‘The influencer marketing economy has grown bigger but so have the number of creators’

Mostly Sane aka Prajakta Kohli was at e4mIDAC and engaged in a fireside chat with Neeta Nair, Associate Editor of IMPACT Magazine. 

Excerpts from the chat:

Did you think influencer marketing would become such a big thing when you?

Not at all. When I started off, it was such a blind decision. But I eventually started enjoying the process. Luckily, in the first few months as a creator, I didn’t even think about where this is going. I still feel that hasn’t changed and I am very happy with what I started. I don’t have any clue where I will be in the next five years.

What were your early challenges?

The biggest challenge was my first content block and I was not expecting that. So that was my first challenge - how to stay consistent, how to keep churning out content. I was doing three videos per week at that time. I thought let the bad content come out and that's when the good ones would come. There is no other way of learning. It was the right passage that a creator goes through.

Would you say that you had the advantage of guaranteed followers?

I don't think it was any easier back then or it is right now. The economy has grown bigger but so have the number of creators. It has become a little more legitimate. If I had started now, I might have had a little idea of what it is going to be like but the creators who are starting today have different challenges where you have to make a mark in a market that is already extremely populated. The challenges have changed.

What is the biggest difference when you create content for engagement with your followers and one which is sponsored by brands?

There is a lot of back and forth between the scripts. I have been very fortunate that in the last eight years, 99% of the brand collaborations have been extremely collaborative. I have had the pleasure of working with the most understanding. 

Tell us about your first brand promotion.

My first-ever brand promotion was a 5-video deal with Yatra.com. There were five sketches that I did for Yatra. I remember till then we were getting inquiries that if you tweet about us or if you post about us, we’ll give you something. And I was excited to get a free bag but my team said - Calm Down! My team sat me down and explained to me that this is extremely valuable because we are all working very hard to build so you cannot just give it away. If it is a conversation, it has to be lucrative on both sides.

Which are the different stakeholders in your content creation journey at that time and how much freedom do you get now that you have made a mark in the industry?

I am spoilt than I was before. I remember those five videos for Yatra, I wrote by myself, shot by myself and I had my editors working with me, I took pride that I did everything by myself. But now when I do it, I sit with a team of writers and brainstorm with. I think I am little spoilt now.

Tell us about the strangest brand request that you have received and how you made that work?

I will now name the brand but I once wrote a script where my father’s character said - Why have you made Palak? And it was a joke on spinach. I got feedback saying - we don’t want to offend Palak. And I was puzzled. I thought they were joking. I removed the joke. I had no clue what to say. 

When did you come to know that people actually buy the brands you promote?

I realised the impact of my social media channels, way before I started doing brand deals frequently. I think that learning about that impact gave me the confidence of having more brand deals. Creators like me pay heed to the relatability of the content suddenly when a brand is involved.

How does this brand ecosystem work for you?

This is what pays my bill. This is what I do every day. I just happen to be at a fortunate place in life where what I do for a living is what I am passionate about. I understand my place of privilege. There is a system in place and they have a very efficient team that is pitching me. I am writing content that I want to sell. I've started a new thing that is when I write a piece of content that I think could be sellable. I would make a list of brands that I think will be a right fit that might just be a natural integration.  

Do you think today there is a lot more pressure on influencers. The CCPA has told that they would impose fines on endorsers that make false claims What are checks and balances you keep in mind?

I was very lucky to start off with people who have been in this digital marketing industry much before I came. They briefed me about things saying that you have to be responsible for every word that comes out of your mouth. 

The government has made it mandatory for influencers to specify ‘sponsored’ whenever they put out branded content. How do you think that is panning out for the influencers?

I think it is better when you put out a sponsored tag and you as a consumer know what you are watching. The consumer has become smart.