10 UK Based Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Influencers to follow
Influencer marketing has seen continual growth over the years and does not seem to be stopping with an influencer for every product; brands who haven’t already should include influencer marketing in their digital campaigns.
The influencer market is saturated, so standing out from the rest can be tricky. We have collected the top 10 UK-based diverse and inclusive social media influencers within this blog to showcase the talent within ethnic minorities.
Why influencer marketing?
The No1 reason that influencers sell products is their likeability and relatability in comparison to traditional marketing. With their informal friendly approach influencers quickly build a loyal following. A strong relationship between brand and influencer will see them raising brand awareness on their platform to their loyal followers, extending your reach to a new audience.
Typically, people following individuals who are like them and thus influencers have followings of people who identify in some way with them. Because consumers are then seeing an influencer using a product it makes that person want that product too. This works because the individual feels as though this is a reliable source of recommendation and considers that because this person is buying it and they are like me, I should be to – this theory is called social proof.
However, ethnic influencers are often overlooked despite the value they present and connection they have to ethnic audiences. Not only should the industry be equal for those who choose to work in it, but it is important for ethnic minorities to feel represented online. Our research finds that whilst 1 in 6 people in the UK are from an ethnic minority only 1 in 5 brands communicate/target ethnic audiences.
57% of marketers believe that influencer marketing will be integrated into all marketing activities in three years. Now is the time to start building relationships with influencers.
Consumers spend money with brands that mirror their values and create the lifestyle they wish to present to others. So, using diverse and inclusive influencers will expand your reach into ethnic minorities. With a spending power of £300bn, brands should be proactively looking to communicate with ethnic minorities. GottaBe! Ethnic previously discussed the power of ethnic influencers for brands, discover it here.
Top 10 UK based Diversity and Inclusion Influencers
Stephanie Yeboah
Stephanie Yeboah is an award-winning blogger content creator, author, advocate, and journalist. Based in South London Stephanie has been active on social media for 12 years, creating content surrounding plus-size fashion, beauty, travel, and lifestyle for her 232k Instagram followers.
Ajabarber
As a Black American living in the UK, Aja Barber is an activist, body positivity influencer, and author. With 248 thousand followers on Instagram, Barber uses #CollectiveForChange to discuss world topics with her followers. She raises awareness on all topics including racial diversity and inclusion.
Harnaam Kaur
Harnaam Kaur is a positive influencer who has PCOS, she raises awareness of the condition and embraces the effects it has on her body. She is a motivational speaker who stands up for many causes, breaking down barriers especially within the South Asian community.
Chetna Makan
As an author of 5 cookbooks, Chetna Makan has over 190k Instagram followers. She also writes a regular column for Waitrose, is a resident for food52, and has a YouTube channel Food with Chetna where she shares her recipes to her 199k subscribers. Indian-born Chetna reached the semi-finals of the Great British Bake Off in 2014 and has since continued to share her traditional Indian and British recipes with her followers on social media. GottaBe! have previously worked with Chetna for Shan Foods for an ethnic campaign.
Yomi Adegoke
Yomi Adegoke is a journalist/ columnist who writes about race, feminism, popular culture and how they intersect, as well as class and politics. Her work is published in British Vogue, The Guardian, and The i Paper. Yomi Adegoke was mentioned in Forbes30under30 and has co-authored many books including ‘Slay in your lane’. With over 28.4k Instagram followers Adegoke is an excellent role model across communities.
Heyimsakina
The French Moroccan Illustrator lives in London and creates diverse and inclusive prints which represent everyone. Sakina is an equal rights activist and promotes diversity and inclusivity on her social media platforms, she currently has 19.9k followers on Instagram.
Zaraazii
With 179k Instagram flowers Zara is a lifestyle, fashion, and beauty blogger and Mum of twins. She is a Muslim influencer living in London and shares content that is relatable to her followers. Alongside Zara’s Instagram page, she also writes a blog that gives her followers a deeper insight into the topics she discusses. GottaBe! worked with Zara to create posts and reels for Shan Foods.
thebrightblooms
South Asian influencer Atia is based in London and shares design and colour inspiration with her 28.8k Instagram followers. Proving you can still experiment with fashion whilst staying true to religion.
Essex barrister
Alexandra Wilson or the Essex Barrister as she is known on Instagram is an author, barrister, and founder of ‘black women in law’. With over 16k Instagram followers Alexandra is proud to support ethnic groups within Law. Wilson uses her platform to raise funds for the Ocaat (One Case at A Time) Fund, a legal fund that looks to combat racial injustice.
Marvyn New Harrison
Founder of Dope Black Dads and Belovd Agency, Marvyn Harrison works tirelessly to raise awareness of race, identity, and inclusivity. He recently received the BBC Radio 1Xtra Future Figures 2021 award for ‘Making Black History Now’. With a combined reach of over 25k followers across his Instagram platforms, Harrison has a loyal following across ethnic communities.
How to choose the right influencer for your brand?
Whilst it may seem that influencers with a high number of followers would be more desirable for a campaign, it can be the opposite. It has been proven that micro-influencers (those with 10k-100k followers) perform better as their engagement level is higher than that of a macro or mega influencer. When influencers grow in popularity it is easy for them to lose their authenticity as more brands look to work with them and it is the authenticity of the influencer that makes their followers so loyal.
It is important to support ethnic influencers to give them the recognition they deserve because they are effective at reaching ethnic audiences. Send us your favourite diverse and inclusive influencers so we can continue to showcase the talent within the multicultural communities across the UK.
GottaBe! Ethnic can help you to connect with ethnic influencers so you can reach new audiences through influencer marketing. Head over to our sister site to find out more about the power of influencer marketing. Contact us to find out how your brand can best represent a multicultural audience on social media.