Looking to get inspired for the weekend? Trying to learn more about influencer marketing and content creation? Check out these experts and let us know your thoughts!
#1: Mattie James @themattiejames + https://mattiejames.com/start-here/
Mattie James is a “wife & mom of 3 who happens to be a full-time influencer.” On her Instagram and website, James produces aesthetically-pleasing content including outfit ideas, beauty trends, home decor, Mommy must-haves, and self-care routines. Her mission is, “Influence your home, influence the world.” In addition, James now also advises up-and-coming influencers on how to get paid by brands and establish their own brand on her podcast, The Mattie James Show, as well as in her First Paid Class and Pitch Please Class available on her website. This summer, she will be launching Masterclass by Mattie, “an accessible curriculum for influencers to teach them how to create, post, promote and convert.”
#2: Adrienne Raquel @adrienneraquel + https://www.adrienneraquel.com/
Adrienne Raquel is an “imagemaker and art director.” While based in NYC, she has exhibits featured in Miami at the Bass Museum and in the New Black Vanguard by Aperture. Her art is “inspired by femininity, soulfulness, and color… [and] rooted in nostalgia and fantasy while remaining fresh and contemporary.” Her Instagram is filled with warm, ethereal portraiture that will inspire. She’s worked with Sleek Magazine, Playboy Magazine, and Harper’s Bazaar; what’s more, some of her most prominent clients include; Ebonee Davis, Lizzo, Meg Thee Stallion, and Princess Nokia.
#3: Tania Cascilla @darling_tee + https://www.darlingtee.com/
Tania Cascilla is a fashion and lifestyle blogger who chose to start her platform as a way to
“engage with my fellow fashion enthusiasts as well as inspire others.” She has worked in various branches of the fashion industry and currently specifically works in fashion public relations. Her Instagram’s carefully curated story highlights follow her various experiences and her posts exemplify her fashion-forward lifestyle. Her website includes fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blogs, as well as her own lookbook that includes links to product websites. Cascilla’s true passion, however “lies within uplifting women and building confidence in their styles and choices.” She recently founded The Glow Up with fellow influencer Shannae Ingleton Smith (@torontoshay), which is a community created to “inspire, connect with and educate black women looking to navigate the influencer industry and social media as a whole.”
#4: Whitney Madueke @whitneymadueke + https://whitneymadueke.com/
Whitney Madueke is an influencer, artist (@whitneymillustrations), digital strategy consultant (@whitinfluence), podcaster (@mylifesofarpodcast), YouTuber (Whitney Madueke Home) and fashion designer (@whitneymaduekeshop). The ultimate creator, Madueke does a little bit of everything and has established her own lifestyle brand. Originally from Nigeria, she highlights her culture throughout platforms, specifically her newly launched fashion label, Whitney Madueke Label, by “celebrating Africa through limited pieces made in Africa”. She uses her platform to spread positivity, self-love, and motivation to all of her followers throughout all the ups and downs in her life.
#5: Coco Bassey @cocobassey + https://millennielle.com/
Coco Bassey is a corporate marketing genius and fashion blogger. From Nigeria, she’s now based in NYC and Atlanta but continues to be an avid world explorer. On her Instagram and website, Bassey offers trendy outfit ideas and her own lookbook (that includes links to product websites), as well as beauty, travel, and lifestyle inspiration. She created Millennielle, to show the favorable side of what it means to be a millennial woman. Bassey says the website is designed as, “an Atlanta fashion blog that I created as my visual diary to share my interests and life developments.” Can’t wait to see what’s next for this influencer!
#6: Ayana Gabrielle Lage @ayanagabriellelage + https://ayanalage.com/
Ayana Gabrielle Lage is lifestyle blogger based in Tampa, Florida who’s covered topics from fashion and beauty, to marriage and pregnancy. She also owns her own marketing business: Lage Creative Company. Her Instagram feed is a pink aesthetic dream that she carefully curates as she shares her everyday life on the internet. Recently, Lage’s taken to IGTV to share some of her insights during this tumultuous time via mini-interviews and vlogs. She ranges from topics like “Racism in the Christian Church” to “Micro-Aggressions and How to do Better.”
#7: Influencing in Color @influencingincolor + https://influencingincolor.com/?page_id=48
Influencing in Color (IIC) is a collection of four women—Nikki Gamble (@newtexacali), Meghan Adams (@imgoodlikemeghan), Shay Sweeney (@shaymone), and Brandy Gueary (@authentically.b)—who’ve come together in an effort to “enlighten [their] community and provide a positive influence for people of all colors through advocacy, collaboration, and commitment to diversity & inclusivity.” This badass girl-group’s Instagram feed is filled with images of all four ladies together in color coordinating outfits. Their blog, launched this year, follows the group’s fashion, inspiration, careers, and lifestyle. Their mission—“to inspire, educate, encourage social change, and pursue shared goals through collaborative partnerships”—is not lost in their content. These women are definitely destined for big things!