Cliquish & ContentSugar20
I truly can’t get enough of businesses, groups, and organizations that aim to empower women to become their best selves. Cliquish, which was created by Taylar Barrington-Booker #blackgirlmagic, who absolutely knocks it out the park with this empowering community of women. This business works to ensure that content creators are afforded the tools to build, grow and profit from their brands. This past weekend, July 24th- July 26th, they hosted a virtual conference and it served me!! Every time I have attended a conference in the past to support my knowledge base on blogging and brand management, it has contributed towards my growth and development. This one was slightly different because it was virtual, but the core values that make conferences memorable and impactful were present. I had the opportunity to network with other bloggers in breakout chatrooms, gained valuable expertise from established influencers/ content creators in the field, and the vibe that you’re partying and celebrating with your girls all weekend long. The energy was always kept high and that’s in large part due to the the awesome host Alle Pierce and the lovely perks of a DJ and well timed sessions.
Another strong positive from this conference was that there was absolutely no space for someone to feel uncomfortable or insecure around other bloggers or someone with more experience. I have recalled that at other conferences, there’s a slight awkwardness that you have to navigate, but this felt completely stress free and fully devoid of all the possible discomfort from meeting new people — and that’s pretty amazing!
Now, what did I learn!
Important Points From Brand Representatives:
If you’re interested in working with a particular brand, you should definitely reach out and pitch! One great place to find the individuals who manage influencer campaigns is on Linkedin. And the way they assess if they feel like you are the right fit is through the following pieces of information: engagement numbers, conversion numbers from previous collaborations/sponsorships, demographic of followers, and whether or not your brand is in alignment with their brand values. Also, they shared that your pitch should have a clear point of view and you should not sound like a generic email that you send to everyone. It was stated that when they review pitches, they are looking for fresh, creative, thoughtful, and authentic voices. Several of the brand representatives also shared that they appreciated when influencers followed up with them because at times they could be bogged under many different email conversations with others. Lastly, it’s critical that influencers meet deadlines, are responsive to emails, and effectively communicate questions and concerns during collaborations/sponsorships. Professionalism is something that they value. Oh, one more tip…sometimes brands need someone to strictly create content and other times they need someone to provide conversion. This one is important because you don’t necessarily need to have both of these skills! And if you do…you got the supper sizzle..lol.
Important Information From Established Bloggers:
If you’re trying to grow, you might want to consider creating content on a new platform. Re-purposing content will allow you to reach a different audience and if followers like your content, they will try to follow you on other platforms. Marche Robinson discussed how she was having fun creating content on @tiktok during the pandemic and she is now getting a substantial amount of followers from @tiktok transitioning to instagram. Another great recommendation is to consider collaborating with other bloggers, so that you can pool resources and reach another audience. Many bloggers were in solidarity that social media platforms are not promised to be here forever. Therefore, it’s important that you are securing emails. Lastly, the keynote speaker, Jade Kendle-Godbolt and other seasoned content creators stressed the importance of authenticity and how much this serves your brand with followers. It was communicated that content creators should aim to go live, post videos on IGTV or teaser videos within Instagram. These efforts will support more connections, relationships, and an improved clarity of your personality and authenticity.
These are only my main take-aways, but you can imagine that there was a lot more information shared. I really enjoyed that the panel sessions were recorded and if you missed a piece, or wanted to watch it again, you could watch it again on your own time. A major plus!! I have definitely experienced information over load at former conferences and feeling like I can’t keep up with all of the water hose of information being given to attendees. If you’re looking for more support and resources, you should definitely check out their site and find them on instagram! I have a whole lot of gratitude for their special invite and allowing me to participate. And I love their tagline, “when being cliquish is good.” Too Cute!
The dress that you see me wearing in the pictures, I wore it on Saturday of the conference, and I got several compliments! You can find more information under the tab, “Shop Kayra’s Looks.”
Hoping you have a great rest of your week and always sending you love and positive energy.
