INSIDE STORY
Cinnamon pioneered the concept of travel blogging as an effective strategy in destination and hospitality marketing by introducing Asia’s first travel blogger conference in 2016.
We’ve always found it a credible approach when using compelling content to promote the brand. Content generated by travel influencers will help you improve your ‘net promoters score.’
When the world is competing for recognition, the use of travel bloggers or ‘influencers’ (as they are now referred to) will help boost the travel industry with something as simple as their personal experiences.
With seemingly endless benefits, it’s easy to overlook the disadvantages of social media, which are an increasingly important consideration as such online platforms continue to proliferate.
It has facilitated the loss of ownership and control of content as private, public and institutional domains progressively overlap. There’s a need for careful balancing of professionalism and freedom of speech to ensure that posts don’t cause offence or harm reputations.
Iuse social media to share activities of social volunteering, the journey after my spine surgeries, pageant life and part-time modelling. I wouldn’t call myself a typical influencer since I’m introverted and use social media mostly to share funny, silly, interesting, or entertaining videos or memes.
Though I have been pressured to use my social media and online persona to endorse many products, ideas and brands, I only endorse those that are in line with my beliefs and ideals.
Everyone has something special to share and influence the world with. It could be travel, beauty, food, inspiration, photography, poetry or memes – whatever it is, may it always be hopeful.
Social media has allowed ‘womxn’ to create space and share their narratives, in a way that traditional media and storytelling hadn’t allowed us to do previously.
Take being a mother: ‘mom influencers’ can generate revenue by sharing their life experiences and tips… like any other career front-runner would. It has opened more doors for us to all avenues of life. In particular, Instagram has allowed me to carve out a niche where I can explore various topics with followers in a controlled manner.
Not all conversations are healthy, and I’m not equipped to hold space or discuss matters with trolls and the likes thereof, which spin out on other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
All spaces can harness negativity but it is how we deal and address that negativity that counts.
I have enjoyed my progression of platform usage by initially showcasing my modelling portfolio. Now I have a digital space where ‘womxn’ have conversations and where I share their stories. This is what I call community learning. I look forward to the journey ahead…
Another danger of influencers that we may not see is the ‘perfect picture syndrome.’ Let’s paint a picture. Imagine scrolling through your feed and you come across a pair of foreign travellers posing on the famous ‘blue train’ to Ella.
They’re literally hanging on for dear life with their lips pressed together in a supposedly romantic kiss. How many young and impressionable couples do you think flew down to Sri Lanka to take that same (very dangerous) shot? One can only hope that Sri Lankan youth act with more caution when it comes to their perfect pictures!
However, it isn’t all doom and gloom, and there are plenty of positive messages that can emanate from social media. International influencers such as Chessie King, who set up an Instagram campaign about cyberbullying and internet trolling, edited an image of herself using comments her trolls had left on her page.
She did so to highlight the detrimental effect that cyberbullying can have on people – especially teenagers – and shared the ‘beauty ideal’ with her followers.
And whether you consider them as being ‘influencers’ or ‘winfluencers,’ they aren’t vacating the digital marketing sphere they’ve occupied anytime soon. So it’s best to enjoy your Instagram feed… and do what you do best.
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