World Social Media Day: Influencers reflect on power of social media and their journeys to digital stardom

Anushka Rathod, a finance content creator with over 8 lakh followers on Instagram, said content creation happened to her after she realised that there was a need in the market for quickly digestible content that would address people’s questions about investing, tax, etc. “During the pandemic, when my friends had been employed for a year or two, they would come to me with queries about where to invest, where to save money, and how to reduce their tax obligations because I worked in the wealth management sector. Thus, they would ask about these issues as well as fundamental queries concerning how and from where payroll deductions were actually made. I would just suggest that they Google this, to which they would reply that all of the results were tedious and lengthy,” she told indianexpress.com.

Something similar was the case with Dr Agni Kumar Bose, dermatologist, venereologist, and dermatosurgeon, who addresses common skin and hair concerns on social media. “My journey started very randomly when I was studying for my final MD exams and I had some time at hand. I remember I was reading the topic of nutrition in dermatology and it made me realise, “Hey! People don’t know this about sugar, dairy and pimples!” It started from the realisation that I could give out knowledge about such common things to people,” he said.

 

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A post shared by Dr. Agni Kumar Bose (@doctor.agni)

He shared that his target audience isn’t medical students whom he can teach in fancy scientific terms but common folks in front of whom he has just 90 seconds to share something very basic yet important. “That’s what got me started,” Dr Agni shared.

However, for Kareema Barry and Aanchal Agrawal, who never fail to tickle our funny bones with their humorous reels, becoming such renowned social media influencers happened by chance. “I started just like everyone else, sharing pictures with friends, then the meme culture happened and I started posting memes. When I started to get an appreciation for it, I became consistent and it became a source of revenue eventually,” Agrawal shared.

Whatever be the reason, what started on social media as an experiment, turned around the lives of these influencers. “It changed everything. I wanted to get out of college and become a journalist or writer. My life right now in all spheres is entirely different as you can imagine,” Barry said.

Agreeing, Rathod said that social media gave her a very fulfilling career which she doesn’t think she would have been able to find in traditional finance roles. “Not that I didn’t like my job back then, but I always craved a little bit more creativity from my job because most of it was very restricted to numbers and Excel sheets. As I was working in investment banking and now in content creation, I get to explore a lot more and be more creative,” she said.

 

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A post shared by Anushka Rathod (@anushkarathod98) 

While it may seem all hunky-dory, content creation and influencing comes with its own set of challenges. “As a doctor, we go through 10 years of MBBS and then MD, so that when we see our first patient, we are always prepared. But, social media is a completely new territory, and I have no idea about it. You have to figure everything out on your own. Earlier, I used to edit my own videos so I learnt from free tutorials on YouTube on video editing on the movie editing software. Then I discovered there is something called ‘trends’, so I started picking up on those. I’m still learning something new every day because honestly, I’m clueless. Just last week I learnt about what “archiving” posts means,” Dr Bose said.

In addition to learning the tricks of the social media game, the constant influx of trolls, negativity, and criticism is another flip side that influencers face on a daily basis. “I think the validation is addictive and with that also comes the negativity and trolling, but slowly you learn to navigate that as a part of the game. Anything that brings good also brings bad. If people created apps to share opinions, you can’t rule out negative opinions. The anonymity has anyway given people a free pass to vent their frustration on strangers, instead of trying to change them we should make ourselves stronger,” Agrawal said.

Rathod, too, called hate and criticism one of the biggest challenges on social media. ” I think when you’re making content for the masses, for the general public, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and not everyone is going to agree with you and the way you present yourself or your content every time. So I think it took me some time to disassociate myself from Anushka Rathod as a brand that makes content on finance. So yeah, that had been like that disassociation that if someone criticises a piece of content, it is not a direct criticism of me or how I am as a person. That was a challenge that I had to overcome.”

 

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A post shared by Aanchal Agrawal (@awwwnchal) 

Content creation and influencing, as we know, is witnessing a steady rise with an increasing number of people wanting to take the plunge. What advice would these seasoned influencers have for them? “Take it easy! Being yourself and getting appreciated for it is a gift,” Barry said.

Agrawal asked everyone to take social media with a pinch of salt. “It is dynamic and not static. There will be highs and lows. Don’t lose yourself in the highs and don’t take the lows too personally,” she said.

Rathod emphasised the importance of thinking long-term and making the right investments. “You have to see where you can build a genuine connection with your audience and where you can create an impact in their life that is positive, be it through comedy, information, or just general, whatever niche you want to talk about. Because for most of us, what we do is chase views. We try to please the algorithm, and views and algorithms are very fickle, but your audience is not if you create a genuine relationship with them,” she said.

 

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A post shared by kareema barry (@kareemabarry) 

Concluding, the content creators highlighted the importance of social media and the indispensable role it plays in everyone’s lives. “Everything is on social media now, and when it’s not – we doubt its legitimacy. That says a lot about its importance in today’s time,” Barry said.

Agreeing, Agrawal said that if used wisely, it’s a game-changer. “I think social media has made the world smaller and larger when it comes to gaining knowledge and information, there’s no limit to what you can learn and who you can reach, it has created many opportunities and jobs.”

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