Bloggers and brands

[homebythesea]

I love blogs, YouTube, Instagram etc but sometimes do wonder what's in it for the brands especially regarding blogger events.

Straight up reviews of things they get sent I totally get- they try things on/ use a face cream, wax lyrical about how great the thing is, people click through and buy said item. Straightforward advertising. No problem with that at all.

But when a blogger is invited to a dinner, or night away at a hotel, or a movie premiere by a brand I just don't get what is worth the expense? From the blogger perspective they get a night out and a goodie bag and maybe even paid to attend. But what does the brand get in return? A brief tag on an Instagram pic, some photos of beautiful place settings at dinner......but not necessarily sales?? These events must cost thousands to put on.

Hopefully someone with some knowledge about these things will enlighten us!

It’s not so easy as ‘unfollow’ or as right as unfollow. This thread is about teasing out these advertising platforms and figuring out whats fact and what’s fiction. Surely that can only better the situation. This is a new, largely unregulated industry and the public doesn’t know its way around it yet. I don’t think anyone has really made a personal attack on Kat. This thread seems to have been hugely misconstrued in the medium of instagram.
FWIW I don’t think Kat is v transparent. I admit I’ve skimmed her blog so maybe I’ve missed it but nope, I’m missing the transparency. I know she’s no different to most others (not all). Whereas when I read midlifechic, I know quite easily what’s sponsored.

And mrscamobellblackreturns reasonably hypothesised a 6 figure income. I was shocked it might be true. Kat has purported it as fact. It never was fact here. It’s probably a fairly shit day for Kat (no she’s not my friend but she introduces herself as Kat) and a shit day at work is a shit day at work. We’ve all had them. It’s work.

Used to quite like wearsmymoney Insta, I really liked her taste. She’s clearly ‘bunch of knobs’-ed all of us in her remark to Kats post on Instagram without reading the thread. Can’t say anyone’s point here was knobbish.

I think a documentary on how all this newer social media advertising works would be fascinating. Best idea ever. Hello Channel 4???

Gosh sorry the long post. Goodness I’ve outdone myself.

It’s not so easy as ‘unfollow’ or as right as unfollow. This thread is about teasing out these advertising platforms and figuring out whats fact and what’s fiction.

^ This. Absolutely this.

Also, those spouting the ‘They don’t like your Instagram/blog so they MUST envy you’ bollocks; that is wrong. So wrong. Such an inaccurate minimisation of this issue.

I’ve joined Mumsnet just to add my two pence worth.

I’ve followed Kat’s blog for years, and quickly followed her to Instagram when she joined. I enjoy(ed) her quick wit, self-deprecation and writing style. Through her, I have discovered brands I probably wouldn’t have contemplated. I still like her style (although it doesn’t suit my lifestyle nor my body shape).

However, I have slowly been becoming more annoyed at her lack of transparency; what was gifted, an ad, a collaboration, discounted, a freebie?

Her recent holiday to Mauritius was the turning point for me. I saw her Instagram post and genuinely thought “lucky her”. It really didn’t occur to me that she was advertising anything. Someone even asked whether her constant posts (which included the hotel and travel company tags) was an ad. She replied that she had paid for it herself. Until a few posts later she clarified that she had received a discount in exchange for the hotel being able to use her photos. I’m sorry, but in my book, that is an ad. She was incentivised to promote a product/service in exchange for a discount. She may not have been paid directly, but it is still an ad. If she had posted, on the very first holiday post, “thanks to [company] for the opportunity...” or the like, I wouldn’t have even thought twice. I now assume everything is an ad.

She deleted one of my posts on Instagram when I queried whether an item of clothing she was wearing had been gifted , so she certainly doesn’t like to be questioned. (And, interestingly, after my query, her very next post was a thank you to the company for the item).

Her lack of transparency is extremely off putting.

I felt her reaction on insta stories was completely OTT and just gave me the impression that she did not like to be questioned . We do need to question lack of transparency with these bloggers.

I just watched the Insta Stories and feel quite sorry for Kat. This thread started as a discussion about how blogging and brands work together, and then drifted into discussing some bloggers specifically, so I can understand why she feels ticked off. (I think the rant was misguided, right enough!)

I said up thread how the disclosure stuff is so woolly, and it seems like the onus is on the blogger to set their own rules to an extent. I think the lines between advertising (blogger’s space is paid for directly to promote a product) and PR (blogger is gifted an item/invited to an event) and can say what they like about it are becoming increasingly blurred - how many bloggers are going to say it was shit when they want to continue working with the brand? However if you consider glossy mags, ‘‘twas ever thus - the magazines are hardly going to say a perfume stinks in an editorial when they need the perfume ad spend to keep afloat.

DMBL40 has changed a lot. I do like her style of writing and I think she is funny, but I can't relate much of it any more. I have bought some gorgeous clothes (high street) off the back of things she has put on the blog in the past and she has a wonderful knack of finding gems in otherwise crappy shops. I do think she's got a very narrow definition of what constitutes 'paid' though - IMO it seems she only considers situations that involve actual cash changing hands as being paid for but gifted items are still paid-for-content and should be declared as such. I have no issues with her monetising her blog, good on her for making a living out of shopping if that's what floats her boat, but I find the lack of transparency about what brands are sponsoring her content more and more off putting. I used to feel as well like she liked a bargain and went to effort to seek them out and share brilliant finds with her readers, but the rampant posting of hugely expensive (that Hill & Friends bag was £1.8k!!!) products on her IG makes me feel a bit queasy tbh.

Is she not allowed to be gifted things? She says in her fine print on her blog:
‘‘My rule is, if I wouldn't buy it myself and wear it on a regularly basis then I will neither accept a gift nor promote it or the company.’’
What more do you want? I’d say that’s genuine.

I think it’s important to get the whole picture rather than hating on this thread.

penny not specific to DMBL40, but I think the hiding away a general disclosure statement in small print is totally off. I read some blogs where they will say “dress c/o ASOS” or whatever, or mark gifted items with an asterisk, on every single post. That feels much more transparent.

Questioning isn't hating, it's questioning! When did we all lose the right to question, to challenge, to hold a conversation? What more do people want? To be told, by any blogger, what has and has not been gifted or sponsored on a post by post basis so we can judge the integrity/impartiality of what we are reading. That's what.

There is no hate from my end, penny198. I still follow Kat, and have no problems with her earning money, or accepting products to review, on her blog/Instagram. It is her blog, and business, after all.

However, it does need to be transparent for her to have any integrity. She needs to declare what is and isn’t a gift. Her raving about a product without disclosing that it was gifted is disingenuous. A fine print disclaimer doesn’t really cut it considering the volume of products that she features.

I hate the term 'hating' especially when it's really people disagreeing.

Tbh, I find it hating because the person you disagree with isn’t on here to defend herself. You have taken what she put on Instagram and hated on it some more because you don’t think it’s right. I completely understand disagreement but I believe that should be done with no name calling or false information. Not like this.
If you felt bloggers weren’t disclosing information why didn’t you directly message said bloggers to see what they had to say. This thread hasn’t changed anything. It’s probably just hurt feelings.

Tbh, I find it hating because the person you disagree with isn’t on here to defend herself.

^

You’re right.

She’s on instagram defending herself.

So why didn’t you write your comments on there in the first instance?

Do you think it was nice for her to read all of these comments? Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot.

Penny198. I did ask her if an item of clothing she was wearing had been gifted (a simple question, no accusation of wrongdoing). She promptly deleted my post. Also, where is the name calling?

God there is no 'hating'.
Posters have said they have asked directly and the posts have been deleted.

This thread started about bloggers in general, I don't think there was an intent to focus on a particular blogger.

I think it’s unfair to pick on dmbl40 as ages just one of many. All of the ones I follow seem to get something for free.

There is no name calling on here unlike IG where there's been some pretty vicious comments.

Posts questioning this kind of stuff on IG get deleted. Simple.

It's a low tactic I find to accuse people of hating just because they've asked for more transparency. Having integrity means answering valid questions. I genuinely think that on MN on the whole, people are supportive of each other and enjoy sharing advice. It's below the belt to accuse everyone who has posted on here of being just plain nasty - all we're doing is having a bit of a debate.

It's interesting that posters who have never posted on MN at all before have now popped up on here to defend certain Instagrammers.....

I find many of the bloggers say "thank you to ABC" on their IG or other posts
It's a bit vague and I'd prefer to see #gifted #freebie #present

Yeah the sudden influx is interesting Happened on the instamum thread, too.

The accusations of hating / jealousy / bitchiness are just a diversionary tactic to prevent the actual transparency question (which is the crux of this thread) being answered.

Penny198, if you run a business, which Kat Farmer does, then you have to be prepared to listen and respond to a certain amount of constructive criticism. Without followers, she wouldn’t have a business.

The criticism here is around the lack of transparency on what she actually buys or is gifted. Rather than a rambling rant telling us to u follow if you don’t like how she operates, it might be wiser to either state why she doesn’t openly acknowledge what is gifted or else simply make her followers aware when something is gifted. No big deal surely ?

Great thread. Unfortunately being derailed up fangirls Going back to the brands..... M&S and the like, persistent desire to be cool makes me chuckle but more importantly, totally put me off buying anything from them. As someone said waaay upthread, do they think we're stupid?