Before I lay out my thesis, let me reiterate some north star principles I try to follow:
- I like writing and helping people. I hate “influencing”.
- People want honest opinions, not advertorial.
- Authenticity is important. Colonoscopy? TMI. (Adding on this one: you have a choice what to expose about your life. Your kids don’t. Abuse this privilege at your peril.)
My thoughts coalesce around two separate, but in my mind related, events.
- There’s been a flood of influencer content that doesn’t tell readers that they got stuff for free.
- I learned the price of tween humiliation is $275.
Period Poverty
Apparently this is a thing. A feminine hygiene brand did a study and a percentage of tweens and teens are staying out of activities because of lack of access to proper products. They are giving product to charity to help #endperiodpoverty. OK, noble cause, right?
Well, here’s the thing: one way the company decided to promote their charitable efforts was by paying mom influencers on Instagram. Some photos are of adult women. Those women choose who they promote and obviously providing poor people with necessary supplies is nothing to be ashamed of. However, other photos (ads) feature pics of tweens #livingmybestlife along with a message about ending period poverty.
Have these moms never met an 8th grade boy?
Deal Kid’s friends have followed me on Instagram since he was 12. They went through my stream and pulled out pics from when he was 7. Needless to say, Deal Kid was not amused. But it went farther than that. They started calling him Deal Kid and started saying “Deal Kid does not approve” whenever he got annoyed with their sharing his (my) photos.
It even got to the point when he was 14 where I posted a photo of myself enjoying a beer while he shopped with his friends. Pretty tame, right? Not 30 seconds after I posted that pic I got a text: “MOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!”. He had received no fewer than five messages from his friends telling him that I had posted something about him. Needless to say, these days I post pics of Deal Kid only with his permission and sparingly at that.
Deal Girl was 12 when this campaign came out. I travel with her more often so she gets more pics posted than Deal Kid does. Even so, I only post photos with her express permission, and never for ads. I certainly don’t post her photos for a maxi pad ad. If I won’t sell pads, why should I expect her to?
I think we can all agree that ages 12-14 are about the most awkward of our entire lives. Most tweens I encounter want desperately to blend in. Why on earth would a mom choose to paint a scarlet letter (pun intended) on her daughter?
I did some research on the mom blogger network that recruited the maxi pad tweens and found out the fee: $275. My first thought? $275 would barely cover the first hour of therapy my kid would need after suffering endless taunts about being turned into an Instagram maxi pad model by her mom. Talk about Mommy issues!
If EVERYTHING IS AWESOME, Nothing is
Have you seen the TikTok meme of social media vs. reality? The jist is that the post starts with a picture-perfect image then counters the exact same spot with extreme crowds, unsaturated colors and generalized disappointment. The FOMO-worthy posts often come from influencers who have skin in the game.
Everything is Awesome- Because You Got it for Free
The rosy reviews often come from influencers on a press trip. Going on a press trip means:
- They went for free- often including airfare
- The crowds miraculously didn’t exist because they got special access
- They got tons of great swag
It’s pretty hard NOT to have a great time on a press trip, especially for an experience personalized just for you. However once the crowds arrive (and the bill comes) the experience radically changes. No one benefits from PR cut and paste “reviews”. However, it amazes me how many of them pass as legitimate content.
This is one of my issues with Disney World in its present state. For lowly ticket-paying customers rides close with regularity and those that are open can suffer from extreme crowds unless you pay to jump the line. Not exactly the experience of your dreams.
Does Hosted = Biased? Yes. But that’s not (necessarily) a bad thing.
Some travel influencers only take paid trips. So their bias shines through: a willingness to please those who write their paycheck. I don’t have a problem with advertorial per se. However I do have a problem with those who disguise it as a review.
I try to walk a fine line in the middle. Look to your right to see Exhibit A: my disclosure is on every single page where you can see it. A very large company once offered me a space in their (limited) affiliate program but wanted to preview my posts. I turned them down. That said, I do take the occasional press trip. I’m not claiming holy ground here.
But everyone said it was awesome!
I went to Beaches Turks and Caicos a few years ago with 100 other inflencers. While it wasn’t entirely free, we got a 90% discount. When we got back, as you would expect, 100 reviews hit the interwebs about Beaches Turks and Caicos. They all mentioned the powder soft sand, the relaxation, and some variation of “Everything was Awesome”. How many mentioned that the rooms started at $800/night in low season?
Two. Mine and one that linked to mine.
Bonvoyed
When Marriott bought Starwood and subsequently blew up their programs into Bonvoy, Marriott PR had to play cleanup around the IT issues surrounding the merger. That’s what any good PR would do. However, I question the way they went about it: a hosted press trip for influencers to Hong Kong. I’ll let you read about the trip details for yourself, but highlight this paragraph from the invite:
As a guest of Marriott during the 5-day trip, you’ll travel like a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member, with VIP concerts and sporting events, dine at Michelin starred restaurants, and explore the city with Marriott Activities.
That part sticks in my craw as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member. I’m lucky to get a cup of coffee and a view upgrade from parking lot to air conditioner with my benefits. It’s one thing to do a press junket but another thing entirely to dress it up as a typical customer experience.
Customers, and readers, know when they are being lied to. One look at the Bonvoyed.com website shows you that insta-stories of a bikini model #livingmybestlife will do nothing to address the issues customers face.
What’s My Bias?
I mention this not as a humblebrag but because it shows my where my bias lies: value. I have a fundamental aversion to items I view as overpriced and over-hyped. It’s why I’m so sensitive to Vendoming.
You need to know this about me- I will always choose solid and fairly priced over expensive perfection. If you are shopping based purely on “the best”- I’m not your girl.
The upside? You’ll know if I do like something- it must be pretty good. The occasional thing may even be awesome. But not everything.
Because if everything is awesome, nothing is.
The Common Thread With Influencers
Influencers who promote destinations or products without disclosing their bias risk losing credibility. Moms who sell their tweens’ images in a possibly embarrassing way risk losing much more.
There’s a simple way they could prevent putting themselves in this situation: by just saying no.
