In the social media world, it’s no secret that some of the most successful influencers with the largest followings are predominately white. The racism that people of colour in the U.S, here in Canada, and around the world face isn’t new and has sadly been happening for centuries, but the time for it to end is now. In an effort to amplify their voices, we have chosen to share 17 black creators that you should be following if you aren’t already.
@ChrissyFord
Former Harper’s Bazaar editor Chrissy is not only outspoken on important issues, but her fashion content and real-life advice will be a welcome addition to your timelines. She recently attended NYFW and her looks were absolutely stunning!
@SashaExeter
Toronto based influencer Sasha isn’t shy when it comes to talking about important issues. In addition to her fitness inspo, countless fab outfits, and real-life content, this strong mama is a force and should definitely be on your radar.
@MyVoguishDiaries
Medge, aka MyVoguishDiaries, is another TO-based mama of colour to know and follow. Her stunning IG content provides all the fashion tips and inspo you could dream of!
@ItsMeKellieB
If you thought plus-size fashion couldn’t be fierce, then allow Kellie to prove you oh-so-wrong. This LA-based influencer doesn’t shy away from colour, bold prints, or sharing important messages with the community.
@Afiya.Francisco
Another Toronto based creator to know about is Afiya and if she looks super familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen her slaying on Your Morning, Breakfast Television, and more. This mama of three is a wealth of knowledge and trust us — you’ll be glad you pressed ‘follow!’
@TorontoShay
Boss babe Shannae of @TorontoShay is known for not only her killer outfits but her real-life mama content. This mom of one is keeping it real on her IG feed and we love that she continues to share and amplify important messages.
@ElaishaJade
Mental health advocate and meditation leader Elaisha should definitely be on your must-follow list. Her honesty, realness, and style will captivate you and have you double-tapping in no time!
@EatFamous
Hungry? Good! Head on over to EatFamous, aka Ryan Hinkson’s page for all the food porn. This TO based page is sharing all the tasty eats that Toronto has to offer as well as important messages about standing up and with the black community.
@StyledByKemi
Fashion blogger and stylist Kemi is a force to be reckoned with. Not only does she run a successful style consulting business, but this mama also offers beauty tricks, lifestyle tips, and so much more.
@Donte.Colley
You’ve probably seen Donte’s empowering and fun dance videos on Instagram and we admit we can’t get enough. These days, Donte has been leading in the fight against racial injustice and we couldn’t more proud of him and the work he’s doing.
@ColorMeCourtney
Brightening up our day is Courtney of @ColorMeCourtney and let us tell you, her feed is anything but dull. This NYC-based influencer calls herself the Color Queen and after one glance at her photos, you’ll understand why.
@HannahBronfman
Fitness and wellness guru Hannah Bronfman is no stranger to the IG scene. In addition to being a renowned DJ, Hannah also runs HBFit, a site dedicated to all things health, beauty, and fitness.
@MissLionHunter
Halifax-based Musemo of @MissLionHunter will certainly be a welcome addition to your IG timeline. Between Musemo’s use of graphic prints, bright colours, and effortless beauty, you’ll be glad you followed!
@TheAssaCisse
Toronto-based babe and mama to three boys, Assa isn’t playing around when it comes to style and educating her community. With a smile as bright as the sun and a spirit to match, this is definitely an account to have on your radar!
@FreshLengths
Lesley, AKA @freshlengths is a London-based creator providing fashion, beauty, and hair content. She also posts about her hair loss journey, sharing her tips and tricks for those with similar hair concerns.
@MintWorthyCo
Who doesn’t need a little guidance when it comes to money and finance? Vanessa is here providing just that! She teaches her followers all about how to live finically empowered. Give her a follow to enrich your feed with some money (and mindset) advice!
@ByMeaux
You may recognize Monique (@byMeaux) from CityLine where she’s a DIY and Lifestyle Expert! Either way, you should definitely give her a follow on Instagram for outfit inspiration, parenting content, and more!
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Who better to shop clothing from than the ones we get our fashion inspiration from? When you think about it, influencers become successful based on the trust we have in their taste and recommendations, because they know what they’re talking about within their niche! Not to mention, the nature of being a fashion influencer, is inherently testing out a lot of different clothing. Perfectly preparing them to know exactly what they value in any garment – making them experts in their craft by way of experience. So it totally makes sense that some influencers have taken their career to the next level by creating their very own brands and labels and it’s no surprise to us the success these fashion brands have reached!
Keep reading to check out some notable influencer-owned fashion brands!
Uncle Studios
Uncle Studios was co-founded by Toronto fashion influencer Allegra Shaw in 2017. The brand started with the vision to create the perfect t-shirt. Some time has passed since then and now Uncle Studios has a selection of timeless, foundational pieces that can be styled in a multitude of ways. Not to mention its branding is unsurprisingly superb. Not only can you shop Uncle Studios through its website, but it’s now available in-store and online at Holt Renfrew, so you now have the opportunity to try on select pieces.
Rouje Paris
Paris It-girl Jeanna Damas founded Rouje Paris in 2016 ultimately inspired by the women whose lives she marveled at as a child. Rouje is the Parisian-style lover’s dream and provides everything we could want in both beauty and fashion, to become our very own self-established Parisian It-girls. Rouge was first and foremost inspired by women, and it translates within its pieces. “I like the idea that when a woman is wearing Rouje, we notice her first, then what she’s wearing.” – Jeanne Damas.
Song of Style
One of the fashion blog OG’s is none other than Aimee Song, who took what started as a passion project and eventually turned it into a fashion line, Song of Style with Revolve. While shopping the Song of Style brand on Revolve, you can expect to find an array of elevated basics with playful details of colour combinations and textures.
Something Navy
Something Navy, founded by fashion-blogger Arielle Charnas has evolved from a style blog to a fashion, lifestyle, and media brand. Something Navy aims to celebrate personal style by creating thoughtful designs with real women in mind. While shopping the brand, you can expect to find pieces that reflect Arielle’s personal style and aesthetic, offering timeless staples, statement accessories, and trendy pieces.
Are You Am I
Are You Am I is one of those labels, that you may not even know was founded by an influencer since it has such a large brand presence on its own! However, it is fashion blogger Rumi Neely behind the creation of Are You Am I. This influencer brand has a collection of individual pieces that stand alone instead of releasing full collections. The pieces have an overall feeling of romance and femininity.
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Real-life influencers will be increasingly joined by the virtual variety. Virtual influencers are now a real thing and we
“It’s not a secret that influencer marketing is more effective than traditional marketing,” says Sara Koonar, co-founder of Platform Media, a Toronto-based company that specializes in influencer marketing.
She points to studies published daily in advertising publications that show figures to prove this. “For example, 78% of new business in the hospitality industry is driven by social media,” she says.
Disrupting the traditional advertising industry one #sponsored post at a time, influencer marketing has gained major traction in recent years, becoming brands’ go-to when it comes to engaging potential new consumers.
Instagram/@erinelizabethh
A study by Open Influence conducted in late 2017 surveyed 500 people and found that 60.5% of respondents said that social media was their primary source of information before purchasing a product – a figure that’s likely increased since.
Furthermore, 79% of people surveyed said they trusted product recommendations from people they follow on social media.
When it comes to the allocation of dollars, however – especially with smaller businesses – the belief of some brands and marketers about the impact of influencer marketing is that it’s difficult to measure the ROI on some campaigns in terms of sales.
After all, thousands of “likes” on a photo don’t necessarily translate to thousands of dollars in sales, prompting some marketers to see influencer campaigns as nothing more than awareness tactics. But glossy print ads are actually more difficult to track, as Koonar points out.
“The reason influencer marketing budgets are on the rise is peer-to-peer marketing is more believable and trackable than let’s say, a magazine ad or billboard. It is also a lot more affordable,” said Koonar. “You could purchase an ad in a national leading Canadian magazine, that readers may only glance at or not even open, that maybe only has 10,000 subscribers (these numbers are dwindling daily) and invest thousands of dollars. With an influencer, to reach an audience that is completely trackable, with precise demographics, impressions and visible engagements, you are only paying a few hundred dollars for the same reach.”
Instagram/@juliadantasbeauty
In the early days of influencer marketing, there were admittedly some hiccups. Things like fake followers, fake accounts all together, and measuring success simply by “likes” are things of the past.
The industry has adapted and times have changed. Still, brands tend to quantify influencer campaigns on engagements, reach, and impressions rather than actual sales. But – as highlighted in this Forbes piece – if you consider the role of influencers in the sales funnel, the engagement stage is where brand awareness can turn into action.
Things like promo codes and new direct social media sales features like the Instagram stories “swipe up” addition now make it easier to track the sales success of influencer campaigns. When done properly, influencer marketing can be the best tool you have.
Instagram/@mr.benfield
So, how brands – big and small – decide which influencer makes the most sense to work with? Koonar says it comes down to believability when casting for their campaigns.
“Trust is very important when it comes to online audiences. They follow their favourite influencer because they feel connected to them, or aspire to be like them,” says Koonar. “So, the products they choose to recommend should not be too far from what they would choose to share in an organic post. A marketing team should choose an influencer based on brand fit over reach. And a good influencer will choose to only work with a brand whose products fit seamlessly into their life. Storytelling is really important. A good ad will always tell a story.”
Flickr/Stock Catalog
Whether it’s a post by an Instagrammer or another friend on social media, I have definitely bought something – especially beauty products – because I saw it on an influencer’s feed. So have the girlfriends I spoke to before writing this piece.
When it comes to things like clothing, one friend made the valid point that she would rather see the clothes on an Instagram influencer who they feel they “know,” and in a real-life context than on a rail-thin model in the product of a heavily orchestrated photo shoot. While I don’t have tens and thousands of followers, I know firsthand from my posts wearing event-wear from my friend’s Toronto boutique, Poor Little Rich Girl, has resulted in at least a few dozen visits to the uptown boutique.
One thing is for sure: as long as social media remains a huge part of our daily lives, influencer marketing isn’t going anywhere.
Featured image: Pexels
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Discount store Payless ShoeSource completely fooled social media influencers into spending hundreds of dollars on $20 shoes at their latest pop-up shop.
The brand created a fake label under the name “Palessi” and invited fashion experts to be there for the elaborate “grand opening,” which took place in a former Armani store in Santa Monica, California.
Little did they know, it was all just a publicity stunt.
The low-budget company put its normal shoes out on display, and dramatically marked up the prices to see if anyone would notice. Surprisingly, they didn’t.
Facebook/Payless ShoeSource
Influencers were extremely enthusiastic about the new “brand,” as seen in this video shared by the company on Facebook. Comments like, “they’re elegant, sophisticated,” and “I could tell it was made from high-quality material,” were heard coming from two of the shoppers, and others shared the same sentiment.
Payless successfully tricked social media influencers into paying as much as $640 USD for their footwear, which is typically priced at $39.99.
The retailer “wanted to push the social experiment genre to new extremes, while simultaneously using it to make a cultural statement,” said Doug Cameron, DCX Growth Accelerator’s chief creative officer in Adweek. “Payless customers share a pragmatist point of view, and we thought it would be provocative to use this ideology to challenge today’s image-conscious fashion influencer culture.”
Facebook/Payless ShoeSource
Palessi managed to get up to $3,000 before revealing the truth to shoppers.
Their reactions when they found out are also caught on camera, and it’s priceless! In the end, they gave everyone their money back, and influencers got to bring home their favourite pair of shoes. It worked out well for both parties.
Payless CMO Sarah Couch says the chain aimed to tackle the brand’s perception issues head-on at a time when retailers are feeling more heat than ever from giant e-commerce sites.
Facebook/Payless ShoeSource
The campaign is an amazing comeback and publicity stunt for Payless.
Back in 2017, the budget shoe company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While the majority of Canadian stores were, for the most part, unaffected by the filing, the United States and Puerto Rico saw nearly 400 store locations close down.
Today, Payless ShoeSource is one of the largest retail chains who have been able to pull themselves out of bankruptcy. They’ve cleaned up their balance sheet and will be focusing on their brick and mortar stores. And it looks like they’re coming back with a bang!
Featured Image: Facebook/Payless ShoeSource
The debate on the viability of social media influencers continues to rage on. Many believe they are an integral part of the growth of new brands and products in today’s social media-heavy economy. While others point to the fact that it’s hard to gauge actual ROI from social media influencers, and their following is sometimes inauthentic.
While there is no doubt that having a bunch of cool people promote your product is beneficial, a new report from Launchmetrics reveals that “mega” influencers – denoted by having a following between 501,000 and 1.5 million – are becoming less valuable and important to brands.
The good news is that if you have a following under 500,000 (if you have more and you’re reading this let us know lol) you are now the most targets market of influencers for advertisers. Known as micro-influencers (10,000 – 100,000 followers) are now the most coveted influencer group to advertisers.
Companies are now looking for real-time engagement rather than massive followings. The ability to have a smaller but targeted voice is what advertisers are now looking for. According to Launchmetrics, advertisers want quality content and engagement and prefer this over working with someone with a massive following.
We figure the reason is simple and probably has to do more with money and ROI. Booking a campaign with a “mega” influencer can be astronomically expensive. According to a 2018 complex article, many of the mega influencers have yearly incomes in excess of $10 million and often charge anywhere from $150,000 to $300,000 for a single post. If you are an advertiser shelling out $300,000 for one Instagram post you better be sure that you can show the benefits, and lately, this industry hasn’t been able to effectively do this.
Featured Image: Instagram via: @Desiperkins