How influencers are coping

With travel and dining out being out of the picture, social media influencers are collaborating with homegrown brands and using the time to learn new skills

Social media influencers are reinventing themselves to stay relevant during the lockdown. Given the restrictions on travel and dining out, they have had to think of new ways to keep their accounts going. A majority of them use Instagram, YouTube and Facebook to talk about products and services.

‘Time of personal journey’

Ankita Kumar (www.monkeyinc.in), travel blogger, says the lockdown has been a time of personal growth. “The first 21 days were stressful. I woke up one day unable to breathe,” she says.

However, she began slowly placing travel in the context of the lockdown. In one video, she asked friends she had made during her travels what they would do if they had one extra day before the lockdown.

Earlier, travel brands had paid for her stay, travel and related expenses, but non-travel brands gave her additional income. Since the lockdown, her collaborations have mostly been with the non-travel brands.

Although new projects are coming in, many have fallen through. “Travel is a luxury and even more so now. It is only right that it has stopped. I am confident I will figure something out if the situation doesn’t change,” she says.

Learning new skills

Food bloggers create content around food festivals and restaurant and menu launches. However, with dine-in becoming rare, they have had to come up with new strategies.

Deepa Shri Rajan (@thecrumbstash on Instagram) has started focusing on food delivery and uses her platform to talk about how restaurants take safety measures.

She also shares recipes to inspire people to cook. “I have been collaborating with some hotels and restaurants that allow people to experience their new normal. The additional time has also allowed me to clear some backlog work and share videos of previous collaborations,” she says.

Bloggers like her are also using the time to learn new skills. “With products coming home for review, I decided to take up a class on food styling and photography, which will help me in the long run,” she says. Currently, she is working towards creating a YouTube channel.

Reevaluating choices

Fashion blogger Diksha Sharma(@diksha04 on Instagram) says she has become more conscious about the brands she works with.

“I am focusing on sustainable fashion and lifestyle instead of fast fashion. In today’s world, where people can’t even go to malls, fast fashion definitely has taken a step back. Organic and local brands that work with artisans are the future in every way,” she says.

She believes the lockdown has made people move away from mindless consumption. “My content used to revolve largely around fashion and travel, but that is not as relevant. I have started focusing on DIYs, and expanded to include content around food and fitness,” she adds. While the money that comes in from Diksha’s blog has dropped significantly, she has managed to stay afloat as she juggles a career as a marketer with Accenture.

Going local

For lifestyle blogger Anuja Pandey (@loftyspectrums), the pandemic has been relatively easy as she covers multiple subjects.

With travel being out of the picture, she has been talking about fashion, beauty and lifestyle.

“I miss going out and attending events, and it does take a toll mentally. But you just have to keep going; things will eventually pick up,” she says.

Local firms, as opposed to the usual big luxury brands, have been approaching her during the lockdown.

“Local is always better, so it is a good thing. This helps us move towards a sustainable lifestyle and promote small businesses,” she adds.

‘Great time for fitness’

Fitness bloggers have found the
lockdown a boon. Karthika Anand (@kartasian), who has been blogging for over a year, says with more people interested in working out at home, creating content has never been easier.

Many who follow her are interested in taking online classes, which has been an additional source of income for her.