When Is It Proper To Flaunt Our Blogger's Loot for the Day?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Someone asked if bloggers need to post in social media an image of their loot for the day, and if a plain message is enough to express our gratitude to our host.

I believe it depends on the loot. If it's the actual product or cool merchandise with the brand names or logos, why not. It's a way of promoting the brands. But if it's GCs, cash, or anything that has nothing to do with the brands or companies, then that's a big NO.

Most readers are more gratified when we attach an image on our articles, thus a Thank You message would also look much better if we accompany it with a photo showing the object of our appreciation. Not too many will notice or even read posts with no visuals, especially when the message is lengthy. But if there's an attractive image, it will surely get noticed.

Just as how celebrities flaunt their outfits, jewelries, gadgets, etc., or the venue or facilities, or the services of a spa, gym, health clinic, etc.. All are intended to promote and showcase the brand. They should not be seen posting their fat cheques, or any kind of loot that serves as either their ex-deal talent fee, or compensation, or even perks and freebies that do not directly relate to the brand.

If you see the actual product(s), service(s), etc., especially when the brand/company logos are prominent, then that's acceptable.

Unlike traditional media, who receives monthly pay from their publication, radio or TV network, bloggers normally do not receive any similar compensation since most are independently running their own blog sites and just blogging as a hobby or form of expression, as an outlet to share their thoughts and sentiments, or merely doing it for the adventure and experience of being among the few with the honor and privilege to witness a product launch, restaurant, hotel or resort review, press conferences, news and current events coverage, and many other blogging opportunities.

Most bloggers are not assigned by a media outfit to work as a correspondent, but rather mostly to experience the perks of being among the influencers invited to help witness an event and share the news to their readers or followers. There maybe some blog sites that have already grown big enough and are able to give some form of allowance or monetary to subsidize the expenses of the bloggers they recruit to represent them, still it is not commensurate to the actual talent and skills provided compared to when the bloggers are regularly working as an employee of a media outfit.

When I was new in the blogging community, it was apparent that I enjoyed receiving tokens, freebies or complimentary items since it is not everyday that we get to receive gifts to appreciate our attendance or participation. 

However, the real focus was always on the experience, and not on the loot which could be considered as merely a bonus for the effort in showing up. It is already honorable to get an invitation to attend an event since that would already mean they trust that you can help the brand or organizers share the news.

Now that the blogging community has become so huge, it is already a proud moment to be among the selected few that were prioritized or shortlisted to get an invitation. 

The giveaways are a way of the organizers to recognize their appreciation to the bloggers who took time to attend their events especially nowadays that there are too many events out there that are most of the time happening simultaneously with each other.

To attract bloggers to pick an organizer's event among others that are happening at the same time, they come up with either making their event full of exciting portions like celebrity ambassadors, fun games and activities, cool raffle prizes and giveaways.

I consider the freebies as souvenirs to commemorate the event so I truly appreciate receiving useful items like shirts, gadgets, etc. I don't see anything negative in boasting or flaunting about them on social media since they somehow showcase the brands as an additional form media mileage.

Many brands also favor seeing bloggers appreciative of their goodies. May it be just a piece of USB drive, a shirt, or anything else fancier, they become sentimental to both the bloggers and the brands.