Despite the growing creator economy in India, 88% of content creators earn less than 75% of their income from social media, with more than half making under 25% of their total earnings from digital content, according to Kofluence’s annual research report 2024-25.
The study, titled “Decoding Influence,” examines the monetization challenges facing India’s estimated 3.5 to 4.5 million influencers, even as the market continues to expand at a 22% compound annual growth rate.
Platform Economics Drive Monetization Disparities
Instagram’s prominence in India’s influencer market—commanding over 50% of influencer marketing budgets and hosting an estimated 1.8 to 2.3 million Indian creators—creates an uneven playing field for monetization. YouTube follows with approximately 500,000 to 700,000 creators, while other platforms collectively account for 90,000 to 120,000 creators.
These platform dynamics directly impact earning potential across the ecosystem. On Instagram, a branded reel from a creator with fewer than 10,000 followers typically commands between ₹500 and ₹5,000 ($6-$60), while mega and celebrity creators earn upwards of ₹2 lakhs ($2,400) for short-form branded content. The concentration of spending on dominant platforms leaves many creators struggling to generate sustainable income.
“There’s a misconception that all creators earn well. Less than 1% actually do,” notes Agu Stanley Chiedozie, a Nigerian-born influencer based in India, who is quoted in the report.
This reality forces most creators to diversify their income sources. Sponsored collaborations and brand deals account for 47% of creators’ revenue, while only 15% rely on platform ad revenue from services like YouTube and Meta. For most creators, pursuing multiple revenue streams isn’t just a strategy—it’s a financial necessity.
“Instagram has become the new storefront. Product discovery now happens on social media, not just e-commerce sites,” says Akankshya Panda, Influencer Marketing Manager at Stovekraft-Pigeon, highlighting how the platform shapes brand-creator economics.
Market Structure and Demographics
The demographic composition of the creator economy provides context for these monetization challenges. The 18-25 age group leads the creator market, making up 48% of Instagram creators and 44% of YouTube creators. This generation effectively sets content trends and cultural influence, but often faces the most notable financial hurdles as they build their platforms.
The gender distribution shows that male creators slightly outnumber female creators, with a 60-70% male presence on Instagram and 55-65% on YouTube. This imbalance may reflect broader structural issues in access and opportunity within the creator economy.
The geographic distribution of creators further shapes the market’s dynamics. North India contributes 33% of the creator base, while West and South India each represent 25%, followed by East India (10%) and Central India (7%). These regional concentrations are becoming increasingly important as brands adopt location-specific marketing strategies.
Industry Investment Patterns and Content Performance
E-commerce leads sectoral spending in influencer marketing, contributing 23% of annual investments, followed by FMCG brands at 19%. This concentration reflects the direct-to-consumer nature of these industries and their affinity for social commerce models.
Comedy and entertainment emerge as the best-performing content genres, delivering estimated engagement rates of 5-6% and a median cost-per-view of ₹0.15-0.2 ($0.002-$0.0025). New product or service launches drive increased influencer investments, with over 25% of brands boosting influencer budgets during launch campaigns. Engagement metrics remain the most requested KPI for measuring campaign performance.
Technology Adoption and the AI Impact
Technology platforms are reshaping how brands manage influencer relationships, with 61% of brands exploring tech platforms to streamline campaigns. Among these, 38% are actively exploring implementation, 18% report being fully integrated, 20% are in early transition stages, and 24% remain uncertain about adoption strategies.
Key reasons for platform adoption include better influencer discovery and engagement (23%), campaign scaling across multiple channels (19%), and using advanced analytics and reporting (18%). These technologies are particularly valuable as campaigns become more complex and scale up.
AI integration presents both opportunities and concerns within the ecosystem. Nearly 29% of marketers are using AI for creative content generation, making it the top use case in influencer marketing, followed by performance reporting and campaign management. However, the report reveals a notable perception gap regarding AI’s future impact: while 46% of brand marketers disagree that AI will displace marketing jobs, 64% of content creators believe AI will replace human marketing positions.
“I don’t think AI is here to replace creativity—it’s here to take away the guesswork and the incessant idling around. Marketers now make decisions faster, more effectively, and in a more focused fashion,” says JD Vlogs Delhi, representing the more optimistic view of AI integration.
Regulatory Developments and Compliance Challenges
The monetization environment is further complicated by developing regulatory frameworks that struggle to keep pace with the industry’s growth. Nearly 72% of marketers and over 56% of creators support clear ad disclosures, indicating recognition of transparency’s importance. However, actual compliance lags behind these attitudes.
A study by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) cited in the report reveals concerning findings about disclosure practices: 69% of top influencers had non-disclosure violations, while only 29% provided adequate disclosures. This gap between stated values and actual practices creates both reputational and regulatory risks for creators and brands alike.
In the financial sector, the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) enforcement actions against unregistered financial influencers have been noteworthy. Between June 2024 and March 2025, SEBI took down more than 70,000 misleading online posts and accounts, highlighting the increased scrutiny in specialized content areas.
Location-Specific Strategies and Seasonal Influences
As brands seek more genuine connections with diverse Indian audiences, location-specific influencer marketing has gained prominence, especially in Tier 2 (one to five million inhabitants) and Tier 3 (0.1 to 1 million) cities. This approach directly connects to the regional distribution of creators, leveraging local voices for greater relevance.
Micro-influencers with 10,000-100,000 followers have become the preferred category for regional outreach, with 52% of marketers finding them best suited for location-focused efforts. This trend acknowledges India’s cultural and linguistic diversity while addressing the monetization challenges faced by mid-tier creators.
“In a diverse country like India, where the taste of food changes every 100 kilometers, hyperlocal, regionally focused influencer strategies have become crucial. The one-size-fits-all approach no longer works,” explains Vinod Thadani, Chief Growth Officer at Dentsu Media Group.
The effectiveness of these regional approaches varies seasonally, with the report identifying Diwali (mid-September and mid-November) as the peak season for regional influence. During this period, 42% of brands report increased influencer spending. Christmas and New Year follow at 23%, with Pongal/Makar Sankranti (13%) and Holi (6%) also driving considerable activity.
Outlook: Depth Over Reach
The report predicts a shift from attention economies to “depth economies,” where the quality of engagement will take precedence over follower counts. This change may address monetization challenges by rewarding deeper audience connections rather than relying solely on raw reach metrics.
Other anticipated developments include increased standardization of disclosure practices, further integration of AI as a strategic tool, and greater regulatory focus on data privacy and content verification. For creators struggling with sustainable monetization, these trends suggest both new opportunities and continuing challenges in building viable career paths.
The Kofluence annual research report 2024-25 draws on data from surveys with over 1,000 brand managers, creators, and agency professionals, as well as analysis of more than 2 million creators on the Kofluence platform.
All images are credited to Kofluence. The full report is available here.
Nii A. Ahene is the founder and managing director of Net Influencer, a website dedicated to offering insights into the influencer marketing industry. Together with its newsletter, Influencer Weekly, Net Influencer provides news, commentary, and analysis of the events shaping the creator and influencer marketing space. Through interviews with startups, influencers, brands, and platforms, Nii and his team explore how influencer marketing is being effectively used to benefit businesses and personal brands alike.
Despite the growing creator economy in India, 88% of content creators earn less than 75% of their income from social media, with more than half making under 25% of their total earnings from digital content, according to Kofluence’s annual research report 2024-25.
The study, titled “Decoding Influence,” examines the monetization challenges facing India’s estimated 3.5 to 4.5 million influencers, even as the market continues to expand at a 22% compound annual growth rate.
Platform Economics Drive Monetization Disparities
Instagram’s prominence in India’s influencer market—commanding over 50% of influencer marketing budgets and hosting an estimated 1.8 to 2.3 million Indian creators—creates an uneven playing field for monetization. YouTube follows with approximately 500,000 to 700,000 creators, while other platforms collectively account for 90,000 to 120,000 creators.
These platform dynamics directly impact earning potential across the ecosystem. On Instagram, a branded reel from a creator with fewer than 10,000 followers typically commands between ₹500 and ₹5,000 ($6-$60), while mega and celebrity creators earn upwards of ₹2 lakhs ($2,400) for short-form branded content. The concentration of spending on dominant platforms leaves many creators struggling to generate sustainable income.
“There’s a misconception that all creators earn well. Less than 1% actually do,” notes Agu Stanley Chiedozie, a Nigerian-born influencer based in India, who is quoted in the report.
This reality forces most creators to diversify their income sources. Sponsored collaborations and brand deals account for 47% of creators’ revenue, while only 15% rely on platform ad revenue from services like YouTube and Meta. For most creators, pursuing multiple revenue streams isn’t just a strategy—it’s a financial necessity.
“Instagram has become the new storefront. Product discovery now happens on social media, not just e-commerce sites,” says Akankshya Panda, Influencer Marketing Manager at Stovekraft-Pigeon, highlighting how the platform shapes brand-creator economics.
Market Structure and Demographics
The demographic composition of the creator economy provides context for these monetization challenges. The 18-25 age group leads the creator market, making up 48% of Instagram creators and 44% of YouTube creators. This generation effectively sets content trends and cultural influence, but often faces the most notable financial hurdles as they build their platforms.
The gender distribution shows that male creators slightly outnumber female creators, with a 60-70% male presence on Instagram and 55-65% on YouTube. This imbalance may reflect broader structural issues in access and opportunity within the creator economy.
The geographic distribution of creators further shapes the market’s dynamics. North India contributes 33% of the creator base, while West and South India each represent 25%, followed by East India (10%) and Central India (7%). These regional concentrations are becoming increasingly important as brands adopt location-specific marketing strategies.
Industry Investment Patterns and Content Performance
E-commerce leads sectoral spending in influencer marketing, contributing 23% of annual investments, followed by FMCG brands at 19%. This concentration reflects the direct-to-consumer nature of these industries and their affinity for social commerce models.
Comedy and entertainment emerge as the best-performing content genres, delivering estimated engagement rates of 5-6% and a median cost-per-view of ₹0.15-0.2 ($0.002-$0.0025). New product or service launches drive increased influencer investments, with over 25% of brands boosting influencer budgets during launch campaigns. Engagement metrics remain the most requested KPI for measuring campaign performance.
Technology Adoption and the AI Impact
Technology platforms are reshaping how brands manage influencer relationships, with 61% of brands exploring tech platforms to streamline campaigns. Among these, 38% are actively exploring implementation, 18% report being fully integrated, 20% are in early transition stages, and 24% remain uncertain about adoption strategies.
Key reasons for platform adoption include better influencer discovery and engagement (23%), campaign scaling across multiple channels (19%), and using advanced analytics and reporting (18%). These technologies are particularly valuable as campaigns become more complex and scale up.
AI integration presents both opportunities and concerns within the ecosystem. Nearly 29% of marketers are using AI for creative content generation, making it the top use case in influencer marketing, followed by performance reporting and campaign management. However, the report reveals a notable perception gap regarding AI’s future impact: while 46% of brand marketers disagree that AI will displace marketing jobs, 64% of content creators believe AI will replace human marketing positions.
“I don’t think AI is here to replace creativity—it’s here to take away the guesswork and the incessant idling around. Marketers now make decisions faster, more effectively, and in a more focused fashion,” says JD Vlogs Delhi, representing the more optimistic view of AI integration.
Regulatory Developments and Compliance Challenges
The monetization environment is further complicated by developing regulatory frameworks that struggle to keep pace with the industry’s growth. Nearly 72% of marketers and over 56% of creators support clear ad disclosures, indicating recognition of transparency’s importance. However, actual compliance lags behind these attitudes.
A study by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) cited in the report reveals concerning findings about disclosure practices: 69% of top influencers had non-disclosure violations, while only 29% provided adequate disclosures. This gap between stated values and actual practices creates both reputational and regulatory risks for creators and brands alike.
In the financial sector, the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) enforcement actions against unregistered financial influencers have been noteworthy. Between June 2024 and March 2025, SEBI took down more than 70,000 misleading online posts and accounts, highlighting the increased scrutiny in specialized content areas.
Location-Specific Strategies and Seasonal Influences
As brands seek more genuine connections with diverse Indian audiences, location-specific influencer marketing has gained prominence, especially in Tier 2 (one to five million inhabitants) and Tier 3 (0.1 to 1 million) cities. This approach directly connects to the regional distribution of creators, leveraging local voices for greater relevance.
Micro-influencers with 10,000-100,000 followers have become the preferred category for regional outreach, with 52% of marketers finding them best suited for location-focused efforts. This trend acknowledges India’s cultural and linguistic diversity while addressing the monetization challenges faced by mid-tier creators.
“In a diverse country like India, where the taste of food changes every 100 kilometers, hyperlocal, regionally focused influencer strategies have become crucial. The one-size-fits-all approach no longer works,” explains Vinod Thadani, Chief Growth Officer at Dentsu Media Group.
The effectiveness of these regional approaches varies seasonally, with the report identifying Diwali (mid-September and mid-November) as the peak season for regional influence. During this period, 42% of brands report increased influencer spending. Christmas and New Year follow at 23%, with Pongal/Makar Sankranti (13%) and Holi (6%) also driving considerable activity.
Outlook: Depth Over Reach
The report predicts a shift from attention economies to “depth economies,” where the quality of engagement will take precedence over follower counts. This change may address monetization challenges by rewarding deeper audience connections rather than relying solely on raw reach metrics.
Other anticipated developments include increased standardization of disclosure practices, further integration of AI as a strategic tool, and greater regulatory focus on data privacy and content verification. For creators struggling with sustainable monetization, these trends suggest both new opportunities and continuing challenges in building viable career paths.
The Kofluence annual research report 2024-25 draws on data from surveys with over 1,000 brand managers, creators, and agency professionals, as well as analysis of more than 2 million creators on the Kofluence platform.
All images are credited to Kofluence.
The full report is available here.
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