes at the time.
This can make Instagram seem extremely ad heavy, especially when it comes to ‘micro influencers’, because people are worried that they won’t be seen as being honest if they don’t #ad everything, even when it is unpaid and not relevant to the content.
If people genuinely enjoy and engage with their content, then this should be acceptable to a certain degree.
No one is owed free content; you get to choose who you follow and unfollow, but you cannot dictate what they post.
Weaving commercial content in with organic, non-paid stuff is a skill, and while I can’t claim to be brilliant at it yet, some people are. If you are still following and happily engaging once an influencer (nope, still can’t say it without cringing) has successfully monetised their blog or Instagram feed, then they are probably doing a fairly good job of it.
If all real engagement tails off and they rely on other bloggers to like and comment, then they aren’t really influencing anyone, the work will run out and they’re probably not appearing on your feed anyway, so what’s the harm?
Anyway, I guess what I’m saying (in a very longwinded manner) is that times are tough for everyone at the moment.
While I have never reached out to companies for products because I just don’t have that kind of confidence, I certainly wouldn’t be doing it right now; begging for ‘freebies’ during a pandemic is a really bad look.
That said, there are still brands that realise the value that bloggers and influencers can provide. With many being unable to film or shoot traditional advertising campaigns right now, some are doing influencer outreach more than ever.
If you have a friend or someone you follow who is such a blogger or influencer, consider supporting them a bit. If they do sponsored stuff, then maybe give it a like anyway and if it makes you cringe a bit too much, look away.