Social media Influencers are ‘people like us’ who post on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter or Facebook about everything from travel to luxury hotels, from yoga to fitness or fashion to beauty. Top marketers believe consumers are more likely to make a purchase decision based on influencers because of authenticity and affinity.
However, a backlash seems to be brewing against the 20-somethings who make anything from a few thousand rupees to Rs 3 lakh for each brand engagement.
A lot has changed over the years and today brands want to work with only four-five influencers, not 30 like they used to. Also, they make sure you don’t work with multiple competing brands.
It’s just not about the number of followers anymore. They look at the quality of the content, past brand endorsements and so on.
Nowadays, brands and digital marketing executives are distinctly less enthusiastic than they used to be.
Some are even questioning the authenticity, brand loyalty, usefulness of the whole influencer marketing concept.
There are over 1 million social media influencers globally and that number is expected to climb exponentially as the field offers a lucrative career with no barriers to entry.
Everyone with even a reasonable number of followers/audience online considers themselves to be an influencer.
India is one of the biggest markets for social media giants and nowadays scrutiny of social media is increasing, therefore, brands want to make sure they avoid collateral damage.
Apart from shortlisting influencers based on algorithms few brands now meet the influencers personally before signing them up for brand engagement.
However, influencers worry that they are all being unfairly tarred by the same brush. Many believe that working with multiple brands is actually a good way to remain neutral and retain the trust of followers.
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of influencers and hence brands are now more careful and gain complete information before hiring them.
