First off, one ground rule: be careful whom you’re calling an “influencer.” You’re likely talking to a content creator. At the BlogHer conference, you learn quickly that this profession is serious business.
Held last month in Brooklyn, NY, BlogHer brings together the talented content creators, entrepreneurs, and trailblazers who live at the heart of the partnership economy. Yes, they are influential storytellers and personalities, but they are first-and-foremost businesspeople, and that was a powerful theme running through this year’s event.
BlogHer is an annual creator summit put on by SHE Media and focusing on female content creators across food, family, beauty, entertainment, and women’s health. My Impact colleagues and I were there to engage and discover—taking the pulse of the content community to understand the forces that will drive new partnership opportunities in 2020.
One thing that stood out to my team and me this year was the diversity of the presenters and attendees, who represented all ages and life stages and ranged from emerging nano names to the biggest personal brands in social media. We thought we’d introduce to you three of these influential professionals and their unique POVs.
What would Sarah Jessica Parker do?
Meet Pamela Pekerman. Pamela hosts the Hustle Like a Mom interview series and is a “Mom Lifestyle Expert, TV host, and editorial content creator focusing on time-saving style and beauty tips and empowering lifestyle changes.” Pamela’s fans and followers enjoy her product recommendations and tips across a variety of online and broadcast media. While she has a fairly high-profile media presence, she has <200 YouTube subscribers and just under 20K followers on Instagram, putting her somewhere in the nano-to-micro segment of the brand ambassador sisterhood. At BlogHer, Pamela asked panelist Sarah Jessica Parker for her thoughts on “second acts” for content creators moving, say, from parenting to grandparenting. Ms. Parker’s response was pitch perfect for this empowered audience, emphasizing that women needn’t buy into the whole idea of second acts at all.
Partnering up without selling out
Meet Spicy Mayo. Yaminah Mayo started her Spicy Mayo blog in 2015 as a place to offload rants and “daily musings, outings, and infatuations.” She has about 23K followers on Instagram and a loyal blog readership. At BlogHer, Yaminah really stood up for authenticity in the profession. She has worked with both editorial and commercial brands but always seeks relationships that stay true to her voice. “I don’t participate when it’s a space that’s not meant for me,” she noted. And she pays attention to her co-influencers (yes, she used the word) to avoid being part of artificially homogenous partner networks.
Know your value — then sell it!
Meet Amanda Rettke. Creator of I Am Baker, cookbook author, and ambassador to the foodie community, Amanda was part of a Facebook panel at BlogHer focused on opportunities for monetizing video on Facebook. She boasts 18M Facebook fans and 300K Instagram followers. According to her blog site: “Collaboration is my favorite flavor of inspiration. Through strategic brand partnerships, I not only have the opportunity to raise awareness about your brand or product, but I also give you access to this community of mine that’s gaga for food — over 18 million members strong!”
With talented creators like these women everywhere you looked, BlogHer was a great place to connect with ideas and advice from across the partnership spectrum.
Learn more about joining the Impact Partner Marketplace or about partnering with tomorrow’s social stars by reaching out to an Impact growth technologist at sales@impact.com.
