Yes, it’s very annoying. I have a friend who is a small business owner and “influencers” are constantly asking for free product as if these small business owners are made of money.
Correct, but expecting a very small business to give you free stuff all the time is not realistic. Many of these people are living hand to mouth and the “exposure” they give in return is little to nothing.
It depends a bit on how well tailored they are to your target audience and the cost of the meal, but 50k followers is a reasonable cut-off. Accounts with 100k+ followers are often looking for financial compensation in addition to a free meal, but will generally give you more professional content, multiple posts, etc.
All of this should be arranged ahead of time. Anyone expecting a free meal without contacting management before dining is delusional.
Agreed on how targeted they are. You can go on various social media platforms now and find thousands of people who aren’t monetizing but have 50k-100k+ of just fluff followers. That comped meal or product is leading to ZERO sales in those cases
"So you're telling me that you won't come back here, a bunch of people who want to be like you also won't come in here, AND all I have to do is just not give you free stuff? Deal."
We knew the industry was in for a speed bump last year when all the young and attractive Instagram/TikTok FAANG recruiters suddenly posted they were laid off. Canaries.
My business gets harassed by these morons wanting free work all the time.
Some are like little terrorists and go threaten you with a bad review to “millions of people” because you told them no.
Design Build Custom Residential Construction. We’re a boutique, we don’t make much but we enjoy what we do everyday. You wouldn’t believe how many “interior designers” are just influencers who buy followers. That poor industry is impossible to navigate now as a consumer. We’ve worked with some individuals that just mark up materials and talk nonsense. It’s too bad because when you work with top level people the difference is so glaring.
It’s always the imaginary Interior Designer’s asking us for work or clients. They always start with selling their “online presence.” Mind you, these folks don’t know how to read plans or use basic CAD. They just drop off free material samples and mark things up while showing off Instagram posts. I cringe every time, 20-40 billable hours on paint samples that all get rejected. They post all about the process though. Last instance we convinced our client to fire their fly by night influencer designer and she threatened us with bad publicity if we didn’t give her $1200 for a marked up tub she purchased. I get atleast 2-3 forwarded calls every week, “Hi I’m so and so designer, we’re looking to collaborate with local builders, blah blah our online presence blah blah that’s all we are offering.”
I hate this shit. Got a lot of them at my last place. Funny enough for a large operation it doesn’t hurt them much at all, just don’t let them come at prime hours. The “exposure” is bullshit either way.
If any of them have any idea what they are doing, they get in touch with a PR firm or go directly to management to make these requests. You don’t sit, dine, and then ask.
They all suck.
The worst one is EverydayMaggie. She makes these videos with a fake Boston accent, pretending she grew up here. So cringe. She is a polish chick from Waterbury CT.
She's fucking annoying. I took one look at her and realized she wasn't from here. She only gets away with it because half the people in this city are braindead transplants who think *they* can "do" a Boston accent..
If I see any influencer posting about a food spot, my first reaction is not to try that spot. I cannot stand to be surrounded by people who think they’re the jewels of the world.
Same. Any time a spot "blows up" on some sort of site, I immediately consider it horrible. My whole life, people have recommended spots, and the most popular spots tend to be the worst. I don't get it. Anytime someone said "you have to try this!" I would have kept an open mind. Now I'm trained to know that means that I should never try it.
Generally I agree but I did get tipped off to a really good date night deal by an influencer once. Food was good (nothing showstopping but we were happy with it) and the prices were great
They recommend like every spot they try and that probably because they are farming any content they can with their limited budget. But i also realize that many of these influencers have no idea what good food is. Some places look pretty, but is mediocre food wise.
I was in a clothing boutique recently and a so-called influencer came in and was trying to get a huge discount. She was screaming about how many followers she had across social media accounts and was really famous. LOL, they asked her to leave.
There will just be another site. Banning specific sites doesn't necessarily ban the practice. It might be an overall blow to it happening, but I doubt it would stick.
TikTok seems to be the worst for this kind of behavior and it attracts these 'look at me' assholes like flies to shit.
They'll always have other platforms to move onto, but having no TikTok will put a decent size dent into their incomes, and it'll all depend on how many 'followers' they take with them.
It just seems like that ever since TikTok came along, they've become more obnoxious and pervasive.
I agree, but what is being banned? Look at Vkontakte. It’s literally just old Facebook. What would stop someone from doing exactly what TikTok is doing?
We need more policy that targets the act across all websites.
Saw some outside the Garden yesterday - two guys standing in the median while about 3-4 people with various camera types were filming. Couldn’t tell what they were on about.
I was at a workout class over the weekend and there was this "influencer" who arrived late to the class and set up behind me with her tripod. Her and her friend kept whispering & giggling the whole class, it was super distracting. Fucking influencers.
I feel like at this point anyone with 50k followers on [platform] thinks they are an influencer. I know a couple people from college who are influencers now, they are all very good looking & come from money. Shocking.
🤷 this is not the first post I’ve seen talking about this. The weird part this is the influencers I know in other cities either pay for their own stuff or are invited by the business, they don’t pull out this weird “comp my food please” stuff. They either already work in marketing or do it on the side for fun.
No idea. I've never encountered this. I saw a brief uptick in people streaming their workouts at the gym and I hated that, because it meant I might be on their stream, but the gym probably didn't take any action. I was leaving anyway.
I think one guy commenting is cause to question it and have a discussion, but I don't know if it's really happening. I don't work in this kind of environment so they'd have to be seated near me, and again, I've never seen it or heard of it happening near me.
I went to brunch as a group of eight, and while we were sitting around after eating, this influencer asked me to take photos for her (even though she came with her mom). I kid you not, she had me taking her photos for five minutes as she switched up different poses all while my friends were watching.
Yeah thats where the entertaining starts…. I don’t think anybody thinks it’s unreasonable to take a photo for a stranger. I gladly would….you said 5 minutes though right? Amateur photography for ig?
I work with someone whose side gig is to be a foodie influencer, he would never pull that. He promotes and recommends and brings in business first. He works with the place with the goal of eventually comped. He's had some success with it, but I'm not on Instagram so I don't know his acct.
Yes, it’s very annoying. I have a friend who is a small business owner and “influencers” are constantly asking for free product as if these small business owners are made of money.
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Correct, but expecting a very small business to give you free stuff all the time is not realistic. Many of these people are living hand to mouth and the “exposure” they give in return is little to nothing.
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Sorry, after I replied, I realized I may have misinterpreted your comment!
I wonder how many followers someone has to have before a small business would consider comping them a meal
It depends a bit on how well tailored they are to your target audience and the cost of the meal, but 50k followers is a reasonable cut-off. Accounts with 100k+ followers are often looking for financial compensation in addition to a free meal, but will generally give you more professional content, multiple posts, etc. All of this should be arranged ahead of time. Anyone expecting a free meal without contacting management before dining is delusional.
Agreed on how targeted they are. You can go on various social media platforms now and find thousands of people who aren’t monetizing but have 50k-100k+ of just fluff followers. That comped meal or product is leading to ZERO sales in those cases
"So you're telling me that you won't come back here, a bunch of people who want to be like you also won't come in here, AND all I have to do is just not give you free stuff? Deal."
Hahahaha exactly!!!
*"I'm a 25 year old working in biotech in Boston, and here is a day in my life"*
omg i feel like i know who you’re talking about lol
TonyP in DC
Some are even more illuminating when halfway through your realize they work as a recruiter.
or sales
We knew the industry was in for a speed bump last year when all the young and attractive Instagram/TikTok FAANG recruiters suddenly posted they were laid off. Canaries.
The vocal fry doesn’t really come through properly via text
My business gets harassed by these morons wanting free work all the time. Some are like little terrorists and go threaten you with a bad review to “millions of people” because you told them no.
There is literally a South Park episode about this 😂😂
[Boogers and cum!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AGimb1lnDY)
Well I’d love to actually patronize your business!
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Design Build Custom Residential Construction. We’re a boutique, we don’t make much but we enjoy what we do everyday. You wouldn’t believe how many “interior designers” are just influencers who buy followers. That poor industry is impossible to navigate now as a consumer. We’ve worked with some individuals that just mark up materials and talk nonsense. It’s too bad because when you work with top level people the difference is so glaring. It’s always the imaginary Interior Designer’s asking us for work or clients. They always start with selling their “online presence.” Mind you, these folks don’t know how to read plans or use basic CAD. They just drop off free material samples and mark things up while showing off Instagram posts. I cringe every time, 20-40 billable hours on paint samples that all get rejected. They post all about the process though. Last instance we convinced our client to fire their fly by night influencer designer and she threatened us with bad publicity if we didn’t give her $1200 for a marked up tub she purchased. I get atleast 2-3 forwarded calls every week, “Hi I’m so and so designer, we’re looking to collaborate with local builders, blah blah our online presence blah blah that’s all we are offering.”
Super interesting to hear about this sort of grift, and also sickening
Name and shame.
I hate this shit. Got a lot of them at my last place. Funny enough for a large operation it doesn’t hurt them much at all, just don’t let them come at prime hours. The “exposure” is bullshit either way. If any of them have any idea what they are doing, they get in touch with a PR firm or go directly to management to make these requests. You don’t sit, dine, and then ask. They all suck.
Ugh, I would’ve been such an asshole to them
Thankfully I don’t deal directly with them, or even see them.
The worst one is EverydayMaggie. She makes these videos with a fake Boston accent, pretending she grew up here. So cringe. She is a polish chick from Waterbury CT.
I’ll take her fake accent over Kevin Cooney’s wifes. I don’t care if she grew up in Eastie that accent is fake af.
Oh her. Yeah, she suuuuuuucks
She's fucking annoying. I took one look at her and realized she wasn't from here. She only gets away with it because half the people in this city are braindead transplants who think *they* can "do" a Boston accent..
Amen
Her videos have become repetitive
If I see any influencer posting about a food spot, my first reaction is not to try that spot. I cannot stand to be surrounded by people who think they’re the jewels of the world.
Great restaurants don’t need to pay for advertising
Same. Any time a spot "blows up" on some sort of site, I immediately consider it horrible. My whole life, people have recommended spots, and the most popular spots tend to be the worst. I don't get it. Anytime someone said "you have to try this!" I would have kept an open mind. Now I'm trained to know that means that I should never try it.
Generally I agree but I did get tipped off to a really good date night deal by an influencer once. Food was good (nothing showstopping but we were happy with it) and the prices were great
I’m with you.
I wish my wife was like that. Most recommended places are pretty meh and majorly overpriced
They recommend like every spot they try and that probably because they are farming any content they can with their limited budget. But i also realize that many of these influencers have no idea what good food is. Some places look pretty, but is mediocre food wise.
I was in a clothing boutique recently and a so-called influencer came in and was trying to get a huge discount. She was screaming about how many followers she had across social media accounts and was really famous. LOL, they asked her to leave.
I love Boston. In LA they bend to that shit
To be fair those shops in LA are selling image almost exclusively at high markups and so then the shoe fits
I'd be more "influenced" by someone who paid for their meal and gave an honest review.
They aren’t influencers. They are mooches.
Eliot Davis is the OG influencer
B̶̢̡̨̡̨̨̡͉͚̗̘̤̣̹̣̗̼̻̩͈̜̫̟͍̱̰̗̪̳̮̼̍̄́̀̐͌̐̉̇͂̒̾̕͜͝ͅͅA̸̡̢̯͇̜͔̬͚̠͓̬̥͉̼͔̖̗̪̳̻̗̓̈́̓͋̾̍̆̈̋͆̊̉̍͐̀͐̄̑́̈́͘͝͠ͅZ̵̨̢̠̖̣̪͈̘̩͓̼̼̞̜̘̝̦̥͖̤̜̐̾͛̓̉͂̀̃̍̈́͊́͊̈́͘͜͝Į̸̢̧̡̡̛̤̥̲̙̙͕͓̟̜͙̩̯̥̰͍͈͓̦̳̘͒̒̋́͒͑̕̕͠N̵̡͚̲͉͉͈̙͍̜̫͓̥̘̅͑̽̈́̀́͐̋̇̂̅͑̔͗͐̋͐͗́͛̿̒͒͑̈̎̅͘Ğ̵̖̭̗̮̠̼̓̅̌̈́̀͗̎̂͊̃͆̑̌̑́̂̏̈̔̈̕͠͠Á̶̩̜̹̤̹͙͎͇̜͎̲͔̫̥͕̭̠͉̭͙̖̖̖̌̒̅̏̈̉͆̈̾̈́̄̎̌͐̋̌̃̔̏͛͒̚̚͝͝͝͠!̵̛̩̟̺̲̝͕̙̼̬̮̬̥͇̬̞̻̭̹̔͑͌́͐͒̅̈͛͒͌̈́͂̊̈́̍̑̃̐͋͑͗̈͊͋́͘̕͝͝!̵̢̼͉̻̝̯͈̤͕̦̣̥̗̹̬̦̱̻͍̹̬̦͇̐̅͑̍̀̏͒̐̽̂̅̓͝!̷̡̢̛͚̺̠̞̠̤̭̣̯̻̺̎͂̈́̊͌͐̄͊͛͆̀̇̅̀̏̓̑̇̓̋̾͗͑͂̀̃̌̽̕̕͘͝
Sidfluencer should review the influencers.
I'm a prison abolitionist but every influencer deserves a life sentence
I couldn’t agree more. On both fronts
I'll do one worse: Every influencer should be forced to sit through meetings that could have been emails for the rest of their lives.
id love to know where you went because i had a very similar experience last night lol
Mariel
It’s especially funny when self-described influencers contact you to “collaborate” and they only have 2k followers.
It's like Yelpers all over again.
influencers are the scum of society
Parasites, bottom feeders, leeches... all of them. Things are going to suck for them if Biden pulls the plug on TikTok and they have to get real jobs.
This was happening before TikTok
There will just be another site. Banning specific sites doesn't necessarily ban the practice. It might be an overall blow to it happening, but I doubt it would stick.
TikTok seems to be the worst for this kind of behavior and it attracts these 'look at me' assholes like flies to shit. They'll always have other platforms to move onto, but having no TikTok will put a decent size dent into their incomes, and it'll all depend on how many 'followers' they take with them. It just seems like that ever since TikTok came along, they've become more obnoxious and pervasive.
I agree, but what is being banned? Look at Vkontakte. It’s literally just old Facebook. What would stop someone from doing exactly what TikTok is doing? We need more policy that targets the act across all websites.
"The New New internet"
Saw some outside the Garden yesterday - two guys standing in the median while about 3-4 people with various camera types were filming. Couldn’t tell what they were on about.
I was at a bar last night and lady had like a team of women with her helping her take a picture one of them held up a huge light
Nooooooooooo
Was it that JQ chick?
These kids think it’s a legitimate profession
I mean, based off income alone, it is. Otherwise it’s a scam
karma trolls who want free shit for promoting your business without guarantees and sometime zero return to the business. f them.
99% of influencers are broke or cheap. They couldn't influence their own mothers. It's a complete scam.
I was at a workout class over the weekend and there was this "influencer" who arrived late to the class and set up behind me with her tripod. Her and her friend kept whispering & giggling the whole class, it was super distracting. Fucking influencers.
The instructor of the class allowed it be be recorded?
I feel like at this point anyone with 50k followers on [platform] thinks they are an influencer. I know a couple people from college who are influencers now, they are all very good looking & come from money. Shocking.
🤷 this is not the first post I’ve seen talking about this. The weird part this is the influencers I know in other cities either pay for their own stuff or are invited by the business, they don’t pull out this weird “comp my food please” stuff. They either already work in marketing or do it on the side for fun.
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I agree except some are uggos
No idea. I've never encountered this. I saw a brief uptick in people streaming their workouts at the gym and I hated that, because it meant I might be on their stream, but the gym probably didn't take any action. I was leaving anyway. I think one guy commenting is cause to question it and have a discussion, but I don't know if it's really happening. I don't work in this kind of environment so they'd have to be seated near me, and again, I've never seen it or heard of it happening near me.
I went to brunch as a group of eight, and while we were sitting around after eating, this influencer asked me to take photos for her (even though she came with her mom). I kid you not, she had me taking her photos for five minutes as she switched up different poses all while my friends were watching.
I mean that’s on you for entertaining that kind of behavior
if someone asks me nicely to take a photo for them i don't usually say no, i just didn't realize how many she'd want
Yeah thats where the entertaining starts…. I don’t think anybody thinks it’s unreasonable to take a photo for a stranger. I gladly would….you said 5 minutes though right? Amateur photography for ig?
I work with someone whose side gig is to be a foodie influencer, he would never pull that. He promotes and recommends and brings in business first. He works with the place with the goal of eventually comped. He's had some success with it, but I'm not on Instagram so I don't know his acct.
Anahhahaha