GroupM Recognises Digital Stars

Influencer marketing is no longer just a buzzword, but a force that is changing the media and marketing landscape. The GroupM INCA-e4m India Influencer Marketing Report 2022 estimates that the Digital influencer marketing industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25% to touch close to Rs 2,800 cr. by 2026.

In a bid to acknowledge and celebrate the growing industry and its influencers who constantly aim to produce high-quality and engaging content, Goat, GroupM’s influencer agency, joined hands with Forbes to curate a list of India’s top 100 Digital stars.

The list, which was created keeping quantitative and qualitative measures in mind, covers impactful influencers across nine categories – comedy, beauty, fashion & lifestyle, business & finance, health & fitness, food, tech, travel & photography, and social work. The list focuses on Digital creators who are primarily active on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, looking at key metrics, such as followers, engagement, views, reach, and impressions across these platforms.

Post the release of the list, some of the winners – Dharna Durga, Nikhil Sharma, Neha Deepak Shah, Reshi Magada, Caslynn Qusay Naha, Shanice Shreshtha, Sanket Mehta, Malhar Kalambe, and Mridul Sharma, sat down together to talk about content creation, various formats that support content, the evolution of the industry, emerging competition, and brand selection, among many other topics.

At the event organised by Goat, the Digital creators who were present there also talked about their journeys and shared bittersweet anecdotes. The conversation saw the participation of RJ Salil, who, while discussing the challenges faced by Digital influencers, pointed out that it is difficult to keep users hooked on content for a long time. He also urged Digital influencers to tell the world more about the difficulties that they face in the process, as many people get drawn to the industry by seeing just the positive side of it.

YouTuber and lifestyle vlogger Nikhil Sharma, who goes by the internet name Mumbiker Nikhil, while discussing the shift from long format to short format, acknowledged the relevance of reels in today’s times and stated that he has learned many things with ease because of reels. Talking about the growing competition in the field, Nikhil added that his competition is with himself.

Similarly, Neha Deepak Shah, who was the first runner-up on Masterchef India Season 4, and now makes content around food, shared that competition is a good thing and it goes on to prove the scope and opportunities in the field.

Not all creators start their journey for money or fame. Stressing on this, Indian environmentalist Malhar Kalambe revealed that he never planned on becoming a Digital creator, but he later realised the significance of the medium. As per him, the spotlight that he received further helped him spread his mission of cleaning beaches.
Across the panel, the Digital influencers highlighted the importance of picking the right brands for endorsements. Finance content creator Caslynn Qusay Naha noted that being authentic to the user base is really important. She added that it is important to hold reservations while picking the brands to endorse.