Look, we all know how saturated Singapore’s social media influencer industry is. So embedded is this reliance on photogenic young bloods for marketing that even the Ministry of Finance thought it was wise to hire them to promote Singapore’s fiscal plans for this financial year.
It’s a clichéd sentiment by now, but the section of the country’s population that considers blogging, Instagram-ing and YouTube-ing as respectable professions can be, for lack of a better word, self-entitled tools at times. Some, if not most, social media influencers believe that they’re performing a noble job in Spreading The Word and thus deserve free shit as part of their trade.
In fact, you’ve probably heard stories — both public and within the marketing industry — of influencers who demand things such as haircuts and pricey dinners in exchange for “exposure to their followers”.
There’s a lesson to be learned for both business owners and freeloading influencers in this hilarious exchange that went viral recently. The story goes something like this: a UK-based YouTuber was looking to collaborate with Charleville Lodge Hotel in Dublin (come now, she just wanted a free staycation) by featuring the establishment on her social media platforms “to bring traffic”.
What the hotel needed to do in return was to provide her free accommodation — oh, and did we mention she also single-handedly raised visitor numbers to Universal Orlando too? Amazing.
How the hotel owner — Paul Stenson of that hilariously savage gluten-free hullaballoo — replied to her showed some much-needed mockery of the influencer industry. In a sea of bullshit demands for complimentary goods and services in exchange for “traffic”, Stenson’s response was a breath of fresh air, harsh as it might’ve been.
In the aftermath, the influencer went on YouTube (of course) to respond, breaking down from all the humiliation and backlash she received. That sparked a backlash against Stenson and his establishments, led by a furious cacophony of other aspiring influencers — which ended with the man continuing his mockery of the industry and a subsequently banning all bloggers.
“The sense of entitlement is just too strong in the blogging community and the nastiness, hissy fits and general hate displayed after one of your members was not granted her request for a freebie is giving your whole industry a bad name,” he wrote.
“I never thought we would be inundated with negative reviews for the simple reason that somebody was required to pay for goods received or services rendered. This kind of victimization is very prevalent in the blogging industry, and is in keeping with their general modus operandi of wanting everything for nothing.”
He was, however, happy with the worldwide publicity willingly (and freely) provided by influencers, so that’s some poetic justice for him.
In any case, it’s just something for social media figures here (both wannabes and established ones) to remember the next time they’re reaching out to local businesses — not everyone’s interested in your hyped patronage. By all means, enjoy and relish the free swag that brands willingly send out to you clout-capable personalities, but don’t go around shamelessly asking for things to fall on your lap.
