GroupM’s Goat and Forbes India unveil the top 100 digital stars list

GroupM, the media investment group under WPP, has announced the Top 100 Digital Stars List for 2023 curated by The Goat Agency, GroupM’s influencer and content marketing solution, in partnership with Forbes India. This list showcases India's most influential digital personalities, celebrating their exceptional contributions across various domains including comedy, beauty & fashion, business & finance, fitness, food, tech, travel, and social work.

The focus is on original content creators, with tech, travel & photography, and comedy influencers constituting over 50 percent of the list. Notably, the list boasts a balanced representation of both men and women, showcasing the diversity of talent in the vibrant influencer community.

“This collaboration between Goat and Forbes India has resulted in the identification of India’s most influential digital stars,” said Kunal Sawant, Business Head, Goat, GroupM India. “We are highlighting original content creators who are 'influencing' their audiences in the best possible way and driving positive impact. Key metrics such as followers, engagement, views, reach and impressions across social media platforms have been taken into account in the curation of this list. We've also included the Goat changemakers - a roster of socially conscious creators, and an integral part of GroupM Goat's Responsible Investment Framework.”

To compile this list, a multi-step process was initiated. Beginning with the identification of top creators in nine specified genres based on engagement rate and follower count, the selection was then narrowed down to the top 100 influencers through a comprehensive assessment of vital metrics, including reach, engagement, impressions, and follower count. Goat’s proprietary scoring algorithm played a crucial role in the process. This algorithm, which compares creators within similar categories, types, and audience sizes, ranks their content based on engagement rate. The careful consideration of authenticity-verified profiles, compliance with disclosure labels, and platform presence ensured a fair and data-driven assessment, highlighting the real impact of these influencers in the digital landscape. 

"In the digital age, influencing has been honed into a science, thanks to the availability of gazillions of data that help quantify and measure the degree of influence. The number of followers and engagement metrics like shares and comments help determine the success or lack of it of an influencer. Forbes India-Goat's 2023 India’s Top 100 Digital Stars takes into account those producing engaging content and with the views, engagement and reach to show for their efforts,” said Brian Carvalho, Editor, Forbes India.