The team behind a Dublin restaurant has seen a massive online response after it was asked whether it offers 'influencer rates' to people with large social media followings.
La Peniche - a restaurant based in a barge along the Grand Canal - tweeted that it had been contacted by an influencer with more than 100,000 followers.
They say were told the individual would have a photographer coming along to take pictures of them getting on and off the boat.
The restaurant's initial tweet highlighting the query has received thousands of likes and responses on Twitter.
We just received a message from an #influencer to book a Table this week we gave them times available and they picked one then they replied with have we influencers rates?Is this a thing?Like we are a #smallbusiness and in these times we all need to #supporteachother
— LaPeniche (@LaPeniche3) August 16, 2020
In a follow-up tweet, La Peniche said: "We would be the first to offer a meal or the likes in the good times.
"But those times have past we are operating in a small space now with half the capacity so we can’t afford to give anything away at present."
Ben from La Peniche observed: "You can't really ask for a freebie in this current climate - everyone's struggling. Even a discount is a bit much.
"I think people think if you own a business you have loads of disposable income - people forget you have staff, overheads, you've the ESB."
Challenging times
Yvonne McGroary, social media strategist with New World Associates, spoke to The Hard Shoulder about the idea of influencer rates.
She explained that while the practice is not uncommon, it is surprising to hear of it in the current environment.
She observed: "As [La Peniche] said themselves, if it was any other time, perhaps it was a strategy they would have gone down to promote themselves as a brand.
"At the same time, they just don't have the capacity there."
In terms of the relationship between businesses and influencers more generally, Ms McGroary said: "If the influencer is authentic enough and has a big enough loyal following, then it's often the brand going to the influencer for that strategic partnership.
"If they're coming to you... it's really important to understand their following, and whether their following is your target audience as well."
