Influencer ethics on Instagram

[MadameGrizzly]

Continuing the discussion on whether influencing on Instagram is an ethical business model, particularly around the disclosure of advertising and the over exposure of children.

AIBU to think it isn't a sustainable career unless the influencer is scrupulously ethical?

FlyingBird & Reboot

Little bit different, I follow some other mums on insta, I don’t actually follow the famous ones you’ve mentioned although I’ve heard of 1 or 2. these are other mums with kids the same age range as mine and who I saw their pics after following childrens shops on there (handmade clothing, hair bows etc), anyway I know of 4 separate accounts that were offered £50 to spend on a designer childrenswear website (not naming as I’m sure I’m not meant to but it’s a worldwide site not an unheard of site) in exchange for tagging in their pics. They didn’t have to #gift or #ad or anything like that. Just share the pic and tag where the outfit had come from (which wasn’t out of the ordinary for these people anyway). 1 of the mums got some doc martens for her daughter but never shared pics, the website never questioned why. The other 3 all shared their pics as requested.

My page is private and my pics probably not profesh enough so I’ve never been approached for anything like this but it’s crazy to me since that 4 people I know had this offer (followers between 2000-5000) were offered this so many more will have that I don’t know of. Madness how much money can be given away, especially when they sell multiple designers so it’s not their own product.

Sorry, didn’t mean to double post, phone crashing issues

Sugar, was it eBay? I've seen loads of smaller interiors accounts instaflogging eBay at the moment.

I don’t follow DMBL40 but she has done the time I reckon, she’s one of the earlier bloggers.

I do follow even more high end fashion and luxe stuff and I never feel disaffected or bad in any way. But I’m a sucker for the prettiest of pictures. Even the high end architecture ones - and some of the properties are fairly nuts

And the fashion ads I don’t even mind those

Who is DMBL40?

No, it’s a designer online store (a&a are the initials) - I think it’s based abroad but still on Europe so maybe they’re trying to reach out to the U.K. insta mums or something.

Quite Fleabitten. It is not a review.

I wonder if these are all books from her publishers. They'll make a few more quid from her if she flogs their other titles for them.

Just - Does my bum look 40

I think DMBL is really funny. She did explain the cruise freebie in her story yesterday, I think.

To be fair, I think it's intended more of a book club style chat/to provoke discussion than a heavyweight book review.

Marsha I think the thing with dmbl40 is that she seems so down to earth and relatable one minute, esp on her stories, then she’ll post something and you suddenly think “ah, we’re not one bit alike.” I found the dissonance hard to keep up with. At least with luxe marketing you have that safety in a way of knowing it’s out of your league and pure aspiration; that shields you. Which is why these bloggers are so flippin influential, far more so than the advertising in Vogue, Harper’s etc...

Anyway I certainly don’t want to bad mouth Kat - like you say she’s certainly earned her stripes and her more transparent approach to ads is commendable. She’ll survive any insta backlash as she has the intelligence and experience to handle it with aplomb.

Fair enough Friendly it is probably easier to just enjoy high end. I must admit I don’t have much real ness on my feed. Cannes, Vogue, Leandra (v funny), Fashionmenow for lovely beaches, pretty London etc oh and paintings daily always a treat

Yes, Reboot - but, in doing so, she has removed any sense of seriousness about the subject and reinforced the belief that she is trying to tap into something topical. That review could have been written by someone after 5 minutes on the Internet who had never read the book.

Pretty sure it was Damsels DMBL40 started on? Not MN. Could well be wrong, but I remember her from there.

I rather like the sound of those Marsha... I recently followed Accidentally Wes Anderson for some great round the world photography of beautiful buildings

Oh that’s funny I was recommended that too the other day. There’s some beautiful photography too ( clo etc a good way to find them)
But I’d be here all day if I rhapsodise too much. I just post a few sunsets and beaches (old school) but I do really enjoy what I follow

It's in the post, Flying. Along with some teabags and a monogrammed beach bag.

It is certainly not highbrow, Reboot

I've been following these threads with interest and find the ethical questions fascinating. I think one of my issues with the Instamums is part of a wider trend of replacing experts with people who have well-curated, photogenic lives (that gain popularity in the public domain). So people who aren't mental health experts, for example, are invited to speak at events instead of one of the 100s of women in universities across the UK who have spent their careers thinking about this stuff but who aren't invited as they aren't part of the Insta cliques.

Magazine pffftttt. She'll have to improve her writing. Hasn't selfish mother become a magazine? So from midwifery to cute kids to travel/interiors/body positivity/book club. > eye roll

Goodness I so agree Wolfie. I was just talking about this earlier with someone. The experts we apparently all now scorn - Gina Ford etc. (Might be a bad example, I was never a fan of hers) are replaced by people with no qualifications. Post Trump era. If you say it loudly enough, people will listen.