By Je’Don Holloway-Talley
For The Birmingham Times
For Emma “Funmi” Ford, being an influencer is a superpower. It means having the capacity to affect the character, development, and behavior of someone or something—and she takes her ability to penetrate the hearts and minds of Black women seriously. With everyone she encounters, her aim is to build, motivate and encourage them to dream big, work hard and achieve their goals, no matter how old they are.
“Especially with Black women,” Ford said. “I want to influence [them] to start businesses and get into this influencer and content creation economy because there are so few of us doing it at the level that we should be doing it.”
Asked why she thinks there are so few Black women succeeding in the influencer industry at her level, she said, “It’s partly because of bias and a fear to try something different. As Black influencers, we get paid less for the same campaigns and we get overlooked. … The consensus among a lot of brands is that we don’t appeal or sell as well as our counterparts. This is erroneous.”
According to Nielsen, a global measurement and data analytics company that provides a view available of consumers and markets worldwide, African Americans have $1.2 trillion in annual spending power and account for 85 percent of the total spent on beauty and hair care industry products and services.
“We need representation,” Ford said. “We need more Black women to get on these platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, and learn how to monetize their influence.”
The Brook Highland resident has more than 109K followers on Instagram, 240K on TikTok, and her clients have included Target, Pampers, Johnson’s Baby, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Sam’s Club, Kleenex, Dollar General, Whataburger, Dove, Proctor and Gamble [owns brands such as Tylenol, Downey, Tide, and more] Zales, Osh Kosh, Affirm [which is a buy now pay later platform], and Pantene.
Becoming A Business
The Nigerian native by way of Montgomery, Ala., Ford, 38, is the creator and founder of FunmiFord LLC. Once a full-time fashion and lifestyle blogger, she now considers herself a full-time content creator, utilizing platforms such as TikTok and Instagram for short-form content, and YouTube for long-form content. She still has a digital home space that she used to refer to as her ‘blog’, but now considers it an online archival space.
Her former blog turned archive can be found at funmiford.com. It’s a platform she established in 2016 under the moniker “Oluwafunmifly,” paying homage to her name and Nigerian roots. She is known around town as Emma or Funmi, names that originate from her full birth name, Emmanuella Oluwafunmilayo.
“I still have a lot of resources on there for content creators, that’s why it’s still up. I refer a lot of people to old articles I’ve written about monetization, pitching brands, and how to charge as a creator,” Ford said.
“But, blogging is picking back up I’m excited about it because the overconsumption of video can be a lot, and a lot of people are seeking written content to sort through the noise of visual stimulation… I miss the days when Instagram was quiet and full of still images,” Ford laughed. “Even though short-form video is not going anywhere, I have nostalgia for old Instagram where you could consume visual stories without the noise.”
She changed her business name to FUNMIFORD LLC in 2019. “I began it as a hobby and a way to self-express and show off my style, but after my son was born, I knew I wanted it to become a business.”
Although the social media maven had paid sponsorships, brand ambassadorships, and had been creating content for major companies, she formed a limited liability company (LLC) in 2019 and started operating as a business and platform for creating “great content for my followers,” she said.
Ford said she loves creating content for brands: “I believe people follow me because of my creativity, authenticity, and my bold fashion. I make an effort to interact with everyone, whether it’s via comments or messages. … I also believe in selling not just products but also a lifestyle. I encourage my followers to better themselves, think positive, and go after their goals.”
She has worked with major and smaller brands, and hustles equally for all of them.
“For me, the biggest compliment is to have a brand want to work with me again after our contract is over,” she said.
Although Ford has clearly discovered a formula that leverages consistent growth, she doesn’t consider herself an expert yet.
“I call myself a student, and I will forever be a student because I have so much more to learn,” she said. “I haven’t put in enough years yet.”
Several Hats
Asked what constitutes a social media maven, she said, “For me, being a maven or expert is someone who has years in the game but is still willing to share their expertise and be kind to everyone they meet, no matter if they are just starting out or have more than 100K followers. There are so many people I consider social media mavens, and most of them are not considered major bloggers. I hope one day to become one, but I try to pass on the little I do know.”
Ford wears several hats. She is the wife of Birmingham attorney Sam K. Ford, a mother of two—7-year-old Sammy and 4-year-old Solomon—and she includes her family in her social media identity.
“Fashion, faith and family all intermix to make me one-of-a-kind,” she said. “I’ve included my son Sammy in several concepts; he was the star of the Johnson’s Baby campaign I did. My husband was the focus of the imagery I created for a campaign I did with MVMT Watches.”
Ford even chartered a private jet to shoot her 2019 pregnancy announcement concept, which featured her husband.
Still, she faces challenges balancing the demands of the industry, which include constantly creating content [and] having to please so many brands as well as her audience.
“It can become overwhelming,” she said. “Plus, learning to not compare my journey to anyone else’s and being content with the niche I’ve carved out for myself is a battle I fight daily.”
Asked how difficult it was to grow her following, Ford said, “Harder than getting my toddler to take a nap!”
“Some bloggers talk about the good ol’ days when growing [your following] was easy, but I came into it after all the algorithm changes and before Instagram became more of a pay-to-play platform. It was a long road growing and learning the nuances of the business and platforms.”
Making a Difference
It took Ford years to realize that people could get paid from creating content.
“A lot of bloggers in this business are very close-lipped when it comes to how to get contracts, how to pitch, and how to monetize your platform,” she said. “That makes it hard for those starting out to [learn how to] turn their passion into a paycheck.”
A conversation with a friend helped Ford realize that there was money to be made in the field.
“After talking to her, I went online and researched away,” Ford said. “I took the advice she gave me and figured out how to make it work for my audience and me. After a couple of months, I started to see the work pay off.”
Part of what she learned led to an investment in a camera and learning to edit. “[Then] contracts began to come in,” she said.
Asked how she’s used her platform to make a difference, Ford said, “I’ve had the opportunity to work with various businesses in the city, including the Junior League of Birmingham. … I love their passion for the city and raising money for those in need. Being able to say I’ve been a part of an organization whose sole purpose is to give back to the city brings me such fulfillment.
Ford adds a note of encouragement for aspiring influencers– “Lately, there has been a lot of chatter that influencing is dead but I want to encourage you if this is your passion to go for it. Influencer marketing is not dead, it is changing, and we all learn to adapt to those changes. Create great content that inspires, educates, and motivates your audience, and don’t ever stop. You will do great things,” Ford said.
Instagram: @funmiford; TikTok: @funmiford; YouTube: @FunmiFord; Website: FunmiFord.com.
