According to The State of Influencer Equity report from IZEA, black creators on average make more than white influencers. But find a black creator that thinks that’s accurate and you might be the first. In fact, other studies and surveys show the influencer pay gap through the filter of race is still very far from equitable. 

But the influencer pay gap isn’t as simple as creators should be paid the same fee for the same work. Our world is not that easy.

Yes, all things being equal, equal pay for equal work is right. But no influencer has the same amount of followers, the same level of content creativity, the same audience make up … no two creators or influencers are equal. So fair pay for the same work isn’t easy math.

Still, we have to continue to talk about the issue so we can get closer to fair and equitable pay for all creators, regardless of … but also with respect to … race. 

Latoya Shambo was a media buyer at an agency back in the mid-2010s. She had an idea to create a black blogger network, but at the time when blogs were losing their muster and platforms like Snapchat and Instagram were emerging. 

She founded Black Girl Digital in 2016 and started building a network of influencers of color. It started as black women focused, but expanded to inclusivity involving men, LGBTQ+ creators, Asian influencers and others of color. 

Shambo’s mission is to create opportunities for these creators … I’ll call them minority creators just as a broad label … but to create opportunities for them to monetize their content, build relationships with brands and yes, close that influencer pay gap.

She deals with brands and creators every day. She sees the gap. She fights against brands who don’t pay influencers fairly. And she has some ideas on how we can all work together to rid the industry of this practice. 

Shambo and I caught up recently after a whirlwind media blitz for her. She’s been featured recently on AdWeek, Bloomberg, Marketplace, Jezebel … But she stopped to chat with Winfluence and we’ll be all the better for it today on the show.

This episode of Winfluence is presented by Tagger, a complete influencer marketing software solution. With it, you can find, prioritize, connect and collaborate with, measure and even pay the content creators you use for your influencer programs. Go to jason.online/tagger to get a free demo and see if Tagger is right for you.

Also, LinkedIn has partnered with me to offer you a $100 advertising credit to get your message in front of the right kind of decision makers. Go to LinkedIn.com/winfluence today. 

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