By Neha Gupta, Head-Marketing, Chai Point

The current Indian landscape presents marketers with a unique opportunity. More than 60percent of population is within the age group of 20-35 years with one of the highest growths of digital penetration. With each day the media consumption patterns of the audience are changing, and with that an ever-increasing need of content. India currently has more than 250 million active social media users and estimated to be more than 350 million by 2022. It is currently one of the fastest growing social media markets in the world. An average Indian is now spending more than 1.5 hours every day consuming content on any of the one social media channel.
The potential target audience is now consuming content across verticals and is not only consuming content for entertainment but also using the content as an information tool that is influencing online and offline buying decisions. It’s a phenomenon that is now moving beyond the top eight cities with a huge target population now residing in tier II towns of India.
This changing landscape of content and media presents unique opportunity for brands where personalization is becoming a key. Influencer marketing is now an integral part of any marketing strategy. More than 62 percent marketers in 2017 experimented in one form or another with influencer marketing with varying degree of success and in the first half of 2018 the trend seems to be strengthening with rise in both number of influencers and brand content that they are driving. With Instagram and YouTube, currently are leading the preferred channels for influencer content production and consumption and these two being the social media channel leading the user acquisition, growth trend will continue unabated in the foreseeable future.

Influencer marketing comes with its own set of challenges for the brands, some of the key trends that marketers need to look out for:
1. Quality over Quantity: At the beginning one of the key focus areas for both brands and influencers was the number of followers that translated directly to the reach but as the trend is maturing the focus is now shifting to quality of content creation and the engagement that an influencer has with his/her followers. The number of followers should no longer be the sole criterion for any brand to associate with any influencer. Apart from quality and engagement, the influencer style and tone should be a match with the brand so that the content flows seamlessly. The current problem that many brands are facing is the mismatch in the style of influencer content and the content that brands desire. Careful selection and dialogue with the influencer is now essential when brands are tying up with individuals or through agency so that content created is exciting and natural instead of forced which might face a consumer backlash or worse gets ignored.

2. The Format of Content Creation: This is an age of video consumption, with every social media channel now putting innovation behind easy creation and access to video content. The rise of IGTV and snapchat videos is an indicator of the popularity of the video as a content format; hence one of the key decision areas for any brand is the format of content. The only checkpoint again must be that the content format shouldn’t look forced and should match with the objective.


3. ROI Measurements: The ease of data and measurements is a double-edged sword for any marketer. With the rise of digital and social, data tracking has become simpler but if the objectives of the campaign are ill defined than it just becomes a RoI measurement understanding and fails to take in account other key brand measures. With influencer marketing, the definition of campaign objective is the most important starting step basis which data needs to be looked at to judge the success or failure of any campaign. Quantitive measurements are easier and more intuitive but marketers will need to define qualitative assessment of content and its engagement as the consumer gets flooded with more and more content.
As the consumption of content across key social and digital channels increases so does the reach and the influence of influencers. It’s a trend that is gaining momentum and its imperative for the brands to now use the medium effectively and efficiently. With the changing audience demographics and behavior, the direct connect and authenticity that influencer marketing provides brands is unparallel to any other communication channel. The influencer and brand engagement will have to be mutually beneficial and the content while building on the brand will have to evolve beyond just direct recommendation. The rise of new forms of content such as memes and short form video will pose challenges and opportunities for both brands and Influencers. As the brand budgets continue to increase on the medium, the integration of influencer marketing in the entire media plan to present a consistent imagery and amplify the message will be key for the brands.