Can we chat about fashion Instagrammers/influencers..

[Cherrypie32]

..because I don’t have anyone in real life to carp about it to. So, I follow a few, am addicted to the stories/feeds of some but don’t always know why. The ‘high end’ ones, The Frugality, Dress Like A Mum, Emma Hill etc pop up but quite designer and high end for me. I like the ramblings of Does My Bum but I’m nothing like her body shape so don’t wear her clothes. There are a few more ‘high street’ ones I follow, Steal My Style, What Kathy Did, Forty not Frumpy and more but they tend to be repetitive. Is this because they are so heavily sponsored to flog something? At the moment they are all banging on bout All Saints leather bikers and maxi skirts. And they all copy each other so there’s not much new to look at. There are a few I follow with nowhere near the amount of followers that seem more creative and have different body shapes so I presume that they have more liberty to do this as aren’t under afflilate deals.
I don’t need advice to ‘unfollow’, I enjoy looking at it all, just interested in how it all works really.

@IDontNeedNoPyjamas some have but they're in the minority I assure you. I'm not naive I'm informed. They don't make nearly as much as you think. Most are gifts and if they do earn money it's for writing a post and creating content. Any freelancer would expect to be paid for work done!?

@IDontNeedNoPyjamas also most gave tremendous respect for their followers as they appreciate its through choice. But respect should be mutual and I personally wouldn't want anyone following me, or engaging with me in a pub for that matter, who thought I was a twat. No one has to like everyone but just unfollow instead of being rude and mean. It's so school yard. We're all grown ups right? No one is forcing anyone to buy anything you control your own finances.

These are people having fun and making some pocket money

How patronising!

@Beerflavourednipples errr talk about chinese whispers I actually wrote...

These are people having fun and making some pocket money or earning a living.

Instagrammmers/influencers refers to anyone who uses Instagram! Anyone can sign up for affiliate links and get noticed. It's really not rocket science. The ones with more followers have just been at it longer or create more content and post and engage more regularly. There are free affiliate platforms out there that any of you can use. These interior accounts or fashion accounts are just like you and I only they've found a way to monetize it. Good for them! Who'd turn money or gifts down? Not me for sure! Be proactive and get on the band wagon instead of bitching and moaning about it!

ToBeClear I haven't called anyone names. Neither has 99% of the people on here.

Do you think the people who earn money from a social media platform are businesses?

There is certainly no more anger here than on the Instagram accounts where the influencers and their followers comment on the disclosure rules.

All the wailing about loss of creativity is really heartbreaking.

As for choice and controlling one's finances, you are right, of course but that what's so clever about using a real, relatable woman instead of a glossy. We all know that a glossy magazine gets things free, does a fashion or beauty shot and so promotes the product. It has no semblance to real life. With an influencer there's always the illusion that this is a someone's everyday life and that she just happens to have all these new clothes all the time and the creams and the expensive haircuts and so on and that's wrong because it normalises over consumption. This is why disclosure is so important. And it's very sad the influencers cannot recognise this and use cheap sarcasm shots.

I'd turn money or gifts down if it meant having to switch my IG from being private. I don't want to get on the bandwagon. I just want those on it (good for them, I have utmost respect for freelancers as I work with a lot) to follow the consumer legislation, so I can make an informed decision about whether what I see on Instagram is real or not.

@ElspethFlashman yes they are businesses - it's income - and the ones I know who generate income declare it. Why wouldn't they? When working with a brand there's a contract and exchange of funds. Even affiliate platforms, in the USA at least, ask for SSN for tax purposes.

Who’s CH?

Some influencers make thousands. I used to work in fashion, we gifted but never paid, some would want 5 or 10k & this was 5 yrs ago.

ToBeClear I don’t use instagram any more because I didn’t like the algorithm changes once fb got involved. But the whole success of instagram in terms of advertising was the relatability of the influencers & the fact that ads didn’t appear to be ads. That’s of course changed now & things have to be clearer however I still think there is a discussion to be had in terms of the influence on mental health, consumerism & children’s privacy. It’s naive to expect no criticism, I don’t watch GMTV or whatever it’s new name is but I still think Piers Morgan is a twat.

I think most of them have now got their head around painful partnerships but CMA are now tackling gifts which has for a long time been poorly disclosed. The influencers by and large ignored the ASA guidance when it was issued in September. They are only paying attention now that CMA have made it clear they can be fined or imprisoned 😱 if they continue to disregard the law. Like I said, the extent of gifting is going to be brought into sharp focus over the next few weeks and a lot of followers are going to have their eyes opened. I like to consume interiors and fashion content but if I feel an influencer is shady then it turns me off and I unfollow, as per your suggestion tobeclear, but as a business model that’s not a great one I think?

*paid partnerships

LOL, unfortunate typo

tobeclear the argument of “unfollow if you don’t like it” is old and tired. I won’t follow accounts that I don’t like but I’m still allowed to have a view on the people that run the accounts. I think the Instagram fashion thing is unbelievably damaging to the already consumerist society we live in and only serves to further damage the environment with its attitude of buy more all the time. I am allowed this view and express it. “Unfollow” or “if you can’t be nice don’t say anything” is frankly pathetic and unbelievably immature

@Tootrousers it's old and tired because it's true and it gets repeated every time you guys get in a ruckus about it. Mud slinging is all you can come up with? Immature? Ouch lol...😂

Tobeclear .... Why don’t you live up to your name and disclose your IG account?

Sorry to contradict @ToBeClear but I think influencers make FAR more money than we think. In the region of 5 figure payments for a paid partnership (which I do know of) and when they endorse endless rival brands (beauty in this case) it does come across like they'll promote anything if paid enough. I'm always amused by the 'I haven't looked in here in years but blow me down I was so impressed by their change of direction' ... and also the £££!

You are right in a way to say no one is forcing me to buy anything. Like another poster I was quite sucked in and influenced myself for a few years. Buying the latest must have/raved about product and quite frankly a load of tat that did nothing for me. They can afford to take risks, wear a lot of one-season wonders or not worry if an item falls apart (hello Hush) because each season they get a ton of new gifted clothes. I also felt like I lost my own style - I would walk into shops and be looking for THAT jumper/dress/skirt instead of thinking what do I like and would would suit me. It's a very fine line between 'forced to buy' and 'influenced to buy' - if Instagram didn't have such a persuasive impact then brands wouldn't be working with influencers.

Can I strongly recommend that the instagrammers who are in anyway making any money out of this (even just "pocket money" 🤔) get a,serious grip on this and start showing some insight and compliance. "Be kind/unfollow etc" will cut zero ice with any regulator/court. I suspect now that the regulator will be looking for someone to prosecute to scare the shit out of all the other influencers. Arguments about regulators being "nasty" or instagrammers not understanding the rules will be useless. If you don't understand the rules or don't want to comply with them, you can't do the job. HMRC will be looking at this carefully too - a prosecution fot tax evasion wpukd be a win for them too. anf DH and I work in heavily regulated professional roles - we spend a lot of money on compliance and it's one of the things that keeps us up at night as we have ultimate responsibility for the actions of employees. Our regulators would not give one tiny fuck if we said we didn't understand the rules. If we said the regulator was being "mean", the sanction would be even worse for showing lack of insight

tobeclear absolutely not. Do you really not see that telling people to close their eyes and ears to something they don’t agree with is right? Seriously, where would the world be if everyone took that view on all issues. It’s not mud slinging at all, it’s being aware of the issues and expressing an opinion on how damaging it can be to people and the environment. To assume it’s just mud slinging is naive and is just closing your eyes to the real issue. I’m not interested in slagging anyone off and I wouldn’t, I’m really not coming at it from that point of view at all so there’s no need
To be so defensive. I’m just making a perfectly valid point

isnt right obvs

I think the whole global issue is massively understated and has not been considered at all. Babiolesdezoe or HappilyGrey for example are in France and the USA respectively yet promote &otherstories or global denim brands, for example. They have no obligation to declare #ad - I believe at the very least if it's a global platform it should be global rules. They're visible to UK followers so why is it ok for them to be excluded from legislation? I'm all for transparency I just don't understand the vitriol every time this is discussed on Mumsnet. I consider myself an Instagram user and a Mumsnet user. Are the 2 not compatible?

Calling me naive or immature is ridiculous when you've no idea of my background or experience. I'm representing the other side of the discussion and name calling is not constructive.

What I meant to add.
Watch the stacey Dooley programme and then defend influencers selling and promotion which “influences” us to buy more and more. Then tell me it’s all ok. It’s one thing for an individual to have a shopping habit but to make a living encouraging others to consume, consume, consume. It’s gross. It really is. I wouldn’t want to think I’d encouraged the environmental catastrophe in this way. And I’m not exaggerating. Anyone who has been the programme will know it’s not an exaggeration. So no, I won’t just unfollow and keep my opinions to myself. Mud slinging? This is as far from it as can be.

What vitriol? Here?

There’s much more of than on the Instagram comments when someone there comes out in favour of disclosure.

@Tootrousers a fair point but are you suggesting we no longer belong to a capital market where businesses are in business to make profit for their stakeholders? I suggest business 101 means we'll always be sold something unless we remove ourselves from society. Ultimately everyone makes money from selling something so unless you want to sacrifice your earnings you should look at your value chain.