I am not an ad page. On my page, my audience is coming to see my work: Ankush Bahuguna
As part of our Influencer Series, Bahuguna shares his journey of becoming one of the most popular and successful names in the field
From being an architecture graduate to a writer at digital magazines, then a content curator, and finally one amongst the most popular and successful influencers in India, Ankush Bahuguna did not enter the profession with a plan. In fact, he feels that the privilege of being recognised as a good influencer came his way because of being at the right place at the right time. Currently, Bahuguna boasts 797K followers on Instagram on his eponymous page and an additional 146K on his makeup-related page called ‘Wing It With Ankush Bahuguna’. His recently started YouTube account has 161 K followers.
Speaking about his journey thus far, Bahuguna shares, “I had started working as a writer with MensXP and gradually started writing and acting in digital skits as well. It was after some time of continuously working on characters and short films & videos that one of my characters called ‘Pankaz’ got viral. The validation I got from there enabled me a lot to follow this path.”
Bahuguna, whose mother is also an actress in Uttarakhandi cinema and has also appeared in a few Hindi movies and web series, admits that he always wanted to be an actor but never said it out loud. And it took him a lot of time to pick up the career as an actor & influencer full-time even after the initial virality he witnessed.
“The internet enables you immediately but it took me some time to embrace the love and popularity I was getting. I officially left my job at MensXP just last year, which is almost three years after getting into the content creation business. I realised while I was always looking out for opportunities outside, it was always within me. Once you figure that you are the opportunity that you are looking for, you get there sooner.”
Bahuguna has since worked with a number of big brands as an influencer including the likes of Netflix, Bombay Sapphire, Nykaa, CRED, Mother Dairy, Pizza Hut, and Maybelline amongst many others. He is also currently a part of the judging panel on Myntra Fashion Superstar Season 3.
Speaking about the kind of brand collaborations he prefers to pick, Bahuguna shares, “First of all, I would like to highlight that it is a privilege to pick the kind of brands we want to work with, which we get after a lot of hard work and getting a certain level of following and popularity. So, to begin with, money obviously is a big motivator for any creator to pick brand deals. And now when I am in a position where I can afford to say no to a brand deal, I keep in mind that the brands I am working with are relevant to my audience as I can’t afford to alienate them. Next, I won’t ever promote anything that doesn’t sit well with my moral compass, for example, cigarettes, etc. Also, the best brand deals that I really enjoy working on are the ones that come organically to me because I have used or talked about those brands in my videos. I am getting a lot of brands approaching me to get featured on Wing It With Ankush just because I used their products in my earlier videos. It can’t get more authentic than that, I feel.”
View this post on Instagram
He concludes that he always works with brands that allow him to create content around their products and not simply put out a photo or scripted advertisement. “I am okay if you want me to feature in an ad and put it on your pages and social media channels. But on my page, my audience is coming to see my work. I am not an ad page. So, I always prefer to create storylines that work well with my audience.”
