iLINKR Is An Influencer System App in Its Own Lane

Nia Rice: Black Girl Digital has been breaking the traditional influencer world for some time now, explain who Black Girl Digital INC is?

LaToya Shambo: At the core, we are no longer chasing a dream, we are living in our purpose of brokering brand partnerships for Black female influencers and getting them paid to do what they love!

NR: Opening your expertise to the entire influencer industry and putting it into a website/system has probably opened a lot of doors for opportunity. What kind of partnerships are you looking to cultivate with iLINKR?

LS: We want to lock major brand partnerships with brands such as Loreal, Sephora, Coke, Diageo, and Tourism Boards, just to name a few.

Demo of iLINKR:

NR: What were some difficulties you all came across when creating your platform iLINKR?

LS: The time difference with our tech partner. When we need something updated immediately, that actually means the next business day for them.

NR: With the constant fight with wage discrepancies, what systems have you put in place to assure accurate campaign budgets?

LS: We respect influencer rates! If we present a budget that does not work for a particular influencer, there is no love lost if she pushes back.

We will either go back to request more money from the client or keep her in mind for the next activation that is within her rate. As for agency standards, we no longer take on barter campaigns!

We believe all influencers deserve to get paid for the work that they produce, period.

NR: With the merge of Instagram and Shopify, how does iLINKR plan to stay ahead of the social media changes? And what are you all doing to fuse your expertise with the new merger?

LS: There is something new added in the tech world every day! So we are constantly working with our tech partner to enhance the platform and add any necessary features that may benefit both the influencer and/or brand.

One of the great features of the platform is that we have a portal specifically for talent agents to manage all of their influencers. What we've heard in the marketplace is that it can be challenging for agents to manage all their influencers in one platform under their account.

Most platforms require them to have an account for each talent.

NR: What steps is iLINKR taking to create long term relationships with brands and influencers? Explain why both brands benefit.

LS: iLINKR establishes trust and convenience. Brands and Agencies want to execute brand partnerships at scale in the most efficient way possible. It is also equally important that they have access to influencer analytics and have a sense of bot traffic – iLINKR solves that.

From an influencer perspective, within the App they are able to manage all of their campaigns in one place as well as receive push notifications when an opportunity is available.

NR: What can we expect from Black Girl Digital and iLINKR in 2021?

LS: Larger brand partnerships with more Black Female Influencers! Currently, with the launch of Clubhouse, we have been able to reach a mass amount of nano and micro-influencers through conversation and education of the influencer marketing space as well as info on the app.

This has also brought more visibility to brands that are on Clubhouse. Right now, we are seeking influencers with a min of 2,500 followers, across multiple verticals, and an average engagement rate of 2%. We then vet every influencer before accepting them.