I'm a Instagram influencer AMA...

[PercyPigfangirl]

...

Influencers apparently are last decade/precovid. What's your long term marketing plan when your "business" drops off?

I really wanted to read this thread. Disappointed that the OP has been hounded off.

I've never read a thread that screams jealously this much.

Good for you OP turning an interest into a paid job!

Some of the comments on here are absolutely vile.

What are the follower numbers required for any significance these days? A few years ago I worked briefly at a place that did work with influencers and even then we didn't approach anyone with under 250k followers.

No OP come back! Are you Ollie the Good Boi's Mum??

You are not an 'influencer!' You do not INFLUENCE anyone for goodness sake! This phrase needs to be banned!

Give me strength

Honestly, some of the comments are out of order and frankly, not a kick in the arse off bullying.

It is a job. You have a job, you advertise shit that people ask you to advertise, you say what is expected of you and you get paid for it.

No-one cares if you are a woman or not. I really do not respect you for playing that card. There are millions of women who hold down jobs and support their families.

Are you worried that you'll become redundant due to the deinfluencing trend and the contempt that many have for Instagram influencer?

Do you pay into a pension? What will you do when you're older - what will you put on your CV if you need to job hunt - genuinely not being goady, but if I got an application from an "influencer" it wouldn't be long listed let alone short listed. Obviously people have preconceived negative opinions about influencers, and I suppose I'm one of them.

What an absolute bunch of unpleasant cunts a lot of you are. I'm happy to see that as you all clearly have fantastically important jobs that you're so desperately indispensable to that you're here posting nasty jibes on MN at 3 in the afternoon...

We are being sold to all the time. We are being lied to all the time in the name of advertising, whether it's a Chanel perfume advert or someone flogging dog food on TikTok. You can choose not to engage with SM if it enrages you that much. Or like most people, you see a product that looks interesting and you do some research into the company before deciding whether or not it aligns with your ethics/ whether or not you want to buy it or not. Much like any other product you see advertised.

I have no problem with people making their living on SM if that works for them. Maybe influencers are a dying breed or maybe they will mutate into something else that needs that particular skill set.

I'm sorry you were hounded off your own thread OP.

sounds like you don’t know what the definition of an influencer is.

what will you put on your CV if you need to job hunt - genuinely not being goady, but if I got an application from an "influencer"

Well if you can create engaging content to market your own brand, you can create engaging content to market a brands' products. So you'd call yourself a social media content creator. I bet OP would be great at it!

(Seriously OP is Ollie your dog? That account brings me SO much joy)

Are you not embarrassed to call yourself that? 😅

Presumably she inspires at least some people to buy products?

Does it help to think of her as an advertiser or product endorser? She's effectively a paid promoter. Like Emma Watson once promoted Burberry, or Jerry Hall promoted Bovril...

It's not actually new. Bloggers with significant followers were often approached by companies in the late 00s and 10s. Instagram, TikTok etc have taken over now but the concept is pretty old.

Ignore the jealous arseholes. Keep doing what ya doing x

Well one of the problems is, people perceive influencers as comparable to social media grifters who amass followers through spreading online conspiracy theories. Obviously it's different, but the wider premise of preying on the vulnerable or gullible is the same 'marketing' strategy.

I wish you'd quote questions so that the answers had context. I thought the figure was your income.

@PercyPigfangirl some of the replies on this are awful. Why drag somebody down who has found a way of boosting their income? An influencer isn’t forcing anyone to buy products, it’s up to you if you want to part with your money.

Op, good luck with your business and I hope it goes from strength to strength.

Did you honestly not realise that many responses would be like this?? Have you been living in a cave?

why would you say that? could you elaborate please?

Well maybe that's a question for an 'I'm easily influenced, AMA' thread. I don't know why an influencer would be able to answer that question.

I'm a researcher working in the tech world and this thread is so interesting. What's coming across to me is that people want to believe that posters on IG and other SM are totally genuine and so feel betrayed when they find out that those posters are being paid by companies to promote products. The word 'influencer' seems to be particularly disliked - would 'advertiser' work better?

The idea that the job involves being 'vacuous' is a strange one - building up a business from scratch is very hard and takes a lot of effort.

There is definitely some misogyny going on - I don't know how many people would describe the Tarquins lining the offices of big advertising agencies and pulling in huge salaries to design icecream ads would be described by the same people as 'vacuous.'

That's interesting! What's the next thing after influencers?