influencer marketing for beginners
INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR BEGINNERS
Influencer marketing is a brand paying a creator to show its product to the creator's own community, because that audience trusts the creator more than an ad. The video is the deliverable. The community is the asset.
history · three pillars · how it works for brands
highlight key
dates big ideas creator brand agency
Creators have communities. Brands have budgets.
1 · HOW CREATORS GOT DISTRIBUTION
platforms arrive
2005
YouTube gives everyone a channel
- 14 Feb 2005 YouTube is founded: anyone can broadcast, no TV licence needed.
- 7 May 2008 YouTube's India site goes live, so Indian creators get a home audience.
- Distribution stops belonging only to TV channels.
the studios
2010–15
Studios prove internet video can be big
- 2010 TVF is founded. 2013 AIB starts its YouTube channel.
- 31 Oct 2014 Permanent Roommates, India's first web series: episode 1 passes 4.5M views.
- Jan 2015 AIB Knockout: 8M+ views in one week before it was taken down.
- 10 Jun 2015 TVF Pitchers: episode 1 passes 7.7M views.
- Teams, writers' rooms, edit suites: internet-first video is serious entertainment.
short video
2014
Musical.ly makes video easy
- Lip-sync and dance clips, made in seconds on a phone.
- The barrier to making video drops: no studio, no script, no editing skills needed.
- 2 Aug 2018 it merges into TikTok.
one person
2015
One person plays every character
- June 2015 Bhuvan Bam starts BB Ki Vines: sketch comedy shot on a phone's front camera.
- He plays Bhuvan, Banchoddas, Sameer Fuddi and Titu Mama himself.
- 2016 WebTVAsia's Most Popular Channel, ahead of AIB and TVF: an individual beat an entity.
the accelerator
5 Sep 2016
Jio makes data almost free
- Free 4G data until March 2017; 100M subscribers in about 170 days.
- Mobile data falls from ₹269/GB (2014) to ₹7.77/GB (2019).
- Jio is an ACCELERATOR, not the starting point: the studios and creators were already there.
the creator wave
2017–19
Solo creators take over
- 2017 Amit Bhadana's “Exam Be Like” breaks out; India's first creator agencies open.
- Sep 2018 Bhuvan Bam becomes the first Indian individual to 10M subscribers.
- Jan 2019 Ashish Chanchlani passes 10M after gaining 7M in 2018.
- 2019 CarryMinati's “Bye PewDiePie”: 22M views in five months.
short-form at scale
2018–20
TikTok becomes India's habit
- Jun 2019 120M monthly users in India; 611M downloads by 2020, about 30% of the world's.
- Lip-sync, dance, mimicry and short comedy: a new generation of creators, many outside the metros.
the record
May 2020
YouTube hits back
- 8 May 2020 CarryMinati's “YouTube vs TikTok: The End” gets 6.7M+ likes, India's most-liked YouTube video at the time, before YouTube removes it.
- 25 May 2020 Amit Bhadana becomes the first Indian to 20M subscribers.
the reset
29 Jun 2020
TikTok goes dark, short-form moves
- India blocks TikTok and 58 other apps: about 200M users need a new home.
- 8 Jul 2020 Reels launches in India, nine days later. 14 Sep 2020 Shorts starts its beta in India.
- Feb 2021 Shorts reaches 3.5B daily views worldwide. May 2021 CarryMinati is the first Indian to 30M.
short-form today
Now
Every format has a door
Lip-sync→Dance→Mimicry→Short comedy→Reactions→Trends- TikTok, Reels and Shorts aren't better or worse. They differ in culture, audience, recommendation system and creator behaviour.
how distribution moved
From channels to communities
Traditional distribution→YouTube distribution→Individual creator→CommunityWHO GOT FAMOUS, AND HOW
Bhuvan Bam
born with Sketch comedy: one man, every character
breakout A parody of a news reporter went viral in 2015
milestone First Indian individual to 10M · Sep 2018
Ashish Chanchlani
born with Relatable vines about family and friends
breakout Gained 7M subscribers in 2018 alone
milestone 10M subscribers · Jan 2019
Amit Bhadana
born with Desi Hindi comedy with rhyming dialogue
breakout “Exam Be Like” (2017); YouTube's 2018 global Top 10
milestone First Indian to 20M · 25 May 2020
CarryMinati
born with Gaming and mimicry, then roasts
breakout “Bye PewDiePie” (2019): 22M views in five months
milestone First Indian to 30M · May 2021
Harsh Beniwal
born with Short skits on middle-class Delhi life
breakout Vines that grew into longer sketches and mini-series
milestone Part of the 2015–2019 solo wave
The race to the next milestone
Each bar is a first: the first Indian creator to reach that subscriber count.
What won attention, era by era
2 · THE THREE PILLARS
Three pillars hold it up
pillar 1 · creator
CREATORCreator = skill + content + distribution + trust + community.
Creators have communities.
Creators have communities.
pillar 2 · agency
AGENCYAgency = sourcing + alignment + execution + professionalism. Connects both sides and runs campaigns at scale.
pillar 3 · brand
BRANDBrand = product + budget + objective. The end of the economy that runs campaigns.
Brands have budgets.
Brands have budgets.
who is a creator?
Someone with a talent or skill who starts sharing it on Instagram or other platforms.Shares a skill→People notice→They relate→They trust→They shareA creator is born.
the campaign matchmaker
The agency matches the right creator to the brand's objective, then handles expectations, negotiation, communication, commercial terms, timelines and problems. Right match, right brief, at scale.
the brand's crush
Brands often skip the spreadsheet. They see someone and say “We want this creator.” A lot of real sourcing starts there.
3 · HOW IT WORKS FOR BRANDS
the commercial layer
Content→Distribution→Attention→CommunityOnce creators had all four, brands naturally became interested.
not just media
The brand isn't only buying media. It gets access to a community already built around a person, reached through creator-led content.
why brands care
- Native storytelling
- Community relevance
- Trust and human recommendation
- Product demonstration
- Cultural relevance
- Distribution inside niche audiences
what brands really pay for
- Creative ability
- Distribution and audience access
- Attention and community
- Trust and authority
- Cultural relevance
How a campaign runs
where the agency sits
Brand: objective, money→Agency: sourcing, alignment, operations, payments→Creator: content, community→Audience
FAQ & QUIZ · 1
Is Jio where India's creator economy started?
tap to flip ↻answer
No. Jio (5 Sep 2016) was an accelerator: TVF, AIB and BB Ki Vines came first.
FAQ & QUIZ · 2
Who was the first Indian individual to 10M subscribers?
tap to flip ↻answer
Bhuvan Bam, in September 2018.
FAQ & QUIZ · 3
What are the three pillars?
tap to flip ↻answer
Creator, brand and agency.
FAQ & QUIZ · 4
What does a brand really buy from a creator?
tap to flip ↻answer
Access to a community built around a person. The video is just the deliverable.
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Dates and figures: YouTube 14 Feb 2005, India site 7 May 2008; TVF 2010; AIB channel 2013; Permanent Roommates 31 Oct 2014 (ep 1 4.5M+ views); AIB Knockout 8M+ views, 28 Jan–3 Feb 2015; TVF Pitchers 10 Jun 2015 (ep 1 7.7M+); BB Ki Vines June 2015; Jio 5 Sep 2016, 100M subscribers in ~170 days; TRAI data price ₹269/GB (2014), ₹7.77/GB (2019); Bhuvan Bam 10M Sep 2018; Ashish Chanchlani 10M Jan 2019; TikTok India 120M monthly users (Jun 2019), 611M downloads; “YouTube vs TikTok: The End” 8 May 2020, 6.7M+ likes; Amit Bhadana 20M 25 May 2020; TikTok blocked 29 Jun 2020; Reels 8 Jul 2020; Shorts India beta 14 Sep 2020, 3.5B daily views worldwide Feb 2021; CarryMinati 30M May 2021. Creator photos: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. Logos are trademarks of their owners.
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