Instamums 2

[shesakeeper]

Interested to read this in the Guardian today

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/mar/21/instagram-influencers-can-flog-stuff-all-day-but-its-weird-when-they-use-their-kids-to-do-it

What gets my goat with latest freebie holiday to the Caribbean is that there's no way many of mods fan base would be able to afford such a holiday...and I'm sure her hcp colleagues must be pretty pissed off seeing as their paltry pay rise won't allow them to experience this either

I just think people bought into it thinking it was some sort of community or movement - women supporting women! - and now it's becoming clear that not only is it a massive selling exercise, but it's also a big club with all the posh girls, and they made you feel like you could be part of it, until you couldn't keep up any more, at which point it became apparent that they were never your 'tribe', and you were never theirs, and the people they really want to talk to are actually just other people like them.

And just a thought on the content point, when you have an account like MP's, with a cause and something to actually say, then it feels like a fairer exchange than simply having a window into someone's privilege.

It looks like the ASA are really onto this misleading online advertising. When they consult the public we should all be contributing.

www.asa.org.uk/news/our-call-for-evidence-recognition-and-labelling-of-online-ads.html

You're bang on again @NotASingleDamnBiroInTheHouse

@NotASingleDamnBiroInTheHouse Talk about putting it into perspective! That’s exactly it.

I'm finding this thread quite interesting. I have a largish following on instagram and have been approached to do collabs/ads but as of yet have said no. I didn't set out to have a large following like someone up thread said, it started out as an account where I could share my hobby as it isn't very popular where I live and I love connecting with others who share a passion for it. I could have kept my account private yes but as it is hobby based and not something that my friends or family are into I would just have been posting to myself.

I would feel a bit let down if people decided to stop following me if I decided to monetise my account. There is a significant time cost to me. My photos are beautiful(even if I do say so myself , I never just throw anything up, each one has time spent on it and each has an informative and well thought out caption. Then there are the dms and comments that I reply to. This is where the significant time cost comes in. I get tons of comments and dms asking for advice which I try to answer. The answers are in depth and often involves an exchange of messages which can take place over hours. I do this because I love it and I would hope that people find my feed informative and entertaining. But as much as I love it, doing it whilst working and raising a family is quite difficult and it does put an extra pressure on me.

I know it is slightly different as I am not an 'instamum', my kids have never and will never feature on my feed and I am very far from well off but some of you are very resolute that if someone you follow starts to get paid you are out and it makes me feel, I don't know really. I have been doing this for a few years and I suppose I would hope that people who have been following me that long, reading my advice and enjoying my content would understand that it would make it easier to do if I got paid something(at no cost to them) to ensure that I can keep creating content at the current level, even if that amount is just enough so I can hire a cleaner for a few hours a week.

I think the square should be overlaid with #ADVERT watermark so you don't have to open it if you don't want to and stories the same before you see the content.

There were a few critical comments earlier today on Mod’s latest post. One was from a mother of three who’d worked for twenty years in the NHS. I wonder if it’ll be allowed to remain.

I think that red bag was a gift?

Lots of the instamum's - including MOD/MP met via Mothers Meetings which was run by Jenny Scott. They all seemed to have really distanced themselves from her and her followers are more like 5k than 100k+. I wonder why they leapfrogged her?

@greenhouse red bag was a gift from Elizabeth Arden on international woman's day.

Aloethere I don't think people mind if the proportion of content to advert is right, the labelling is clear and the adverts fit with the vibe of your account.

I think people were talking about unmonetised family accounts (correct me if I'm wrong).

That's a lot of free shit right there...

@Aloethere I’m sure you’re fine. I can only speak for myself but when children are involved or bloggers become so out of touch with their followers, I question their integrity... mostly here on Mumsnet because some followers become fans and gang up on those who dare to criticise.

Always spot on Biro. If you were on IG I would fan girl you 😁

@greenhouseonthehill no negative comments in sight...

Just had a wade through the comments. Can’t find the disgruntled NHS worker...

Really interesting discussion about this. I think unlike actual adverts in magazines, there’s an unclear line with Instagram which makes it very problematic. You have fake families in old style adverthis. Now you have real families, having to be somewhat fake in order to advertise something. My real life advert of Dorset cereals where I buy some, we eat a bit one day and say ‘yes that’s nice. Quite expensive though!’ as part of a normal breakfast of cereal which does not revolutionise our morning routine, and then leave it in the cupboard for a bit - this is not going to fly as an advert. Once you have real people advertising things then the line between reality and falsity is blurred. That’s only part of the complicated issues at play here but it’s a big part for me.

One person I used to follow on Instagram was littlegreenshed. I liked her aesthetic and decorating and her house. Slowly she became more and more about sponsorship and at the same time her Instagram became really homogenous - she seemed to choose a colour palette and stick to it (pale, washed out) rather than the mixture you’d get without planning it. She spoke at the time about her husband being made redundant and it was as though she was preempting any criticism over adverts and sponsorship. The family started to go on sponsored holidays here there and everywhere. I can understand why she took these opportunities but it stopped being relatable and I stopped feeling like she was choosing these holidays and genuinely recommending them. I stopped following her. I just checked her Instagram again after reading this thread and found it has become even more curated and sponsored. She has a recent post talking about nespresso and this is interspersed with her own family photos, talking about nespresso and making memories. It’s so shoehorned in and ridiculous that it’s laughable. As I say, she has made her choices and it is up to the ASA to regulate social media (which they have done very poorly up to now). But for me, the way that her Instagram changed and my relationship with it changed is like what has happened to many people and I think leaves us with a rather hollow feeling. Memories being monetised - nothing new (Don Draper and Kodak in Mad Men Season 1), but kind of sad to see in the context of a real family.

I’ve been through the St Lucia comments and they’re all fangirling, no criticism that I could see.

First time I've posted on this thread. But felt compelled as the more I think about FOD's story today the more uncomfortable I feel.

I am really cautious of any food which could be a choking hazard: cherry toms/grapes/mini eggs.

I would have expected a bit more common sense in relation to giving a toddler these (...but I am overly cautious in regards to choking hazards), especially with over 700k+ followers potentially being influenced and following suit.

Just a little build and Martha seem to be advertising the same things. Gusto boxes and hotel choclat more recently. What’s annoying if they are ‘scripted’ the same and they have even advertised the same day. That’s cringe. The brands are doing them no favours asking for it at the same time.

Yes, I've seen the hotel chocolat twice now. What shite, who on earth would subscribe to get a few overpriced chocolates once a month.

Even though mod is being open about her free holiday. She’s not being open about whether the outfits they are wearing are gifted? Surely that should be transparent too. I did see on the other photo that her mum made a comment and all her fan girls jumped on her. The Mum said something like ‘I can say this, I am her mum!’ Hahahaha

The more negative comments are on MODs luggage post (the one with the suitcases and the red bag).

Cocobay swimwear wished her a happy holiday on her previous post so I’m going with the assumption that the kaftan is gifted. Which is disappointing if she hasn’t stated it as such.

So interesting that people have spotted other freebies that aren’t flagged up. Why can’t they just be honest? The lifestyle they’re projecting / selling is funded - ads AND gifts should be transparent.