I'm a Instagram influencer AMA...

[PercyPigfangirl]

...

How do you cope with negativity?

What expertise or exceptional skills do you have? What qualifications and training?

Clearly enough expertise in her hobby that people are happy to follow her on Instagram.

Once again, I wonder how many of the bullying posters are men.

She can create enough engaging video and picture content that 167,000 people have signed up to receive it and some companies are prepared to pay her to promote products to them. As before, if it's so easy, why aren't we all doing it?

Exactly. It’s fascinating how some people seem almost determined to not get it. If enough people follow her and enough brands want to work with her, then she does have what it takes to be an influencer.
It’s still a relatively new and constantly developing field, where would she get „qualifications and training“? Or is someone without traditional „qualifications and training“ not allowed to do well financially?
You could say her exceptional skill is to be able to gain and maintain a large following (and no, brands wouldn’t work with her if the majority of her followers were fake, it is possible to tell the difference).
Nobody is forced to buy the products she’s advertising for - do people get wound up about TV adverts too?

This.

Sadly, I can well imagine that quite a few of them are women.

@PercyPigfangirl I'm in awe of influencers actually - it looks like bloody hard work whether you're style/lifestyle, comedy on TikTok etc, or more niche like you.

The drive and enthusiasm most of the ones I follow have is incredible and I think people who judge them harshly are probably the ones who don't really go on the platforms they use, so they don't have any idea what it's really all about.

A style duo I follow on Instagram called WeareTwinset have recently launched their own brand called WAT the Brand. I've ordered three pieces so far and the quality for the price is just amazing.

And I'm a mum btw, not someone promoting themselves...

That's so utterly depressing. I wonder if they mind being the epitome of the bitchy, jealous woman stereotype?

Is it 'work'. I was talking to DH a couple of days ago saying it must be such easy money, but then changed my money thinking you actually need to be quite vigilant to maintain an online presence and it's not really like you can turn 'off'. Also you're only as good as you're popular, easy come, easy go

My issue is the perpetual image of perfection, the business class flights, the flawless bodies, the dream car and house.

Yes, they influence- but what do they actually do? What do our daughters look up to them for?

it’s a new space, but to me seems very contrived and fake.

Yes it is work. Maintaining a constant SM presence to a high standard is hard fucking work.
A couple of years ago I ran a short lived pop up for a few months and was solely responsible for all the social media content across Twitter, IG, FB etc.
Coming up with enough content to post daily is hard enough in itself without then having to take photos, film reels, edit them, choose and edit music, schedule when to post things, reply to messages, keep on top of DMs etc.
It got slightly easier the more I did it, but it takes a ridiculous amount of time if you don't want it to look shoddy.
I wouldn't claim to know what it's like to have to influence day in day out and I don't particularly want to, given how hard that learning curve was.

I suspect as PPs have said, that the reason posters are sneering is entirely because the OP is female, and that they believe there is no inherent value in this kind of work.

You're making up a scenario based on perhaps perhaps a handful of things you've read about and assuming it's all like that.

Like the previous poster who gave a wall of text ranting about attractive people posting pictures and getting praise, you've made up something that has no relevance to what OP said.

Her niche is animal/pet products. If anything, it's likely to be a bit messy and outdoorsy. Why would all influencers be showing a perfect life of wealth and travel? There are plenty of other products to sell.

And anyway, projecting perfection isn't new. Glossy magazines were around long before Instagram. And actually, I've started to see a number of people deliberately posting "real" images to remind us that what you see online isn't always real. There's always a push and pull to these things.

Yes, they influence- but what do they actually do? What do our daughters look up to them for?

Why would we (or out daughters) want to be influenced?

You could say her exceptional skill is to be able to gain and maintain a large following

Is that really a skill worth aspiring to?

Why do women always have to be a role model to someone's daughters? Are men criticised if they're not constantly embodying moral perfection?

Why is it about looking up to them anyway? They make content about anything from makeup to dog toys and then advertise to the audience. Why does the idea of our daughters looking up to them even feature? What about our sons? Do we ask these questions about adverts on the radio or TV?

If you want to be a nurse or firefighter, no. If you want to work in a certain form of advertising and marketing, sure.

Companies pay decent salaries to Internet marketers who can create frequent, engaging content that leads to sales and clickthroughs. Why is it so terrible to do it freelance?

How many jobs involve aspirational skills?

I'm 51 and maybe I'd be considered an influencer, albeit an ageing one 😀

Some of you will have heard of me I'm sure as my area is something popular with lots of people but I like to fly under the radar. I have a following of 250k so not huge amounts but enough to be paid by brands and make a good living

So I say good for you OP, keep going and probably don't engage further with bullying comments on here

It is a skill worth aspiring to if someone wants to make money from SM. Which many people do.

Exactly. There are so many accounts out there, I can imagine it can be quite time consuming and requires lots of creativity to produce enough interesting content to keep your followers engaged.
That, plus having to deal with nasty/ unsolicited/ personal comments they bound to receive en masse.

I can‘t see why not?
If you saw a woman successfully running a lifestyle magazine for example, would you also say there is no skill involved or a skill „not worth aspiring to“?

Absolutely.

The most successful young marketing / PR grads I know started and built successful social accounts during their sixth form and uni years, which meant that when they decided they wanted to work in the marketing / ad industry they had demonstrable skills in the industry that gave them a head start on other graduates.

Influencers develop key skills (marketing, videography, editing, brand liaison, organisation, budgeting etc) that can be used in careers outside of their own pages.

It shows someone is a self starter, too. It requires initiative and ongoing learning as social platforms evolve so frequently.

I can only assume the comments saying there's no skill involved / it's nothing to be proud of are down to ignorance or snobbery.

Omg this, amen

I like this post so much. Where is the like button?

Also very annoyed at the people who chased OP off the thread with their rudeness, would have loved to learn more.