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johnbrownbody t1_j9pmp4i wrote

There's something suspect about food accounts for local dc restaurants having 100k followers...

Maybe I've been in DC too long, but one of these accounts also seem to treat places like The Raven or Wonderland Ballroom like some secret dive bar lol.

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NorseTikiBar t1_j9pracj wrote

Yeah, I legit couldn't tell if they were trolling or not when they described Wonderland as a hidden gem, or if they just don't get uptown much.

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agentcarter15 t1_j9qheb4 wrote

idk about the Instagram scene but i swear every local DC wannabe influencer on TikTok that shows up in my feed treats the most basic places as “hidden gems.”

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gator_fl t1_j9q1jwi wrote

There are companies out there that will let you try out a tool to see what percentage of followers might be "organic" or bought thru an Instagram follower farm.

I'd guess almost all local food influencers that have 100K+ followers are suspect. Maybe Tom Siestma (Sp?).

Lol...Wonderland and Raven a secret dive bar if you were a traveler into DC from afar and reading a free travel guide.

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throws_rocks_at_cars t1_j9qb2hd wrote

What people don’t understand is that an instagram follower costs about $0.02 cents. You could make a new account, pay some company $250 bucks, and have 10,000 followers the next day. It costs almost nothing.

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gator_fl t1_j9qilem wrote

Exactly, which is one of the reasons those tools are created.

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johnbrownbody t1_j9q240o wrote

> Lol...Wonderland and Raven a secret dive bar if you were a traveler into DC from afar and reading a free travel guide.

Given that I imagine some nonzero number of folks who follow these accounts are suburbanites or new enough to DC to essentially be tourists... I guess it works! I just find it amusing

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gator_fl t1_j9q3n46 wrote

I think the City Paper had an article a couple years ago where local restaurateurs basically said there were no noticeable increases in patronage due to influencer posts.

Then there are those bars/restaurants/etc. that decorate for the gram. I remember when La Vie on the Wharf had people going there to post. Just wild.

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veloharris t1_j9q51vh wrote

The DC metro area is millions of people, not to mention people travel to DC for food and drink. Plenty to knock but not weird that there'd be a sizable audience.

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