The shifting influencer landscape: Why influencers are rebranding & selling themselves

Authored by Sana Afreen, CCO & Asociate Director - Program Management, Rizzle.

Ed-tech and e-learning businesses are well known. But many new entrants have joined these multinational corporations during the past few years. The most notable illustration is Physics Wallah, which has generated buzz with its distinctive and focused products and educational opportunities. The former are well-known brands that have been showcasing their products on the Indian market for more than ten years and have since grown to become really multinational. The latter, however, is a relatively new platform founded on the brand recognition of well-known people and content providers who have become entrepreneurs.

This has been replicated in other industries. A new generation of micro enterprises, founded by content creators, have displaced traditional sources of financial and investing information, such as investment advisors and finance TV stations. A generation of recent graduates and working professionals now turn to social media gurus as their go-to investing counselors. This problem also affects industries like fashion and beauty. Influencers who have spent years developing a loyal fan base and establishing their subject matter expertise have started to use their online power to launch their enterprises in every industry.

The changing influencer landscape

The Indian influencer economy has been growing over the past 10 years. Brands invested Rs 900 crore in the sector this year as part of their broader marketing initiatives. This amount will increase to Rs 2,200 crore by the middle of the decade. These numbers demonstrate the level of power that influencers now possess. They are the megastars of our time, the contemporary equivalent of the endorsements from famous people that were so influential just 20 years ago. There is still a long runway ahead for this sector because India is still working to close the digital gap and put sizable portions of its population online and into social media for the first time. Why then do so many reputable and prosperous influencers choose to focus on building their own brands rather than their main source of revenue?

Introducing a global phenomena to India

In more advanced influencer economies, the shift from influencer to entrepreneur and brand unto themselves has already taken place. It offers us a peek of the potential future of India's creative economy. The country’s shifting macroeconomic climate has assisted their development as Indian influences start to imitate this approach. Thanks to a digital-first drive that has improved bandwidth availability, affordable cell phones, and mobile data that's among the cheapest in the world, more individuals in the nation now have access to cheap dependable data. The majority of this increase has come from tier-3, tier-4, and tier-5 cities, where a huge young user base is accessing the internet and quickly becoming tech-savvy.

The overall economy will ultimately profit from all of these improvements. An entirely new ecosystem of brands, production and media companies, and consulting firms has been developed as a result of a new generation of micro-entrepreneurs using social media to create new employment and enterprises. The ultimate result is a stronger national economy that genuinely capitalises on the mantra of ‘Make in India’, with more revenues and opportunities, more employment prospects, and so forth.

Marketing
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment