How Brands, Agencies, Networks & Influencers Can Support Black Influencers 

Recently hashtags like Amplify Melanted Voices and Amplify Black Voices were trending.  Since we’re all talking about (finally) I’ll get right to the point. Simply put, when it comes to activating even a general market influencer campaign, it should never mean “white only” influencers are hired. Best practice in influencer marketing means including black & brown influencers each and every time.

Was there ever a reason to only include white influencers? Is there any product, brand, or service that serves only white audiences?  Why reserve hiring black or latino influencers just for multicultural campaigns?

Before I really get into it. Let me share some background. As some of you reading this may know, in 2009, I co-founded and created Blogalicious Conferences. Our tagline was “celebrating diversity in the blogosphere.” Through conferences, events, and influencer campaigns, our entire purpose was to uplift and support black and brown influencers.  We announced the conference in March of 2009 and planned it for that upcoming October. In less than seven months, the conference sold out and global brands across every major industry “showed up” as sponsors. It was clear by the response from our community, and the sponsors, that the need and desire to connect with black and brown voices was there.

A few years later, when I launched The Network Niche in 2012 (back then the Niche Mommy Community & Conferences), my mission in uplifting voices of diverse influencers continued. The Network Niche community grew quickly, our conferences sold out, and sponsors once again, showed up.

Despite the success and support for both communities, the initiatives did not always agree with everyone. When The Network Niche and  Blogalicious launched, there was some backlash and “boycotting.”  Later, when calls for influencers to participate in paid campaigns highlighted the need for only African American influencers or Latino influencers, the backlash continued. I was even called a racist more than once, and was told a number of times “this community is not for me” followed by “you lost an email subscriber” notification in my inbox.

I remember writing blog posts defending the “why” behind the community for both Blogalicious and The Network Niche. Explaining the importance of “recognizing diversity in the blogosphere,” of amplifying black and brown voices.  Likewise, I spoke on panels and town halls at national conferences like Blogging While Brown and Hispanicize to discuss “the need” and “the how” for diversifying influencer campaigns and communities. I was always honored to be among other community leaders and organizers who shared in this mission and whom I had great respect for.

I mention all that not to brag, but to emphasize that diversity and inclusion in this space is the core goal of this community. It did not take global protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement to support this mission. While some networks have recently issued “moving forward statements” that their influencer selection process will “moving forward” include black and brown influencers every time, that has always been at the core of this community.  Therefore, our current protocols on the influencer selection process for this community will not change.

Amplifying Black and Melanated voices has, and always will be, our policy. It has always been my belief that our biggest strength of this community is how diverse our community is. We have done great work for years with brands like McDonald’s through their Black and Positively Golden community (previously 365 Black), with The Home Depot Retool Your School program that supports Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with HBO, Martell Cognac, 100 Black Men of America, African Pride, Hairfinity, and countless more brands.

Working with clients to execute multicultural, African-American, Latino, and general market campaigns with a total market approach is what we do best. Because a total market approach means putting forth a well-rounded list of influencers always includes black and brown influencers.

Eleven years ago, when the Blogalicious community began, we were at the core of opening doors for black influencers. Now, with the support of this entire industry, we all have the ability to continue to uplift and open even more doors to make substantive and continued change with a does of real impact.

So, after the black squares of “Blackout Tuesday” drop below our social feeds thanks to the ever-changing content algorithms, and after #AmplifyMelenatedVoices is no longer a top trending hashtag, let’s keep the momentum going. Here is what supporting black bloggers and influencers really means:

Seven Things Brands, Agencies, and Influencers Can Do to Support Black Influencers

1. No more campaigns where not one black or brown influencer is selected. Instead, include black bloggers in all your campaigns. Responses like”we have a separate multicultural budget/account/team for that” is not acceptable. If you see this happening, ask questions and provide feedback.
2. No more “we couldn’t find black influencers in this niche/with enough reach“ for this campaign. Instead, do the research. Between a Google search, countless Top Black Bloggers posts, communities like The Network Niche and others, and multiple influencer tools available to search and book influencers from backgrounds and across all niches, there is no excuse for not having one black influencer in your campaign. None.
3. No more blogger conferences or events with all white panels.  Instead, recognize that diversity of thought, experiences, and backgrounds enriches and adds great value to conversations and conferences.
4. No more excluding Black Latinos in Latino campaigns.  Instead, recognize that afro-Latinos are both black and Latino.  
5. No more, “Why can’t white bloggers apply too?” Instead, “I look forward to supporting this campaign and my colleagues when this campaign goes live.”
6. No more, “limited budgets” and paying black influencers less for campaigns. Instead, equal pay for equal work.
7. No more inauthentic, tone-deaf  “multicultural campaigns” led by all white teams.  Instead, include diversity at all levels of your organization and ensure at the very least that account teams charged with culturally relevant campaigns actually includes members of the racial and ethnic groups you are marketing too.

Questions about how your agency, team, or brand can diversify your next campaign?  Contact Nadia(at)TheNetworkNiche.com.