From Followers To Fans | How Influencers Build Authentic Connections

0:00 Yeah, I learned a very important phrase a couple of years ago, or actually in the early years of beginning to be a content creator, which was the opposite of love is not hate, it's just indifference. So just, just ignore those voices and it'll stop making a difference. I think if you are building a brand today, you cannot miss this important question, which is that how do you convert your fans to followers for each of the people here today?

0:33 And we've got people from very, very diverse fields. Trust me, this panel was really hard to curate and this is extremely important for brand owners and fellow creators. I am hoping I can get them to spill the beans. I will. Okay, I'm going to start with you, Sonika. You've always said I do not collaborate and I'm so proud of you for saying that. It takes a lot, it really does take a lot for somebody who's impact influencer.

1:00 And I won't categorize you in being a sustainability advocate or a sustainable influencer because I think that's limiting your scope and potential. I really thought of this hard and I would call you an impact influencer because anybody you're not impacting just the way we are consuming people who want to be impact influencers and carry on the same baton that you are currently running with, what would your advice to be?

1:26 So what happened was when I started learning about sustainability, I just started sharing what I was learning and how I was discovering new things and I got a lot of interest. I got so much, you know, there was so much interaction.

1:39 People were so interested to know more.

1:41 And that's when I started creating content. That's when I decided that, you know, I have learned so much from Instagram on composting on, you know, zero waste and all of these things. So I thought that if I have been impacted by this, you know, I can do the same thing. I can amplify it and just show people how easy it is, how I'm doing it in my day to day life. And I think that is very impactful when somebody just sees that, you know, this is a normal person like me, she has a job, she has a kid, and if she can do it, it's not that tough to do.

2:13 So I think if you just demonstrate that and if you just, you know, just be yourself, just be authentic, I think it definitely does create an impact. So I think my advice would be just just be authentic and be original. There is no need to copy trends or, you know, do stuff like that. Just, just do what you enjoy doing. You know, what really Comes from your heart and people really relate to it.

2:35 Right. And and Tara, if I were to ask you how did you even come up with pink 90 and Raja beta, like how, like what were you thinking and how do you make people laugh? Like I'm trying. Since the last two hours I don't think anybody's laughed on my jokes.

2:50 I think I should thank my followers. Like even if I open my DMs now, I'll be having at least 10 to 15 messages. There is a mother, there is a daughter in law or there is a girl. There is a girl who is venting out her frustration about the society or about her lifestyle or about her motherhood or about her husband. So I think, I thought, you know, you just don't have to get frustrated with that.

3:14 You can also laugh at it. And that's how I try to create content out of, with, with my facial expression because that's how I see life, my life. Even if somebody, you know, throwing some critics about me, I'll be like, thank you. Because what is life without tricks really?

3:30 Well, the trolls, like we need a, we need an sop on how to do that.

3:35 I, I just want to make them feel, you know, oh, she's confident. She did not, she's not affected. So that is how I am because they are not the one who is going to tell what I am. I know who I am. So this is where I thought I should just stand out and you know, I should do my thing which will connect to others as well.

3:55 Right? Sonika Isna Rohini. Do you guys get a lot of negativity as well and how do each one of you deal with it?

4:03 I usually give a benefit of doubt. You know, whenever says something I respond very nicely and if possible in a humorous way and then if it doesn't come around, well, I stop responding because I have very limited energy as a mom and I don't want to spend it there. But trust me, I think 80% of the time when I respond in a humorous way or in a genuine way, they come back positively. They're like suddenly akka, just like that for fun.

4:33 Don't take it to heart. This happens so many times you won't believe. So yeah, that benefit of doubt I always give.

4:40 Yeah, I get it too. But like the way she said, I also respond in a very positive manner and I think then they understand and it just changes the narrative and I just feel if it gets too negative, I just ignore it. I don't reply to it.

4:56 I think I'm very Lucky I get a lot of love. Thankfully I don't get too many because I think the topic is such that I don't really get get trolled that much or I don't get too many negative comments.

5:07 Honestly, I also don't get. But I get this only on my reels that go viral. So this always, you know, when it

5:15 goes by, that always happens, you know, and I think you interact with somebody, you answer a few times and if they get too, like, you know, if it's getting too much, then just stop replying because some people, they're not going to stop. Whatever you mean.

5:27 Yeah, I learned a very important phrase a couple of years ago, or actually in the early years of beginning to be a content creator, which was the opposite of love, is not hate, it's just indifference. So just, just ignore those voices and it'll stop making a difference. Ishma, people take your job very lightly. They think it's so easy. Tell me, tell me the challenges and tell me, what's the process like, what really goes on into being a lifestyle influencer?

5:59 Firstly, it's not, it just looks very easy, but it's absolutely not. It's just, it's just got the same amount of challenges that has in any kind of work. Just giving you my own perspective and my own experience. When you wake up in the morning, you're waking up for your kids in the morning, you're making sure your kids have gone to school at the same time. You have to get ready, be somewhere. It's not that you are just working from, you know, all the time from home or in the office.

6:27 You have to present yourself properly. It's all about. And I, I think that's how I also like it. And it's just me. And you know, I, I just feel being a content creator is not a very easy job because it's not only just shooting that is so much from your finances, from your back end, from your editing to your challenges. Being a mom influencer. Shooting with your kids and convincing them to shoot is the biggest challenge.

6:58 Applause for the honesty. Guys, come on, come on. Can we see a huge round of applause for that?

7:04 It's like a challenge. And as kids are growing older, they don't want to shoot. They're like, mama, I don't want to shoot. And I'm like, please just shoot. After this, I'm gonna give you this. And there's always that bribe involved, which, yeah, honestly. And there's a lot of mom guilt also at the same time, because there are times when you are in events, you are in shoots, and you're like, oh, my God, I need to see my kids.

7:32 Because these timings can't be changed. Of course, you definitely try and alter your timings. When the kids are in school, you want to do it that time. But there are times when the. When there are events when the kids are back from school. So there. Like any other work we all have. Mom. Guilty. Amancy.

7:48 No, no. 100%. 100% only. I just left it a few years ago. Rohini, I'm gonna ask you. I can barely make good idlis. I can't even think of matlab, beetroot, dalo, spinach, dalo corn and yellow. I don't know what, like, haldi. I can't even think of it. What if it doesn't turn out the way you've planned your shoot? Like, what do you do?

8:11 We just eat them.

8:14 It's food.

8:16 So I've always told this. I mean, people who look at my work and, yeah, they give it a try and they say, it didn't turn out as pink, it didn't turn out as green. So all I. I constantly stress on this. It's. You know, this whole idea is about the process of doing it with your kid, involving output. I mean, it's output, but, you know, like, you know, it's. We just eat it is.

8:47 So I'm like, idli, khalu. Like, just watch the real and eat the idli. Like, just don't make it.

8:53 The whole idea about what I do and put out there is I love creativity, okay? But I also became a mother, and I had to put that itch somewhere, right? So food was something that I would do every day, and it just worked out perfectly. So, yeah, whatever you love, you can always find a way to put it in the right direction or maybe wrong direction, I don't know. Mine ended up being fine. So I'm sure there is a way to get through it, you know, with the limited time you have.

9:25 And it is. All my work is about spreading that warmth, that joy. I honestly don't want anyone to be feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by the work that I do. For me, it is idlis. For you, it could be painting, it could be a jog in the park. It is something that you would love to do or you would want to build a skill in with your son or daughter. So it just need not be idlis or food all the time.

9:52 Just pick it.

9:54 You know what I find common in all five of us sitting here? We've all found our Passion in different ways. Right? Like she found therapy in creating that. Sonica found it through, you know, through making an impact through things that she really, truly believed in. Tara through, of course, making it so much fun for all of us as well, which I think is really tough, by the way. Anishna, I don't know how, I don't know how she shows up.

10:21 I don't know how she responds to messages. I don't know sometimes I don't know if she's. How is she at five places at the same time.

10:27 But you said it right? When you do what you love and you love what you do. So basically it's just that like you will show up, you will do things.

10:36 Things.

10:36 If you love, you'll do it anyway. And you love it. You love doing it.

10:40 Yes. Tara, if I have to ask you five simple steps from ideation to execution in 60 seconds. Think about it. Don't start. Don't start. I'll tell you when your time starts. Think about it on your get set.

10:53 I do not plan or execute or there is no strategy behind my reels because it's very simple because everything happens in our house and we just have to show it. So only when it comes to brand collaboration, I will actually plan execute. There is a strategy behind that. But when it comes to my reel 7:30 is when my husband and my daughter are leaving the house and I'm just trying to process, you know, I got married and there is a kid that I'm responsible for and there is a husband that who's gonna come back asking for what's dinner and there is a follower who is asking or waiting when am I doing their situation as a reel.

11:32 So this is how I plan it. So 7:35, I just lock my door, I just get dressed with whatever the avatar that I choose to do it for that day and I shoot it and I just pick some random songs or you know, the trending ones probably because I want this content to reach people. And yes, one of the strategy for, for me to reach out to people is that using trending songs, which I'm not sure everybody is aware of or what, I don't know.

12:00 But. So this is the strategy or the planning or execution that I do. And in case if I'm the only, only time that I try and strategy or do anything as such is if I'm riding a bike or if I'm traveling somewhere and there is a scene that is happening around me, I observe that, I stop myself, I make a note of it, I come Back home, I'll shoot it. So this is, these are the only things that I do.

12:28 I do not complicate my wheels. It's just like, go for it, do it's going to work or not. It's fine.

12:35 By the way, one strategy that Tara didn't give, which is that try and post like really early in the morning, which is the pot, pot time she calls it.

12:45 I just show up myself. I'm.

12:47 That's her strategy.

12:49 Post my reel at 8am she's like,

12:51 I want to be part of that

12:52 moment in your life.

12:53 And that first one, or 8 to 9am I should at least reach 32,000 views or 40,000 views or at least 50,000 views. Anything lesser than that, I'm like, did not work. It's fine, I'll do it tomorrow again. So 8am I learned it from the best.

13:07 Learned it from the best. You know what I find most amazing is that each one of us are great observers of very small things in life. And I've seen that in Sonica's videos as well. If she's traveling, like recently when you were at the beach and you saw that surf Excel pack and you're like, okay, I can understand lays, or I can understand, you know, eatables, but surf Excel, so very, very conscious of what your surrounding is and how creative you can be with it.

13:38 Sonika, for a world that is measuring success with the number of deals that you crack, the number of views that you get, how does an impact influencer measure success?

13:53 When I open my DM and I see a picture of somebody's compost and they say, sunika, this is my first compost, all thanks to you. That is my success. I was just sitting here and somebody said, I just made my first bottle of bioenzyme. That is success. When somebody says, I saw your son doing this and now I'm doing it because of your son, you know, I cannot tell you how it makes me feel. It's just, I don't care how many followers, I just want to make a change, make some impact.

14:22 But Kabi as he greed numbers,

14:28 I know that happens. But see, a lot of times I make reels about something that people are not aware about, something that I was not aware about. And those I know, they just explode. You know, people are just like, what? I did not even think about this or I did not even know about this. And that definitely has a much bigger impact. And even with that, like, I made a reel about, you know, doing a pre loved gift swap for your kids birthday parties.

14:55 And there are people who are just sending me pictures saying, see, I did this, I did this. You know, there are so many people have already started doing it. And I think that is success if you're actually influencing somebody in real life to make a change, which is good for all of us, which is good for everyone's kids, which is good for the environment. I think that is how I measure my success. And I think everyone in our category, anyone who's in the sustainability space will say the same thing.

15:21 How, how tough is it to do it with a day job?

15:25 Oh, my God. So when people ask me, isn't it very tough to be sustainable? Doesn't it take a lot of time? I say the maximum minimum time is taken up by Instagram. That's what I spend time doing. It is tough. It is definitely tough. I get one or two weekends in a month when I can actually sit and shoot stuff. So I just like one day, if I get, I will just change my clothes five, six times and just make five pieces of content together.

15:49 But it is tough. But I really, I love it. I really love it. I really enjoy it. I love interacting with people, answering their questions, queries. I don't post every day. I post once a week, barely, or maybe once in 10 days. But I have learned that, you know, just do it at your own pace. Don't let it become a burden. Don't let it, you know, don't burn out. Just do it at your own pace and be happy with what you can do.

16:14 Isna you want to add something?

16:15 You know, I have this pressure last night I was traveling recently for work and I came back yesterday. It got late to post, but I made sure I posted something because since seven years, it's going to be seven years in July that I started my journey.

16:31 We have a huge round of applause

16:33 for that as it takes a lot. How sweet. And you know, I have this thing that I have to post con. I have to post, I have to be consistent. I have to post every day.

16:43 But I must also say that that is also being authentic to your audience because they're expecting it. There are people who looking up to you day in, day out for what you are going to share today.

16:54 Yeah.

16:54 So that's your most authentic self and that is okay. I'm going to ask a concluding question to each one of you, which is something I take great pride in, that when you come to kitstar Press Awards, it is not about Bombay, it's not about Delhi, it's not about India. It's About Bharat. And because you will meet so many different people from so many different dialects, cities, you know, people who are cross country. How do you ensure that you are creating content for a larger society out there?

17:27 I think it just becomes, because it's the same thing. You talk about organic content or you talk about branded content if you are, you know, targeting a certain audience. For instance, for me, it's a lot of moms and parents that follow. For me, being mama's lifestyle, obviously my content is not only my niche is not only like an education, it's a mix of everything, which is fashion, beauty, travel, motherhood, lifestyle. So I just feel that it just becomes very generalized where people from different cities also relate to you in a certain way, where they feel that, you know, just because you're a mom doesn't mean that, you know, life is finished and life is boring.

18:12 But you can do everything being a mom also. You can be a working mom, you can be even a homemaker, but you can enjoy your life. Like, just because you're a mom doesn't mean your life ends. Because in fact, the two tire cities, they really look up to your content because they feel, wow, it's not, you know, that just because you're, you're a mom, your life ends there. They look up to you in a certain way.

18:36 So I feel it's very important to bring out a message which is not only for your city, but even targeting the entire audience all around, basically being yourself, being authentic and, you know, that's all matters.

18:50 You know, whenever I, I'm sure, like, you know, if someone who's not seen my work and they ask and I tell them, I do kids cute tiffins for kids. I think the first few flashes of images they'll get is bento boxes with some sushi or seaweed rice, sticky rice and all of that. Right? So how do I connect with my audience? I make it less complicated. I stick to daily food that we eat in our country and I use basic ingredients that we use in the kitchen.

19:19 So, and you know, all of us as parents are going through similar challenges. Just find, pick a challenge and see if you, your skills match it and find a solution and keep it short because we don't have much time to execute.

19:36 So I do not ignore their comments or dms for sure. Even if it's a positive or a critic or a feedback, I would take it. I would try and make them understand. If they're not understanding it, it's okay. Not everybody is ready to buy what you see. So it's fine. But what I see is that a lot of people try to share things. I think there are very less listeners in the world out there. So I.

20:03 They just want me to listen to their stories. Like, I was going through a rough day that day, and I have gone out for a dinner and there is a mom who has just come out of an ICU and she is texting me saying, I don't know whom I should share this with, but I'm going through a mom guilt because my baby is just three months old and I'm in the icu. I just came out and my baby is fed formula milk.

20:26 I'm like, what is wrong in formula milk? It's prescribed by doctors and it's made as an alternative. And if you were well, you would have fed your baby. So, you know, all that she wants me to listen to it was she just wanted me to listen to it and she wanted me to repeat. I just took my five minutes of my dinner time and I said, it's okay. Your baby is fine. It's you who has to be there for the baby.

20:52 You get well, baby is doing absolutely fine. And I have fed my baby formula milk from day one and I'm okay with it. My baby is doing great. Your baby will do great too, and society will talk about it. So all they want to know is,

21:06 you know, sometimes listen.

21:07 They just want somebody to listen and give them a positive reply, even if there is a negative. There is a way to convey a message to a mom because she's going through a lot. Everybody is giving advice, but nobody is listening to her. So I think I take my time and I listen to them. Even if it's bad, good, or a joke or somebody is saying something, I will read that message. I'll send one heart to them.

21:32 People want me to change my hairstyle. People don't want me to lose weight. It people want me to do so many things. I'm like, I can't change them and I'm not gonna change myself either. So it's very clear to me. I'm going to listen to them. That's it. That's how I want to be connected with my audience. And it's working out to me, luckily, and they like that. And I go out for a coffee and I meet them on road.

21:58 I just share some time. I talk to them them and I hug them. I love hugging people. I hug them and they feel so nice about it. So this is how I want to be connected. And I am enjoying this space and I'm so thankful to myself that this happened to me and I achieved it.

22:17 Amazing. Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing that. Sonica, you how do you ensure that every city and the impact that you want to create, you're connecting to the rest.

22:26 So my content is I think very universal. It's not, not really city specific, but I share a lot of resources. So if I come to know there is some, you know, people keep tagging me and saying I'm in Hyderabad and I found this, can you share it? So I immediately share all of that and I've actually created highlights for on every single topic so that people can easily access it. So I have a highlight called Recycling for example and I've shared city wise recyclers in almost every city in India so that you know, if anyone is looking for something, they can go and find it.

22:59 So if I find anything in any other city, I always share it. And like she's saying, I talk to everyone. I answer every single comment, every single DM that I get.

23:10 Engagement.

23:11 Yeah.

23:11 And you know, people are asking questions and I'm like, okay, if I can just take two seconds and help them do this, it's, it's better for all of us.

23:18 Right?

23:18 So I think engagement is very important.

23:21 So thank you all four of you for being here today, for supporting us and really helping us build this fan to followers Building authentic connections panel. It really means a lot. I'm sure each one of us are going to take away a lot and I've just learned so much from each one of you in very, very big and small ways and I continue to do that. So thank you so much for being with us here today.

23:45 Thank you so much. Manshri.

23:46 Thank you for parenting tips, celebrity interviews, recipes, conversations with experts, DIYs and lots more. Subscribe to Kids Talk Press now.