India’s creator ecosystem is huge and is on a surge of growth. The YouTube creator ecosystem contributed over Rs 10,000 crore to the Indian GDP in 2021. One of the new age parts of the creator platforms is short video platforms. The latest update in the Ambition box says that the Content Creator’s salary in India ranges between ₹ 1.0 Lakhs to ₹ 8.5 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 3.6 Lakhs. Salary estimates are based on 465 latest salaries received from Content Creators.
Over the past few years, the Indian creator economy has established its presence. The pandemic time was also a flourishing time for creators. Today, brands increasingly place their trust in others in Influencer marketing as opposed to traditional forms of marketing, content creators are now playing an increasingly important role in marketing strategies. This is one of the ways how brands strive to connect with consumers effectively.
The Growth of India’s Creator Economy
The surge in use of social media platforms, mainly short-video apps, and creator management agencies is largely boosting India’s creator economy. It is evident through the relentless growth of the creator economy, which is reflected in the findings of the Redseer report, which states that India’s creator community is expected to reach 580 million by 2025.
The huge expansion of the community is transcending to a growth in economic possibilities as reported in the recent Influencer Marketing report from INCA. India’s influencer market was valued at Rs 1247 crore in 2022, marking a 42% increase over Rs 900 crore in 2021 and is expected to reach INR 2800 crore by 2026. It will be immensely beneficial for brands and creators.
The intrinsic understanding of native culture and context by the creators and incorporating it into their content, have played a key role in driving the class of influencers from India by the varied businesses. These businesses have provided them with opportunities to prune their skills and monetise their content. Consequently, the Indian economy is playing a vital role in the growth of India’s creator economy, not only in terms of numerical figures, but the opportunities it unleashes for brands and creators alike.
An increasing sense of trust in the creator
Today’s consumers prioritise transparency and authenticity above everything and this paves to making content creator’s legitimacy becoming highly important. Because, for consumers it is much easier to perceive them as highly resonating and reliable. The relatable factor again comes to play in a creator’s case as he/she is not a celebrity but a person very much like the consumer who experiences the use of certain products and services and reviews it for you. Lack of the luxury and extreme fame and glamour a celebrity has and a special charm in their content presentation gives them an edge over celebrities.
Two-thirds of India’s digitally active population follows at least one influencer online. This speaks to the veracity of the relationship between an influencer and their followers – a relationship built in trust.
Not just consumers, so do the brands place their trust in creators. We see the shift in preference to influencer marketing over celebrity endorsements. Because brands now leverage the trust that audiences have in creators to market their products or services. Through the influencer marketing approach, brands are now earning access to a wider audience. This becomes particularly important for a country as geographically vast and diverse as India. Regional influencers are now playing a significant role as brands strive to engage with tier 2 cities across the country.
Isn’t it interesting that in just 2022, 54% of influencer marketing campaigns were led by micro and nano influencers while celebrities and mega influencers led only 20%. Hence, regional influencers position themselves as the doorway to the nation’s audience, that is, an audience whose potential is yet to be explored.
Plethora of opportunities
India’s influencer marketing platform is brimming with a wide spectrum of opportunities. Through effortlessly blending content and branding, influencer marketing is surprising stakeholders across the market. Influencers influence one in four consumers who are active in the digital space.Short-form video these days are in high demand and get more audience. Hence, it is poised to play a key role in influencer marketing. This can further enhance the communication between brands, consumers, and creators by utilising technology by introducing shopping formats such as live and social commerce. These formats generate an immersive, interactive, and interesting user experience while influencing purchase decisions and engaging conversations.
Redseer foresighted through careful analysis and estimates that the gross merchandise value of live commerce through short videos will gain $4 billion to $5 billion in India by 2025, while social commerce alone has the potential to reach $60 billion to $70 billion by 2030. At the foundation of these trends stands the creator, creating content that drives the growth of these sectors.
The reach and identity of a content creator has transcended and evolved tremendously over the past few years. They were earlier termed as the ‘passion economy’, however now content creation is becoming a widely tried and viable career option for many. Brands today try to introduce organic ways to engage with audiences in a non-intrusive manner. In this changing space embracing organic communications and direct bond with the consumers, influencer marketing emerges as the most appropriate and benefitting option in a flourishing creator economy.
