5 Festive Season Trends That Shaped The Creator Economy

Not just GenZ and millennials, people of all ages and generations today are spending their time on social media and following influencers for ideas, inspiration, and advice. They browse content that is authentic and keeps them engaged, entertained and informed — which happens to be influencer marketing’s core offering. 

According to Meta’s consumer insight report for the 2022 Festive Season, 53% of Diwali shoppers discovered products online through influencers, while the remaining 56% were influenced by public figures or celebrities.  

The primary reason for this is the growing popularity of influencers and their credible command over their audience, as well as their value to brands. Since influencers are real and relatable to consumers, they can deliver real value for brands by offering exciting ways of sharing a brand message. 

Collaborating with content creators provides brands with the chance to understand consumer behaviour as well as target and reach a wider audience. It also assists brands in leveraging their online presence and collaborating with content that their target audience is interested in. 

Let’s take a look at the 2022 trends in the creator economy around the festive season:

Attention To Nano And Micro-Influencers

Earlier brands would focus and collaborate with only more prominent creators, but they are now willing to explore relevant nano or micro-influencers for the same. 

This is because the audience base of these groups of creators is extremely niche, and they have a higher engagement rate that can help brands go hyperlocal in their conversations with consumers.

Tapping All Age Groups

Brands leverage influencers not just to ‘influence’ but also to generate diverse, quality content and target all age groups. 8 Cr creators in India range in age from babies and GenZ influencers to couple influencers and even senior influencers who have carved out a niche for themselves. 

In a country with over 500 active social media users, most of whom follow at least one influencer, this is a massive brand opportunity for brands to create a family-like influence on their customers during the festive season. 

Diverse Sectors Are Investing In Creators

This festive season is seeing several brands investing in creators apart from lifestyle and beauty. New entrants this season include D2C, FMCG, smart food/nutrition, banking and finance, and a slew of startup and fitness brands. 

They are not only investing in well-known celebrities and influencers to market their product and service, but they are also enlisting the help of nano influencers.   

Engagement With Regional Creators

According to reports, the number of rural social media users is increasing at a rate of two times per year. It is also known that audiences prefer to consume content in their mother tongue. 

Hence, vernacular creators are booming because they can create highly engaging content and connect with their viewers in their regional language. Collaborating with regional influencers helps brands to be rooted, honest and raw and capitalise on adding the inclusivity touch to their campaign.  

Affiliate Marketing Is On The Rise

Affiliate marketing has always been a part of the creator economy space. However, during the festive season, the number of contests and promos by brands via influencers is definitely on the rise. 

Through affiliate marketing, a creator recommends a particular product or service by giving an exclusive discount valid exclusively for their followers. This makes for a great way for brands and influencers to earn profits and provide the best offers for their audiences — a win-win for all. 

The other noteworthy trends this season are brands collaborating with meta/virtual influencers and creating dedicated festive video content with creators for their websites. 

This festive season has seen brands up their campaigns with fun catchphrases, clever wordplay, lavish visuals, humour and informative content. How many of these did you catch?