How To Work With Black Influencers

The Influencer Pay Gap between White Influencers and Black Influencers is real.

In 2021 Ariatu PR Founder, Ronke Lawal spoke to Cosmopolitan about the complexities of the relationship between PR agencies and influencers. One of the key issues that the piece identified was the very real influencer pay gap. In 2022, global communications agency MSL UK issued a report on influencer pay, which revealed that there was a 22% pay gap between black and white influencers. The report also highlighted that when it comes to negotiating fees, white influencers are nearly three times more likely to generate a positive outcome than Black influencers. Black influencers deserve to be paid fairly for their content - brands and PR agencies who handle campaigns need to take the issue of the pay gap more seriously.

Aside from the financial aspect there are others issues that need to be addressed when looking at how brands and PR agencies engage with Black Influencers.

So how can Brands and PR agencies work with Black influencers?

Respect: Black influencers deserve respect for the content that they create. Challenge your internal biases with how you perceive Black influencers and ask yourself why you value their content less than the content of others. There has been a lot of speculation recently about the value that Black influencers bring to brands' PR and marketing campaigns. The truth of the matter is that regardless of the size of the following of a Black influencer the metrics used to measure their outcomes should always be fair, balanced and respectful.

Communicate: A lack of communication and misunderstandings can have a negative impact on the relationship dynamics between Black influencers and Brands. Black influencers who are working on building their own personal brand in the digital space are seeing large brands working with their white counterparts within the industry and are not being given the same types of opportunities or a missing out because of a lack of communication or willingness to understand from brands. As a brand or PR agency communicate fairly and respectfully with Black influencers.

Be creative and open-minded: There’s a fixation on the idea that Black influencers audiences are not the target market for a brands positioning however this fixation leads to brands overlooking and excluding a wider and more dynamic range of consumer markets. White audiences in the UK may be the majority but they are not the only market and they are not always the most relevant audience to focus on.

Work with Black consultants and experts: Black PR consultants and Black-owned PR agencies can help brands focus on identifying Black influencers and content creators who are often overlooked and undermined. It is worth investing in the expertise of Black Public Relations specialists who can guide your brand when it comes to working with Black influencers.

Remember that Blackness is not a monolith: Black influencers and Black content creators are vast, they are creative, they are bold, they are dynamic. Don’t assume that there is only one direction in which to work with a Black influencer or a Black content creator. Think outside of the box and be dynamic in your approach - Black influencers and content creators can boost campaigns for books, fashion, food, tech, travel and more in an array of style. Allow Black influencers to be themselves. Trust them to create content that speaks authentically to their unique audiences and your brand will get the best out of them.

How Brands and Influencers Can Work Together on Influencer Campaigns

I have had the good fortune to work with a variety of consumer brands, particularly during their early stages and enjoy working with micro businesses and start ups who are developing their brand offering and aim to scale or at least grow their customer base. One of the key tactics that many consumer brands want to undertake when reaching their consumer base is influencer marketing, something that more and more PR agencies undertake as part of an integrated approach to strategic Public Relations. Brands can work with influencers through sponsored posts, paid content and gifting campaigns but the scope of influencer marketing requires a good understanding of intention, expectation, communication and of course measurement.

Some of key issues that come up time and time again when undertaking influencer marketing are:

• Knowing how much to pay influencers

• Understanding what influencers do and also understanding the perception of influencers

• Managing expectations on both the brand side and influencer side

• Knowing the difference between gifted reviews and paid content and the regulations that surround this

Offering influencers or content creators gifts is a relatively inexpensive way to commence the influencer marketing process with a potentially wide reach. This is not to say that it's cheap or does not come with risks but if a small start up brand sets aside 30 items to send to 30 quality nano or micro influencers it will in the short to medium term be less expensive than perhaps paying 2-3 large influencers for a sponsored ad. This is all relative and depends on a number of factors but hopefully you can understand that this is a base point. One of the key factors is follower size but this should always be taken in consideration alongside engagement (comments and likes) as followers can be purchased (which is unethical).

• Nano-influencers: 2.5k– 10k followers.

• Micro-influencers: 10k – 50k followers.

• Mid-tier influencers: 50,000 – 250k followers.

• Macro-influencers: 250k– 1,000,000 followers.

• Mega-influencers: 1,000,000+ followers.

When working on a gifting campaign, brands have to understand that influencers are under no obligation to post content about the gifts they received but they should ensure that expectations are clear before accepting gifts. I would always ask a content creator or influencer if they are working on any gifted item content or reviews - influencers can exist across multiple platforms; youtube, instagram and their own blogging platforms. Large brands with big budgets can afford to send gifts (without necessarily expecting any kind of content or even a mention on social media) because it builds a relationship with the influencers who they know they'll eventually want to work with on paid campaigns (this is in simple terms). For a large brand which would have a strategy in place for influencer relations, sending gifts without being tied to content requests or reviews is a good way to maintain a relationship and it is also a good way to test the water with new influencers or content creators with whom they are only just establishing a relationship with. 

For the most part small/micro/growing brands with minimal budgets send gifts with the hope that influencers/content creators will share content about the items with their audience. This is because even a small brand is likely to feel the cost of sending an item more than a big brand for obvious reasons (this is not to say that they should not have already factored that cost into their business plans already).

Communication is essential - before sending a gift as part of a gifting campaign always ask if a content creator is working on any gifted content. Sometimes they are happy to review items on their platforms because it means they have more content to work on in their own time, sometimes they do not have capacity or cannot guarantee that they can post anything so brands have to respect the response (assuming they get a response and that the response is a respectful one).

Brands should set out expectations and remember that a gifted review is EDITORIAL not ADVERTORIAL so there are no guarantees of even positive messaging.  If you want certainty and guaranteed content based on your specific guidelines then look at carving up a budget for paid for content and ask for rates card. Allowing influencers or content creators the space to review items honestly though does allow for more authentic content so that is something to take into consideration.

Also as soon as a brand has any input or control over the content creation process EVEN if the item in the content is a gift/freebie the content will be considered an advert based on ASA regulations. A message to influencers:  if you receive a message from a brand you have a choice so you can determine whether you have capacity to undertake a gifted review (remember this gives you more creative freedom than an #AD). But maintain good relations & communication - there's no need to simply ignore an email or respond rudely to a brand offering to send a gifted item. As long at the brand understands your terms and sets out their expectations then you should be able to communicate effectively as opposed to burning bridges.

Another important thing to take into consideration is what happens when influencers or content creators contact you outside of a set campaign to review a product and receive a freebie. In this instance the expectations of the brand would obviously be that the influencer/content creator would create content in exchange for the gifted item - if however an influencer contacts a brand for items to create content with, receives them in full but doesn't do anything with them tensions can arise (read my piece on why people don't like influencers).

This post is a starting point for both small/micro consumer brands and for influencers. In summary I would say that it is important to think long term and be strategic. Influencer marketing is exciting, effective and creative and it can offer great returns but there has to be clear communication and understanding from all parties to make it work. But when it works, it can work very well.

This piece was originally shared on www.ronkelawal.com

Why We Need To Find a Way to Maintain Creative Communication Channels

I was invited to be a “Guest Agency Doctor” by PRWeek in which I highlighted the importance of maintaining creative communication channels post-pandemic. I wanted to focus on how PR leaders and comms professionals can use this time to reflect on new and dynamic ways of working and thinking.

Employees must be part of the communications flow, too, during this season, especially since more and more are ready to speak openly about their experiences of working in organisations that say one thing and do another.

There is also a risk of relying too heavily on only one way of communicating. We have seen, for example, that Zoom fatigue is real – stakeholders were already getting tired of using videoconferencing. As lockdown eases, though, we need to find a way to maintain creative communication channels without feeling the need to lose lessons we’ve learnt from this era and simply rush back to boardrooms.

Read full piece here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1694973/guest-agency-doctor-lockdown-eases-need-find-maintain-creative-communication-channels#

Diversity in The British PR Industry - Black PR Professionals Share Their Experiences

Along with other Black PR Professionals I was asked to share my thoughts and experiences as a Black PR professional in the UK. I have shared my thoughts in the past on my eponymous website but it was good to share some more thoughts in this PRWeek piece.

I think there's an assumption that I started my business because I was rejected by a big agency. In fact, I started my business because it was a dream of mine to do so – much like many of my white counterparts who start micro agencies/consultancies.

Read more here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1685591/black-lives-matter-diversity-british-pr-collective-call-action#

PR Industry Leaders on Brand Messaging During The 2020 BLM Protests

In the summer of 2020 the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police brutality and persistent institutional workplace racism with the death of Belly Mujinga saw a resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests on a global scale. This resurgence saw brands around the world release statements and post black squares pertaining to how they would do the work to dismantle anti-Black racism. I was asked to share my thoughts on the PRWeek website.

I am mindful of the fact that many of these major corporations have spent years bringing us reports and reviews about their own internal lack of inclusion and diversity and that some do not even pay their Black employees equally to their white counterparts or honour them in the workplace.

So while statements are good, they must prove to us that they mean what they say in all areas as it pertains to Black people, and that includes the people they serve and the people who work for them.

Read the full piece here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1684783/generic-statements-distraction-talk-cheap-%E2%80%93-pr-leaders-brands-supporting-black-protestors#