The Indian retail market is projected to be worth $1.8 Trillion by 2030. E-retail has been a boon to the industry and has charted a new course with the rise of personalised, hyperlocal and social commerce over the past decade. The D2C revolution is upon us and the value propositions brought by content, commerce and community are massive to say the least.
“Many times in my past, I felt like Don Quixote tilting at the window saying, hey, content to commerce is going to be the way forward and content is going to be a kind of answer to commerce problems and influencer marketing is the next big thing,” says, Priyanka Gill, Co-Founder of the Good Glamm Group.
An entrepreneur, and an angel investor currently based in London, Priyanka is also the Founder and CEO, POPxo-Plixxo. Popxo is of course a digital community platform for millennial women that was launched in 2014 and merged with MyGlamm (the erstwhile name of GGG) in 2020.
Priyanka was speaking to YourStory senior editor Ramarko Sengupta at the inaugural edition of Creator Inc Conference about how brands can leverage the harmony between content and commerce in conjunction with influencers and the creator community. Here are a some of the key takeaways from the interaction:
Being a media entrepreneur is not ‘unsexy’ today
Reminiscing about her days of starting up in 2014, Priyanka shared how difficult it was to create, distribute, and monetise content. But the trend has changed now and how, she highlighted. There are ample opportunities for brands and creators to monetise their influence and build a loyal community of targeted audience.
“It was very unsexy to be a media entrepreneur back then. And today, suddenly, 2020 seems to be the age of D2C (direct-to-consumer) brands. Content is playing a very big part in how these brands are positioning themselves. So it does feel like the coming of age of two parallel industries – content and creative and all of that kind of finding ways to monetise.”
‘Exit’ door is no more unreachable
A decade ago, entrepreneurs might have been sceptical about exit opportunities in the digital space. But that’s not the case now. As Priyanka points out, “this was unthinkable back in 2014” when she was starting out.
However, in the post pandemic era, we have seen the rise of many digital-first ‘houses of brands’, taking under their wings an umbrella of different brands, following the Thrasio model.
For instance, MENSA Brands houses 16 D2C brands and have recently raised $300 million in funding. The Good Glam Group comprises a portfolio cosmetics brand MyGlamm, premium mom-and-baby brand MomsCo, and baby products brand BabyChakra, content brand POPxo for women, parenting platform BabyChakra, and ScoopWhoop. The list goes on.
Understanding the consumer pulse
When Facebook decided to become the world’s news feed, platforms like POPxo found their moment in the sun. When the brands started betting on videos and creatives, one saw the emergence of Instagram and Snapchat. Reels became important and views became a measure of success. The birth of OTT (over-the-top) content literally put television on hold.
“The way I track this trajectory is basically platforms are very responsive to user behaviour. As attention spans shrink, and interest shifts, that’s when different kinds of content formats come up. As digital media entrepreneurs, it’s our job to stay on top of trends before they happen almost, and be ready for them, right. So all of us have become really good at almost predicting which the next big format is going to be.”
Leverage influencers’ power of relatability
Brands have realised that consumers react best when recommendations are made by people who are like them and relatable. According to Priyanka, today content creators are building that community and it is actually one of the most effective forms of communication.
“Shahrukh Khan would come on to our screens and say that he wears Rupa baniyaan (vest). But you have to have this kind of very willing suspension of disbelief on whether he is actually using it. So I think relatable content that resonates with the user, along with creators have really kind of broken barriers in many, many different ways.”
Content + community = long term brand loyalty
Brands have been contemplating the cost of acquisition since ages. As Priyanka highlights, remarketing to the very same consumer to keep them engaged has been very expensive for brands. The answer to this problem is content, as brands have realised over years of experiments and analysis of user behaviour.
“If you’re actually able to use great content as the top of the funnel, build a sticky relationship with the user, and connect with the user at all points in their life, not only the time when they are a consumer. That is actually what solves a lot of the challenges that brands have. So that’s a whole kind of the premise behind content to commerce”
What works for a brand
Whether it’s a user, a reader or a viewer. Nobody likes condescension. To reach them, it’s important to break down those walls. While attention spans shift, and different kinds of demographic audiences may come with their own nuances, some of the universal truths remain.
“As content platforms, if you’re able to recognise which universal truths work for you, use them as a guardrails and keep consistently producing content for that quality over time, while also recognising the kind of the micro trends that are happening in the format that is changing. I think that’s a great recipe for doing well as a content platform. And that’s definitely what we had perfected since 2014.”
Build anything but with passion
According to Priyanka, there’s never been a better time to be a direct-to-consumer entrepreneur. India as a country and we as consumers in India are starved for great brands, she highlights. And the beauty of this revolution is that as a budding entrepreneur, one loves their brand the most because they have identified that need, which is what makes them the most fervent advocate for your brand or product.
“All one needs to do is find engaging and clever ways of using social media platforms that exist to really drive conversations with your would be buyers,” she says and as she signs off with a message for brands and the creators community.
“Be sincere and diligent. Find your passion. Once you know what that is, it makes it very easy to actually start producing content that is going to resonate.”
Catch YourStory’s Creators Inc conference here.
For more on other key initiatives as part of the conference, visit our Creators Inc. website here.
Recognising the burgeoning creator ecosystem and the new wave of entrepreneurship that comes with it, YourStory is celebrating the works of both established and emerging influencers in an initiative aimed at identifying, celebrating and accelerating the journey of digital creators who make extraordinary, unique and engaging content. We’ve partnered with Trell to bring you the Top 100 Creators challenge, which you can apply for here.
