Over the last few years Irish bloggers and vloggers have become the forefront of all social media platforms and young people’s lives. They are a one stop shop for everyone’s, food, fashion, beauty, travel and lifestyle needs. The Irish blogging scene has become so popular that that bloggers and influencers are fully fledged celebrities in the eyes of young people and the media. However, the word influencer has stirred up quite the storm lately and most bloggers are leaning towards moving away from the ‘I’ word. For so long journalists fought to get thee latest scoop on the next celebrity drama however with the recent Instagram scandals, stories are writing themselves and people have turned to a number of Instagram accounts to get the latest gossip on all their favourite bloggers.
However, the life of a blogger/influencer isn’t as glamourous as the perfectly shot Instagram pictures portray. A real-life Gossip Girl has arrived to Instagram to call out bloggers for misleading their fans. Traditionally blogging was all about sharing you point of view and your tastes and writing from your heart on your designated website. However, as times moved on and followers grew, companies began to see the market value bloggers could bring to brands and this soon became the era of sponsored posts and brand ambassadors.
Speaking to Her Campus DCU, Amy Mulvaney, owner of the popular blog ’What She Does Now’ discussed the likelihood of the return of the more tradition style of blogging considering all the negative exposure bloggers are receiving for misleading their followers. “I think there’s a place online for the more traditional blogging style now more than ever. There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding bloggers lately, with some people being ‘exposed’ for misleading their followers and I think that will only lead to the ‘original’ style of blogging making a re-emergence. Readers want to relate to the people they follow, and to know they can trust them. That’s what I try to do, and I really try to just be myself and not feel like I’ve to do what everyone else is doing, although it can be disheartening when growth is slow” said Amy.
However, as every move bloggers make online being watched by eagle-eyed pages and followers, they are becoming more conscious of what products they promote and how transparent they are with their followers. The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland hosted an Inform and Engage event in order to inform agencies, brands and bloggers on how to disclose whether something is an advert or not. The ASAI are planning to name and shame bloggers and advertisers who fail to provide the correct information.
“I think a lot of people are quite calculated in what they post (will it get likes, engage brands etc) and I understand that to an extent – blogging is a business, at the end of the day – but I don’t do that. I think if you write about what you love and share what you love, the right readers will come, and everything else will come into place” said Amy. She stressed that even though it’s fantastic to work with brands that you love, sometimes authenticity can get lost in the name of money and that people accept offers which don’t actually suit them.
The Bloggers Unveiled Instagram has over 124,000 followers and share examples of Irish bloggers misleading their followers and behaving unprofessionally. The page has become one of the most popular Instagram accounts and they are making their mark in the industry. “I think things like these accounts ‘exposing’ bloggers show that it’s always worth staying true to yourself though, because it’ll always come out if you’re not” said Amy.
whatshedoesnow Insta: https://www.instagram.com/whatshedoesnow/?hl=en
whatshedoesnow blog: http://www.whatshedoesnow.com/