Food! Who doesn’t love those commercials showing those mouth-watering cupcakes and a beautiful cup of frothed latte?
Food Influencers are one of the fastest-growing segments in influencer marketing in India. One of the many reasons is the visual appeal that makes the content more #instaworthy!
After all, it has become a mandate to take tons of enticing pictures of food, try the most amazing filters & then share them on Instagram. Eating food is not the priority anymore! :D. Heard of the phrase “camera eats first”? Yes, that’s how much the craze is!
But, for Influencers, so much popularity also means so much competition. Especially in a country like India, where you always have to be on your toes to win any attention.
To put things in perspective, India has a population of more than 1.3 billion people and the largest number of Facebook users in the world. In terms of the food industry, the Indian food & grocery market is the 6th largest in the world and there are over 1.3 million eating outlets. (We Indians LOVE food :D)
So, yes, there are plenty of opportunities but as an Influencer, you really need to have a strong USP to shine and set yourself apart.
Now coming back to the important question, what should you do to become a successful Food Influencer in India?
Here are our 6 tips!
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It’s all about the visuals! (great recipe with poor presentation won’t attract much crowd)
Emeril Lagasse, a celebrity American Chef once said, “Food that’s beautiful to look at, seems to taste better than food that isn’t”. So true! In today’s times, presentation has become extremely crucial, especially in the food industry.
If you want to be a successful Food Influencer, I’d highly recommend investing not only in improving your cooking skills but also in creating an attractive-looking plate as well as taking high-quality appealing pictures.
People are more likely to share your recipes and follow you if the pictures grab their attention.
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Find the balance between videos & images! (both are critical)
You must learn what kind of content looks best in what kind of format. Ex: new recipes, food review content, and bloopers mostly work well in video format as people want to see the process. However, new restaurant recommendations, before/ after versions, and stories about ingredients would probably catch more eyeballs in picture format.
Don’t take these are not hard & fast rules. You must keep track of the analytics in your social media networks and tweak your posting strategy & format based on engagement. All social media channels provide simple charts & insights for free now. Just be a little more strategic!
In the end, it’s essential to keep a balance between different formats but you must do it based on what your audience is appreciating the most.
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Know your audience on different channels! (yes, their needs & expectations vary)
There are so many choices available for Influencers now to capture their audience. It’s important to understand the type of audience in each network and create content based on that instead of just creating for one network and reposting in all others.
Some characteristics are easy to gauge, like the audience in YouTube is probably looking for detailed videos on recipes and food brand reviews. On the other hand, the audience on Instagram will be attracted to beautiful pictures of the final recipe.
For other characteristics, you might need more research. Ex: the age-group (Insta is more millennials-focussed), niche (industries like fitness, which require more educative content for the use, does well on YouTube), and efforts from Influencers’ end (YouTube requires full-fledged video production while Insta can give you the audience with some great pictures too).
It’s important to understand the needs & expectations of users on different platforms and you can use some of the tips mentioned above to categorize these two. Remember, just because you are successful on one platform won’t guarantee success on all others too. You will need to adapt your content based on user behavior.
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Be consistent & creative! (2Cs to win the game)
These two go hand-in-hand. You can post consistently with the same content every time and you can’t post amazing content once a month. Neither of these two strategies will give you the attention and success you are looking for.
You have to be consistent as well as creative. With so much competition around, it’s easy for your followers to get distracted & move to other content-creators who are posting interesting stuff often.
Strategize every move you make. Take out time to brainstorm different recipes and experiment with the backdrop/ filters/ camera you are using to shoot videos. It’s important to be authentic but at the same time, don’t hesitate to take risks.
The funda is simple: post interesting stuff regularly. Some content will work, some won’t and that’s alright! Not every recipe is going to be a hit. Don’t stop yourself from trying something new just because you failed once.
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Sponsorship is the key! (gain credibility)
This is super basic and super important. As a Food Influencer, it’s important that you work with the best food brands and restaurants. This will not only give you good money (duh!) but also help you in creating more credibility and visibility.
Sponsorship is when a brand pays you to promote their product in front of your audience. It’s mandatory for social media networks to indicate if the brand or content you are promoting is sponsored or not.
Doing paid campaigns is great for your brand image and can help you in expanding your network as this gives your audience assurance that you are trustworthy and popular.
Approaching these biggies can be a bit overwhelming for you if you are still trying to pave your way to the top, and that’s why we are here to take care of that part. We have brands that can help you in establishing your career as a successful Food Influencer. Contact us for more info on this.
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Follow the trends! (know what’s “trending”)
Social media is very dynamic and changes very often. There are new updates every day and if you are not up-to-date with what’s happening in the market, you are running a high risk of losing your outreach.
We all know how TikTok got banned and Influencers relying on only this platform were out of jobs overnight.
You must be well-aware of what kind of content is going viral/ falling flat as well as what kind of updates are coming from Facebook, Insta, and other social media channels. This will help you in being well-prepared and creating successful campaigns.
Ex: vegan food is gaining a lot of popularity in India now and since this is still a new concept in India, the search queries for vegan recipes are skyrocketing too. Now you might not be a vegan Food Influencer, but providing vegan alternatives to regular recipes might be a good idea!
So, this was it! Tell us if you found the blog useful in the comments below. Also, let us know if you’d like us to help you in your Influencer journey. The world is brutal out there and we are here to give you an edge over others in this journey!