MAM
GUEST COLUMN: How to leverage Influencer Marketing for better impact
New Delhi: One of the biggest advantages that influencer marketing enjoys is the level of relatability and relevance it brings forth across all categories. Whether we’re talking about a product and a service offering or messaging for a cause, influencer marketing is versatile, that way, to address all campaign objectives.
Not just that, influencer engagements wonderfully trigger real-time conversions and drive a clear-cut call to action that successfully fulfill the specific brand agendas. Influencer engagements, which serve as a product testimonial by a legitimate, credible source, are undoubtedly more effective and impactful as they involve a humanized, personalized approach that other fields of marketing may not provide.
Influencer marketing is not only hugely instrumental in championing brand-related criteria, but it has been shown to create a positive impact in the social, not-for-profit realms as well. With the second wave of COVID-19 that has gruesomely gripped the entire nation, influencers have actively taken the onus to utilise their mass reach and following to disseminate useful Covid- related information. They took on the responsibility to steer clear of misinformation and go ahead and validate appropriate, authentic sources.
Influencer marketing is quite malleable that way wherein they can address the need of the hour and adapt in accordance with it. For instance, now is the time when people are increasingly spending more time at their homes; influencers display the presence of mind to adjust their content in tandem with that—which increases the relatability quotient substantially.
The simple trick is: influencers act like brand ambassadors without really making it very obvious.
With their massive following and reach, they can command their influence over their audience—which is highly impressionable—in a very relatable fashion. They act as the perfect opinion leaders who are fondly loved and trusted by their audience by seamlessly shaping perspectives in favour of the brands.
Influencer marketing functions like word of mouth on a larger scale where the influencer gives out his friendly review of a product and recommends the audience to purchase it. A lot of times they make the journey of their audience more rewarding by offering different discount codes. At the end of the day, all the stakeholders are equally benefited.
(Ramya is the CEO & founder of Whoppl, Mumbai based influencer marketing agency. The views expressed in the column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
