Bloggers and brands 2.

[Merriboo]

continuing the discussion from the previous thread about transparency and disclosure (or lack of) by bloggers

The thing for me is that I used to love following her when she posted daily pictures of what she was actually wearing for a life more comparable to my own. I got both inspiration but also actual ideas - the parkas and jeans she wore on maternity leave that were actually affordable but also ‘finds’ that I might not have noticed otherwise.

But the stroppiness about ‘ads’ and now the constant designer element just isn’t for me.

Good for her though, I genuinely wish her success but 10% off a Bella Freud sweater isn’t doing it for me and I genuinely couldn’t care less to see a perfectly manicured hand slowly undoing a Chanel box - whatever!

I was almost daily searching out (and buying a few times a month at least) what she was wearing in her more accessible times and genuinely ended up with some long term things I’ve loved.

Oh yeah - one of the times I did splash out on some Isabel Marant boots that Wardrobe Icons went on about - they fell apart after a couple of wears. I felt kind of stupid - like maybe theirs didn’t, or maybe they never really wore them. Hmm.

I have just read these posts and, having never looked at a fashion blog, even though I love buying clothes - secondhand on eBay - and am addicted to make up, I had a look.

I can't believe how dull I found the 2 I looked at. I actually think I prefer watching Zoella etc with my daughters. Glad I am not missing out on anything I would enjoy because I don't need anything else to do online.

Years not tears. I'm not that bothered about it.

I know it’s off most posters radars, but there’s been drama in the Irish bloggers scene. An Instagram account pointed out an abundance of excessive photo shopping by bloggers, and they all cried victimisation and bullying. I’ve read that the bloggers suggested they should form a group to pursue their critics.

www.independent.ie/style/voices/comment-irish-influencers-have-a-responsibility-to-their-followers-to-be-honest-36468158.html

Here's another link which gives the whistleblowers side.

www.shemazing.net/bullshitcallerouter-an-interview-with-the-page-responsible-for-the-influencer-photoshop-drama/

Irish bloggers are so EXTRA it's ridiculous. There's not much in the way of Mum bloggers - it's all 100% Glamour. So totally not surprised it's all Photoshopped to fuck.

The blogger / influencer landscape is very different in Ireland, often in my opinion very young and immature, and the demographic targeted is certainly much younger. Or perhaps it’s a population issue, the yummy mummies are plentiful enough. The issues are similar though, no one wants to attribute their ‘gifts’ or sponsors, it’s all I’m a girl boss doing it for myself. No, you’re not. That haul is all freebies, not a debit on your bank statement. Hopefully there will be setting of standards that are both legally, ethically and morally fair where a follower doesn’t need to ask if it is a genuine purchase or an acquisition through a free gift card.

Thanks - interesting read!

Very interesting read, thanks for the links!

DLAM lost me with the that twee, dated ‘Friday Lunge’ crap and the ‘wacky poses’. There’s a bit too much ‘I’m mad, me’ going on for my taste

Sooo agree with this! That and her bio 'changing the rep of mum dressing' Yeah, thanks love. What did all the mothers do before you got pregnant and showed us how to look like you got dressed in the dark.

As far as the advertising goes, it's the reason why I unfollowed/don't follow most of these. I like MyFashionable40s though and Mother Pukka is great. Very funny lady, gorgeous kids and she was willing to answer criticism on the 'Insta mums' thread about the same subject.

Also, sorry for being thick but can someone explain what Gleam is and what the problem with it is?

I followed that outing Instagram account for Irish bloggers and blimey, there's one woman who looks like a completely different person in real life and Instagram! Crackers.

Really interesting thread. I fell in love with an espadrille brand that was all over Instagram in the most beautiful pictures last summer. Looking back they'd obviously gifted masses of pairs. I'd never heard of it, can't remember the name now, but I came very close to buying a £££ pair online, in the dusky pink shade that everyone seemed to be sporting.

I later saw some in a shop on a Greek island, tried them on and wasn't impressed so I'm glad I didn't.

@Courtney, Gleam is a talent agency for digital "influencers", its raison d'être is to help bloggers monetise their blogs.

Thank you its

Would explain some of the recent posts I've seen, I guess. Do they approach the bloggers or is it the other way round?

As a side note, I wonder what makes an influencer an influencer on Instagram? For example, some of the bloggers have, say, 90k followers and yet 'only' get an average of maybe 400 'likes' per posts. Meanwhile others may have 20k but be averaging 2000+ 'likes' per post. Who would have the most 'influence' out of those two examples and how do brands decide which ones to go with? If they're sending free stuff to everyone how do they know which ones are making them extra sales?

I've also noticed that posts that are blatantly labelled as ads tend to have a lot less 'likes' than otherwise normal posts, so maybe people are getting wiser? But it must still be worth it to these brands to carry on advertising with the bloggers.

(Besides the point of the thread, but it's something I've been pondering)

Problem bottom the espadrilles wedges were Castañer. I also remember seeing them everywhere, but my naïve self thought they all bought them.

I would think (this is my speculation) that as the influencer agencies are a relatively new concept then someone like Gleam would have approached the "talent" first, cherry picking the best ones. Other influencers would most likely want to jump on the bandwagon seeing other bloggers getting signed up and I would expect some of them would start approaching agencies direct? So I would guess its a bit of both. You would need a large follower number for an agency to be interested in you whichever way it happens.

I have also noticed that some people on IG have a surprisingly small number of likes/comments per post compared to their follower numbers (and compared to other similar bloggers). Maybe their followers just aren't that into them? or maybe they bought a load of bogus followers

I have seen on twitter some bloggers complaining that sponsored posts or ones marked as ad get less likes. I can't say I'm surprised at this, personally. I do think followers are wising up and getting a bit tired of the blatant promotions. At least some of them try to intersperse their posts with some actual blogging/Real life stuff. Many of them don't even bother.

I have to say, I haven't got a problem with them trying to make money out of it. Like everyone else has already said, far more eloquently than I ever could, it's the transparency I'm not happy with.

And also, has anyone ever seen any of the aforementioned igers/bloggers ever slag a product off that they've been 'gifted' or at the very least given an honest review? (Because I haven't).

Thanks for the Irish links, made for interesting reading. This particular passage from the Independent article has me intrigued though:

"So why haven’t people spoken out about these matters? Well here’s the thing. Many influencers have teams curating their online presence, and any negative or questioning comment is quickly deleted and the offender blocked. Some influencers get great use from deploying the ‘cease and desist’ letter."

There was at least one poster on the first thread saying they had experienced being blocked after raising critical questions and I think several saw their comments removed on a variety of accounts. DMBL40 swore up and down she didn't block anyone and can't remember the exact wording but something along the lines of only removing abusive comments, not critical. I think the poster maintained it happened, etc. but I suppose if influencers employ teams for this then technically they're not the ones blocking/deleting and technically they're not lying when they say they personally don't block/delete.

I don't think you would see a negative review. Most of the bloggers say on their blogs that they 'only feature things they love', and that seems to be the rationale for quite a few of them as to why they don't need to disclose it is gifted or sponsored. They can't be misleading their followers because they love it and would have bought it anyway (even though they didn't)

Also, no aspiring influencer would bite the hands that feeds them. Give a honest negative review and the brand won't be back, and other brands would be put off as well.

The issue I have with Gleam (and other agencies) is that I would expect bloggers that are signed to specialist influencer agencies to really be leading the way in terms of disclosure and transparency. They don't have the excuse that they are just bumbling along in this new blogging world, because providing that professional advice and support is what being part of an agency should be about. The FTC in the US, and the ASA in the UK, issued guidance on what should be disclosed months and months ago, and yet Gleam are quite happy to allow their talent to ignore this and in the meantime broker more and more deals so that promotional content permeats almost every IG post they put up. The agencies don't seem to want to know. They will only act if it seems that their 'talent' are getting some bad press. I concluded that the agencies aren't acting ethically or in the best interests of consumers.

Yes, all excellent points its

The issue I have with Gleam (and other agencies) is that I would expect bloggers that are signed to specialist influencer agencies to really be leading the way in terms of disclosure and transparency

Also completely agree with this ^^

This and the other thread has had some very salient points that I think some of these bloggers would do well to make a note of.

Perfectly said its.

Going back to the very original question by homebythesea, I do wonder what is in it for the brands currying favour with the “influencers”.

Watching Stories today; by the time I had watched the third one featuring the same night away hosted by House of Fraser with a Treehouse, gourmet chef experience, yoga session and beach walk, I literally thought to myself “what the hell am I doing with my life?”.

It certainly hasn’t inspired me to shop with them; the complete opposite actually. Far too ubiquitous for my style.

I can’t believe you aren’t tempted to bang out a few yoga moves in some new HOF “Ath-leisure” wear now mrsdoubleskulls 😜.

There have been a few IGers recently where I've though behind the scenes the brand must be second guessing their decision to collaborate with them. Products not being shown in the best light, some choice dialogue and captions to accompany sponsored posts and ads (how many emojis can you use in an ad before you look like a teenager) and some that quite frankly do nothing to "sell" the product. The influencers they're choosing to partner with aren't necessarily the right ones for their target market no matter how many followers they've got and it's just an all round big fail and in all honestly getting a bit cringeworthy and grabby all round.