MUMBAI: The Internet has become an instrumental tool in today’s world. As the shift becomes more apparent and indispensable, the marketing world has set sails to navigate uncharted waters of the digital world. From large corporations to young startups, all types and sizes of businesses are resorting to influencer marketing.
Influencer Marketing as an industry was already on its way to dominate the world but with the physical restrictions of the pandemic, the industry saw an unprecedented growth.
The pre-pandemic marketing strategies of brands were predictable and traditional. Brands often utilised offline communication tools rather than online tools, but the last two years have transformed the reality we live in today. Social media channels have become prime platforms for marketing and creators. By 2020, the power of influence had shifted to the many creators on various digital platforms.
Sharing his insights, Apoorv Bhatnagar, co-founder of The Plug Media, said, “The pandemic was a game changer for the creator community. The lack of resources resulted in taking an innovative and unfiltered approach towards their content. And the brands adapted to this shift and accounted for it while curating briefs.”
As the doors closed (literally) during the pandemic, there opened a lot of opportunities through which creators thrived. The success of online campaigns have always been measured through a well-balanced mix of marketing strategies. In the post-pandemic era, the marketing mix largely skewed towards digital. Amidst this transition, the biggest challenge for brands has not just been to change their goals, but to change their entire mindset towards how the new-age customer base can be approached through these modern marketing agents.
Reminiscing on the days when opportunities in the Influencer marketing industry were just beginning to be explored, Bhatnagar shared, “Back in my time as a talent manager to musicians, we were always working on innovative ways to integrate branded content into all our assets. There was a pool of opportunities for them, which made me realise the power of having an influence over an audience. This eventually translated into artist management for various categories. Switch to 2022, where musicians are turning into incredible content creators and influencers are trying to bring out their inner artist with the help of social media.”
The digital boom has enabled marketing strategies to turn more effective as creators take centre stage. In the last two years, the creators have garnered high engagement rates and increasing conversion rates for brands through laser-focused targeting on a virtual community built on trust. This accelerated growth has been the result of the shift in the average consumer behaviour. As more and more brands observed and analysed this change, they amped up their collaborations with digital creators.
The digital world is holistically expanding every single day and with it, the consumer experiences are changing too, especially after the pandemic. Consumers are well-informed and take into account reviews that come from a buyers’ perspective. This is essentially the reason the Influencer marketing industry has become so vitally important post 2020. Collaborating in an expansive creative capacity with creators has helped brands in the post-pandemic era to build a highly engaged following online and an unfaltering brand loyalty offline.
Many brand experts shared that there has been a significant increase in sales conversions post these collaborations making them believe that the potential of the industry has only just been scratched and has a long way to go.
Bhatnagar has been a part of the Influencer marketing industry for a long time now. This gives him an unbiased edge and distinct understanding of the inner dynamics of the industry. As he consistently remains an active part of the industry in India, his strategic skills and unwavering vision have made him one of the most prevalent industry experts.
When asked about his opinions on the future of Influencer marketing, he shared, “The change is already in motion. Celebrities are being replaced by digitals faces. Creators are making their Bollywood debut, starting their entrepreneurial journey and becoming brand ambassadors.”