NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SHE Media, formerly SheKnows Media, is a mission-driven digital media company created for and by women with approximately 60 million unique visitors per month (comScore) and 350 million-plus social media fans and followers. Today, the company debuted its new name, SHE Media, along with a bold new logo and expanded company mission statement – underscoring its commitment to validating women’s voices and leadership as a unifying force for good, and to creating a sustainable economic model for women entrepreneurs and small businesses through its SHE Media Partner Network.
In addition, SHE Media revealed results from its new Business of Influence Survey of 300 bloggers and social media influencers – the majority of which are women and are affiliated with the SHE Media Partner Network. When asked about the biggest challenge content creators like themselves face, the most common response was the need for more and greater earning opportunities through brand partnerships.
Nearly 70% of survey respondents rely on SHE Media to grow brand partnerships, which validates an important point of differentiation between the SHE Media Partner Network and other offerings in the marketplace. The SHE Media Partner Network, launched officially at the #BlogHer18 Creators Summit in August, curates and amplifies the best in women’s lifestyle content. The network is the leading source for a rich, thousand-member community of premium content creators. It provides digital content publishers – from individual bloggers to independent publishers and social influencers – with the best and most diverse advertising solutions to build their business. Members can earn through ad media, branded content, live events, and more. SHE Media also invests in building the audiences of all partners while providing the educational tools and the platform to scale their businesses.
“Our community of publishers, bloggers and social influencers celebrates the best of independent content,” said Samantha Skey, CEO, SHE Media. “We support the voices that connect our cultures. Unlike a social platform, we can choose the content we support. We encourage a range of voices and points of view while rejecting divisive content that fosters hate and propels false news.”
Skey continued, “What sets the SHE Media Partner Network apart is our business model, which builds the ongoing creation and propagation of high-quality lifestyle content, with distribution across our own properties, while sharing all of the publisher and audience-building tools we use to build our own brands. We believe in the value of strong, independent content and provide best-in-class monetization opportunities for quality influencers to ensure they continue to grow their businesses. And our advertisers benefit from a range of premium products and services to help them reach women in the most relevant editorial settings.”
Another key aspect of the SHE Media Partner Network is its focus on midsized specialty influencers with highly engaged, loyal audiences. Half of the content creators who took the Business of Influence survey indicated that their total social reach ranges from 10,000 to up to 50,000 followers.
Skey added, “It’s often the midsized, specialty bloggers and social media influencers who provide greater efficiency for advertisers. An endorsement from a large-scale household name influencer is an important part of the mix too, but midsized content creators are likely to have greater depth within the specific vertical or demo a brand is pursuing, as well as higher rates of engagement due to loyal, niche audiences. When implemented at scale, this model delivers strong ROI for brands that view engagement as their core influencer marketing KPI.”
Additional findings from SHE Media’s Business of Influence survey include:
- Two-thirds, or 60%, of influencers have been creating digital content to build an audience and/or brand between one and six years; nearly 27% have been doing so from seven to 10 or more years. This is significant because it shows that just 13% are new to their craft, and the majority are now leaning on the SHE Media Partner Network to help them take their business to the next level in terms of brand collaboration and monetization.
- About 90% of survey respondents indicated their interest in paid sponsorships and branded content opportunities, with 55% participating in these programs regularly; and 84% said they currently run ads on their blog or website, or plan to.
- More than 96% create content on Instagram – the platform du jour for influencers and the most effective for brands with more than 600 million monthly users, according to Adweek.
- Nearly half (48%) create new content one or more times per day, a volume that indicates today’s influencer is truly a media company of one. The top five categories they cover (in order of frequency) include: Health & Wellness, Food, Travel, Parenting & Family, and Beauty & Fashion.
- 94% are always looking for tools and resources to better manage their business, 91% are looking for guidance on how to take their brand to the next level, 66% have established an LLC (or equivalent) for their business, and 47% have a business plan and marketing strategy for growing their brand. 20% even have paid employees.
- Most influencers handle their own social media posts, copy writing/editing, marketing/PR, photography, and finance/accounting. They work with partners on design, website development/coding, video recording/editing, brand partnerships and ad inventory.
- 96% of survey respondents feel it is important to use their influence for social good, and 92% feel it is important to work with brands that support women content creators and entrepreneurs.
New Logo and Expanded Mission Statement
Today, the company announced that its name has evolved from SheKnows Media to SHE Media and unveiled a new logo and an expanded mission statement.
“At SHE Media, we are deeply committed to our mission to invest in the best women’s content. Our belief is that women’s voices hold boundless power to bridge cultural divides and have long-lasting, positive impact,” Skey said. “With the launch of our SHE Media Partner Network in August, we realized that we needed a stronger name and look and feel to represent the bold, unabashed voices within our community. The name SHE Media and our new logo and color scheme accomplish that. And of course, our logo is designed by a woman.”
The rebrand marks another milestone in the company’s evolution. In March 2018, Penske Media Corporation (PMC) announced its acquisition of SHE Media. In July 2018, Skey became the first female CEO in the company’s history.
The SHE Media brand family continues to include: SheKnows.com, its flagship lifestyle site; STYLECASTER, a fashion and beauty site for Millennials; and #BlogHer, which hosts the world’s leading events for female content creators and entrepreneurs.
To learn more about the SHE Media Partner Network or the company’s Business of Influence survey, visit www.shemedia.com.
About SHE Media
SHE Media is a mission-driven digital media company created for and by women with approximately 60 million unique visitors per month (comScore) and 350 million-plus social media fans and followers. Our mission is to validate women’s voices and leadership as a unifying force for global good. The SHE Media Partner Network is the leading source for thousands of content creators, offering a diverse portfolio of monetization opportunities and educational materials to help them turn their passions into profit. SHE Media encompasses a family of leading media properties alongside our flagship sites: SheKnows.com, STYLECASTER, and #BlogHer, which hosts the world’s leading events for female content creators and entrepreneurs. SHE Media is also the creator of innovative platforms that include: The #Femvertising Awards, which honors the best pro-female advertising each year; Hatch, a resource for parents featuring kid-generated content; The Pitch, a live event series for women entrepreneurs; and The Voices of the Year, which celebrates the best in lifestyle content creation and pro-human activism.
Part of Penske Media Corporation (PMC), SHE Media is based in New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Scottsdale, Ariz. Follow SHE Media on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
