Social media is all-consuming. Everywhere you look, people have their heads buried in their phones – even in the most in-the-moment sort of scenarios. The most magical and breathtaking views can be missed with a quick scroll of Instagram. Thus, a hotel group based in Switzerland has decided to offer a “Social Media Sitter” service. The Swiss hotel chain, Ibis, wants to encourage social media users to be “in the moment,” so they are rolling out their virtual care model on Instagram to start. The pilot program is set to roll out in their Zurich and Geneva locations first.
What does social media sitting entail?
For a rate as low as $79 USD, travelling Instagrammers will hand over their social media account name and password to the company and allow their supposed social media professionals to post on your behalf. Photos or videos posted by the pros will feature the hashtag #postedbysocialmediasitter and follow strict guidelines such as societal trends and integrating the latest features.
What are the perks of the service?
• Decreases international data surcharges. If you’ve travelled internationally before, then you know how expensive it can be to stay digitally connected while abroad. The fees rack up quickly and social media can eat up a great deal of funds.
• You’ll never miss a sight. Without the barrier of a smartphone between your face and the international destination you are experiencing, you will be able to take all the mental snapshots you want!
• Your feed will be on point. With the pros on your side, your feed is guaranteed to look pristine and will be appealing to the average follower.
What’s the downside?
• You favorite photos will not be recorded. If you allow someone else to post pictures on your behalf, you’ll never be able to look back on the moments and sights that were most memorable to you. Instead you’ll see a stock image from the professionals’ library.
• Voice and tone will vary. Your friends, family, and followers likely know your voice – or the way you caption images. If a social media sitter steps in, you run the risk of your posts sounding fake and spammy.
• Your password is no longer private. You are putting all of your trust in a company with a pilot program. Sure there will be some fancy clause protecting your account, but for those who rely on social media influencer programs/their number of followers for income, it is a big risk.
• The hashtag gives it away. When you hire a pet sitter, they take over your pet-parent duties as if you weren’t even missing. This is different. Instead of ghost-posting, the social media sitter will make the change in personnel quite obvious with adding #postedbysocialmediasitter at the end of a post.
In all, the social media sitter concept is a risk and reward program. It alleviates the stress of “pictures or it didn’t happen” while also posing some uncertainty of outcomes. Could this be the future of social media and travel documenting? Time will tell!
Would you ever hire a social media sitter? Is it worth it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!