Entrepreneur Angela Fisher founded Neufluence, a micro-influencer marketplace that facilitates the connection between small-scale social media influencers of diverse backgrounds and the brands eager to sponsor them.
Gen Z is America’s most racially and ethnically diverse generation as almost half of post-millennials, or zoomers, are part of racial or ethnic minorities, according to a 2018 report from Pew Research Center. As America grew more diverse, Fisher took note of changing attitudes.
“The beauty of what’s happening now is that consumers have higher expectations of brands. They want brands to market to them in a way that they understand who they are,” said Fisher on the BIT Tech Talk podcast. “And that became the mission of Neufluence is to really be that bridge between brands and this diverse community of micro-influencers.”
Fisher sports an illustrious résumé in the entertainment industry with over a decade of experience working for media juggernauts including BET, MTV and VH1, among others.
Her entertainment background proved to be a boon when she founded Neufluence and shifted focus from the tight-knit pool of high-profile celebrities to the vast ocean of micro-influencers. Specializing in work with BIPOC and socially diverse micro-influencers, Neufluence provides the tools for brands and influencers to form long-lasting relationships.
One of the problems influencers face is inadequate compensation for their work with brands.
Fifty-five percent of POC influencers are displeased with their compensation, mainly because brands often pay them with free products as a substitute for money—according to data collected by Neufluence and shared in a Facebook post.
“As much as brands need to understand influencers’ value. Influencers need to understand the value that they give to brands, and all of that can be done through data,” said Fisher in an interview with Lafayette Hamilton, president of the Houston chapter of the Blacks In Technology Foundation.
Instagram holds the crown as the most popular platform for influencer marketing with TikTok trailing behind, says Fisher.
Instagram micro-influencers have follower counts of around 10,000 to 50,000, according to Mediakix. Influencers graduate to macro-influencers upon hitting half a million followers and become mega-influencers once surpassing the million-follower benchmark.
