[Interview] Sneha Ullal Goel, ELLE DECOR shares content traits of a winning influencer

Content is the king – this adage no longer suffices to depict the importance of content in every aspect of communication. Social Samosa gets in a conversation with Sneha Ullal Goel, Managing Editor, ELLE DECOR and a presiding member of the Asian Paints IDIA jury to understand the qualities of a winning influencer’s content.

What are the 5 things that you look for in the content created by a winning influencer? 

Originality and crispness of content, easy-to-do and bright ideas, user-friendly/easily navigable blog or site and unique efforts to encourage reader interaction, these are the 5 things I look for.

According to you, what are the biggest faux pas that influencers tend to make while creating content? 

Sometimes influencer content (at least with interior design and decor) can become too personal – there's way too much emphasis on the 'I' when there's no need, and that can be a turn off for readers who come to your site looking purely for inspiration or bookmarks for the home. Plus, long-winded stories? An absolute no-no.

Any writing tips that you would like to give out to budding influencers? 

The ground rule with any medium is that you need to know who your reader is, what is his/her profile? What do they do, where do they work, what is their lifestyle? What kind of content do they want? What ideas will benefit them? If you know the answers to these questions, it's really easy to put your content together. Secondly, stay sharp, keep reading and be on the nose with trends.

How according to you is influencing for home and interior decor space different from other industries? 

As I mentioned earlier, the decor space is tough. Most influencers do everything on their own - from conceptualising, to styling and execution, to photography and writing out the post or feature. Plus your visuals are key – you may have a great idea for the bedroom or living room, but it'll fall flat if you don't have an effective image to support it. This is not necessarily the case with cosmetics, celebrity gossip or even food!

How has influencer marketing changed the way users consume content in the decor space? 

When readers seeing influencers who are just like them, suggesting great ideas and pretty much do everything on their own, it inspires them to design their space themselves, rather than rely on professionals. Like I said earlier, DIY is huge!