With so much #gifted and #invite content around these days, it can be hard to know what’s genuine and worth spending your money on. I know I’m not the only one who is tired of seeing gushing stories and posts about businesses that frankly, don’t deserve the hype.
My advice would be to try and find people who a) you trust and b) know their shit. If you need a nudge in the right direction, my go-tos at the moment are @thegraphicfoodie, @aylaeats, @teranedeats, and @dinebrighton.
Anyway, here’s my attempt to provide clarity on what you see on my account and what you can expect.
I'm not convinced these tags are fit for purpose and it's definitely confusing, but it's what the guidelines say all 'influencers' should be doing to inform their followers. These tags just mean I've been given a product (#ad-gifted) or dined at a restaurant (#ad-invite) for free.
When you see a 'Paid partnership' tag on my content, I have been paid a fee to help promote the business. However, I only accept paid work from brands I like, and use myself.
There's never an obligation for me to write a positive review and if there was, I wouldn't accept in the first place.
There are however, some independents I don't rate, but I don't believe anyone is trying to do a poor job and I have no interest in slagging them off publicly. I give honest feedback to businesses privately, and if I can't think of anything nice to say publicly, I'd rather post nothing at all.
It's also worth knowing that I don't prioritise businesses that have given me free stuff in the past. I bang on about plenty of great independents who I've never received anything from.