Influencers are the new celebrities

Remember the days when all a brand had to do was sign up the biggest name in Bollywood or sport for their brand and put their face on all their communication? Yes, things were easy, and this was not too long ago. While Bollywood and sports figures still have a vast fan following, a new, not-so-mainstream league of personalities are emerging as the new celebrities. These personalities are known to be experts in their field and are popular on social media due to their candour in their daily interactions, which transcends to the brands they choose to engage with as well. As you may have rightly guessed, yes, I’m talking about influencers.

As consumers grow sceptical of ads and brand-led communication, consumers turn to influencers to keep up with the latest happenings across lifestyle, food, tech, travel, fitness and many other genres. A great example of a home-grown celebrity influencer would be MissMalini, who has built her own brand over the last five years. While she started off styling her blog as the desi version of Hollywood celebrity gossip platform PerezHilton.com, she has grown her presence to become the leading voice on Bollywood, lifestyle, celebrities, beauty, fashion and social media. She also works with brands to amplify their offering through her content, the latest example being her association with Amazon Echo.

MissMalini is just one example of a celebrity influencer. Brands are increasingly tapping into the insight that consumers of today trust a reliable voice over a brand. They will always opt for a brand that is recommended through a trusted source over a brand speaking directly to them, either through ads or its own content.

Google recently launched its Pixel 2 phone by bringing on board a variety of influencers across art, travel, fitness, food, photography, among others to experience the superior picture quality that the brand promised. As a result, #ShotOnPixel2 has been one of the most popular hashtags across Instagram in the last few months, thanks to these influencer mentions.

The influencer marketing space is only growing, and this is evident with the sheer numbers offering their services and audiences to brands. As a parting shot, I see 3 key trends evolving globally:

• Increased investment in micro influencers: The specialists are the ones who establish a greater connect and resonance with audiences. Influencers with specific niches and fewer followers with an active and engaged audience will be the ones brands will be willing to spend their money on.
• Facebook algorithm will evangelize those who engage authentically: Facebook’s recent algorithm change favours content from family and friends over publisher posts. Thus, it will prioritize user content so that brands can double down on influencers who cultivate authentic relationships with their followers.
• Proving ROI: While brands struggle to prove ROI derived from influencer marketing efforts, repurposing influencer content, which tends to perform better as compared to brand content, can help boost the ROI brands derive from influencer content investment.

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