Should you give “influencer bloggers” free stuff?
July 6th, 2018 by Bob Bly
“Influencer bloggers” are bloggers who claim that, with all their
social media connections and activity, they can give a service
business, product, or brand significant “exposure” in the
marketplace.
What many of them want in return are freebies, and not always
inexpensive ones. These include free meals in five-star
restaurants, free stays in nice hotels, free products, and other
freebies.
Well, in a recent social media flap, the owner of an inn in
Dublin slapped an “influencer blogger” on Facebook for asking him
for a free stay for a couple of days in exchange for her
influencer services.
He stated: “The sense of entitlement is just too strong … and the
nastiness after a blogger was not granted her request for a
freebie is giving the whole (blogging) industry a bad name.”
As a result, this innkeeper now bans all bloggers from his hotel
and café.
The offending freeloader in question defended what she did,
stating that social media influencer is her “job.”
She also said that her business model — blasting out positive
reviews widely on social media in exchange for free goods and
services — is a “collaboration” between blogger and business
owner.
She complained that the hotel and café manager didn’t understand
the social media world or how it works.
Well guess what?
He doesn’t have to.
Whether she thinks he is making a mistake turning down her demand
for free stuff, it’s his right to do so. Do these blogging
mooches really not get that?
The café manager shot back at freebie-requesting bloggers:
“Perhaps if you went out and got real jobs, you’d be able to pay
for goods and services like everybody else.”
It’s true that some companies routinely offer free samples or
review copies of products to TV and radio producers, newspapers,
and magazines.
The difference is that the circulation of the print media and the
audience of the broadcast media are strictly audited and
therefore no secret, but rather published so that anyone can see.
Most bloggers, on the other hand, don’t have verified audit
statements to prove their audience. You have to take their word
for it.
Also, bloggers can get downright militant about getting denied
their freebies, and victimize the offending business with nasty
posts and negative reviews — as if the business owner is
obligated to give away what he sells to anyone and everyone who
asks.
Writer Harlan Ellison calls this the “slacker mentality” on the
internet.
He says it sickens him. And I don’t love it, either. A sense of
entitlement? Absolutely. Justified? Hardly.
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