Influencer Komal Basith on conscious content

Influencers have more bargaining power now, says this beauty editor-turned-digital creator

I am told I’m an influencer. It’s odd because I didn’t really set out to be one — I just like sharing snippets of my life on Stories, Instagram’s 24 hour-only feature that allows users to upload images, GIFs or 15 second videos that are visible to one’s followers before they vanish into the ether. I wasn’t happy doing what I was — running a digital agency — and so I decided to take a break. I started making videos about skincare on Instagram while sharing bits of my daily life on the platform; fast forward to a year later and I’m enjoying it way more than expected. I’m meant to have a rate card — a media kit too, if possible. And a manager! Like I’m some kind of agency-quasi celebrity hybrid, which I suppose is not too far from the truth when it comes to influencers, considering they’re often expected to script, edit, produce and be the content. When I ran an agency, Jossbox, one of the things we did was work with brands to manage their marketing budgets, often set aside exclusively for influencers — or digital creators, as they’re sometimes known. Between 2013 when we launched and 2019 when I closed it, I saw a sharp rise in the budgets allocated by brands towards influencers.