People really need to understand that when influencers are gifted something, and they post it on their stories/page, the brand is getting free advertising often worth *much* more than the product. This helps brands as they have to put basically no spend behind advertising.

Yes we receive things for free, but it’s up to our discretion if we want to post it. For some small brands, influencers sharing their products could literally give them a whole consumer-base. ‘There is no such thing as a free lunch’ v much applies to gifting, it’s a transaction

More often than not the brand gains more than the influencer (in terms of value of the product vs value of advertising). I know ‘influencer’ is a dirty term but no one gets annoyed at billboards, tube adverts or adverts on TV. It’s another form of marketing.

Imagine Instagram is a magazine, follow people to read their posts, copy their workouts, see what they’re wearing etc. And just like pages in a magazine that content has to be supported by advertising in order for it to be possible to generate more! I know we’re living in a weird

time. But businesses RN probably need influencers more than ever in order to reach audiences, especially small businesses.

I think it’s important we see the merit of influencing and why it’s a genuine form of work. Just my thoughts x