An ‘influencer’ has shared the true motivation behind her bikini-clad photos and Instagram profile after revealing her true identity.
Mia Wilde created her account @thatcoastalgirl six months ago, a snapshot into her wholesome life by the ocean, healthy meals and regular exercise routines.
What appeared to be the account of another upcoming Instagram influencer however was anything but.
With now almost 20,000 followers and brands sponsoring some of her content, Mia Wilde has revealed she is actually SBS journalist Calliste Weitenberg and her Instagram account has all been part of an elaborate scheme to see how easy it is to cash in on the billion-dollar industry.
Weitenberg and her producer Elise Potaka looked to other wellness influencers for inspiration and recreated bikini selfies and fitness posts to build a fake persona and explore the regulations around promoting products on Instagram.
“We wanted to investigate influencer marketing and sponsored content in your Instagram feed,” Weitenberg told Yahoo News Australia ahead of a four-part investigation airing on SBS program The Feed.
“Influencers are spruiking anything and everything like vitamins and hair products so we started off trying to find out how this whole thing worked – who is making what and how do you even make money.
“We then looked at this explosion of micro-influencers and this shift in the Instagram advertising space away from big celebrity influencers like Kim Kardashian to people with less than 100,000 followers – people like your sister or personal trainer who are now selling you products.”
SBS journalist’s fake Instagram persona
Weitenberg needed at least 2000 followers to gain any interest from brands looking to her to sell their product.
With a rising interest in the wellness and lifestyle space, Weitenberg decided to create the character Mia Wilde, who spent time at the beach, ate healthy, often dressed in activewear and posted exercise routines.
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