Intro: LaToya Shambo is a trailblazer in the influencer marketing industry, focusing on creating equitable opportunities for Black female influencers. Through her agency, Black Girl Digital, she leverages her innovative platform, iLINKR, to broker fair and impactful partnerships between these influencers and multimillion-dollar brands. I’ve personally enjoyed watching LaToya balance motherhood and business, freely sharing the struggles, trials, and triumphs of it all on her social media platforms. Seeing the ups, downs, and celebrations on her timeline is encouraging as she consistently moves the needle, helping Black influencers become recognizable by larger brands that may have previously overlooked their work, especially given her experience doing marketing in a large international company, she has seen first hand what the process of being taken seriously by these brands looks like and has opened the door to others to receive opportunities. Especially as the influence market becomes more competitive, this is important. The right representation makes it possible to get truly equitable deals instead of being undercut by companies that know that the influencers don’t have full, prior knowledge of the value that the attention they garner, whether with a small audience or a large one, actually has to their bottom line as the attention economy shifts from audiences seeing and interacting with traditional advertising to wanting to see and feel real use cases and stories sounding products and services.
About the founder: LaToya Shambo, a mother, polyglot, and seasoned marketing expert with over 17 years of experience, founded Black Girl Digital to address the significant pay disparities Black and Brown influencers face compared to their counterparts. Her background includes roles with prestigious firms and collaborations with industry giants, driving her to champion diversity and equity in digital marketing.
Who are the people: The team at Black Girl Digital comprises diverse marketing professionals and creatives who share LaToya’s vision. They are dedicated to transforming the influencer marketing landscape by ensuring that collaborations are not only profitable but also just and inclusive.
The audience: Black Girl Digital specifically targets Black and Brown female influencers who are often underrepresented and underpaid in the digital marketing space. The agency aims to empower these influencers by enhancing their visibility and ensuring they receive fair compensation for their contributions.
Key Phrases:
- Diversity is A Forever Strategy
- Equity in Pay
- Black Female Empowerment
The differentiator – What are they really selling? Black Girl Digital sells more than marketing services; they sell justice, equity, and opportunity for those who may not be able to leverage it fully but are in the position to. By ensuring fair pay and genuine representation, they not only uplift individual influencers but also set new standards for the industry.
How does it make money? The agency earns revenue through its iLINKR platform by facilitating and managing brand partnerships and campaigns that connect multimillion-dollar brands with Black female influencers, ensuring these collaborations are both equitable and effective.
Why do I love this brand, and what do I see for it in the future? I admire LaToya Shambo for many reasons and Black Girl Digital’s unwavering commitment to equity and empowerment within the influencer marketing industry. Looking forward, I see the brand expanding its reach globally and advocating for human influencers as the industry begins to shift to AI models within the next few years. In a market like influencer relations, she helps her clients stay competitive not just against others but also shows the value of real people in conjunction with technological advancements while continuing to break barriers and setting a precedent for how marketing should inclusively evolve with cultural and technological realizations. Her goal is to create equitable exchanges, knowing that we are moving into an AI-doll future in the next decade or so. Creating future equity lies in not being afraid of changes but figuring out how to benefit from and utilize them as they come. I think as she grows and expands her reach, she’ll make sure her clients are prepared for the changes in influencer marketing in this regard and learn how to integrate it into their process, adding more value for the companies that they contract with and creating a stable and growing future for her client base. It’s going to be great, and I look forward to continuing to watch her rise.
Check her and Black Girl Digital out here – https://latoyashambo.com/ and https://www.blackgirldigital.com/
