New Delhi: Your friends look forward to your mom’s biryani. Soon enough, you start selling her biryani meals from home on popular demand. Eventually, with positive word of mouth reviews, you end up running a full-fledged restaurant with your mom.
Before social media, any such small scale business could take decades to become household names. Now, a single viral video or post can make any unknown person a celebrity, just the way 26-year-old Sunil Patil from Nagpur became Dolly Chaiwala when Bill Gates got a taste of his famous chai.
The unexpected fame got him millions of followers on YouTube and Instagram, which he has used to create content with a host of other celebrities. Reports suggest he is considering creating his own chain of cafes.
For many influencers like Dolly, social media popularity offers an opportunity to create brands around their personas, a trend that was started by the internet’s most popular influencer, MrBeast.
With the help of his viral stunts and videos, MrBeast has created multiple businesses, a chocolate brand named Feastables, a virtual kitchen named MrBeast Burger and numerous investments in tech companies.
Back home, we have Instagram celebrities who are now creating ‘social first’ brands. Way back in 2017, Bhuvan Bam started Youthiapa, a brand that initially sold his signature one-liner based merchandise and eventually became a full-fledged apparel brand.
An influencer with an ever-expanding, loyal base of followers is no less than a movie star for endorsement deals. After all, a well-implemented collab can get a brand immense publicity and a double-digit jump in sales, as per market studies.
A forward-thinking influencer knows that brands may or may not come back for a renewed deal, and the competition for collabs remains intense. A persona-based brand can bring consistent income, once your followers start trusting your brand as an extension of your content.
Besides, creating your own brand can also help you expand to other complementary products. Travel influencer Drew Binsky has successfully created a brand around himself where he conducts content creation workshops, sells merchandise, offers a travel masterclass and above all, helps holiday makers enjoy their holidays with his useful tips and travel hacks.
This trend is not limited to influencers- our very own Bollywood and cricket celebrities have created their own successful brands as well. Virat Kohli’s Wrogn, Hritik Roshan’s HRX and Salman Khan’s Being Human are some notable examples.
There’s always an expiry date associated with content creation- you will eventually move into your 30s, and other influencers are always looking for ways to capture new user’s attention. Even your loyal followers will not be the same, just like how our mothers still love Salman Khan and your sister swoons over Ranbir Kapoor. A wise man will work for tomorrow, a foolish man will squander the opportunity.
