The influence of #hashtag "Influencers"

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Will say my nieces dog has its own Instagram account with 40 times the followers I have and the dog gets offers of free product to advertise.

Its a crazy world.
 
Personally, I'm in the corner of 'don't trust the review of someone who is either paid to provide the review or given a free ride to provide the review'.

IMHO it can taint the brand - of course the reviewer is going to recommend the product, restaurant, hotel etc etc - even if it really isn't that good. Sure, you might get a whole heap of followers who visit the hotel or try the restaurant, but if it ain't up to scratch (or the experience isn't as good as the reviewers) ultimately the restaurant, hotel etc isn't going to win out as bad reviews will harm the business. The reviewer may also learn the hard way - it's an easy process to 'unfollow' - then try getting a freebie as your numbers dwindle.

BTW, I'm a great 'influencer' too ..... my partner always says that without him even knowing it, I manage to 'influence' him to do way more travel than he ever intended to :rolleyes:
 
I 'get' it. And I can understand how 'influencers' can provide some publicity. It's potentially 500K for the cost of a night or two accommodation. The cost of the accommodation isn't a lot. By itself.

But the need for five gourmet breakfasts and dinners? That's where it turns for me. Sure, two or three nights, and possibly one breakfast and dinner. But at some stage this is asking for too much.

And the poor business owner. Undoubtedly some of them might think if they don't go ahead they could get a poor review.
 
There is a lot of power in social media influencers - but the right ones and not the average one who thinks they are more important than they are. I’ve spoken with marketers about the reach and influence of sponsored content, especially with millenials - and many have a decent disposable income.

However the influencer is not savvy if she thinks it’s about how many followers she has - it’s actually about the engagement rate of her content I.e. how many likes her posts get.

She’s also off the mark if she thinks multiple posts about the brand is engaging - people actually disengage when there is too much sponsored content as the poster is not seen as authentic.

However I think the ask from this one is a bit rich. Luxury hotel to me is over $500 a night - so they’re asking for $2,500 of accomodation plus $300 for breakfast and say $700 for dinner - so north of $3,500. That’s a high rate per post she’s asking for!
 
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They're just an electronic form of DYKWIA. And the answer is the same 'no'.

And Richard Quest...he crops up every time there is an aircraft accident, and shows how little he knows about the subject.
 
Wow, am I out of touch, this has been an interesting read. I suppose this is one of many "businesses/scams/opportunities etc. that's cropped up in the Brave New World (or should it be 1984?) of social media. I do quite like brashness of the author of the request, even better for the hotelier to write back with a lovely NO letter.

I am involved in a conference that puts a mega-buck of business to the Hotel we select, and we never get what they have asked for, might try it next time!!!!!!

My kids keep telling me I'm out of touch as i told them I did notice the other night late on QF from SYD to MEL I was one of only a few who had paper boarding passes. Luddites unite, stick to our fountain pens and pocket watches.........
 
When I look at these offers, and think that they are overplaying things, I tend to view them as bit of an ambit claim. This leaves two real options - either just say no, or make a counter offer that is a bit more reasonable....
 
My wife is a dietitian and tells me that industry is rife with this sort of thing. That's a lot more serious than a "hey look at me" type where there's no reputation as such.

Declare any financial interest and that it's cash for comment and I have no issues at all, whatever the platform. Don't declare and I'll purposely avoid the product and ignore the spruiker. Fairly tough to make money/get freebies being independent/critical I suppose. Just ask Senator Leyonhjelm.
 
leadman said:
Wow, am I out of touch, this has been an interesting read. I suppose this is one of many "businesses/scams/opportunities etc. that's cropped up in the Brave New World (or should it be 1984?) of social media. I do quite like brashness of the author of the request, even better for the hotelier to write back with a lovely NO letter.

I am involved in a conference that puts a mega-buck of business to the Hotel we select, and we never get what they have asked for, might try it next time!!!!!!

My kids keep telling me I'm out of touch as i told them I did notice the other night late on QF from SYD to MEL I was one of only a few who had paper boarding passes. Luddites unite, stick to our fountain pens and pocket watches.........
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I’m with you. Paper boarding passes don’t run out of battery, my fountain pen has refills (which I can carry with me) and my watch is self winding, so it too never runs out of battery.
 
Quickstatus said:
A friend of mine runs an iconic hotel

She got this the other day:

Good afternoon ******* Hotel!

I hope this email finds you well.

My name is xx_XX, I am a travel blogger and content creator based in Sydney’s *********. I have a total of 522,000 followers on my Instagram platforms through the accounts @xx_ and @xx_. I co-own the account @xx_X with my mother, aka the successful @xx_X on Instagram.

Fortunately because of the success of our social media platforms we have been blessed to travel the world often and in style, we are certainly no ordinary family! One of our biggest passions to pursue while travelling is snowboarding. I have been lucky enough to visit some of the world’s best places to snowboard including the French Alps, Japan and hopefully Austria at the end of this year! xx_xx_xx_X

I was researching accommodation in ******** for a trip my partner and I are planning on doing early ********. Of course I know of the iconic ******** hotel and instantly knew this is the place to stay! I would like to reach out to you today to offer a collaboration between our two brands.

Please see the below proposal:

Proposal

In exchange for:

- 5 nights accommodation from 5th - 9th ******* (dates are flexible)
- 5 x breakfast
- 5 x gourmet dinners

I will provide ******** hotel:

- 5 x Instagram stories on @xx_XX tagging @*********hotel hashtagging #**********hotel
- 5 x Instagram stories on @xx_XX tagging @********hotel & hashtagging #********hotel
- 1 x Instagram post on @xx_X tagging @********hotel & hashtagging #*********hotel
- 1 x live Instagram video on @xx_XX stating that we are staying at *******hotel and our experience of it!

Thank you for your time - I look forward to hearing back from you as I am wanting to book this trip ASAP. Please forward this email to your PR or marketing manager if need be.

I have attached my media kit for you to review.

Have a lovely evening,

Kind regards,

xx_xxLUXURY TRAVEL INFLUENCER

........

Lots of people are jumping on the hashtag/ travel influenced bandwagon as a way to get freebies and free holidays.

Travel influencers who do freebies for comment are not sources I would consider as unbiased information.. Add to this journalists who do the free qantas travel for comment.
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I’m guessing that an offer to add some kind of advertising on her site / blog or whatever would be more warmly received? But as I don’t know how these things work anyway, maybe I’m off the mark.
 
Happy Dude said:
I do not link with my competitors and block connections who move to competitor companies.
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We are the biggest in our field by some margin, and thus I guess we get our share of 'hate'. Our competitors come up with some solid gold classics on LinkedIn, thinly-veiled insults and backhanders, but I often get a huge laugh out of their creativity. I would of course never dare to hit 'Like' nor share a competitor's post, but they are still in my network.
 
Quickstatus said:
Travel influencers who do freebies for comment are not sources I would consider as unbiased information.. Add to this journalists who do the free qantas travel for comment.
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You and I both. However we are not representative of the population and truth be told this sort of cash for comment gets gobbled up by most people as gospel.

Remember we are irrational by nature and many people are gullible.

Go along with the social propaganda but my advice is to research and source your own talent not just accept some random that sends you an email.
 
It is amazing what people will believe and how little they know of the real world.
Watched a US show on Memorial Day-their long weekend at the moment.College kids were asked what it meant and then about America's wars.Most had no idea what the day was for.Many though the US fought the French in the war of Independence.Some had no idea who were the 2 sides in the Civil War and many didn't know who won.
No wonder hashtag influencers can fool so many people.
 
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