India to have largest content creator base in the world in 2023

India is set to have the largest base of social media content creators in 2023, with the number reaching over 100 million this year, said a report published on Sunday by influencer marketing firm Zefmo. The report comes three months after another report by venture capital firm Kalaari Capital, predicted that the country had at least 80 million creators in 2022.

According to Zefmo’s report, the organized influencer marketing sector is set to reach ₹3000 crore in FY23-24, while revenue share of micro-influencers will increase from 9% in FY 2022-23 to 14% in FY 2023-24. It also noted that the payouts to influencers from brand campaigns is growing, as are the length of brand campaigns themselves. The October report from Kalaari had said that only about 1.5 lakh of India’s creators were able to earn over $200 per month.

Typically, a micro-influencer is someone who has between 1,000 and 100,000 followers.

Further, despite the rise of Indian short video platforms in the last two years, the Zefmo report found that YouTube and Instagram remained the top choices for social media influencers. While YouTube accounted for 38% of the market, Instagram accounted for 11%, followed by Twitter and Facebook at 6% and 9%, respectively.

The report also found that 53% of brand campaigns on social media came from fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands, while direct-to-consumer and electronic device firms accounted for 14% and 9% of campaigns, respectively.

Brands are tapping into hyperlocal micro influencers' to strengthen connection with their customers, especially through the short-video format, the report said. “These influencers are at the heart of the creators’ economy and will dictate the content creation trends in times to come,” said Shudeep Majumdar, co-founder and chief executive officer at Zefmo.

Hindi remained the preferred language for brands, followed by English and other regional languages.