Hashtag Influencer

Three inspiring women—Jen Eddins, Jennifer Fisher, and Lauren Chambers—shared their fitness journeys, providing insights into how they turned their passion for health and wellness into successful blogs. The conversation delved into their backgrounds, the evolution of blogging, and the intersection of fitness and motherhood.

Meet the powerhouse behind Art of Sucre, Emily Harpel. Emily started Art of Sucre in 2016 when she noticed there was a hole in the market for a chic twist on a nostalgic treat. Emily took to TikTok in 2020 growing her following to 1.2M followers, partnering with brands like American Girl, 818 Tequila, and Barbie, while growing her team from a one woman show to 20 employees.

Claudia Vine is the Sr. Influencer Relations Manager at Moose Toys located in El Segundo, CA. She came to Moose as a seasoned vet in the Influencer Marketing industry with over 10 years of multi-marketing experience under her belt ranging from Customer Experience Marketing, Community Management, Social Media Marketing and Influencer Relations. Her experience also spans multiple industries including Fashion, Beauty & Skincare, School Supplies and now Toy industry partnering with hundreds of influential creators and celebrities. Outside of work, Claudia is a loving mom of 2 children who enjoys traveling, enjoying outdoor activities with her family and trying the newest hot spots in the foodie scene.

Babbleboxx CEO Sherri Langburt is joined by 3 Influencers who are new mothers. Hayley Free Bordes (@LittleMeAndFree) Tilden Brighton Wilt (@ToBeBright) and Claudia Caminero (UpToClaudia) as they share their experiences balancing work and life.

Casey Barks is the Corporate Director of Marketing at Staypineapple Hotels, based out of the company's corporate HQ office located in Bellevue, WA. The product of a journalist mother, he is no stranger to storytelling and the power of the written word. Casey's college years were spent taking communications and marketing courses by day while serving tables in fine dining restaurants by night, all in hopes of one day combining these two passions into a career. 15 years, six cities (San Francisco to Seattle to Austin to Vancouver to Salem to Bellevue) and various in-house and agency roles later, Casey is now the Corporate Director of Marketing at Staypineapple Hotels, where he has the opportunity to share Staypineapple's fun and playful brand with the world. Casey's love of hospitality combined with his deep connection to the communications industry continue to drive his need to find new and exciting ways to share experiences through visual and written storytelling.

Arielle Madilian is a brand marketing manager with extensive experience in the CPG & Fine Jewelry industries. She believes in leading with authenticity first and creating mindful & purposeful content. Outside of work, you can find her visiting the local farmers market, finding hidden gems around the city, and exploring everything Northern California has to offer.

Jolie Jankowitz is an influencer marketing consultant for DTC companies and has worked with performance-driven brands across wellness, food, and beauty. Her clients have included Athletic Greens, Fly By Jing, OSEA, Bulletproof, Poppi, Liquid I.V., Harper Wilde, Cometeer, and more. Prior to consulting, she spent 8 years building and leading FabFitFun's ROI-driven influencer marketing program. Jolie is originally from Boston and received a bachelor’s degree in Entertainment Marketing from Emerson College. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Andrew Ciccolini is a Medical Director at the National Mill Dog Rescue, a large non-profit located in Peyton Colorado, and the Director of Non-Profit Initiatives at Galaxy Vets. His background includes serving in the U.S. Army, where he worked his way up from Associate Veterinarian to VP of Operations. In addition to his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, he has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership. Donate or volunteer at https://galaxyvets.foundation/ Help the Ukrainian Armed Forces: https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi Andrew's social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ac-dvm/ Instagram: @okay_vet https://www.facebook.com/DrAndrewDVM The Foundation's social media: Here you can find some of our recent news: https://galaxyvets.foundation/news/. But we publish more on our social media: https://www.linkedin.com/company/galaxyvetsfoundation/ https://www.instagram.com/galaxyvetsfoundation/ https://www.facebook.com/galaxyvetsfoundation

Joe Miragliotta is the founder of the men's lifestyle and travel blog, JoesDaily.com. He recently moved from Los Angeles to the midwest with his wife (Sarah) and dog (Holly), where they reside just outside of St. Louis. Outside of writing, Joe enjoys creating content for his social media and YouTube channels."

Deepa Prasad is the Director of Brand & Content Marketing at Feeding America, the largest-hunger relief organization in the United States, whose mission is to advance change in America by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for people who struggle to put food on the table. Prior to Feeding America, Deepa has worked at many national advertising agencies on food brands such as Kool Aid, Capri Sun, Velveeta Cheese & McDonalds. In her role at Feeding America she works with partners to create and distribute public service announcements to generate awareness for the issue of hunger. Many people are not aware of the scale of hunger in this country and that it affects people in every county in every state. It can be difficult to create a sense of empathy with the issue overall as there is still stigma around hunger in America. Deepa brings her experience in advertising and brand building to bring awareness of food insecurity and for people to take action.

Kristen Thomas is a former Foster Youth and Foster/Adoptive mom. Currently residing in Raleigh North Carolina, working towards her License in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is working as the Social Media Manager for One Simple Wish, whom has many programs to support those affected by foster care and also part-time for a program called Hope and Vine that employs and mentors young women who have aged out of foster care. Kristen really loves adventuring with her teen adoptive daughter Elise, always being outside, and snuggling with her sweet mini Labradoodle, Honor. Recent media appearances include being a guest on several foster care-related podcasts like "Fearless Fostering" and "A Longer Table" and having her story featured on a PBS Special with Lidia Bastianich. Kristen appreciates opportunities to advocate for foster youth in and out of the system, along with the amazing programs that are making real differences for those affected by foster care. Dylan Katz is a volunteer for One Simple Wish

Bari Baron is a Sales Specialist at Multipet International, Inc, a company that designs and supplies unique pet products throughout the world. Being part of a family run business means the creativity and innovation of pet toys has always been in her DNA. She focuses her sales on dog toys, cat toys, and reptile accessories to major retailers. While working primarily on sales, Bari has also made it her goal to support Multipet in its social media presence. Additionally, she has prioritized the company’s environmental sustainability goals by helping to further promote eco-friendly practices.

Stephanie Harris is the owner & CEO of PartnerCentric, the largest woman-owned performance marketing agency in the US. A veteran of the space, Stephanie got her start as an award-winning affiliate program manager, personally managing at one time some of the largest programs in the PartnerCentric portfolio today. Her tenure in the industry, and philosophy that in order to lead you have to know how to do every role, has given her a comprehensive view of the industry as well as the ability to propel it forward with vision, innovation and drive. She has been named a PerformanceIN Top 50 Industry Player three times and has held multiple speaking and moderating engagements at industry conferences such as Affiliate Summit (East and West), CardCon and Capital One's Women in Business Panel. Her writing has been featured in FeedFront magazine, PerformanceIN and numerous other publications, and you may hear her speak on trends in leadership, culture-building, and the future of affiliate marketing through social networks such as Forbes Agency Council and LinkedIn. Stephanie Harris lives in New York with her husband and four children.

Michael “Mike” Arons started working at Carriage House Imports, Ltd. straight out of college in the fall of 2006 (University of Indiana, Kelley School of Business). He began as a Marketing Assistant learning all aspects about sales, marketing and the regulatory complexities associated with the alcohol industry where he then progressed to become a Marketing Manager and now I'm the Director of Marketing for the company. Mike works directly with Carriage House Imports’ regional sales team to develop and implement marketing strategies that benefit both B2B and B2C objectives. Carriage House imports, markets and sells products from Europe, including their flagship brands of Verdi & Sparkletini and Figenza Mediterranean Fig Vodka. Mike was a part of the original team (2010) that helped conceptually develop and market Figenza which has now become the Fig Vodka market leader in the U.S. distributed in 24 states, with double digit growth year-over-year.

Hashtag Influencer is back! Brought to you by BabbleBoxx. CEO, Founder and host, Sherri Langburt, connects with brands, experts and content creators alike to discuss hot topics, advertising and industry trends, best practices, and more.

Meg Harrell is an entrepreneur, influencer and creator of megforit.com. She is a mother of two and runs her MEGFORIT digital brand from home in Central Florida. In addition, Meg provide tips to the medical community through TikTok from her experience as a Registered Nurse (RN). Meg loves to practice minimalism in every way, including travel, fashion, home design, and parenting. Her blog and social media presence inspires mothers to pursue their dreams and find joy in simplifying life. She will encourage you to take your ordinary life and make it extraordinary! Where you're based out of and what got you started in the influencer marketing space? So right now I am in central Florida. We just moved here a couple of months ago. Awesome. Yeah, I'm loving it. Where did you move from? Well, we were living in a tiny house RV, so we were kind of moving around constantly before COVID and everything. But we had like a little main base in North Carolina. So we would always like go back to North Carolina. What inspired you to start out as an influencer? What are your two channels? I would say it all started in 2015. It was just a really, really rough year for me and my therapist suggested I start a journal or a blog just cause I express myself so much better writing. And so I did, and I wrote about everything I was passionate about and what stage of life I was in all of that. I literally just dumped it and That was the Meg for it brand. I don't know where that name came from. It just like came to me one day. I thought it was funny and kind of cheeky. And that was the first blog that I started, the first brand that I started. And then I just started to learn SEO and best practices in the industry and started following other big bloggers and saw what they were doing. And it, it grew and exploded. And then about two years ago is when I really did start the nurse Meg. Brand. I just wanted to reach more nurses. I was working as a night nurse for the last 13 years. Oh my God. We just wanted to reach more nurses. I had so much knowledge and so many successful little resources that I saw my little baby nurses use and I just wanted to reach more people. So I just decided to copy paste, start a blog and do all the same things that I did with the first brand. And now I'm here doing two different brands. So I have so many questions. I don't even know where to start. Let's start with the fact that you actually started with a blog because so many people now don't. Do you think having blog content has helped you? It is a lot more to maintain, but it is yours and. In a second, an entire platform can disappear. Like we saw, I think it was in 2018 where Facebook and Instagram were down for a whole 12 hours platforms will come and go. But your blog is your blog. And I think even if you just want to be an Instagram influencer, I really think you need to own a space and have a blog and maintain it. If you really want to be a true influencer and transition from a hobby to a business. So how did you kind of start learning about SEO and all this stuff? I'm a big believer in YouTube university. There's some, I mean, I even learned how to drive, stick shift on YouTube. Like there's so many free resources and if you want to support, you know, a creator and buy their course and, you know, kind of get their story along with it. That's super valuable, but if you're just starting out and you don't have a budget to like invest in, in big courses, watch as much YouTube as you can, like replace any like entertainment, Netflix, Hulu, whatever, with learning on YouTube. It's so, so great. There's so many great resources of people that are ready to share their knowledge. It's so funny. Cause you forget, like I'll be in the...

Dylan Kim is the Head of Marketing at Brevite, a direct-to-consumer backpack company that makes fun, functional and innovative backpacks designed for everyday life. Dylan co-founded Brevite in 2015 with his brothers Elliot and Brandon after searching for a bag that could support their everyday needs, function as a camera bag for travel, and still look good. Over the last six years, the brothers have bootstrapped Brevite from a prototype they designed in college, to an Instagram famous brand with six products and over 2,000 five-star reviews. Today, Brevite is one of the top camera bags on the market, focused on creating sustainable bags that support their larger mission of giving back to the greater good. What's it like being an entrepreneur these past six years? I think a lot has changed, right? Like the, world moves very quickly now and I think because we've been around for so long kind of identifying those changes you know, even some of these platforms, like Tik Tok and we're seeing a lot of success there. Tik Tok wasn't even a part of the conversation 18 months ago, I don't even think I really, necessarily knew what it was. I kind of seen some white advertising. So the fact that it's, you know a bigger part of our mix today is, is really interesting. So I, I would say that's the biggest thing I've noticed over the past six years is that there's just, you know, the plans change the emphasis just where people spend their time. All of that has just shifted so dramatically. What channels are you focused on? Whether its Intagram or Tok Tok, and are you on Amazon or no because you're direct to consumer? So we are actually available on Amazon, but that's part of this. There’s just like meeting the consumer where they are something that we really, really focus on is is really kind of cultivating a community. So that's, you know, Instagram has been amazing for that and just cultivating a community of, you know, very avid, you know, photographers, filmmakers, and just really passionate people, I would say. And really just having like a place for them to kind of showcase that and then of course, you know, like our email lists, our SMS lists. Once people are kind of like in our community, making sure that we're really communicating with them and making them feel included as well. Tell us a little bit more about the product line. What inspired you to launch it? What's unique about it and tell us more about how you got started in this space. So the, the very startup-y story was about six years ago, I was traveling abroad. I was looking for an affordable bag that could hold my camera and other things that looked nice. And so taking those kinds of. Three simple aspects, you know, affordable you know, could fit things besides your camera and then it looks nice and I couldn't find anything. So my older brother was trying to get into design school at the time, and he's also a phenomenal problem solver. So I went to him and I was like, Brandon, can you help me find this bag? He couldn't find it anything either. And he was like, why don't we just, you know, why don't we just make one? And so like that day, or very soon after we went to a thrift store, got a sewing machine, went to Joann's fabric and we're off to the races. So he actually taught himself how to sew, made a bag. And then we kind of just were off to the races from there launched a Kickstarter that became organically kind of fully funded. And then before we knew it, we were shipping out 300 bags all over the world and then it just kind of never stopped. And so even today we no longer sell that bag, but kind of the the core of what we do on the product front is very much the same. So designing these kinds of, you know, fun, functional bags, they can hold your camera, they can hold other things. And they come in a bunch of different colors. So really kind of never losing those core tenants, even though the product has...

On this episode of #Influencer, Sherry is joined by the dynamic, senior brand marketing leader in the healthcare industry and one of our brand partners, Dave Goodman, who’s known for his work with Bayer Consumer Care managing brands such as Aleve, Alka-Seltzer, Miralax and Bayer Aspirin. Currently, Dave is managing Kerasal’s brand portfolio on behalf of Advantice Health. Kerasal is an emerging, fast-growing foot care brand that has a variety of solutions to hydrate, repair, and protect your feet and help tackle common foot problems like dry and cracked heels, calluses, and nail fungus. Through his vast healthcare experience, Dave’s success stems from his ability to develop high-impact strategies and innovations for brands as well as securing transformative mergers and acquisitions. You have spent your career as a Brand Manager focused on healthcare products. What drew you to this space? Yeah. You know, that’s it, it’s a great question. About 20 years ago, I was at a little bit of a inflection in my career and I had actually popped out of brand management for a couple of years and I was about to get back in and I actually was down in Atlanta and I had a unique opportunity where I was choosing between two different roles. One was in the healthcare space with Novartis consumer care, and the other one was for a company down in Atlanta that makes some really sweet bubbling drinks. And I thought to myself, why would I rather work on brands that help people and facilitate healthy lifestyles? Or would I rather not work in perhaps what might seem like a sexier waiting area of carbonated beverages and more recognized brands, but I said, you know what, let me, let me go in the healthcare space because that’s clearly going to be around for a long time and just, you know, not to sound corny or cheesy, but the, the idea of helping people improve their lives was, was it, you know, It’s amazing. You’ve been with Kerasal for close to 3 years. What did the brand look like when you first joined compared to where it is at today? Yes. So it’s a really interesting brand. So carousel is in the foot care space and it, at the time it had two primary areas where it offered consumer products. One was for a post-op ring from nail fungus, and the other one was more for dry cracked feet. And they were nice little businesses, but one of the things that inspired me was the opportunity to try and take them to the next level. And they seemed a little bit under marketed as me. And I felt like if we got more marketing muscle and investment behind them, as well as innovated, I thought we could take it to the next level. And, and now we close to doubled over the past two and a half years. Through increasing our efforts, both in TV and traditional marketing vehicles like TV, but then also working with, with folks like yourself, the digital and social space. And then on top of that, we’ve also launched a really exciting new products that are extending the carousel brand name into other areas of foot care, such as what washes, what soaps. But masks. So really catering to consumers, desire for care. And it’s been really exciting because just over the past year or so, as much as the pandemic has been such a tremendous drain on a lot of businesses and vibes from a category perspective. But care has really and self care has really taken off as people have had more time to engage in, in taking care of themselves, but also because a lot of traditional means salons and pedicures and things like that. Haven’t been quite as, quite as accessible. So it’s been kind of an interesting intersection of. Of opportunity and growth to make the brain into an even higher level. So you’re saying that a lot of this growth in the past year at least is just because people are at home because they’re not going to the nail salon. So they’re doing all their, as you...

JJ Yosh is a multifaceted entrepeneur who is not only an influencer and content creator, but a TV-host, adventure filmmaker, producer, and owner of Higher Earth Media, an entertainment and film production company based out of Boulder, Colorado which strives to educate, empower, and inspire people around the world to help build a more sustainable path for our current and future generations.