Among the top women influencers in India’s social media universe, Kusha Kapila has established her 1.2 million fanbase on Instagram, and more across platforms, with a steady stream of creative content around her alter egos ‘Billi Maasi’, ‘Gurri Di Mummy’, ‘Naina’, ‘DJ Aarti’ and the likes. In her observations, as told to Radhika Bhirani, the social media influencer advises that viewing one’s presence with a single lens is similar to limiting one’s creative potential to a silo

It is not wrong to say the TikTok ban has left many content creators scrambling for visibility in current times. But my advice is that do not put your eggs in one basket. Perhaps this phase is a great way for many creators in India to know that expanding yourself should be priority. If you want people to take your business seriously, you cannot be only on one platform.

When I had just begun posting on Instagram, I remember, I did not have access to internet for four days, and I could not post. That is when I realised that my life has to be more than an app. And I decided to try and have as much presence anywhere and everywhere as possible.

As content creators, we must remember, we are not TikTokers or Instagrammers or YouTubers, we are creators, writers, directors of photography, edit masters — we are many things. And we can take whatever we create to any platform. The answer in changing times simply lies in adaption.

We are living in times of lockdown, and people have been generating content from their homes. This is human nature. We are quick to adapt. We should trust our basic human instinct, and leverage the fact that we can transition, and just go with it.

Knowing the end-goal is vital. It is a good time to take stock of why content creators do what they do, why are we in this. Is the end-goal making money? Is it getting famous? Is it for social validation? Or is it for entertainment? My advice to content creators is choose your platform accordingly.
If you are creating for the sole purpose of creating money, go to platforms where you know you can definitely monetise your presence, like YouTube, which is the only platform as relevant today, as it was a decade ago.

That being said, newer initiatives such as TikTok are noteworthy for reaching through to people who never thought of themselves as creators. It did not only go to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, but it also went to rural India. It was a space, where TikTok specifically was the first mover.
Now it has been taken away but there are many new options. For content creators it means becoming first movers on an Indian app, and why not? Do it. I will definitely try them out. 

This article was first published in the print issue of (10 July - 25 July) BW Businessworld. Click Here to Subscribe to BW Businessworld magazine.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house