Instagrammers and Influencers

[scotx]

New thread to follow on from this one

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/3462129-Can-we-chat-about-fashion-Instagrammers-influencers?msgid=84590932

Loving these discussions and it's hard to admit but I was one of those people late to IG who got completely sucked in. The discussion on here last year helped me understand it a whole lot more. I had a huge cull on those I followed.
I love wearsmymoney and she has sort of been on the fringes of the influencing theme as she has a full time job. She rarely seems to get gifts or identify them but I'm beginning to think this might not be the case.
A couple of weeks ago she went to an opticians in Richmond and in her Stories which have disappeared she said something along the lines of " I'm not being paid but this is just a really nice opticians to come to"
Now this week, she has marked the glasses as #gift.
Surely this is exactly why we need the transparency and Stories that disappear after 24 hours won't help.

It’s the Josh Wood hairdressers that seems to be ubiquitous isn’t it? I’ve seen lots of them having monthly cuts and colours there with no mention of a freebie...

"I have not been paid for this" was a neat way that the influencers used to get around the ASA rules. CMA have closed that loophole. Pretty sure she gets gifted a lot of stuff, as we are starting to see now.

@aliceinwonderlust23 agree we shouldn’t single one person out constantly (but bashing seems a little emotive a word). Perhaps the poster was mistaken in this instance?

There have been some excellent points made by a varied collection of people who feel understandably let down. The influencers with a bigger profile in our particular demographic will undoubtedly get more attention than smaller ones but it is clear from this thread the issues of transparency and profiting are absolutely not specific to one or even a handful of influencers. It is much deeper and worrying than that.

@alice - I am a regular name changer, and I announce it whenever I do it - usually at the end of the month.

The whole “I’m not being paid for this post but it was a gift” is so disingenuous. When does a client stop being a client? Today AMR posted a story on a factory visit (how glamorous!) but if that isn’t part of a wider relationship with one of her clients, then wtf is it?! Sometimes I go to client events that are not directly part of the projects I’m charging for but it is still part of the overall client relationship - I’m not doing it for fun!

I couldn't care less if someone got something for free or was paid to review it! If I like the look of it I'll buy it and if I don't, I won't.

@Hunter007 well done. The rules therefore aren’t made to protect people like yourself, but those who may be more influenced.

I agree to an extent but people need to take responsibility for their own decisions and have a bit of cop on!

I’m still happy with the rules even if I don’t even follow these people

This transparency is good

Chiara AMR had a caption on the story saying that she wasn't paid for the visit but had an upcoming partnership with them. She said they'd first invited her when she was working with them in the past but she hadn't had time. I thought it was pretty transparently done, personally.

She has been a bit sniffy about disclosure generally though IMO.

That's exactly it, the CMA have closed the loophole by clearly stating that gifts and freebies are now very much considered "payment in kind" and that whether or not you were paid actual cash to share it with your followers or whether the brand has editorial control no longer determines whether you're advertising to them. Chloe Loves to Shop is talking about her interpretation of the ASA rules but she seems to be blatantly missing the point in the ASA flowchart that says gifts / freebies are not covered by ASA but CMA rules apply.

But CMA rules apply here – you must make sure content is clearly identifiable as being paid-for. For example, by using the label ‘advertisement feature’ or ‘advertisement promotion’.

How can she have that document in front of here and not see that gifts need to be marked as an AD. Not to meet the ASA guidelines but to meet the CMA guidelines.

@Hunter007 but that’s where advertising can be so clever. It makes you think you want something when actually you didn’t want nor need it before you were advertised to.

An awful lot of money over many decades has spent spent by advertising firms and brands on methods to make consumers believe they want/need something. It takes a very strong individual to be completely immune to this.

With half term holidays/ ski holidays coming up , it will be interesting to see how many ADs start to appear, when previously there would have been no mention

That's the point though Hunter - how exactly do you cop on when people are deliberately obfuscating their brand relationships? Why is transparency a bad thing? It doesn't stop followers from taking responsibility, it simply allows them to make a fully informed choice.

@ThreeFourFive

I know you change your name each month that's not the issue it's your endless singling one person out time and time again on these threads it's uncomfortable and you've now starting accusing the same person you have such an issue with of doing things which when I took the time to actually read the comments - it didn't appear to be true. Some might say you're stirring the pot for your own pleasure?

I think I have talked about ED, EH, and Lydia Millen amongst others but, please, feel free to go back and check. What is true is that I am not a fan of people who use their children as sales props. What is also true is that many posters were discussing her sideboard post before I made a comment. Starts to feel like you are coming after me.

yes you have mentioned those names in previous threads but it's just that one individual you can't seem to shake. It's starting to feel like you have an unhealthy obsession with her, reading every single comment on the post and reverting back to it?

@alicewonderlust23 mind you if the sideboard owner in discussion just followed the regulations and so on, no one would have any reason to bring up her account.

Just catching back up on the thread.

@alice - Just be aware you are actually singling out one poster yourself , just a thought as it is starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

There have been many people across the board discussed on here.

It does seem to me that reporting an influencer to the CMA has the potential to be used by those with a grudge or particular dislike of specific influencers. (I'm not accusing anyone here of that, the discussion just prompted me to consider it).

Obviously if an influencer has done nothing wrong they have nothing to fear etc, but knowing that you have followers who actively dislike you and are waiting for you to slip up so they can report you must be fairly dispiriting.

It would be like having someone follow you around at work waiting for you to cock up so they could email your boss ASAP.

Good point finks100 re MLM similarities.

What did smallsustainablesteps. say? I can’t open my app as need to reset password.

This is exactly why I hate the algorithm MaryPoppinjay.

Is it just because they're now having to pay (a small amount) for things they previously got free that they're causing a fuss, or is it that they feel their influence is weakened by the fact people now know it's a marketing ploy? I suspect the latter as it’s a little shady & tacky really.

In any regulated industry there is the potential for someone to make a malicious and unfounded complaint. A good regulator will be able to tell the difference between that sort of complaint, genuine issues and also when systemic problems are developing in an industry that they need to work proactively on addressing. Having a regulator is a positive thing overall for any industry, both for consumers and participants in the industry.

I agree to an extent but people need to take responsibility for their own decisions and have a bit of cop on! Do you think 14 & 15 yr olds should have the cop on too?

Influencers need to take responsibility for transparency.

Saying you don't care for consumer rules just because you are so sensible and it doesn't affect you is a joke! So we shouldn't have rules and regulations around gambling and smoking? You can clearly see the detrimental effects on people's lives since gambling laws were relaxed. Just because you as an individual won't get sucked in. Doesn't mean others shouldn't deserve protection from it.