The secret struggle behind India’s influencer explosion

Mumbai: India’s creator economy faces an adulting problem. With the number of so-called influencers in the country mushrooming to nearly 5 million, talent management and marketing agencies are scrambling to find folks to manage a population nearly rivaling Finland’s.

The number of India’s influencers, whose primary job is to gain enough followers for their online content, has increased from about 962,000 in 2020 to 4.06 million in 2024, according to a report in January by Qoruz, an influencer marketing software provider.

An online content creator becomes an influencer when they have amassed a following of at least 1,000 people, so their corner of the internet can serve as a space for brands to peddle their products or services.

As talent management and marketing agencies add thousands of influencers to their rosters, they are simultaneously recruiting hundreds of talent managers—even students still in college will do—to manage their new stars.

Such talent managers have to be an enterprising lot, helping influencers stitch brand deals while also handling paperwork, media integrations, events and sundry other requirements of a still emerging field.

“When a creator comes to an agency for management, there needs to be an efficient and sustained number of managers who can take up the job for managing the talent," said Aayush Tiwari, head of talent management at Monk Entertainment.

The talent management agency aims to achieve a ratio of four creators or influencers per manager, he said. “This strategic hiring ensures that our employees are not overburdened, and each creator receives the dedicated attention they need to thrive."

Monk Entertainment, according to Tiwari, has onboarded 30-35 influencers in the past six months, while hiring one manager per month.

Overall, Monk Entertainment has 110 influencers, including popular ones such as Nancy Tyagi, Yashraj Mukhate and Niharika NM, and has 40 talent managers.

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What does it take to manage influencers?

The quest for talent managers has intensified with the growth of nano and micro influencers—online content creators with 1,000 to 50,000 followers. More popular influencers, not counting sports and movie celebrities, command millions of followers.

“India’s creator landscape is evolving much faster than anybody could anticipate," said Shubham Agarwal, vice president at influencer marketing agency Opraahfx. “There are a lot of smaller influencers coming in but not many of them have the right exposure, strategy, and knowledge to grow in this system."

Opraahfx launched a ‘creator accelerator program’ for micro creators in August 2024 and aims to have 1,000 influencers onboard for this program and its other category-based talent management arms by the end of March. “We are very close to achieving the target," said Agarwal.

It doesn’t take much to manage influencers other than an ability to think on your feet and adapt and act quickly.

“Education qualification is no bar for hiring talent managers, (but) there are a few qualities we look for," said Tiwari of Monk Entertainment.

“They should be empathetic and easy to work with for the influencers. We test them through real-life scenarios to test their problem-solving skills as well. For instance, we may ask what they will do if an influencer doesn’t want to work with a particular brand that has offered a deal."

A rookie talent manager can earn up to ₹20,000-25,000 a month.

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The dark side of talent managers

The sprouting of influencers has prompted a rapid growth in talent management firms, or influencer marketing companies adding talent management arms or even pivoting to talent management entirely.

“Talent management business has been rapidly growing in the past 2-3 years and continues to grow, resulting in many new talent businesses joining the party day by day," said Rajiv Kumar Biswas, who joined Surat-based Nicoya as its chief executive after the influencer marketing software platform pivoted in October last year to become a talent management agency.

This agency has five employees dedicated to managing about 40 influencers, said Biswas. Of Nicoya’s five talent managers, one is a college student earning ₹30,000-40,000 for working 176 hours in a month.

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“Every month, at least three of the newer talent management agencies approach me offering (a deal)," said Ishani Sawant, an adventure sports and travel influencer with about 22,500 Instagram followers.

But some new agencies lack credibility, as they do not disclose the signing amounts agreed with brands and what percentage of that amount they will charge as commissions, Sawant said.

Other challenges also plague this fast-growing industry.

The influencer talent management industry is not mature yet, said Prateek Sinha, who tracks the influencer and content creator industry as a partner at consulting firm PwC.

“At this point, they are doing only match-making and they treat influencers as commodities, not assets that need to be invested in and grown," said Sinha. “They cater to brands as opposed to helping influencers get more deals, become better at their craft, manage their career, mental health, and so on."

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