Ever feel like a small fish in the biggest pond ever? With social media and influencer marketing, there are so many people trying to connect with the same people that your voice might get lost in the mix. Luckily, a solution has been created. Enter: Like Minded Collective. Gone are the days when you’d slide in an influencer’s DM’s to just be left on read. Inbal Claudio, military wife, mom, small business owner, and now founder of Like Minded Collective, created a platform for individuals to connect in one easy, direct place.
Inbal felt the weight of how important this tool could be when she experienced how powerful influencer marketing is for herself. In April 2020, as the height of quarantine was starting to hit everyone, @WeWoreWhat, an Instagram influencer with over two million followers, shared that she wanted to help small businesses. Inbal reached out and was able to break through the sea of voices. She sent product from her candle business to @WeWoreWhat who later posted about the business and Inbal’s personal story. Inbal immediately received messages, hundreds of new followers, candle orders, and was asked to be a guest on a podcast. The response and loyal customers Inbal received from just one post by an influencer was the proof she needed that Like Minded Collective was a tool that would be game changing for small business owners.
Like Minded Collective is a networking marketplace where influencers, brands, and small businesses can connect. Cutting out the hours of research to connect you with the people you need, their mission is to help you build and monetize your small business.
Inbal first came up with this idea in November 2019, when she couldn’t find an influencer marketing platform that would be beneficial for her as a small business owner. Now, about 16 months later, she has launched a platform that is specifically geared toward those who have businesses or budgets that may be too small for larger influencer networks.
The simplicity of the tool is something that Inbal prides herself on creating. Her goal was to build an interactive tool that is both straightforward and user-friendly.
The platform is composed of three sections – the feed, the search function, and the message board. A user signs in and creates a profile. From there, they can search for anyone they want (influencer, brand or small business) based on a few criteria (followers, location, industry, keywords, and for influencers, how much they charge for posts, stories, blogs). When they find someone that they want to connect with, either to start a collaboration with, do a giveaway with, get advice from, etc., they can message them directly on the site. There’s also a feed page where users can post anything they’d like. They can post a collaboration they had with another user or post that they’re looking for something or someone specific (like a photographer, or a photoshoot location, a branding agency, PR agency) and everyone in their contact list will be able to see it and respond or share.
Influencer marketing can seem big and intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. Inbal suggests communicating with everyone you can, building your contact list and making as many connections with people who can help you monetize your business as possible.
Keep an eye on the launch by following Like Minded Collective: @like.minded.connected
