Perth Voice Interactive

VINCENT council is paying Instagram influencers hundreds of dollars per post to advertise its events.

The city’s financial documents reveal they paid Instagrammer @ashleighjade05 (aka Ashleigh Jade Munro-Smith) $450 for a February 24 post spruiking Leedy Streets Open Days to her 110,000 followers.

“The perfect ending to our weekend with a family friendly (and pet friendly) event at Leedy Streets Open,” she had posted.

Another Instagrammer @sceneinperth was paid $150 for a post advertising the Unfair Day event to their 23,000 followers.

Ms Munro-Smith, a model, health-advocate, brand-ambassador and Zoo magazine cover girl, says on her website she “will only ever promote a product she truly believes in”.

Most of the posts on her page are advertisements for clothes, make up and accessories. Some influencers are paid cash, while others write the post in return for free products.

Vincent council CEO David MacLennan said they had started to trial using Instagram influencers on “certain issues” like community events.

“Our experience has been that utilising local residents with a large following on social media is a highly effective way of connecting with our community on new initiatives or events,” he says.

by DAVID BELL