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Original poster

Instagram ‘models’/‘influencers’ - is it just me?

73 replies

OneLeafHill · 09/08/2020 08:52

I only follow a few of these types on insta (and not sure why I do really!!!) - mostly from when I used to watch Made in Chelsea etc years ago so I’ve got Binky Felstea and co.

These people have all become ‘models’ of some sort via Instagram, even though they weren’t models before appearing on a reality show. Their lives now seem to just be endless posts where they are either showing off something they’ve been ‘gifted’ by a company, taking photos of themselves looking as thin as possible and the frequent #ad ‘I just can’t live without this Nivea deodorant!’

AIBU to think there’s something slightly depressing about it? I know in some ways It seems like an ideal way to make money - literally just take a few glamorous photos, keep yourself really thin and get sent loads of free stuff. But how much pressure must these people be under? If they gain weight they’re stuffed really. If Instagram suddenly died, they’d also be stuffed. Their fame is based on, what, being nice looking but not much else? They aren’t actors or musicians or supermodels.

Don’t get me started on once they have a baby and suddenly all the content is about their child and motherhood! I find that quite sad for the child.

I just find the whole concept quite strange and sad - how have we ended up in a place where so many of these people make money based on posting inane photos/vids of their lives? Where will it end?

OP posts:
Thisbastardcomputer · 09/08/2020 09:12

I agree it's ridiculous but maybe I'm too old to be influenced. I take more notice of recommendations on here, real people with no ulterior motives.

Original poster
OneLeafHill · 09/08/2020 09:14

Does anyone know roughly how much they get for these posts? I don’t necessarily mean ongoing campaigns (where they’ve got a ‘line of clothing’ etc) but using BF as an example, the other day she advertised a L’Oréal hair serum thing. I am fascinated to know how much they get for things like that!

OP posts:
Original poster
OneLeafHill · 09/08/2020 09:16

@InsaneInTheViralMembrane what? Do I want to??

OP posts:
hammeringinmyhead · 09/08/2020 09:18

@OneLeafHill

Does anyone know roughly how much they get for these posts? I don’t necessarily mean ongoing campaigns (where they’ve got a ‘line of clothing’ etc) but using BF as an example, the other day she advertised a L’Oréal hair serum thing. I am fascinated to know how much they get for things like that!
Depends who they are and how good their manager is at negotiating. It can be thousands and thousands.
justanotherneighinparadise · 09/08/2020 09:19

Don’t have Instagram so it’s wasted on me. The only reason I use Facebook is for the weight loss groups and the school group. I’ll accept I’m not the target market for all these influencers though as I’m very very tight 🤣

FizzyPink · 09/08/2020 09:24

@OneLeafHill and @PeppaPigMakesMeGrrrrr someone who uses luxe in their “brand name”
There’s some very eye opening threads on tattle you might be able to find with a search

meltedintheheat · 09/08/2020 09:26

I used to love instagram as it offered a more diverse & affordable options vs magazines. I no longer have an insta account & actually want to buy magazines again. Far too much advertising by Z listers & yes you don't have to follow but the algorithms still promote them & facebook is all about monetising.

The advertising is also really boring, if I want to be sold something get a glamorous (proper) model in a glamorous location not Binky rubbing on tan in her bathroom!

Dogman2020 · 09/08/2020 09:26

I think its sad the effect it has on younger kids today, that this world the influencers live in is something to live up to.

Yesterday whilst working at my desk in my bedroom I watched the 2 girls next door in the front garden, one is 24 the other is 16. The older one was posing in her new outfit on her way to some party in the evening, whilst the younger one took endless (and I mean endless, this lasted 25 minutes at best) photos of her, pretending to step in front and back to get the perfect angle of her legs, she was directing her sister where to stand with the camera all for the sake of putting 1 photo on her instagram. and like others I have completely gone off instagram for this reason, its all ad's and fakery at its finest.

I'm so happy I grew up without camera phones and every second of my life wasn't dictated by someone trying to get the perfect photo.

Original poster
OneLeafHill · 09/08/2020 09:26

@hammeringinmyhead wow!

OP posts:
ramblingsonthego · 09/08/2020 09:27

I have an insta account for work, I never post on it, I just use it to look at our main account. I only follow 1 person (work main account) and I have over 200 followers despite never posting anything at all. Its a very weird world we live in.

I have never understood these "influencers" and the stubborn, petty part of me would make me not buy the product that they are hawking even if I was thinking of buying it. I just do not understand why "followers" get sucked in to buying this stuff just because xyz who is getting paid to say its great, says its great.

Crankley · 09/08/2020 09:28

The whole Instagram/influencer thing is a complete mystery to me. I just don't understand why adults follow people online, it all seems so teenager(ish).

Original poster
OneLeafHill · 09/08/2020 09:29

@meltedintheheat Grin yes this - I don’t have a problem with high end fashion mags etc as a lot of it is beautifully styled. If I see someone’s been paid to promote a fairly bog standard product it puts me off it!

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Isthisnothing · 09/08/2020 09:30

I am with you OP. I find it completely nuts. I also miss the real models. Who are these people with their weird Pete burns faces, massive bums and teeny tiny photoshopped waists?

I don't follow but boredom stalking led me to an actress from EastEnders. She's married to some guy who was cheating on her publicly and in magazines like Heat etc for a while.

I could not stop going through her page, it was so sad! Like she has an actual acting career. There are loads of videos of family stuff, her dancing to baby shark with the kids, real try hard, not funny cringey rubbish. Then tons of glammed up shots of her standing in front of her bathroom mirror with a come hither pout promoting some naff clothes.

Ugh.

Original poster
OneLeafHill · 09/08/2020 09:30

@Crankley the ones I did follow (I’ve unfollowed some this weekend) often came up and it would tell me some of my friends/acquaintances had liked photos and these are successful people in their own right! I just don’t get it.

OP posts:
Choochoose · 09/08/2020 09:31

My friend is an accidental influencer, I say that, as she started a weight loss account just to post her meals in the hope of keeping her on track, and amassed a lot of followers; over 100k which is just so weird to think about. She has a regular job still, she doesn't make loads, but the amount of stuff she gets gifted is ridiculous, in return for them hoping she will post about it (she doesn't even have any obligation to post them). Most she donates. She's had a few ads, but mostly affiliate links so not big bucks, but her audience is small compared to many. I can see the temptation to do so if you can, I mean earning thousands for just posting something, or the mum bloggers that get most of their toys and baby furniture for free. It's not for me, but I also agree with a PP that said it's the audience liking posts and buying the stuff that enables it. If you get really bored most tax return amounts are published online and you can see what they make in a year. YouTube is also another ball game, but I think a lot of the way it's monetised has changed so it's not as lucrative as it was; Zoella for example has literally made millions from what started off as posting Primark hauls on her channel, and people like saffron Barker have even gone on to do strictly.

Original poster
OneLeafHill · 09/08/2020 09:32

@Isthisnothing exactly - and fair enough if you want to post things like that for your own enjoyment or friends, just have a private profile. If your profile is open and you have 1m+ followers then it’s all blatantly monetised and it’s just weird.

OP posts:
DurhamDurham · 09/08/2020 09:33

I'm surprised you're asking if it's 'just you?' On Mumsnet it's clear that the majority of posters just don't get the appeal/hype around Instagram influencers.
I don't understand it at all, why would you want to buy some thing just because someone off a reality show had it, it's hardly aspirational living is it? If they were doing that well they wouldn't need to be advertising random stuff would they.

emilybrontescorsett · 09/08/2020 09:33

The simple answer is to stop following them.
I don't see the problem with it.
Dd has a friend who she used to go to school with. This girl left school to be 'home schooled'. She has built up a huge Instagram following. Was dating a TV celebrity and is given vast amounts of free products by firms desperate for her to promote their stuf, all at the type of age of 18. She was always a very pleasant friendly girl, not particularly bright or gifted in any way. Good luck to her I say. I assume she is making a fortune.

SimonJT · 09/08/2020 09:34

@OneLeafHill

Does anyone know roughly how much they get for these posts? I don’t necessarily mean ongoing campaigns (where they’ve got a ‘line of clothing’ etc) but using BF as an example, the other day she advertised a L’Oréal hair serum thing. I am fascinated to know how much they get for things like that!
It depends, sometimes it just makes the product free or £40-50, but it can be in the thousands. Our rugby team sponsor beer pays the players if we advertise their beer on social media, but it has to be a public account so more people can see it. If I did it I would get around £10 for each ad, but obviously someone with more followers would get more.

My friend put all of his aside and used it as his deposit on a flat, he has been advertising for about four years. He only advertises sports/genuine health products and he now has his own line of fitness clothing within an existing clothing brand. It does take time though, he gives a good 5 hours a week to it.

meltedintheheat · 09/08/2020 09:35

Trouble is so much traditional print media is dead now. I'm going to try Vogue again but I want something like insta was in the beginning. Inspiration that wasn't based on product placement.

It's so bloody cringe too, "I broke my arm but feel so much better thanks to 'X' pyjamas. I'm baffled that people buy into it.

emilybrontescorsett · 09/08/2020 09:36

I suppose it's cheaper for advertisers than paying huge amounts to famous people to advertise their products.

FTMF30 · 09/08/2020 09:37

@Isthisnothing Which a actress are you talking about?👀

Lolwhat · 09/08/2020 09:38

You get a pretty penny to post about some shite product, and then go and buy yourself nice things without working yourself to death, it’s a good job if you ask me

meltedintheheat · 09/08/2020 09:38

cheaper & considered much more effective as it's seen as authentic, but I don't see how it's authentic now days.

Pantsupyourbum · 09/08/2020 09:41

@FTMF30 just a quick stab would make me think Jacqueline Jossa

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