Hi friends, coming at you with a super personal and {likely} lengthy blog post today about a topic that’s been on my mind quite a bit. There’s going to be some reflection in this post and I should start by saying: no one is perfect. Definitely don’t think I am, or anywhere close for that matter. However, speaking up on this has been on my mind for months so I’m hopeful writing it out will let me move past it. Let’s talk about blogging and what being unethical looks like and does to the community.
Why I'm Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical Click To TweetThis post may contain affiliate and/or referral links. I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you complete a purchase through this post. Thank you for your support of What Nicole Wore.
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | When Sponsored Content Doesn’t Connect
When I work with a brand on sponsored content either for my blog or social media, I sign a contract saying that I will not misrepresent the company, that the content I create is being created by me, and with the understanding that I am promoting a company or product to raise brand awareness and in some cases to convert sales. I’ve written about how I choose sponsorships and some of the reasons I say no if it’s not a good fit. One of the underlying risks of taking on sponsored content that doesn’t relate to my personal brand story is that the content may not be something that my audience connects with.
Bloggers: there's a reason you should be picky about sponsored content Click To TweetRELATED: What I Wish People Knew About Influencing & Bloggers
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | Purchasing Fake Engagement
When an audience doesn’t connect with content, they’re less likely to engage with it by liking, commenting, sharing, etc. One way that some influencers have decided to take money and also show a return on investment {ROI} is by purchasing likes, comments, and Story views. This can be done on a number of sites but is fraudulent. It’s easy to spot when a person posts a photo or video and within thirty seconds jumps to 400 likes.
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | Social Media Engagement Trade Between Instagram Accounts
It’s also easy to see when someone is receiving likes from accounts that don’t even follow them. Many influencers join like and comment “pods” on apps like Telegram to artificially boost their social media engagement. These can range in size; sometimes it’s a group of 15 bloggers in a group Instagram DM while other times Facebook threads or Telegram groups have hundreds to thousands of influencers swapping likes to seem more popular than they are.
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | Purchasing Followers & Loop Giveaways
And of course, don’t forget the number of Instagrammers that have decided to just flat out pay for fake accounts to follow them. Obviously, once you’ve purchased 20,000 followers you have to do something to make it look like you actually have good engagement.
It is very obvious when bloggers do loop giveaways every week. Click To TweetRELATED: Why I’m Not Sweating the Instagram Algorithm Anymore
Some have a moral dilemma with purchasing bot followers so they instead pay anywhere from $35-$4,000 for loop giveaways where organizers promise them a certain number of gained followers. These have always been annoying to me but we’re now at the point where some bloggers do 1-2 loop giveaways a week to ensure that the accounts that unfollow them aren’t as obvious to brands and influencer marketing professionals. {Side note, I have a list of local influencers that do this EVERY single week. Three come to mind: one account has gone from 2,000 to over 10k, another has gone from 8,000 to over 40k, and the third went from 6,000 to 15k…all in less than a year.}
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | What Does It Look Like?
A lot of the unethical practices seem to comes from influencers that have neglected or don’t have a blog. Instagram is currently one of the fastest and easiest ways to make money. While there’s tons of ways to pinpoint when someone’s fudging the books, I’ve found that SocialBlade is an easy way to see how quickly someone’s gaining followers {and to see if they’re using follow-unfollow to grow their following.}
Instagram is not the same app as it was in 2012. Click To TweetRELATED: Instagram: Things I Learned During 10K
Sometimes it’s very common sense; Instagram is not the same app as it was in 2012. A picture of 3 bracelets is not going to get you 400 likes {or 4,539 if you’re purchasing} unless you’re Kylie Jenner. When you see low quality content with high likes, be suspicious. Another easy way to see is to check and see if people liking the photo actually follow the account. While influencers can still hit the explore page, they shouldn’t regularly be having the SAME accounts that don’t follow them like their pictures and leave generic comments.
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | How Can You Spot Fake Accounts
Brands can ask influencers for their Instagram follower insights before offering them a partnership. My top locations are all American cities and the majority of my followers {over 80%} are women. This is about what you’d expect an American based, fashion blogger to have. Still some influencers will have majority male based followings which means they’re less likely to convert sales of women’s clothing. Many have the majority of their following outside of the United States where fake Instagram accounts are usually based. I’m popping in a photo below of an influencer’s likes. Notice how the accounts liking the post look spammy? *whispers* It’s because they are.
Wondering how you can tell if an influencer is faking engagement? Click To TweetRELATED: How to Engage Your Audience Authentically Through Instagram Stories
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | Do These People Even Have a Purpose?
Earlier this week, I sat down for lunch with two of my blogger friends Emily and Lindsay. I’ve followed both of them for awhile and appreciate their authenticity both as people and as bloggers. One of the things we talked about is how saturated blogging has become. Five million petite blonde women all holding up a Starbucks cup in one hand with an NSale shopping bag hanging off one wrist. The rest of the bags are sitting around their adidas clad feet while they wear a pair of joggers with a v-neck tee and a pearl headband in their hair.
Why are bloggers all posting the same content? Click To TweetRELATED: How I Choose Blog Collaborations That Fit My Brand
Hell, I’m a style blogger and -I- had to mute a ton of the accounts I follow because I’m so tired of seeing the same damn thing. It’s easy to blame monetization via affiliate programs or sponsored content but I think the real problem is that people think they can make a quick buck by buying followers and faking likes and comments.
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | Making Money Versus Being Yourself
I won’t lie at all; I’ve definitely struggled with feeling like I had to keep up with the Joneses. Whether that be having the latest trend or promoting the most recent sale. But I also have taken a lot of time over the past year to think about WHAT I want my blog and platform to be about. I want to genuinely connect with women. Hopefully I can inspire some, make people laugh, help them feel less lonely. I’ve always been introverted and connecting with people through technology is such a blessing. Is it nice when I make money off my blog? Yes, of course. You’ll notice I still did a Nordstrom sale roundup last week and I’m not ashamed to use affiliate links. But before that I want to connect and help underrepresented women feel seen and write pieces that people read and say “oh my gosh THIS!”
As blogging becomes more saturated, less blogs have purpose. Click To TweetRELATED: Why I Blog: Does Representation Really Matter?
With so many people cheating the system and trying to shortcut a way to success with blogging, I think they don’t have a purpose for their blogs or social media. Style bloggers spend their time chasing the trends they see the biggest bloggers featuring with the hope that it will make them popular. Lindsay and Christine talked about this recently on their podcast! All of the sudden Walmart and Amazon are popular retailers because the biggest bloggers worked with them and now smaller influencers feel like they should feature the same things to be popular.
{Please do not get me started on how ridiculous it is that someone telling you that a $78 tee shirt is a “total steal” while carrying a Louis Vuitton bag suddenly starts shopping at Walmart.}
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | So What Am I Gonna Do?
TBH, I don’t know. For a long time, I felt pressure to be nice to local bloggers and influencers no matter what. That meant supporting their content even if I know they were making it tougher for me and my business to exist ethically. Lately, I’ve just felt over it. As Drake said, nice for what?
Why I'm over supporting influencers that cheat the system Click To TweetRELATED: Why You Need to Experience Your Own Blogging Journey
The same people that will ask for contacts, invite me to coffee to “pick my brain,” send me drafts to review of their sponsored content {not a joke this has really happened}, are the same people gaming the system. Being kind to others is important but it’s also important to not let people disrespect or take advantage of you. I can be polite and cordial but I don’t want to have to go out of my way for influencers {local or otherwise} that don’t respect the industry.
Why I’m Tired of Bloggers: On Being Unethical | Why Write This Post?
Because having to smile when someone says, “do you know XYZ blogger” and nod politely is tiring. Being the only person on an influencer campaign that isn’t falsely inflating my social media stats is frustrating. And also because I really hope some of these people look at themselves and are like, “wow, I really don’t create exciting content any maybe THAT’S why I’m on the struggle bus.” I’m incredibly passionate about blogging and I want all of my authentic friends in this space to continue to kill it. Every time someone decides to send their post to a like pod, join a loop giveaway so they can get the swipe up feature, or have someone manage their Instagram so they get better engagement it makes influencers look worse.
Influencer marketing isn't dying; marketers don't know how to find REAL people with influence. Click To TweetRELATED: What a Day of Blogging Looks Like + Biggest Misconceptions
Earlier this week I read this article questioning if influencers are losing their influence. A lot of marketing experts were quick to {somewhat gleefully} tweet it out. The truth is influencers still have influence. Marketing professionals just don’t know how to find the actual influencers anymore.
So interesting, I’m no way up with the big guns, just run my little blog and IG account my way – and love it! I’m genuine and have never bought followers. Thanks for sharing this post I loved reading it. xx Jacqui Mummabstylish
I feel this on SO many levels. I’ve taken a step back from the blogging world over the past couple months because it feels super disheartening seeing people cheat their way to the top and the same kinds of girls “succeeding”…it all just is starting to feel so fake and I’m TIRED. Working on figuring out how to make it fun again and be happy with my own content, but I really enjoyed reading this post. I feel so seen!
Xo, Kacie | theprettylittlehustler.com
Ahh thank you so much for reading gf! It is definitely a relief to hear that other people are feeling the same frustrations. You’re absolutely right that it takes some of the fun out of it.