Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

I only skimmed it, but I'm feeling this is exploring the world of fashion models more than Instagram per se, or at least being in that world incents a certain behavior. It's fine to wonder if tech if serving us correctly, but also it's good to know that some people have very different lives from us, and thats ok too.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#5

Post by cyberferret » Fri, Dec 02, 2016, 7:50 AM UTC

My wife and I were just talking about this today, coincidentally.

She follows a few people around the world who are artists or collectors on IG. She pointed out to me that when she started following some of them more than a year ago, they had a few hundred followers, and were posting general stuff, but which all felt heartfelt and 'in the moment'. I think 'genuine' was the word my wife used. Kids doing silly things. Artwork in various stages of completion, etc.

But now, she has noticed a couple of them have rocketed to over hundreds of thousands of followers, and their posts have changed to become quite soulless and fake. Obviously they have been engaged by a marketing or promotional company that sanitises and sets up their posts for them.

All of a sudden, an artist who was formerly struggling to raise a family and make meaningful work is announcing (and posting photos) that they are in [insert brand name here] health spa having a weekend pampering. Continuous shots of not the art or kids, but of bath products, massage companies, drink companies etc. all heavily hashtagged. Following up a few days later are pictures of the kids, but this time around a brand new laptop with the manufacturers name and laptop model hashtagged to the hilt.

As @sAbakumoff pointed out here - this is "Black Mirror" Season 3 Episode 1 come to life. I have nothing against someone doing promotional work to earn money to live, but I do have a problem with people portraying a totally fake and unrealistic life as a reality.

We are just seeing magazines starting to push back against "Generation Photoshop" and go back to 'real' shots of people again (Pirelli 2017 calendar a case in point), but are we now going to replace Photoshop with 'posed reality'? I know a lot of us do that to a certain extent on social media anyway, but not for discounts or monetary compensation, usually.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#6

Post by cyberferret » Fri, Dec 02, 2016, 8:06 AM UTC

platz wrote: post #4

sAbakumoff wrote: post #2

Black Mirror, s03e01 in reality.

I only skimmed it, but I'm feeling this is exploring the world of fashion models more than Instagram per se, or at least being in that world incents a certain behavior. It's fine to wonder if tech if serving us correctly, but also it's good to know that some people have very different lives from us, and thats ok too.

Thing is, its not just happening in the 'fashion model' world. The focus seems to be coming down to 'regular' people. Artists, street musicians, developers, moms and dads, single parents, cat lovers, bike enthusiasts, amateur chefs... you name it.

If you have a sizeable following, you have the option to sell your soul to one or many companies who will then organise your social media flow for you, suggesting what to post, when to post, and what to hashtag. All for a fee or discounts on their products.

At least when you see a racing driver's suit plastered with sponsor logos, you know they've paid him/her or the team for the privilege of doing so. Nowadays it is not so obvious, but rather the inference is that it is all natural and common and 'real'.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#7

Post by keyle » Fri, Dec 02, 2016, 8:26 AM UTC

I find my feed, even though filled with different people is really really repetitive. You've got the ones about their image, sometime sneaking in some never-heard of brand of protein you wouldn't give your dead dog, you've got the arty ones posting their latest work, you've got the "I'm only doing shots of my girlfriend from behind", the cute dogs with the outfits, and so on.

I swear if I could compare it to my timeline from a month, or 3 months ago, it'd be the same.

Turns out, even though a picture is worth a thousand words, we keep writing the same sh#$% over and over!

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#8

Post by thinkloop » Fri, Dec 02, 2016, 8:34 AM UTC

I would have liked to see him continue the test without the photography, keeping just the bots and offshore friend farming - I have a feeling that's most of it.

TL;DR:

How to get Instagram followers:

- photo quality is very important, pay for a professional

- submit 3 posts a day, try to make them interesting, but that's only medium important

- pay for bot to like and comment on posts with similar hash tags, so their owners can see your profile and hopefully follow

- use offshore friend farm to boost numbers. They don't outright say it, but the last service had to be that. One day his followers surged for a couple of hours then stopped.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#9

Post by panorama » Fri, Dec 02, 2016, 9:05 AM UTC

We live in a society where, because ad dollars drive so much of online commerce, attention _is_ currency. And right now influencer marketing is outperforming many other channels, so naturally a lot of money is headed this direction, allowing many 'ordinary' people to monetize.

I don't think this is a problem - I believe in the power of the internet democratizing revenue opportunities and disrupting outdated media channels.

(Bias disclaimer: I run a startup that helps brands find Instagram influencers to work with - won't plug it here but it's in my profile).

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#10

Post by askdjso » Fri, Dec 02, 2016, 9:07 AM UTC

I know a local "artist" that lives off Instagram and not her "art".

She publishes all her "songs" on Youtube for free, and lives off sponsored content on Instagram and media appearances.

Is she lazy and getting "free-money"? no.

Is she talented? also no.