Gautam Madhavan is the CEO & Founder, Mad Influence, India’s Fastest Growing Influencer Marketing Platform working with over 10000+ Influencers across India. They bring talents, content creators, influencers, and brands together to do awesome things together. His company is platform MCN partners with YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. They have served over 500 influencer marketing campaigns in 2019. They are also the exclusive influencer marketing agency for T-Series and help them promote their movies and songs in the Indian market. Mad Influence has over 400+ exclusive influencers under their entity which are signed with them and they manage them.
The Coronavirus pandemic didn’t spare anyone. It impacted every industry left, right and centre, and amidst this, the businesses started losing a substantial share of its customers, firstly with consecutive lockdowns and then because of poor brand association and recall.
Initially, the customers were conveniently influenced by the likes of celebrities like Shilpa Shetty, Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh, however, during the pandemic, the dynamics shifted, and people were looking for more engaging content, especially on social media platforms. People wanted to interact and start a conversation around topics as simple as ‘how to cook pasta using a microwave’ or ‘how to make the Instagram famous Dalgona Coffee’. What surprised the marketing industry, even more, was that while most of the big players were struggling to keep up their sales, the coronavirus-led pandemic turned out to be a great opportunity for homegrown brands to establish their base amongst their TG with the help of the influencer community.
Did the shift in Consumer Behaviour encourage Influencer Marketing?
Yes, as consumer behaviour is the base of any marketing strategy, let alone influencer marketing. The driving force, needs and desires of the consumers, paved the way for fruitful collaborations between brands and creators (influencers), aiding mutual growth, both monetarily and establishing authenticity.
Moreover, 78% of marketing leaders (including CMOs) from across various sectors, FMCG, Fashion, Media and Entertainment, BFSI or Pharmaceuticals, leveraged influencer marketing in the year 2020, proving how important it was and still is to capture the market share using the right mix of marketing strategy to reach out to its potential audience through every media especially when the consumers’ were spending more and more time indoors engaging with digital channels rather than offline or traditional methods of communication. Furthermore, some studies also suggested that around 15% of the brands invested in influencer marketing for the first time ever to not lose in any opportunity.
How has influencer marketing affected business’ growth?
There was a time when influencer marketing was deemed dead, but the pandemic has changed the course of the whole marketing landscape, drawing a lot of attention to influencers and their content. The growing influencer marketing phenomenon has given a considerable push to influencers (also known as content creators) from various genres, segments to create content that makes them stand out as experts in their field. And, it goes beyond influencers with a million followers, especially for Tier 2, 3 cities, where micro-influencers are helping customers make a choice – influencing them with their most genuine point-of-view about any product, place, service or even experience. If we look at it from a business POV, influencer marketing has been a blessing in disguise, especially with micro-influencers promoting homegrown businesses, enhancing their reach, helping establish brand image while improving brand recognition, and enabling word-of-mouth virality.
Over the last year, ever since the pandemic began, people have gone from using social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, for 2 hours every day to 3 hours and 37 minutes on a daily average, as per a Statista study. During the restrained outings to manage the spread of Covid, market researchers found a shift in consumer behaviour.
Now, the consumers wanted more; they wanted to be engaged, looking for reasons to share their side of the story, wanting to have a real connection with the world outside their home or just even participating in brand-related hashtag challenges to feel alive and that everything will be back to normal soon. This gave rise to several brands creating content properties that saw unprecedented reach and engagement, and hence, an increase in sales.
How Influencer Marketing Campaigns Reflect Positively on Influencers and Brand?
2020 has seen some of the best influencer marketing campaigns in the history of marketing. Even though the lines are blurring, brands have dug deep to connect with the right influencers to strike a balance and draw more attention to their offerings. While some influencers took the challenge head-on, some dived deep into the creative jungle and created some of the most engaging pieces of all time.
How did it positively reflect on the brand? While most brands make selective decisions regarding who/which influencer they want to associate with, it has now come down to the influencers to accept or decline any project based on their own perception of the brand or what they want to show their followers. How does it help? Today, the influencers are respected and appreciated for their most truthful POVs, and to further continue leveraging it – the content creators have to be honest with what they promote and not just share something to earn mutual respect.
Summing It Up
As far as we can see, influencer marketing will qualify to be one of the most essential marketing tools for its several benefits; the need for better reach and engagement during the covid times. It has encouraged several brands to take up influencer marketing, encouraging them to collaborate with at least 10 content creators on an average over a year. The influencer and brand partnership has worked well so far, and it is anticipated that influencer marketing will continue to peak in the coming times to engage, re-engage and drive brand sales.