Atul Hegde, a digital marketing pioneer, who ventured into the digital marketing services more than two decades ago, cofounded Rainmaker Ventures, a US$50 million start-up fund that aims to mentor start-ups operating across various industries, including those of the influential type.
As is self-evident, personalities have become their own brands, with an accompanying suite of assistants hoping to make it on their own. For all those in doubt, always remember Kim Kardashian was once an assistant to Paris Hilton in the early oughts. Excerpts from an interview on the future of influencers with the Delhi-based entrepreneur:
As brands and influencers alike seek out long-term partnerships, is it likely that performance- based influencer marketing will increase?
The primary reason for Influencer Marketing for brands should be to leverage the ‘influence’ of the content creator. This is classical ‘word of mouth’ advertising in the era of social media. Brands should therefore focus on getting this right before they move to other sales objectives associated with this. Lots of brands that sell online have a referral code of association with influencers and it works for some of them. If a brand really wants to exploit the power of influence of a creator, the only way forward is a strong idea-based content-led partnership.
Do you think Social Commerce will bring in new sponsorship opportunities?
Yes it will. As platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp add more features that allow consumers to buy without leaving these platforms, it will become more seamless for purchases to be made. As social commerce picks up, it will bring with it a plethora of branding/sponsorship opportunities for all influencers and at the same time drive immense value to the end consumer. This will be the biggest win-win situation for the entire influencer marketing ecosystem.
Audio-based social apps such as Clubhouse and Reels (Instagram’s answer to TikTok) joined the party in 2020. Do you think these new platforms and types of influencer content will pop up more in the future?
We will always have new social media platforms emerging. Clubhouse recently crossed 1M users in India, which is one of their fastest growing regions. Hopefully, TikTok will resolve its issues with the government and make a comeback in India. The exponential growth of these platforms is great news for content creators and brands alike. It will create more unique branding opportunities for both and with that we emerge newer and innovative content formats. We are definitely at the start of a Golden period for content creators.
Social media influencers will now have to add labels for paid content, as per new guidelines. To what extent do you think this will affect the influencer marketing campaigns?
This is a welcome move. It’s a clear recognition of the entire Influencer Marketing ecosystem maturing as a sector. Transparency is extremely critical when brands engage in content partnerships with influencers and this will also give the consumer clarity before a purchase or brand consideration. The guidelines will ensure a lot more legitimacy for campaigns and this in turn will encourage more brands to try out Influencer Marketing. For the creators, it will create a greater trust with their audience, which is the key for their own growth. Overall, this is great news for all and will help in the growth of the entire sector.