Prajakta Koli aka MostlySane’s advice for content creators on the fine line between brand collaborations and staying honest on social media

• Prajakta Koli, aka MostlySane, has amassed an enormous following – 5.86 million subscribers on YouTube and 2.7 million on Instagram.
• Having come a long way from starting her YouTube channel in 2015, her trick to being relevant as a content creator is to stay honest.
• At the Business Insider Global Trends Festival, Koli shared how she has created a balance between her content and brand collaborations.

One of India’s biggest YouTube influencers Prajakta Koli aka MostlySane, has always managed to strike the right chord with her audience. Known for her goofy and creative videos that are highly relatable, Koli has amassed an enormous following – 5.86 million subscribers on YouTube and 2.7 million on Instagram.

Having come a long way from starting her YouTube channel in 2015, her trick to being relevant as a content creator has always been associated with being honest – even when she does brand collaborations. Speaking at the Business Insider Global Trends Festival, Koli shared how she has created a balance between her content and brand collaborations.

The fine line between branded content and collaborations

India’s booming social media market has seen a rise in the number of influencers from across categories – beauty, fashion, entertainment, comedy, and more. It has also paved the way for viral influencer marketing, where brands use an influencer or content creator’s platform to reach out to their audience. But here’s where a problem also comes in – how much-branded content is actually content for your audience?

Koli believes that digital media users are over the era of direct marketing, and pathetic ads don’t have space on social media. “For creators like me, we put our life out there; it’s a much more honest conversation we have with our audiences. When the relationship builds on a foundation like this, it gets very difficult to sell things. I believe more in collaborations and how that helps my channel and the brand,” she said.

As a content creator, Koli is not ready to compromise on any communication that goes up on her channel as she knows a bad integration will leave a dent in her channel. “The creator, as well as the brand, have a lot at stake while creating a brand video. It’s important to have a conversation and make it collaborative,” she said.

Koli also shared advice that she got from her YouTuber friend – BeYouNick. “He says that every time you write a brand video after your script is ready, just remove the brand from it. Does the video still work? If it does, then it’s a beautiful placement where the brand works seamlessly well, and your video works on its own,” she said.

How lockdown changed the way brands reach out to their audience

As the coronavirus lockdown happened, content creators too had to adjust to new ways of making videos – many had to take up different skills and become their own photographers, videographers,etc. Meanwhile the audience’s time spent on new media platforms actually jumped many folds, which meant the demand for content was greater than ever.

In fact, for Koli, she saw that the consumption pattern of content had changed entirely during the lockdown – people were spending more time on her channels. “More than how much new audience we got, the audience behaviour changed drastically during the lockdown. So even if zero new users came on my platform, the behaviour and consumption pattern changed,” she said.

Koli shares that the lockdown was like a massive collaborative project where brands met creators midway and understood their pain points.

“When the lockdown started, brands also very quickly adapted to the way of content creation. I was clear with brands that if they are expecting a highly produced video, that wasn’t going to happen,” she said.

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