After decades-long dominance of film stars and television actors, the Indian entertainment industry seems to be witnessing a seismic shift. In recent years, a new breed of celebrities has gained popularity with their ability to connect with audiences on a personal level. These new set of celebrities content creators with large numbers of followers on social media. Due to this extensive fan following, brands utilise them for promotion from time to time. . The demand for influencers to promote various brands can be understood from a report published by Redseer Consulting. As per the report, influencer marketing is estimated to be worth $2.8 billion -$3.5 billion in 2028. The ecosystem currently has about 3.5-4 million influencers who have more than 10,000 followers on their accounts, the report stated.
The journey
As per FICCI-EY data, social media users grew to 482 million in 2023, the second largest market behind China. Every brand would want to target this audience base. Starting from food vlogging to fashion channels, there are several topics on which creators make videos. Brands, depending on their products or services, engage themselves with the influencers. For example, mobile brands collaborate with technical influencers, whereas online gaming companies tie up with content creators like Carryminaty, and Asish Chanchalani. So, from an ordinary content creator to a brand ambassador, the journey no longer remains a reverie.
Call from silver Screen
With increasing popularity on social media platforms, influencers have been getting chances in Bollywood movies and web series. In the recent past, influencers like Carryminati, Prajakta Koli, Kusha Kapila, and Dolly Singh made their debut in movies and OTT platforms. These projects seem to have added a pinch of variety to their portfolio, providing them with new career opportunities.
In a country obsessed with celebrities, brands have used this new breed of celebrities to promote their products. It is also noticed that brands have paired social media influencers with mainstream celebrities as a part of their marketing strategy. For example, recently Fire-Bolt, an Indian smartwatch brand released an advertisement where MS Dhoni and MC Stan were featured. It is believed to show how brands have evolved with their advertising idea.
Road ahead
While the influencer landscape is all about new opportunities, it also serves challenges. An influencer’s career is believed to be affected by factors like changed algorithms, negative comments among other factors. As per the RedSeer report, the large number of influencers, who have been entering the market makes it difficult to filter the genuine ones out of the mix. Several media experts allege that many influencers inflate the number of views in their videos to gain contracts from brands which creates a challenge in terms of transparency.