Everything you wanted to know about Instagram cooperations

Hello everyone!

Today I would like to write about our cooperations especially on Instagram, because lately I have been hearing quite contradictory opinions. At the same time, I would like to take a bit of a defense and clarify a few things for those who are bothered by Instagram ads.

Lately I have the feeling that Instagram cooperations and basically the whole “influencer” business makes people mad from one simple reason. That it seems unfair that someone is paying them (us) for an Instagram picture, while everyone else has to work from 9 to 5. Right now I would like to try to defend it because I feel like people don’t know how much effort we put into this. Posting a paid picture doesn’t mean that we would take a selfie, upload it to our feed and that’s it. No. It doesn’t work like that. You have think about the whole campain and how to create something that would correspond to this specific campaign. Then you have to plan how you’re gonna take the picture(s). You need a perfect composition, decoration, and sometimes more people to assist. In other words, you have to prepare the whole photoshoot, then you finally take the picture, then there is postproduction, captions, and then posting. At least four hours of my time from the very beginning to the end. Then I’m not talking about the photos, which include for example outdoor clothing. I have to go to the mountains at my own expense, climb to a two-thousand-high mountain and take some pictures there. Boom. Two days of my time. So guys, please don’t underestimate this business. It’s not about taking selfies in a bathroom mirror.

Another thing is that people are apparently annoyed by the amount of advertising. That makes sense but unfortunately I can’t do anything about that. About two weeks ago I got a message from a follower saying that I used to be a good blogger but now my Instagram is full of advertising too and that she’s unfollowing me. Against that, I would like to defend myself again, because I’m very particular about that. In the last 70 photos, so kind of advertisement appeared in only 10 photos, meaning that there is product placement in every seventh photo in average. Plus the amount of ads is still the same in the past year, you just notice it more because I label it properly (as it HAS to be labeled according to law).

And if you think every seventh picture is still a lot, then look at international influencers who have nothing but advertising. I was looking for an unpaid post for example at @leoniehanne, who has 1.8 million followers, and I couldn’t find a single one. How is it possible that 1.8 million people don’t mind advertising in every post, and my few followers get annoyed by product placement in every seventh photo?

It is in place to emphasize (and I repeat it all the time but I feel like it needs to be said again) that EVERY brand I work with corresponds with my lifestyle and I would NEVER do advertising for something I don’t believe in / I don’t use / I don’t wear. Meaning, that even if it wasn’t a cooperation, I would use that product anyways. Even if I didn’t cooperate with Peak Performance, I’ll go to the store and buy a jacket because I love the brand and I stand behind their philosophy and it’s my favorite outdoor clothing brand. The fact that I’m currently campaigning with Vichy means that all of their products are on a shelf in my bathroom, and I really use them every day.

Recently, there is much more haters than it used to be and I’m wondering why it is. Only one thing came to my mind. This may be related to the fact that today all the ads are properly marked and that’s why advertising is more visible these days. A couple of months ago, no one marked it and tried to hide the ad instead, so you didn’t notice it so much, but I understand that if you get twenty times #ad in your feed, it upsets you. But isn’t it better to know about advertising rather than being a victim of hidden advertising?

And my last thought – I wanted to think about why people have the need to comment on something they don’t like? I would never do it. If I don’t like what kind of shoes Gucci produces, I don’t write their CEO to tell him that I don’t like it. I just don’t buy them. When I don’t like how someone dresses, I don’t tell people, I just don’t tell them they look great. On the contrary, if I like something, I DO appreciate it. Why do Czechs have to complain and criticize the work of others constantly?!

That’s all I wanted to say today. Thank you for reading my opinion to the end, I appreciate it <3