To be fed up of Instamums 2

[Hmmmmx100]

Continued from original post...

Ugh I just read that back. Sorry for my use of the word 'amplify' - I worked in an agency for a long time, that's my excuse!

#marketingwankspeak

The thing with this sort of Instagram thing is that it is about the same as essentially approaching random strangers on the street and saying "Isn't my dress/baby/house/cake luuuuvvvverrrrllly?" Most people will be polite and say "oh, yes". Some people will be gushingly effusive there will always be one or two weirdos who say "No. You/baby etc look like a hideous troll." You are essentially seeking attention and inviting comments so it can't be a surprise if all of that attention is not entirely positive

I wasn't a masive fan of the first thread as it did veer off at times and feed IG. But this second thread is ace.

As a fairly newbie blogger and IG-er, and having just published some sponsored content, it's actually reassuring to know what my potential readership want to see to explain why on earth I'm wanging on about organic latex pillows all of a sudden. But there isn't a "standard" to which this industry (if you can call it / us that?) is held to. Quoting ASA is great and all, but there isn't clear guidance for the IG advertisers (or "influencers") to refer to. So the rules are being made up totally, on a completely ad hoc basis, and I do think that how individuals (whether with the backing of a media or PR agency or not) decide to display their integrity via disclaimers and hashtags (is that even enough when they're buried in a separate comment?!) is very telling.

I don't know the answer other than honesty is the best policy. Honesty about freebies, ads, sponsored posts, taxable's...the secretiveness makes it feel like a shady world to be part of in a way, even though I know every action I take is above board.

The kids on social media question though....I don't know. My kids are out there. Even if they ask me one day to take everything down, I can only remove what I still have control of. The brands we've worked with that have published images, other peoples screen shot images of them...that will all exist in a world far beyond my control. It is an invasion of their privacy, and possibly their future privacy, and points raised in this discussion about it all are weighing heavily on my mind.

There is so much to be taken from this thread, and it's a shame a few silly and irresponsible comments on the first thread have tainted the entire discussion to be honest.

Yes totally agree MrsLister

Yes I also hope SV doesn't feel she HAS to do this whole blogger thing...as she did insinuate she won't get help financially otherwise without having to beg to use a bank card? I hope for her sake there's no truth in her comment and it was just some kind of odd joke

I'll tell you what annoys me about these instmums.

They turn normal tasks into blogs and think we all need a helping hand.

Par example: packing tips for going on holiday/how I pack my suitcase.

I'm 36 ffs with three kids and have packed my own suitcase for at least 20 years, possibly 25. I don't need to know fucking handy hints and what you deem to be your can't live without holiday essentials. I don't fucking care. I just don't.

I looked at this because of the discussion over on insta and its considerably less hateful than I was expecting. As a whole seems to be pretty balanced, and makes some good points on ads and sponsorship, but the bitchy comments kind of detract from it.

But I find the idea that they're fake cos their 'normal' is different to other people's 'normal, difficult to take. There's not a hierarchy of shitness that means they can't moan about parenting sometimes being hard because they're more well off. Everyone lives within their own experiences, what I have my weekly cry about might be different to what someone else does, it doesnt make either person's feelings more or less valid. And it doesn't mean you dont empathise/appreciate other people's experiences. These people just happen to be talking about 'thier' lives.

I personally don't follow #blessed sahm's in beautifully curated houses with picture perfect children because I can't relate. But some of the ones mentioned that work and juggle their family life and trying to see their friends and fitting an occasional trip to Cos in, that's closer to my life.

Find the ones that do chime with you, ignore the others. Maybe you're not their target audience?

They turn normal tasks into blogs and think we all need a helping hand

Yep, but then you'll always get those sycophantic followers who leave comments along the lines of 'oh gosh, I wish you'd been around when I was going on holiday. I really struggled with how to pack my case and this has changed my life!!!'

simpaticasimpatica I dont mind them that much - I actually found the how to pack for a festival one that think Clemmie T really helpful as a newbie to camping with a kid! They definitely saved my bacon a few times with some little touches I would have overlooked. Its really horses for courses.

If you start hawking stuff that isn't relevant or beneficial to anybody but yourself it will piss people off.

And public things are up for discussion, comment, criticism. And not everyone is nice. It's a hard pill to swallow. If your life is public you lose ownership of the commentary.

These two points raised by @MrsLister and @Spiney sum it up for me.

MOD and FOD have gained thousands of followers by speaking to people on a level and then, because of those same followers, they are now being gifted ludicrously expensive holiday villas that very few, if any, of their followers could actually afford.

Endorsing a £7k a week villa doesn't benefit anyone except MOD and FOD. Where's the usefulness? Where's the purpose? I guess if I was in the market for a £7k-a-week villa to take my family of six on holiday I might be glad they'd road tested one for me Otherwise it's just them bragging.

Where once they were inclusive, now it's just alienating.

And yes, if you make your life public, people will, and are entitled to, form opinions and express those opinions. Whether nice or not.

You can't put it all out there and then be all 'thought police' and say no one's allowed to say anything negative about it.

But waitin you'd have survived regardless. It's truly mind boggling how these people think we all really need to know absolute shite about them ranging from their daily ablutions, to their wardrobes, their suitcases, the inner workings of their mind and their relationships.

Agree that those two comments from @mrslister and @spinney encapsulate the whole two threads perfectly

Thank you for summing it up so eloquently

But would just add that it's the fact readers are being misled about what's an #ad and what isn't. It's the lack of transparency. If they want to boast about a £7k villa, that's one thing. But to keep secret that the holiday was apparently free of charge and therefore all reviews are biased... is really sneaky.

Thousands and thousands of people watch the cleaning videos that some YouTubbers do, so there's clearly a huge demand for them. It's not for me but the people posting these videos are not deluded -- people actually do love these videos and continually request them.

no one needs to know simpatica but some people want to know, and if you or anyone else doesn't need or want to know then don't read it! I don't read websites of blog posts about stuff that isn't relevant to me or disinterests me, same rule applies here.

The second MOD and FOD started on the paid for hols/ads, that was it, all authenticity had gone. I've had an IG account since the beginning, and it wasn't anything like it was now, so the whole "if you don't want to see ads, don't follow" line doesn't cut it for me. I genuinely love the smaller IG accounts, I feel that I'm losing some of them though as their numbers go up. They do invest a lot of time into it, and I can see that's why they feel justified in getting paid. But so much of it is so deceptive, not declared, getting things for free, so therefore it doesn't need #ad, but they don't declare they were given it... I know fine well that makes a difference to how you feel about a product, when it wasn't your own hard earned cash that paid for it.

@MrsLister has summed it up perfectly!

emily

But why do people have such a keen interest in the mundane aspects of other people's lives? I find these instamums so self congratulatory and self important regarding parts of their lives that are just the day to day. It's as if they've succumbed to the ennui of daily life and this is what they feel they have to do

My 13 year old dd said this morning that the best make up vloggers are the ones who are 100% honest in their reviews of the freebie products that they are sent. They have more credibility and they are more trusted. I wonder if the make up bloggers are a step ahead of the instamums in this sense?

My issue with the ad's that are posted is that a lot are simply not affordable for most people. A lot of parents can barely afford a weeks holiday in school holidays let alone a 7k a week villa - though it was beautiful.

It honestly makes me feel a bit inadequate and that I'm never going to have those kinds of luxuries. Even things like a car or the Mercedes camper van - I'm in a well paid job but I can't afford those things. Sometimes it feels a bit smuggy but I do get that they have worked hard and they've been blogging for years.

The same with some of the small brand companies - I think it's really good to promote them, people need to make a living but I can't afford £200 for a dress or £45 for a pair of sandals which my kid would grow out of in a month. If they do, do ad's and announce it, it would be nice to see more normal affordable brands. Like Fairy washing up liquid haha or clothes from newlook.

simpatica I don't know, but as one of "these instamums" I do worry sometimes that my daily drivel sounds a little hark at me. But for whatever reason other people do seem to enjoy (?) reading about the daily lives of other people, and if that audience is a valid platform to advertise among / spread positive messages with / raise awareness of something etc then good on that instamum.

Don't hate the player, hate the game!

I agree, transparency is key. That means they need to be discerning and say no to the freebies they don't genuinely love. They need to know their 'brand', and most don't operate like that.

I would agree with the out of touch holiday comments. A £7000 villa, £4000 Portugal holiday and a cruise, god knows what of the little trip to Cornwall, the bits that were actually paid for would probably have afforded one very nice holiday. I started to feel removed when they went a day early and the poor things had to be put up in a mobile home for a night (possibly the swankiest mobile home I've seen) and it was labelled a possible 'game changer'. For many of the followers and indeed many NHS midwives, a holiday with kids in a mobile home is the yearly treat for the kids! And this is more than lots can afford as can easily run into the thousands especially in the summer.

I guess if your are given thousands of pounds worth of freebies it's crass to be rude, whereas a £2.50 box of muesli is easier to be honest about. You couldn't really win if you moaned about a £7000 villa, you'd get destroyed! And again my naivety, I thought they'd paid for that one.

While I would never make an unkind comment about a child (or agree / condone others doing it), these are not people that are famous and trying to hide their children from the limelight - they're actively putting them out there. They're making themselves, and their children a known brand.

Of course there will be negative comments - its life unfortunately. But to protect your brand you need to behave in a consistent manner, and losing your shit about one comment is not going to cut it.

*it's

The difficulty arises though if they are offered a free £7k holiday but then have to say positive things about it to their followers, even if they actually end up thinking the holiday wouldn't be worth the money if it was paid for.
That feels very unfair- that a rich family who can afford/get gifted countless holidays a year- are encouraging less well off folk to fork out for somewhere that MOD and FOD may not think is good value for money if they'd actually had to pay for it. Feels very deceptive.
Would an instagrammer ever be able to make any negative comment about a holiday if they've got a prior arrangement that it's all paid for? I'm not sure I don't know how it works.

I Don't think anyone begrudges these people for accepting free luxury holidays! I'd accept it in an instant. But what if the terms of that offer mean that the instagrammer doesnt have to make it clear to followers that it's a freebie and therefore the instagrammer can't give an unbiased review? Transparency is key.