Instamums 5

[Supernorthernme]

The thread continues....if it hasn't continued elsewhere! @Lateforall it was me who questioned Lobella loves depression wears lippy campaign. I get that the idea is that being a bit glam might be a way of coping. And i have been guilty of putting my face on to carry on in the world. I get that not everyone with pnd is sat at home in pjs unshowered with greasy hair. But I just find the whole thing so false on her account - maybe that is because I know of her in real life.

But I think so many of them have massivley over exaggerated aspects of their lives because it sells. Whether that is FODs clumsy parenting or whatever. But it really doesnt sit well

Why would someone promote someone else’s competing product on their own business feed? I don’t understand this question. I follow quite a few small creative businesses on Instagram, I don’t recall seeing them showing other people’s products on their feeds. A lot of them have come out of Etsy etc, they seem to be far more focused on the creative side of what they do and closer to the original ethos of Instagram, IMO.

Cady i don't feel any sense of obligation towards anybody trying to 'scrape by' at being instafamous. It's not a job. It's a bubble. It'll burst soon. Then they'll be completely skint.

Small igers scraping to make a living Cady? They could get a day job or produce/promote something useful, rather rely on freebies.

Who was that aimed at, areyou,was it just a random insult or can you answer any of my questions raised?
As it seems whenever someone asks something genuine it descends into insult flinging again.

I see them like reality show 'stars'. I have a vision of FOD on Big Brother.

You're nitpicking and nothing more

@Fruitbowl2

It would be lovely if the general vibe from someone receiving by a freebie was a) either to gift the item and buy their own (if they loved it or b) donate a similar amount to a charity
Like one good turn... spread the kindness etc. That could be really influential and make the insta accounts look far less greedy.
Way too cheesy and will never happen, but like others are saying it's quite gross, wealthy people accepting expensive gifts/craftsmanship etc in return for #ad #gift

Nah I'd rather see him on celebrity!

I love that mum of kids.

I think Avril from A Life to Style does something like this Mumofkids. Quite possibly we'll see a rush of benevolent gestures on the back of this 😊.

fruitbowl, there's lots of smaller IGers out there.
They're not all big league players. I follow several smaller parenting IGers nowhere near the size of some of these let's face it, huge businesses.
You have your big sized ones (let's face it, they're not the norm) ,and your normal sized ones. Maybe a few hundred followers. Small but an authentic and engaged audience that they've built up over the years and people genuinely comment on and like their stuff.
They could be a SAHM. IG'ing days out or what they're wearing that day for example.
Or have a little national minimum wage job and start a feed up as a hobby. Then they catch the attention of some marketers as they see the engagement,and get sent the odd piece of clothing, or latest toy.
Would they be grabby too?

I think the reality show analogy is fairly accurate especially with the introduction of stories. Bloggers are basically creating their own little episode of their reality show with every story. It was fascinating (originally) to hear people’s accents, see their mannerisms etc. It creates even more of a sense of intimacy than a photo can do, especially the whole talking into the phone thing. When I was on maternity leave there would be days when literally the only person I would speak to was the checkout lady. Stories must be quite addictive if you are stuck at home with only a baby to keep you company.

I hope so teapot.

@IsThisAWindUp I agree! This isn't a dig at the ones that do this, but how do they go out in public and talk into their phones on the street without feeling like absolute plums?!

I'd feel really self conscious.

fruitbowl yes, as said at the beginning of the thread, I agreed it is like a reality show. Just on Instagram instead of the TV.
Which is why the ads need to be clear, as it seems there's a lot out there who think they're "bessie mates", follow everything avidly, and think it's all a lifestyle they can have and own.
When sometimes it's a business and a way of making money.

You aren’t going to attract the attention of brands with a few hundred followers. Most bloggers work very hard to get into the thousands of followers - avidly commenting on bigger blogger’s feeds, working hard on their content and to get noticed, hashtagging the fuck out of their posts so more people notice them, buying a few followers possibly. It doesn’t happen by accident. It’s business.

I think that quite a few people who actively pursue a career as a social media influencer are masking the fact that they haven't enough talent to write professionally. Literally anyone can start a blog and call themselves a writer.

Some are in it for fame or validation. They're not shy at showing their faces.

Some are in it for the free shit.

For most it's a combo of all three.

A few are better at those three things than others: the MODs, Pukka family, Susie Verrill. But their talent is still ill-defined and still very murky. What are they really good at exactly? They're comparable to the likes of Alan Sugar tbh. They're entrepreneurs. Not creatives.

If I was an instamum i'd probably be a lot less discerning than most of them are! I want to see ads, holiday freebies, gifts all declared because if I want any of them I have to use my own money to buy them so make a value judgement on whether they are worth it to me or not. You cant do that properly when someone is not letting you know if they were given them or not, the review will always be coloured by the fact it was free. Im fine with that but I want to know so I can make my own call on it. I dont actually care if every single post is a gift or an advert as long as I know, because that transparency is important to me.

@isthisawindup that's how I see it, and once you've got over the weirdness of talking into your phone, at your face, it seems to become quite addictive. Then with people dm-ing etc it's conversational.

Also I'd like to point out that I completely managed to shut Cady down from dragging myself and her into a pointlessly hypothetical rabbit hole and NOBODY BLOODY NOTICED!

I struggle to FaceTime 🙈

Cady I'm afraid I do think it's 'grabby'. I have no sympathy for 'parenting igers'. I've looked at a few who have come up and I think they could spend their time more usefully. Maybe I'm just old fashioned though. I work pretty hard and I earn a pretty good income and I feel good about that. I don't do anything worthy but I think I deserve my salary - I'm not blagging or hustling.

Yes the DM thing is another way of creating intimacy. It’s like being able to TEXT someone on a reality show. It’s properly weird when you think about it.

😂 Jam. Yeah but I got rid of allergy last night by telling her I'm from Ramsgate 🤙🏻