There was a time when my style inspo came solely from TV shows or even popular magazines. Now I simply click on an influencer's profile, and boom a beauty how-to, the latest fashion trend, and sometimes just pure entertainment. It's no wonder that influencer-marketing has become the successful business that it has. As an entrepreneur, I'm always curious to know more about a brand's process. What works and what doesn't? How am I able to make my passions profitable?
A few months ago at the Aunt Jackie's Grapeseed Collection event, I met beauty influencer Kimberly White. We chatted about the highs and lows of being a creative, and she schooled me on the importance of high quality content and consistency. I knew she'd be the right person to explain more on brand-building and landing paid partnerships.
Check out our conversation below.
Tell me a little bit about your brand.
Courtesy of Kimberly White
I created my brand to inspire women to be comfortable in their own skin, while being their most authentic selves. My purpose is to provide hair and skincare information, while showcasing the latest fashion and beauty trends. There aren't many kinky-haired brown-skinned girls represented in the media, so I love being a positive example for others who look like me.
How did you build your following?
I started to build my following by sharing pictures of my natural hair journey. I cut off my heat damaged ends in 2016 and created a pic stitch of the process to share on my Instagram. From there, I continued to show my various hairstyles, the products I was using, and I also created a YouTube channel to help build my audience.
When sharing my pictures on Instagram, I tagged many natural hair pages with large followings, and would often get reposted, so new people would find and follow me through those pages. I also posted consistently to my Instagram page almost every day. Over this past year, I transitioned into lifestyle blogging, where I continue to share hair content, along with beauty, fashion, and more.
How important is hashtagging?
Courtesy of Kimberly White
Using the right hashtags is extremely important if you are looking to build an engaged audience and grow your following. You need to make sure you're using specific hashtags that your target audience will be searching for.
For instance, if you are an Atlanta-based fashion blogger and use hashtags such as #Style or #Atlanta, your posts are a lot less likely to be noticed since those hashtags are very broad. Using hashtags that aren't specific enough, will make it more difficult to stand out amongst other posts that are using those same hashtags.
Narrowing things down by using #AtlantaStyle or #AtlFashion will increase the chances of your posts being found by your target audience and increase your chances of becoming one of the top posts under that particular hashtag.
Can you tell me about your advice for new influencers?
It's important to not give up too soon, and not be afraid to pivot and try something new if you're not getting your desired results. Building a social media following isn't going to happen overnight and takes patience.
One of the biggest mistakes I see new influencers make is not posting consistently enough. It's going to take more than one or two videos and photos, and there will be a lot of trial and error, but keep going!
Also try to not pay too much attention to what everyone else is doing, and don't be afraid to be yourself! Being different and embracing the qualities that make you unique is what other people, who are similar to you, will resonate with and follow you for. Be yourself!
What was your biggest influencer mistake?
One of my biggest influencer mistakes was not reading a contract thoroughly before signing it. After a few emails back and forth with a brand that wanted to collaborate, we agreed that I would create one YouTube video.
A contract was forwarded over that had "2" beside the requested number of YouTube videos. I signed before I saw that, so I ended up having to record 2 videos for this brand instead of 1. This was one of my first paid collaborations, so I quickly learned to read contracts more than once and make sure all the details reflect what was discussed. It's also better to jump on a call with a brand if you can, as things can easily be misconstrued via email.
What advice do you have for people who are trying to land paid brand partnerships?
Courtesy of Kimberly White
My number one piece of advice is to create high quality content that is worth brands paying for. Also, tag the brands that you are using and wearing in your posts so they will notice you. Brands are watching, and WILL reach out if they love your work and want to partner with you!
If you want to land paid partnerships, be willing to invest your own money first into your equipment, photography, and more. Also do not be afraid to approach companies and pitch yourself for brand work, and do not let hearing the word "no" discourage you.
Keep up with Kimberly White on IG and FB at @officiallyKimwhite and on Twitter at OfficiallyKimw.
Featured image via Kimberly White
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak