Since time immemorial, “celebrity endorsement” has been one of the safest and most profitable promotional strategies in the advertising world.

Brands would gift their products to their celebrity ambassadors in the hope that they would be seen using them, wearing them, drinking them, etc. The best scenarios would be to get photographed at prestigious film festivals flaunting their latest makeup or designer bag collection or get papped while walking through the posh streets of western Bandra in the hottest Louis Vuitton sneakers.

Even though celebrities are still in demand and relevant, the era of digital marketing has brought itself a new kid on the horizon – the ‘’social media influencer”. A social media influencer is someone who creates content for online consumption and, has in the process, built a significant subscriber base. They could be a food Instagrammer, a fashion blogger or someone who films videos on their subject of choice for YouTube. They all have one thing in common, they have grown their own audience organically who are interested in the content they create.

In January 2011, Ankita Srivastava started her blogging journey to share her love for makeup and beauty with the online community while pursuing her Bachelors at IIT Bombay. She then took to YouTube, “Corallista“, a channel where she consistently posted interesting content such as product reviews, style tips, etc; smartly building a rapport with her audience through additional content including interactive videos, contests and frequent giveaways.

Today, weekly social media content and Instagram story updates of Nykaa (a leading cosmetic brand, handled by a Social Media Agency in Mumbai) are incomplete without Ankita’s exciting videos on the latest trends in the beauty and cosmetic arena.

Digital Advertising Agency employeeand expert, Shannon Self of www.toldya.com says, “Young influencer marketing is the newest most efficient way to see a return on investment for a product, service or brand. The younger generation typically has the most organic engagement.” According to top Social Media Agencies in Mumbai, Many brands see low conversion rate with celebrity engagement, while the response rate on social media is 40 to 50 per cent comfortably.

The larger picture is, brands now have an alternative where they can get good returns on a considerably lower investment than celebrity endorsements, all the while engaging with exactly the kind of audience they intend to target.