The Social Impact Heroes of Social Media: “Collaboration over competition.” with Shelby Vert and Candice Georgiadis
For the past year I’ve been inspired by the phrase “collaboration over competition.” This has helped me when asking for advice, giving advice to influencers who are just starting out, and being as selfless as possible.
As a part of my series about social media stars who are using their platform to make a significant social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shelby Vert, a lifestyle blogger based out of Las Vegas, NV. She covers everything from food to affordable fashion and has a passion for providing recommendations to women and men every day.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I started working in Public Relations and Social Media 2 years ago. We ran a few influencer campaigns with one of our food industry clients and I found a lot of interest in what the influencers were doing as I explored their social media platforms. I thought to myself, “this sounds like something I could really enjoy doing too.” A few days later I found myself on Pinterest researching tips on how to become an influencer. Shortly after learning a few tips and tricks, I applied to a few campaigns and built my collaboration portfolio by posting items for free, and items I already loved.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?
As a blogger and influencer everything to me is interesting. Every day is different and I receive the craziest collaboration requests via email and Direct Message on Instagram. One that comes to mind was from a well known athleticwear company. Here is a line from the email.. “ We would love to start by building a relationship. However, this will be unpaid and I will not be able to provide any product.” I was very confused to say the least.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I truly thought I had to pay a photographer for all of my photos and do this every 2 weeks to grow my audience and make it look appealing to brands. I spent over $800 on 2 photo sessions for 5–6 photos that lasted me 2 weeks of posting. With the help of my amazing boyfriend, I started incorporating photos from my iPhone (free) into my Instagram feed and researched the best way to edit phone photography. I truly would not have grown as much as I have without the help of Kyle constantly being by my side taking my photos (and being involved in the photos sometimes too!)
Ok super. Let’s now jump to the core focus of our interview. Can you describe to our readers how you are using your platform to make a significant social impact?
I’m honest. I set aside time to connect with my followers who have questions and truthfully answer them. I don’t ever want people to be persuaded into purchasing something that I don’t think is a quality product. I will also share anything from fundraisers to blood drives on my platforms to help spread as much awareness as I can.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by this cause?
There is one thing that is close to my heart, but it was a team of us that made it happen.
Layla’s Hero’s Blood Drive is a Nationwide campaign that was started this year honoring a 4-year old girl that I fell in love with. I shared a lot of information and backstory on my Instagram and got tons of responses from people asking how they can help. We (Perspective Marketing and A Touch of Lash) partnered with American Red Cross and filled the blood drive schedule. This moment filled my heart with joy and I knew I was using my platform for the right thing.
Was there a tipping point that made you decide to focus on this particular area? Can you share a story about that?
I noticed influencers sharing countless amounts amounts of products from food to beauty that I knew were not honest reviews. I truly felt bad for their followers, and I knew I wanted to be different. I put myself in the readers shoes.
Can you recommend any good tips for people who want to follow your lead and use their social platform for a social good?
Be authentic and honest, write about things you are passionate about, and share the bad times as much as you share the good times in your life. You will be easier to connect with.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
- You will get negative feedback, it’s how you handle it that defines you.
- You will make a lot of friends.
- You will not make money right away, and when you do it will be a small amount.
- Not everyone will be willing to help you.
- You chose to share your life on social media, not the people close to you.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It’s not my original movement, but I’ve recently heard about a huge update Instagram is going to roll out involving taking away the like counts on photos. I stand behind this 100%. I think it has become a mental health thing now always wondering about how many likes you have and comparing yourself to others.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
For the past year I’ve been inspired by the phrase “collaboration over competition.” This has helped me when asking for advice, giving advice to influencers who are just starting out, and being as selfless as possible.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram @shelbyvert and www.shelbytristin.com
This was very meaningful, thank you so much!
The Social Impact Heroes of Social Media: “Collaboration over competition.” with Shelby Vert and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.