To Retain Meaningful Engagement In An Era Of Selective Content Consumption, Brands Must Navigate Influencer Fatigue Effectively: Ritesh Ujjwal

Influencer marketing sector is grappling with notable challenges such as influencer fatigue , the strategic use of AI, and growing trust issues among brand marketers, Ritesh Ujjwal , Co-founder of Kofluence, said while adding that the audiences are increasingly discerning and selective in their content consumption. So, with an overwhelming amount of branded content flooding their feeds, brands must adeptly manage influencer fatigue to sustain meaningful engagement. He highlighted that influencer fatigue is a genuine issue in today's crowded digital environment. To address this challenge, Kofluence prioritises creating authentic partnerships that truly engage audiences. In a conversation with Marketing Mind, Ujjwal said that rather than merely promoting products, the platform advocates for content that naturally fits within influencers' stories, ensuring it remains both genuine and relevant. Kofluence’s growth trajectory since its inception Ujjwal, said, “Kofluence is India’s leading social media influencer-led marketing-tech platform dedicated to helping brands and influencers harness the true power of their social influence. When Sreeram and I decided to launch this venture, our goal was to create equal opportunities for users to monetise their presence on social media. We firmly believe that with the right opportunities, individuals of all backgrounds can transform their social reach into a source of income,” Ujjwal said. “Our technology-driven marketplace seamlessly connects brands and social users, enabling them to discover and curate collaborations based on their preferences. With a robust community of over 6,50,000 creators collectively reaching over 6.5 billion individuals, Kofluence today stands at the forefront of influencer marketing technologies in India,” he added. Since Kofluence’s inception, the first significant milestone was reached in 2022 when it secured $4 million in pre-series funding from prominent industry veterans such as Nikhil Kamat, Karan Johar, Kunal Shah, among others. Ujjwal stated, “Following that, our trajectory only moved upwards as we formed partnerships with major brands, including Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino’s, ChefBoss), ITC Foods, HUL, Dabur, Swiggy, Meesho, Netflix, TVS, Flipkart, Zupee, PayTM, and Axis Bank, expanding our presence across 30+ sectors.” Furthermore, he stated that in 2023, Kofluence made it to Forbes' Select 200 Companies with Global Business Potential. Moreover, in January 2024, they secured a strategic investment from the board of Nazara Technologies in Kofluence, geared towards the launch of an influencer-driven game discovery platform and community. Ujjwal also mentioned that the collaboration between Kofluence and Nazara Technologies is all about blending their strengths to innovate in gaming and influencer marketing . “It's exciting because we are creating a platform where influencers can authentically connect with their audiences through an influencer-driven game discovery platform and community. These influencers have a knack for engaging their followers, so they will play a crucial role in building buzz around new game releases and boosting downloads. It's a win-win – gamers get to discover new games through their favourite influencers, and Nazara expands its reach in a way that feels genuine and exciting,” he said. Ujjwal added, “Nazara's confidence in our vision is a huge validation of our approach to merging influencer creativity with gaming innovation. Together, with initiatives like 'Nazara Publishing,' we aim to set new game marketing standards. Looking ahead, we're eager to see how this collaboration evolves.” Emphasising the platform's strategy to broaden its reach and maintain a competitive edge in the near future, Ujjwal stated, “In the next 3 years, we see ourselves to be the largest creator's monetisation platform. Through our platform and use cases, creators should be able to monetize their creative skills as well as social influence across the mediums. Key metrics for our success shall be the number of creators who're able to monetize our platform. We envisage the number of monetizing creators from our platform to be around 1M to 3M in the next 3 years. With the explosive growth of social media platforms, the increasing importance of authenticity and trust in marketing, and the changing preferences of consumers, we believe that influencer marketing will play an increasingly central role in the marketing strategies of brands across industries. There’s a definite scope for geographic expansion as social media penetration is universal in nature. We are already exploring expanding to similar markets in terms of social media usage and mobile penetration for replicating our platform in a few geographies across MENA, SEA and LatAM. Kofluence’s strategies to tackle influencer fatigue and trust deficits Ujjwal pointed out that influencer marketing faces significant challenges today, including influencer fatigue, the effective implementation of AI, and trust deficits among brand marketers. Audiences today are also more discerning and selective in their content consumption than ever before. With the influx of branded content bombarding their feeds, brands must navigate influencer fatigue effectively to maintain meaningful engagement. “We are committed to tackling these industry challenges head-on. The proprietary risk and fraud detection/prevention mechanism on our platform ensures that marketers get relevant and authentic insights and reporting, and we act as knowledge partners to navigate market trends. Influencer fatigue is also a real concern in today's saturated digital landscape. To combat this, we focus on fostering authentic collaborations that resonate with audiences. Instead of simply pushing products, we advocate for content that integrates seamlessly into influencers' narratives, ensuring it feels genuine and relevant. By incorporating UGC into influencer campaigns, brands can leverage the creativity and authenticity of their own customers and key opinion leaders, further reinforcing the genuine nature of their messaging,” he said. “We have acquired the globally recognized ISO certification for our exceptional service and commitment to quality and data security. Our platform is now backed by Meta, Google, and ISO-certified encryption which ensures that your personal and financial information is always safe and secure,” he added. Kofluence targets key gaps in the influencer marketing sector Ujjwal emphasised that in a market explosion enabled by giants like Google and Meta, the democratisation of content creation allows individuals with even basic tools, like a camera, to showcase their creativity and reach a global audience. However, amidst this boom, the influencer marketing domain remains largely unorganised and fragmented. “Having experienced the gaming industry's bottlenecks firsthand, we recognized the challenges of running large-scale influencer marketing campaigns without robust tools for discovery, pricing, insights, and reporting. To address these issues, Kofluence offers a self-serve, app-based approach that cuts through the clutter and can be scaled globally without extensive localisation,” he said. Think of Kofluence as the Airbnb for influencers, empowering content creators to become micro-entrepreneurs through content monetisation. Before Kofluence’s entry into this market, creators relied on multiple communication mediums and had to chase brands, agencies, and PR partners for timely payments. “Our self-serve app-based approach improved pricing transparency and reduced payment times by 8.5X, from 60 days to just 7 days. By following a first-principles-centric approach, we successfully delivered value to social media influencers, leading to the organic onboarding of 650K social media influencers,” he said. Furthermore, he highlighted that Kofluence collaborates closely with ASCI to uphold ethical standards and develop influencer review guidelines as a member of a specialised task force. These guidelines aim to promote responsible content creation and advertising practices, ensuring the highest standards of transparency and authenticity within the influencer marketing ecosystem. “We also make sure ASCI’s guidelines are not only understood but actively practised by our influencers. To address common industry violations, we emphasise clear disclosures of sponsored content and continuously educate our influencers on these ethical standards,” he added. Short-term goals for new business division ‘Rare Travel’ Kofluence recently launched its newest business division, Rare Travel. This platform will create exclusive collaborations between top brands and the most influential travel creators across cities. Ujjwal said that with the recent launch of 'Rare Travel,' they are pioneering a fresh approach in the travel and influencer marketing space. Ahead of the upcoming travel season, they have already onboarded top brands and are actively pursuing strategic partnerships with additional brands to further empower the creators integrated into the Rare Club experience. “Concurrently, we are in the process of developing a dedicated platform that will showcase Rare Travel alongside other Rare Club initiatives,” he said. “Additionally, our commitment remains steadfast in delivering exceptional user experiences by curating bespoke travel packages and providing top-notch service. Our inaugural initiatives, such as the Baku Exploration and South Korea Expedition, mark the beginning of our journey. Looking forward, I envision Rare Travel as a long-term intellectual property that will expand into other realms, including fine dining, lifestyle, and luxury, under our Rare Club initiative,” he added. How Kofluence aims to shape the future of influencer marketing with AI and blockchain “We offer a technology-driven connective marketplace where brands and social users can discover and be discovered by one another, handpick who they wish to work with and at transparent pricing with no hidden charges. Essentially, we offer a full-stack marketing infrastructure that takes care of the entire campaign life cycle for our brand partners. Our platform acts like a matchmaker, carefully pairing brands with influencers who authentically connect with their audience. We assess factors such as audience reach, engagement levels, and content alignment to ensure partnerships resonate with the right audience,” Ujjwal said. Furthermore, he went on to say that their integration of proprietary AI and blockchain solutions enhances transparency and efficiency in influencer collaborations. AI optimises brand-influencer pairings by analysing demographics, engagement metrics, and content relevance. Meanwhile, blockchain serves as a secure, immutable ledger that tracks all collaboration details, ensuring transparency and reducing intermediary involvement. “Looking ahead, the influencer marketing space is evolving towards greater authenticity and data-driven decision-making. Trends like nano-influencers, sustainability partnerships, and immersive content experiences powered by AR and VR are poised to take centre stage. We are excited to lead in shaping this industry, setting new standards for digital-age collaborations,” Ujjwal added.

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