Weekly Shorts: Is Facebook still relevant for influencer marketing?

The Facebook audience in India primarily comprises males accounting for 72.02 percent of the total audience base, and female users stand at 28.01 percent. Millennials (26-39) are the most active user base, winning over 55.16 percent of space. Further, GenX aged 40 to 46 plus occupy 14.58 percent of active users. Image: Shutterstock

The proliferation of platforms and formats like short-videos have changed the influencer marketing game for marketers, brands and creators. In this fast-evolving space, keep up with the big trends and hot topics that matter in Storyboard18’s Weekly Shorts in collaboration with affable.ai, an end to end AI-powered influencer marketing platform. Track how creators, communities and brands are engaging with users and disrupting marketing to get a sharp and fast insight into present and future trends.

Influencer marketing on Facebook

As per our Facebook India report 2022 the volume of content created by influencers in India in the past year, Facebook's largest market fell by 62.7 percent. Despite losing some of its appeal to Gen Z, the platform is still a favourite among people above 30 years. Numerous factors, including inclination towards YouTube and Instagram, user interface issues, and privacy concerns, might be attributed to the decline in Facebook's popularity.

But data suggests Facebook influencer marketing can be highly relevant if the brand's target audience is over 30 years. Since the platform has the highest concentration of influencers across all categories, marketers may still use Facebook to strengthen their influencer marketing campaigns.

Influencer demographics

The Facebook audience in India primarily comprises males accounting for 72.02 percent of the total audience base, and female users stand at 28.01 percent. Millennials (26-39) are the most active user base, winning over 55.16 percent of space. Further, GenX aged 40 to 46 plus occupy 14.58 percent of active users. Hence, the platform can be ideal for brands if their target audiences are Millennials and GenX, whose proportion is higher on Facebook than other social media giants. Besides, GenZ comprises 30.25 percent of the total users.

Also read: Why every business needs a digital marketing agenda

Number of influencers by followers count

Among Southeast Asian nations, India has the most influencers across all categories. It shows how the platform can support brands in increasing conversion at various touchpoints and raising brand awareness. Micro-influencers (10k-50k followers) account for 31.5K individuals, comprising a large segment of Facebook. At least 15.8K people are nano-influencers. Facebook can still see the rise of nano influencers as they are briskly growing influencer categories on social media. The mid-tier and macro influencers comprise 5813 and 5246 individuals, respectively.

Also read: Doctor, teacher, influencer: What are Gen Alpha's dream jobs?

Influencer engagement rates

Different influencer categories on Facebook generated low engagement rates compared to other social media channels, indicating the need for more connection and affinity between followers and users on Facebook. Micro and midtier influencers generated almost equal engagement rates, at 1.34 percent and 1.33 percent, respectively. At the same time, nano and macro influencers showed similar engagement rates across the platform in 2022. Celebrity influencers with followers above 1M plus generated a minor engagement rate of 0.35 percent, indicating the audience's lesser connection with the content on the platform.

Also read: The rise and perils of employee influencers and founder brands

Influencer posts: 2021 Vs 2022

The number of influencers' posts decreased drastically by 62.7 percent in 2022 compared to 2021. Overall, influencers created 64.2M posts in 2021, reducing to 23.9M in 2022. Considering the drop, Facebook replicated various features of other social media platforms, such as short-form videos and Facebook stories, to sustain itself from the waves of Instagram and YouTube in India.

Also read: Creator economy: All that glitters is not always gold

Top influencers with the highest engagement rate

Raja Game Changerz (@gamechangersmuzic, 18K followers)

Raja Game Changerz is a Punjabi singer who has given memorable hits like Ammunition, Mafia Squad, Athru, Glock 2, and Silent Killer. His Haryanvi style of music captivated followers primarily from India, generating about 74.56 percent of the total engagement rate. Raja's hip-hop and regional songs have made him popular among all generational categories, mainly Millennials. His Facebook feed comprises career updates and lifestyle content, generating an estimated reach of 3.60K and estimated impressions at 5.40K.

Saurabh Daftardar Music (@saurabhdaftardarmusic, 10K followers)

Saurabh Daftardar is a singer, songwriter, and actor in India. With his music and vocals, he captivates all generational audiences, from Gen X to Gen Z. His followers are primarily from India and Pakistan, with male audiences dominating the user base. Daftardar got featured in one of India's most illustrious magazines, Femina. His Facebook feed is occupied mainly by his lifestyle and career updates generating about 64.16 percent of total engagement. Daftardar estimated reach and estimated impressions are 2.20k and 3.30k, respectively.

Cook with Nilima (@cook-with-nilima, 14.3K followers)

Nilima is a content creator and professional chef who writes for the regional and national daily. Her recipes are simple yet delicious, appealing to all generations, primarily millennials and GenX. Nilima's content mainly focuses on cooking and lifestyle, generating over 113.78 percent of the total engagement rate. According to the affable.ai data, her estimated reach and impressions are 2.87K and 4.30K.

Kishan Srivastava (@kishansrivastava20, 65K followers)

Kishan is an engineer, writer, and content creator whose feed is mainly related to motivational speeches and lifestyle. His followers are mostly from India, comprising GenZ and millennials as the primary audience. Kishan's inspiring and vitalizing content generated 63.23 percent of the total engagement rate. His encouraging speeches on different life scenarios bought an estimated reach of 13.00K and estimated impressions of 19.50 K.

This week’s Weekly Shorts is written by the content team of affable.ai.