Influence

Avneet Kaur caught the attention of the masses when she participated alongside Darsheel Safary in the celebrity dance show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 5. That was eight years ago. Today, the 20-year-old has more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram and is one of the top 10 social media influencers in India. Yes, for the first time ever, Outlook Business in association with Grapes Digital brings to you the official ranking of the Top 20 influencers in India. Exciting, but certainly not easy.

What will go on to be a twice-a-year exercise in the future keeping in mind the evolving segment that social media and influencer marketing are, the outcome, we expect, will be more than interesting. Isn’t it surprising enough that in a country obsessed with Bollywood and Cricket, a new crop of ‘people next door’ are inspirations? Is it just one of the post-pandemic effect or is the phenomenon here to stay? We are as inquisitive as you are…

Methodology

The first-of-its-kind rankings is measured mainly by taking into account the follower base and the engagement rate. Sometimes, there’s an increase in the follower base but not an increase in engagement, which is mostly because of a lack of credible followers. Several influencers buy followers to help increase their visibility with a hope of attracting more brand associations. That said, the formula that is used is the Influencer Index Score, which is the weighted average of 40% of the follower base and 60% of the engagement rate, so many top scorers might have lesser followers than those ranked below them. This helps establish the authenticity of the followers and the right engagements based on the quality of content. This ranking will help brands take an informed decision. Cheers to those influencing India the most.