#GullyChat: Influencer marketing holds the key to brand success in the new normal

While Influencer Marketing has been on the rise in the last few years, the unprecedented global pandemic further widened the scope for Influencer Marketing as behavioural habits changed. Moreover, with the massive transition to digital and online buying in the last one year, consumers are now seeking more information online and there is greater potential of engagement with influencers.

As print and radio saw massive dips during the pandemic and TV already cluttered with brand messaging, social media was one of the biggest channels for brands to communicate on with their consumers. While influencer marketing was already growing significantly because of platforms like Instagram, YouTube and short video platforms like TikTok (before its ban last year), the pandemic saw the entire sector grow as brands became more open to digital, more platforms became available and hence this grew the opportunity for more influencers to come in. While this sector was initially restricted to national and international celebrities, the growth in opportunity also gave rise to local and micro-influencers.

Now, brands have a whole plethora of influencers to make a part of their communication strategy depending on the product and consumer they are looking to communicate with. More options lead to more flexibility for the brand and wider reach.

According to the ‘State of Influencer Marketing 2021 - Benchmark Report’:

• Influencer Marketing Industry is set to grow to approximately $13.8 billion in 2021
• More than 240 new influencer marketing-focused agencies and influencer platforms established in 2019
• The majority (59%) admit to having a standalone budget for content marketing, and 75% of them now intend to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing in 2021.

So, the year gone by has been great for the entire Influencer ecosystem, but what does the road ahead look like? How exactly are brands in India looking at influencer marketing? What are the sentiments of the influencers and the consumers? Will 2021 be the year when the Indian Influencer ecosystem makes strong inroads into global markets?

To tackle these questions and more, Adgully’s premium property – #GullyChat – will turn the spotlight on “How does Influencer Marketing hold the key to a brand’s success in 2021?”

Joining in the discussions were:

Anunay Sood, Co-founder and CEO, Groundwork

Kulpreet Freddy Vesuna, Founder, Impact PR

Neel Gogia, Co-founder, IPLIX Media

Rohit Raj, Partner and Manager, BB Ki Vines

Deepak Salvi, COO, Co-founder, Chingari

The panellists started by providing an overview of the influencer marketing ecosystem through the pandemic and what, according to them, is the road ahead.

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Beginning the round of answers, Kulpreet Freddy Vesuna said, “While traditionally companies/ brands used to hire film celebrities to endorse their brand, now filmstars hire social media influencers to increase their reach.” Furthermore, a tweet from the Impact PR twitter handle read, “The fact that outdoor shoots and production houses are temporarily shut means that brands now have to innovate and create differentiated content to remain connected with consumers.”

Adding to this, Anunay Sood said, “The influencer community in India is quite closely knit. And more so post the pandemic, because that is when we came closer in terms of collaborations on the creative front with each other. The ecosystem has seen a massive shift as brands are coming up with much more novel campaigns. Ideas are breaking traditional barriers in every way. They are open to collaborate on new ideas and concepts. On the economic front, big brands are investing heavily into this market because of the promising returns it offers. Companies across all genres are now entering into influencer marketing; and this is only going to grow further from here.”

According to Neel Gogia, “Influencer business has boomed because of the pandemic. Earlier, a few brands in every category were considering Influencer Marketing, now there are multiple brands doing it. Influencers need to focus on their authenticity now to maintain this trust with their audience.”

Rohit Raj added here, “After a year of the pandemic, the creator ecosystem has taken a long leap. Brands now concentrate more on digital marketing and have kept it at par with the other traditional mediums of marketing. The growth of influencers has been multi-fold in the last one year.”

“The amazing thing about influencer marketing is the creation of great content, earning credibility, and gaining exposure through the influencer’s network,” observed Deepak Salvi.

Is it time to break free from traditional influencer marketing strategies?

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Agreeing with this, Vesuna said, “With digital disruption, traditional influencer marketing needs a relook. Rightly so, as celebrities who were the only bet for a brand to invest in, now with digital there are more options boosting marketing ROI.”

Adding to this, Gogia said that brands need to respect and understand every influencer’s content and style. “If we don’t work on individual personalised strategies for every influencer, brands might have to take a U-turn in their investments since the ROI will be less,” he added.

Talking about innovation in strategies of influencer marketing, Sood said, “It’s really interesting to see how innovative brands are getting with their concepts to break stereotypes and open up new doors.” He further said, “Influencer marketing strategies have become very dynamic over the years. Brands today are constantly evolving their strategies, techniques and concepts to be at the top of their game.”

Salvi felt that it was time to take the digital leap with a route which has tremendous growth potential and is already visible.

Raj noted, “Disruption in the industry occurs quite frequently. It’s been happening for years now. TVF began the game and then Bhuvan Bam came in with a different style, to Yashraj Mukhate, who is making everybody groove. Creators are always finding newer ways to engage with their audience.”

Catch the complete conversation on Twitter and follow @adgully for our weekly #GullyChat, every Friday from 3 pm to 4 pm.