And now we are in the middle of a full-blown pandemic, and it’s these people that are quite literally risking their lives to save ours. 

The people who fill these roles are just that – people. They have passions and fears, hardships and dreams beyond the profession they have nobly chosen. While we only have the ability to thank a handful of them by sharing a little bit about them on here, this is meant to thank them all.

Fighting on the Front Lines: Doctors Without Borders and COVID-19

Ever heard of Medecins Sans Frontieres? In the States, they are more commonly referred to as Doctors Without Borders. They are kind of a big deal. 

Founded in 1971 and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, “MSF was created on the belief that all people have the right to medical care regardless of gender, race, religion, creed, or political affiliation, and that the needs of these people outweigh respect for national boundaries,” according to Doctors Without Borders.

What began as a group of 300 volunteer doctors, nurses, and staff, has now become a body of over 30,000 operating in twenty-eight countries worldwide. Since its inception, MSF has treated over one-hundred million patients.

Where there is global catastrophe or the imminent potential for it, you will find MSF setting up shop. In South Sudan, the newest country in the world and also one that has suffered from war and all the atrocities that come with it since its birth, MSF in partnership with South Sudan’s Ministry of Health, is helping educate local populations about COVID-19 and how to fight the deadly disease. 

Let’s dig in and find out some more specifics on these medical heroes. 

ADRIEN MAHAMA

Our hats go off to Adrien Mahama, staff member of MSF, for his efforts to help train local “health care workers in infection prevention and control and triage for patients exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID-19.” The basics are what will ultimately save lives, and that means training folks on things like the correct use of masks, which Mahama demonstrates in the photo above at an IPC training for the hospital staff at Al Sabah in Juba. 

KATHERINE ZIMMERMANN

Further north, in Geneva, Switzerland, MSF nurse Kathrine Zimmermann is helping out in the COVID-19 intensive care unit of the Geneva University Hospital. MSF teams here are providing “logistical and sanitation support to vulnerable communities in the city with the goal of helping 1,300 families.”

Nurses are the glue that keep it all together, and it’s people like Zimmermann who make us feel safe, all while delivering life-saving care. For that and so much more, we thank Zimmermann and all the other nurses saving lives.

HALA HUSSEIN

Due to dense population, inadequate access to basic necessities, and an extreme lack of public resources such as sanitization services, refugee camps are at great risk for becoming hot beds for any communicable diseases like COVID-19.

Doctors Without Borders’ medical staff around the world are doing the best they can to prevent the above from becoming a reality, and one of these unsung heroes is a resident of a refugee camp herself.

Nurse Hala Hussein works and provides care to the Burj al-Barajneh camp where she was born and raised. What once was a Palestinian refugee camp in 1949 is now a densely populated settlement that continues to accommodate a large number of new refugees, most recently those created from the Syrian Civil War.

It is an ideal breeding ground for the coronavirus, which means Hussein has her work cut out for her. The work she spearheads includes training families on social distancing where and whenever possible. She targets those at greatest risk like the elderly and people with chronic illnesses. She has been working for Doctors Without Borders for three years and says, “I am proud to work for my people and to help my own community,” according to Doctors Without Borders.  

Kick-Ass Doctors and Nurses

Dr. JESSICA SHEPHERD

Dr. Jessica Shepherd is an OB-GYN at Baylor University Medical Center in Texas and a mother of two boys. Her dedication to combating systemic racism in the U.S. is primarily for her children, who she knows are at high risk for falling victim to it. Growing up in Canada, Shepherd didn’t recall feeling victimized regularly by racism. But in the U.S., the difference is palpable. 

As she powerfully stated in a recent interview with Care for Caregivers, “What we are seeing now is the generational trauma from the insult and drama of slave labor because it has never been addressed so everything was built around racism — the structures, the rules and even as much as real-estate redlining in many cities — everything moves throughout the rungs of improving others’ livelihoods but not of the Black community.” 

Because she knows how important education is in the fight against racism, she is teaming up with her children’s school community to make sure they are as supported as possible. She also joined colleagues in a White Coats for Black Lives march, and sees all of this as just the beginning of her activism.

DR. JASMINE JOHNSON

White Coats For Black Lives is a medical student-run organization founded in 2014, whose mission is “to dismantle racism in medicine and promote the health, well-being, and self-determination of people of color.”

Johnson joined the group at a march in Durham, NC in June. She marches because the connection of racism and higher rates of hospitalization and death as a result of COVID-19 in the Black community per capita compared to white communities is indisputable. According to stats released by the CDC in June, “non-Hispanic black persons have a rate approximately five times than that of non-Hispanic white persons” for contracting the disease.  

During a recent interview with ABC News, in response to those who are critical of mass protests during the pandemic, Dr. Johnson had this to say, “I would argue that, yeah I’m a doctor, and I encourage you to social distance, and I care about coronavirus, and I know that it’s a real threat, but racism is, to me to my family, the bigger threat right now, and it has been for hundreds of years.”

DR. JASON CAMPBELL

Dr. Jason Campbell, aka TikTok doctor, is focused on capitalizing on the lighter side of things with his TikTok videos that have now gone viral. The thirty one-year-old anesthesiologist resident at Oregon Health and Science University isn’t afraid to speak out about controversial subjects, and while his TikToks can be fun and lighthearted, he’s also using his platform to focus on the things that matter, too. 

According to a recent interview with Good Morning America, he initially joined the social media platform as a way to reach out to youth and to attract them to professions such as medicine, law, and business. The language he speaks to them through his TikTok videos is that of dance, and it’s working.

His goal is to post one video a day. The TikToks, with millions of views, speak for themselves. And, as Dr. Campbell put it himself, “Nothing that we’re doing is to subtract from the severity that is occurring in other cities and states. If anything, what our goal is, what my hope is, is that we bring awareness to healthcare workers as a whole – especially right now – and support what we’re doing to just bring a little bit of sunshine and joy.”

DR. NAHID BHADELIA

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia is basically what we need right now in our lives. According to her Boston University profile, “she is an infectious diseases physician and the medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston University School of Medicine.” She also oversees the biosafety level 4 program at Boston University. 

She’s had experience with the Ebola outbreak in Africa, H1N1, Zika, and of course, COVID. So, basically, if anyone was going to fight COVID, it would be her. And if that’s not enough, she’s also an Associate Professor teaching a course on “human security and emerging infectious diseases.” #Amazing

ALEX FALCO

If Alex Falco had a hashtag, it would be #nevergiveup. We all know nurses are perseverant, but this Nurse Falco is the incarnation of the word itself.

Falco has a beautiful view of becoming a mom at the young age of eighteen. In a 2017 interview with nurse.org, she stated that her son’s birth is what led her down the path to becoming a nurse.

She was always an excellent student, and after completing an internship at a coroner’s office in Nevada, she realized she was fascinated by the human body. She decided to switch gears from criminal justice and pursue nursing. While there, she was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, which she overcame after extensive treatment and surgeries. 

Falco is a survivor and has literally been living her life for others since the very beginning. She deserves all our praise.

JESSICA BARRETT

Jessica Barrett is another type of frontline worker. She cleans hospitals for a living. These folks are oftentimes an afterthought, but truly, all the life-saving procedures and care delivered in hospitals and medical centers would not be possible without their dedication and commitment to what is very difficult and challenging work.

At the medical center where she works, Barrett’s day begins at 7 a.m. with a social distance morning meeting with co-workers to prep for the day. While COVID has not changed much about her day at work, it does mean more rigorous cleaning and disinfecting. 

It is the work of Barrett and her colleagues that helps ensure the coronavirus isn’t spreading from patient to patient or from patient to staff. The role they each play in battling the spread of COVID-19 is invaluable, and just like the doctors and nurses they work with, they too are putting their lives on the line to help care for the people the hospital is treating.

#WeThankYou

The Shelf is declaring the stethoscope as the new cape. So, We Thank You. All of you who ensure we have a place to go when we are sick and someone to talk to when our bodies or minds fail us. Your wisdom and your commitment are irreplaceable. 

The post #WeThankYou – The Shelf’s Roundup Of Medical Pros appeared first on The Shelf Full-Service Influencer Marketing.

These folks range from some of the most iconic names in the biz to micro-influencers that are changing the game, but regardless of their reach, they are making the world better, and we want to celebrate and recognize each and every one of them.

Mr. Ibram X. Kendi

Our first shout out goes to Ibram Kendi, New York Times bestselling author of “How To Be An Antiracist” (and a few others) and the Founding Director of The Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University in Washington, DC. He is a professor of history and international relations, and a contributor at The Atlantic and CBS News. As of July 1, 2020, Kendi will be making the move to Boston University to teach history and settle in as Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. 

He also has 975K Instagram followers and more than 346K on Twitter. That’s major reach, which equals major influence. 

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve noticed that global supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement are pressing for the change Kendi has been advocating and proposing for years, and the momentum is undeniable. Looks like something transformative and good will come out of 2020 after all.

Alicia Garza 

Alicia is the civil rights activist who co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement. Following the Treyvon Martin case, and the not-guilty verdict of the man who killed him, George Zimmerman, Garza took her passion to Twitter, tweeting “I continue to be surprised at how little Black lives matter…Our lives matter,” and coined the now famous hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.  

Garza’s advocacy for social justice began long before 2013, though. In the early 2000s as a student at the University of California, San Diego, she fought for higher pay for the university’s janitors and organized UCSD’s first “Women of Color Conference.” 

Garza is mighty, but she is also humble. She does not credit herself with beginning any modern day movement, but sees the collective fight for equality for POC in America enshrined within the Black Lives Matter movement, as a continuation of the fight for civil rights, which Black people have been waging for centuries. 

She’s been making big moves since college, and we have a feeling she is just getting started.

Jessamyn Stanley 

Jessamyn is a trailblazer for the body positivity movement, and the way she loves her body is helping millions of other women love theirs too. Her approach to high energy vinyasa flow is one that compels her students to ask themselves, “How do I feel?” rather than “How do I look?” She is flipping the Barbie paradigm on its head for her 450K Instagram followers with her gorgeous photos. Her go-to message is simple: It isn’t the size of your clothing that determines the beauty of your body. It is a mindset, a lifestyle. 

Greta Thunberg

There is one photo of Greta Thunberg that comes to mind every time I think of her. She is sitting on the ground, arms hugging her legs to her chest, back propped up against the stone foundation of the Swedish Parliament building, with the now iconic sign next to her which reads Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for climate). Greta started skipping school at age 15 to protest alone outside the building every day. It didn’t stay that way for long, though. This teen has become a global inspiration, and by 2019, she was joined across the planet by millions of other students in an extension of her protest, in their own communities, which became known as Fridays for Future.

These youth are demanding the same thing: swift and sweeping policy reform that will help stop the acceleration of global warming. 

Greta addressed world leaders at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, where her speech in which she asked “How dare you?” to world leaders went viral. They were shamed for not doing more to ensure a healthy and thriving planet for the next generation – Greta’s generation.

If that were not enough, she represents the neuro-diverse community as she herself has Asperger’s. The example she sets establishes with diversity comes strength. To back this up, she has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize not once, but twice, and is the youngest person to ever be named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” Talk about making us millennials feel bad.

Oh, and she has 10.6 million followers on Instagram and 4.4 million on Twitter. 

Payam Zamani 

Payam Zamani is the founder, chairman and CEO of One Planet, a hybrid tech firm that owns and operates a suite of online technology and media businesses. He is an early stage investor in cutting edge technologies and businesses, and also serves as a startup business incubator, according to the company’s website. Super interesting and entrepreneurial, but that’s not even the good stuff. This guy’s a giver. Just ask his 377K followers on Instagram.

In 2019, Zamani presented the idea of wiping clean student meal debt for the entire Oakland Unified School District to One Planet’s executive team, and they were all in. This is only one example of countless charitable gifts that he, his family, and his company have made to better the lives of those in need.

Zamani is an Iranian-American, having come to the states as an Iranian refugee as a teen. He and his older brother came to this country alone and found the drive, passion and resilience to put themselves through college and become stories of success. 

As a refugee fleeing persecution for being Baha’i, a religious minority in Iran, supporting those with similar stories is something he is extremely passionate about. He is a champion of the Tahirih Justice Center, a U.S.-based Baha’i inspired non-profit, which provides legal and social services to immigrant women fleeing domestic violence. Zamani sits on the board and was the recipient of the organization’s 2016 Hope Award for his continuous support and inspiration to TJC’s mission and work.

And as far as being an influencer for good, you can find him actively posting inspirational Baha’i quotes about the oneness of humanity and calling leaders to action whether it be regarding climate change or enforcing preventive protocol to thwart the spread of COVID-19, across his numerous social media platforms.

Jane Fonda

Sometimes a name is enough. And when you drop one like Jane Fonda, people know who you’re talking about, whether she’s on Instagram or not. Just in case you were wondering though, she is. The iconic actress has found her social media soap box: climate change, and guess what folks, people are listening. 

With 1.5 million followers on Instagram and 875K on Twitter, this woman is setting the world on fire with Fire Drill Fridays, an extension of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement. Before COVID hit, you could find her protesting on Capitol Hill the first Friday of every month (the movement is currently operating in a virtual capacity). 

Her activism is focused on getting leaders to implement policy that will help combat climate change. She can be heard on NPR invoking the words of Thunberg, Fonda being one of many the teen has inspired to use their fame for good.

Virgie Tovar

Virgie Tovar’s slogan is “Lose hate, not weight” and as one of the nation’s loudest voices in the body positive movement, people are starting to get her not-so-subliminal message. Virgie’s 68K Instagram followers love her colorful, in your face photos broadcasting the fact that one can look and feel sexy while – wait for it – eating a delicious snack, and other still somewhat social taboo images of a similar nature.

This author slash activist slash podcaster extraordinaire is taking the notion of “big is beautiful” to a whole new level. Her mission is to obliterate fat-shaming and to help women embrace the beauty that is the authentic them, whatever size that may be.   

Brands are starting to catch on. Have you noticed how much more common it has become to see a plus-sized model in an advertising campaign? ‘Cause we have. Whether it’s Dove, Aerie, Banana Republic or smaller mom and pop shops, carrying a multitude of sizes is just plain smart business. Oh, and the fact that the average American woman could snap the typical size storefront mannequin between her fingers just adds fuel to Tovar’s fire. We feel the heat Virgie, and it feels good. 

Dr. Jane Goodall 

Dr. Jane Goodall is another example of a name that says it all. 

But in case you are curious to know more about this epic scientist, conservationist, primatologist, peacemaker, feminist, mentor and animal rights activist, listen up, ’cause her 1 million Instagram followers and 1.4 million Twitter followers already are.

In 1960, at the age of twenty-six, Dr. Goodall ventured into dense forest in Tanzania to immerse herself in the largely unknown world of chimpanzees. What she came to discover over the years has completely transformed the way we view these incredible creatures and the way we see ourselves in relation to them. Her discovery of chimpanzees making and using tools is, to this day, considered one of the greatest scientific observations of the twentieth century.

Dr. Goodall’s dedication to enhancing our ability to relate to another species in a deep and meaningful way has made huge contributions to the many passions in her life. Through her foundation, she has dedicated her life to sharing her knowledge, experience and insight to further the change the earth is in desperate and imminent need of. She and Greta Thunberg need to hang out, seriously.

Manuela Baron

Has anyone ever told you that you could wear a garbage bag and still look beautiful? Well, Manuela Baron actually did, and her 32K Instagram followers ate it up.

Manuela’s specialty is making works of art out of recycled materials. She uses this talent and her creations to mobilize friends and followers to fight climate change in their own sustainable and meaningful ways. One day you’ll find her sharing the best sustainable beauty products and the next you’ll see her at a climate strike in NYC protesting climate change.

She’s an inspiration like all the others on this list, and one to watch.

Are you inspired yet?

You may or may not be able to go above and beyond like the folks on this list, but everyone has the capacity to do something – anything. We can all take a hint from each of these amazing souls and try to make the world a better place, one small step at a time.

The post Champion Influencers We Love Who Are Committed To A Cause appeared first on The Shelf Full-Service Influencer Marketing.

The folks who make up the Armed Forces are as diverse as the US itself. They come from all walks of life, and in every shape and color. The qualities that run pervasively through them are bravery, loyalty, passion, curiosity and courage to name a few.

Here at The Shelf, we have compiled a list of ten of our favorite Service Members and some fun facts for you to dig into.

Dr. Corinne Devin

Dr. Corinne Devin is a US Navy Commander (fun fact-only .29 percent of women make that rank in the Navy), an Orthodontist, Motivational Speaker, and served as the International Ms. until August 2020. Can we say MIC DROP?!

Corinne deployed with the United States Navy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Al Asad in 2009, before going on to attend the Tri-Service Orthodontic Residency Program in San Antonio, TX. Since then, she has been based in Japan and currently resides in Sicily, continuing her service with the Navy as Department Head of Dental Specialties, Chairperson of Orthodontics Department at the U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella.

In her spare time (heavy on the sarcasm here), Corinne has held nine titles ranging from Miss Nevada United States 2007, Ms. United States 2010, Ms. Earth 2018, and is the reigning Ms. International 2020.

She is a passionate motivational speaker, and teaches students virtually about nutrition and dental hygiene. 

LTJG Chelsea Dietlin

We’ve all heard of them, and if we’re lucky, maybe even seen them do one of their bad ass fly byes. Yep, that’s right-the Blue Angels. She’s one of them. Lieutenant Junior Grade Chelsea Dietlin joined the flight demonstration squadron in 2019. 

Her decorations include one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various personal and unit awards.

Chelsea is a native of Rochester Hills, Michigan. In 2012, she graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in science, technology and environmental policy.

In August 2016, Chelsea earned her commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy through Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.

She is an inspiration to every American, but as one of the two female Blue Angels, every time she gets in that plane, she is showing every little girl that the sky is the limit. Yeah, it’s super cliché but we couldn’t resist.

Voices of Service

If you watched season 2019 of America’s Got Talent, then you have heard of them. If you haven’t, then at the very least you need to watch some clips of their awe inspiring performances.

With 25.7k followers on Instagram, plenty of Americans are already big fans of this four member acapela group, and after hearing them sing, you will be too.

The group members are Master Sgt. Caleb Green, Staff Sgt. Ron Henry, Sgt. Maj. Christal Rheams, and Sergeant First Class Jason Hanna. Voices of Service was created by CAMMO, Center for American Military Music Opportunities, a foundation that provides support and opportunities for numerous active and retired military members, kids programs, and provide music therapy services for members and their families suffering with PTSD.

With big voices representing an even bigger mission, Voices of Service represents the immense talent and excellence pervasive in the U.S. military, and they look damn good while doing it.

Sarah Maine

Sarah Maine, known as Curves Queen by her 50.6 k followers on Instagram, is COO of the company Curves n Combat Boots which has a whopping 559 k followers. She and her husband, Elijah, founded the company together.

With a powerful message in its mission statement, the company is proving itself to be one to watch and learn from:

“Women have been held back globally for too long. Every woman should feel empowered to be the best version of themselves. We play our part by helping women feel inspired and beautiful every day.”

 Sarah is currently serving in the US Air Force Reserves as an airman and modeling for the brand with other veteran women.

Bryan Marshall

Combat veteran, Bryan Marshall is founder of Wishes 4 Warriors, a charity with a commitment to providing incredible experiences and resources in order to further achieve their mission to positively impact veteran lives. 

Since its inception in 2014, the charity, through partnership with a few big name brands, has been supporting combat wounded members in a plethora of ways. 

According to the website, through alliance with Under Armour, W4W was able to give the gift of warmth with over 2,000 packages sent to homeless veterans and veterans in need for the holidays. As of 2018, they are also working with Peak ReFuel Meals who gave the gift of 200 ready to eat meals and Deadeye Outfitters who provided over 200 warm socks to veterans in need across the nation. 

With over 51.3 k followers on Instagram, Wishes 4 Warriors, with the guidance of Bryan Marshall, is doing great things in the lives of mighty people-our veterans and service members.  

Mea Williams

US Navy Veteran, Mea Williams, is President and CEO of Grace After Fire. Originally founded it 2002 as The Women’s Heart, the organization experienced a shift in both name and focus.

What began with a focus on helping female veterans access healthcare and navigate the challenges of drug and alcohol abuse, evolved into what it is centered on today: how to help women veterans help themselves.

As stated on their website, this is done “by connecting her with the resources and the tools she needs to be a productive citizen in her community, her work and her home after transitioning from the military.”

Rock on Ms. Williams! We wish you and all those you and Grace After Fire serve, all the success in the  world.

Noah Galloway

Noah Matthew Galloway, with more than 204 k Instagram followers, is an up and coming celeb, and it ain’t hard to see why. Aside from sheer brutish strength, and the moves of an oh so talented dancer-literally, he served in this country’s Army and made the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. 

He is an inspiration to the differently abled community, and the world at large. This soldier is proof in the flesh, that greatness is a mindset more than anything.

Injured during the Iraq War, Noah lost his left arm above the elbow and left leg above the knee. Despite the challenges that came with such a loss, something that would seem insurmountable to most, Galloway didn’t just survive, he is thriving.

Melissa Stockwell

Melissa Stockwell is an American two-time Paralympian and veteran of the US Army. She began her star studded career with competing in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in three swimming events: the 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, and 400m freestyle, and finished sixth, fifth, and fourth in her heats-yeah girl! But that was just Melissa getting started. She returned to race in the 2016 Paralympic Games and won a Bronze medal in the inaugural Paratriathlon event on September 11, 2016. 

As a first lieutenant in the Iraq War, Melissa lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded as she was leading a convoy in Baghdad. She was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. She now works as a prosthetist and notably served on the board of directors of the Wounded Warrior Project from 2005–2014.

Following the Beijing Paralympics, next on Melissa’s list of mountains to climb, was the triathlon. She represented the US in the 2010 ITU Paratriathlon World Championships in Budapest. She emerged victorious, winning the Women’s TRI-2 (above knee amputee) class, then successfully defended her TRI-2 World Champion title in 2011 and 2012. Finally, she won a bronze medal in the PT2 category at the 2016 Paralympics.

With her 14.8 k fans on Instagram, Melissa continues to make a splash-pun intended.

And if you thought that was it, guess again. She is also a Level 1 USAT Triathlon coach and co-founder of Dare2Tri, a Chicago-based triathlon club for differently abled athletes.

Airman 1st Class Tamba Benjamin-Pabie

Airman 1st Class Tamba Benjamin-Pabie, is a proud member of the US Air Force, and a Liberian refugee. 

Tamba was born in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, a small nation in West Africa.

After fleeing the war-torn country to neighboring Sierra Leone, he and his mother found themselves in the midst of yet another civil war. Finally, at age nine, he and his family were reunited with other family members in the US, where they have lived ever since.  

Initially, Tamba had dreams of joining the Army or becoming a Marine, but with the encouragement of his mother ultimately decided to serve with the Air Force.

Service in the Armed Forces runs in the family. Tamba’s older brother did so in the Iraq War.

Having lived through war as a small child did not dissuade Tamba from following his dream to fly for the country he now calls home.

First Lt. Lizamara Bedolla

First Lt. Lizamara Bedolla is a staff nurse with the Surgical Ward of William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss.

Her early childhood was spent living through the terror of the Nicaraguan Civil War. At the age of four she and her family fled to Mexico where they waited the approval of American visas to permit them entry in the US. As time dragged on, the family made the difficult decision to take a terrifying journey to the border through underground sewer systems, in the hopes that their visas would be waiting for them on the other side.

Despite her incredibly young age, the experience was traumatic enough to seer itself into her memory. She clearly recalls helicopters flying overhead and border agents yelling at her and her family as they made their way. Detained upon their arrival, Lizmara and her family were granted their visas less than two weeks later, finally settling in Houston, TX. 

Lizmara wears her 16 year career proudly, which includes deployment with the 10th Combat Support Hospital during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Living in Houston at the ripe old age of six, Lizmara saw an Army recruitment commercial on T.V. and informed her mother that the Army was her future.

 “I felt such a responsibility to the country that had given me, my sisters, and my family so many opportunities to succeed. I had a really strong sense of loyalty and a really deep desire to give back,” she said in an interview for The Army Nurse Corps Association Facebook page.

Lizmara began basic training two weeks after her high school graduation, and spent more than a decade serving as an operating room technician, where she worked with the nurses who helped and inspired her to pursue the career she now calls home.

Her journey was arduous, and the path long, but Lizmara is a true warrior and has slayed every challenge the world has dealt her.

The post Soldiers and Veterans Who Are Making Us Pretty Darned Proud appeared first on The Shelf Full-Service Influencer Marketing.

4 Great Examples of Influencer Campaigns for Brand Lift

Best for achieving the following campaign goals: Product launches / Promoting new brands that no one has ever heard of / Product explainers / Rebranding

We’ve actually written a pretty detailed post on building a brand awareness campaign, so we won’t rehash that here. But, we did find some pretty solid examples of awareness campaigns that successfully use a lot of the strategies outlined in our book, How to Set Goals (Real Ones) for Your Influencer Marketing Campaign.  

SUN PEAKS RESORT

Sun Peaks Resort launched a great Brand Awareness campaign which deployed three primary tactics:

1. It partnered with macro-influencer like Callum Snape because for brand awareness campaigns, the key is to get in front of as many people as possible in a short amount of time, and larger influencers are the good way to do it.  
2. It stuck to Instagram, which is typically less expensive than YouTube (also good for brand awareness) and delivers better visibility and better ROI than blogs
3. Created content that’s scrolling-stopping. Quality is important for making that all-important first impression, and because Sun Peaks Resort partnered with the right influencers, it was able to capitalize on getting really great influencer-generated content that can be reused in other online and offline marketing efforts. Callum’s videos and photos featuring the brand did more than just name drop; they told a story.

And no, your eyes are not deceiving you. One photo got more than 18k likes from his followers. The reach of this one photo, through one influencer (the right influencer of course) is pretty epic.

BLISS

Bliss is currently in the midst of a brand awareness push that’s actually pretty interesting. The skin care line is included among the brands being featured in a month-long beauty/cosmetics sale at CVS stores until the 26th of this month (September).

The post below from micro-influencer @curlycandi, we came across by checking out the tab of posts that tagged Bliss on Instagram. If you notice, these posts are basically haul posts which feature multiple products in each picture, along with the campaign hashtags  #cvsbeauty and #beautyunaltered. The eye treatment is actually a Bliss product.

I know. I know. This pic has product placement written all over it, but curlycandi’s feed is filled with these really tight shots of her face, so this pic actually fits in with her typical post style. Nevertheless, let’s look at another post from that campaign.

Check out this video from nano-influencer @amakeupjunkie_, another haul post from another campaign. The caption lists seven products and three of the seven are Bliss products.

Two things to notice: Bliss isn’t adding this content to their Instagram grid, but instead maintains a colorful, curated page that’s packed with really great pictures of their skincare line. Second, the brand is leveraging small influencers who can reach different segments of their target audience with news about Bliss.

SUBARU

Subaru has a great example of boosting brand lift. The company worked with influencer Devin Graham for their #MeetAnOwner campaign to market the new Impreza vehicle. This has been kind of an ongoing “uncampaign” for Suburu because most of the posts using that hashtag are actually from Suburu’s branded accounts on Instagram, with the exception of a few. Among the few are this video from Devin and his Super Tramp film team catapulting off a slip-and-slide and falling off a 500-foot cliff in rocky, mountainous terrain via parachute.

What the heck does THAT have to do with driving a Subaru, right? Their whole thing is safety – safe travel for college kids, driving in the rain and making it home safely… you’ve seen the commercials.

Well, that’s the beauty of this campaign, actually. Those are commercials. This is one, too, but it doesn’t feel like one. The focus of the video is on Devin’s stunt, and the viewer gets to come along for the ride. In the entirety of the four-minute video, the car shows up for a grand total of 17 seconds to drive Devin, the parachutes, and the Super Tramp team around the tough terrain.

Ah… now we see… Suburus are more than cars that get passed down from dads to daughters. It’s also a car the cool kids are using to get them to and fro when filming kick-butt stunts with their friends. Suburu has sponsored this video from Devin and his thrill-seeking buddies because it allows car shoppers to see another side of Suburu.

Suburu really leaned in on the adventure aspect of their branding, too. If you head over to their feed, you’ll see a nice mix of nano-influencers fueling Suburu’s Instagram strategy.

3 Examples of Influencer Campaigns Designed to Get Conversions and Clicks

Best for achieving the following campaign goals: Clicks / Site traffic / Retargeting / Product sales

So, you know that the most important KPI brands want from their influencer campaigns right now is conversions – traffic, clicks, and sales. You can take a look at our post outlining strategies for building campaigns for conversions instead of just brand lift. For now, let’s take a look at a couple of really great campaigns for conversions.

Really quick, let’s rehash a few of the finer points of building an influencer campaign for conversions:

• Unlike brand awareness pushes where your goal may just be to show up on people radars (and Instagram Reels is great for this right now), the goal with a conversion campaign is to answer enough questions and provide enough value to get a conversion . That means posts that are dedicated solely to your content, your benefits, your brand, your coupon codes.

• This is also where you want to partner with influencers who are also bloggers and avid Pinterest users. Adding blogs, YouTube videos, and pinning to your strategy extends the life of your content and affords content from your campaign the chance to surface in search results (hello, SEO) and produce traffic, leads, and sales for you for years to come.
• Incorporate a retargeting strategy that loops in your site, the sites/blogs of your influencer partners, AND social media platforms.

BLISS

Let’s head back to the fine folks at Bliss to check out a partnership with the one and only beauty influencer extraordinaire, Manny Gutierrez. This ad was actually an in-app promotion that didn’t completely suck (a lot of those ads are THE WORST).

 

 

This in-app ad – not the Instagram content – was my first introduction to Bliss. Just another reason why it’s SO important for brands to repurpose and reuse influencer-generated content.

ABSOLUT X DRIZLY

This one is kinda cool. Absolut partnered with one of the cutest couples on the Gram to remind us all that fun can be had at home. The travel bloggers Dani and Nico (known as @twooutsiders) added a beautiful pic to their already stunning Instagram feed to promote Absolut Vodka.

Here’s the #plottwist though: if you read that caption, you’ll see that the CTA is for grammers to get Absolut from @drizly and take advantage of a $5 discount when they place their first order with Drizly. Who the heck is Drizly, right? Drizly is like the GrubHub of beer, wine, and spirits. You can shop a HUGE selection of alcoholic beverages and have them delivered to your house within an hour of placing your order.

Another thing that’s cool about this one is Drizly’s website is set up to make you want to take action. Look at this page. Don’t you want to put your address in here JUST to find out what happens next?

Clicks, ladies and gentlemen. That’s how you get clicks.

BLACK SWAN JEWELS

One of the go-to ways to get clicks is to give something away where the price of entry is a follow + tagging your friends. Black Swan Jewels partnered with larger influencers like style influencer @krsikapamarija (237k followers) and @yefiimiya (79k followers) to announce this contest with the simple instructions.

Black Swan Jewels does giveaways like this all the time because it’s a great way to get clicks and follows while you’re boosting brand awareness, and they’re easy to get off the ground. Just remember to have your influencer partners use different coupon codes (assign one code per influencer so you can track each influencer’s performance) and pixels.

4 Examples of Campaigns to Generate Content (UGC and IGC)

Best for achieving the following campaign goals: Social media content / Product images / Marketing assets / Creative for paid ads / Storytelling

The content your influencer partners create for you can become some of your most valuable assets. Most influencer campaigns have a primary or secondary objective of generating tons of influencer-generated content because that content can be reused across multiple mediums and along different points in your customer’s path to purchase to drive them to your site.

If your goal is to get tons of content from your influencer campaign, micro-influencers are going to be your jam.

 

GREENVELOPE

Greenvelope provides online invitations and announcements that people love to use for their weddings, parties, and other events. Greenvelope’s feed is filled with great pictures of invitation designs and people using them, and makes you wish you had something to announce.

There are two really smart ways Greenvelope gets content for its social media feed and social media marketing:

Greenvelope partners with influencers like @teachingandlaundry, @twooutsiders, and @freshprinceofbuhlaire to create adorable, targeted posts about simplifying the wedding process, zero-waste nuptials, virtual happy hour, and other events.

And there are also some really cool posts that tagged Greenvelope that you can find under Greenvelope’s tagged posts.

Greenvelope shares the designs created by their independent designers like this design from @staceyday. This gives the social media feed depth, color, and variety.

STARBUCKS

You may remember Starbucks’ well-publicized White Cup Contest. Starbucks asked customers to cover their Starbucks cups with imaginative doodles, and submit a photo of their artwork on social media using #WhiteCupContest. The winning design was featured on a limited edition reusable cup. 

With more than 4000 entries (and nearly 4,000 Instagram posts), Starbucks ended up with tons of user-generated content from its social media followers and Starbucks customers had fun in the process.

Here’s one of the great things about this contest though: It happened six years ago, and it was so epic that social media users are STILL posting their doodled cups – whether from Starbucks or not – using that branded hashtag – even up through this summer.

Previous participants repost their winning designs and lament over the day they won the contest with these thoughtful, “how it all began” posts.

Other coffeehouses pay homage by hosting their own #whitecupchallenge .

AERIE

Aerie often collaborates with micro and nano-influencers to promote their body-positive branding. The company recently did this by requesting customers post untouched photos of themselves wearing Aerie swimsuits.

To get the most out of their marketing campaigns, Aerie often collaborates with influencers for influencer-generated content (IGC). The brand is committed to the body positivity movement and wants women to be comfortable in their skin. So, they don’t airbrush the photos they used in their campaigns. 

To promote this cause, they collaborated with several micro and nano-influencers who posted unedited photos of themselves, and encouraged customers to post untouched photos of themselves wearing Aerie’s swimsuits.

This #antiairbrush campaign got the brand major kudos for being socially progressive, and tons of publicity. I think this campaign is a good example of what can happen with a concept that is UGC- and IGC-friendly.

A few more things to clarify for this type of campaign:

• Get full UGC rights, and then you can go crazy using all the goods across all of your branded web-based platforms.
• Here you will want more quality pics. But don’t worry, with a decent camera app on your phone, you don’t have to be Casey Niestat or anything to get great pics.

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