I truly believe that all of us are very unique. We are exceptional in our own ways. We cannot be put into water right boxes. When you call someone a lifestyle influencer, it means that person is living a life that’s setting goals for you, that’s influencing you, aspiring you and motivating you. I think that is the mantra of success for a lifestyle influencer.
Having done my masters from Asia’s finest design college NIFT, Delhi , I navigated my way to India’s pioneer advertising agency Wunderman Thompson. Having worked intensely in the field of qualitative research , gave me a nuanced understanding of consumer insights and has enabled me to handle brand communication strategy for the leading FMCG brands in the country.
An ardent believer of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism, Upasana talks about her intense desire to “break through her deadlocks and really expand her life.” And that’s when it all began. Almost a year back, I embarked on this new journey of content creation and influencing through my social media handles.
And that’s when ‘blogging’ happened.
2. What led you to start your page on Instagram and what is it about?
I started my journey of instagramming as a mere hobby she was passionate about. Having travelled across the continents , I had curated an online travel diary which was interspersed with some interesting culinary curation. This is what got me the sudden attention of certain hospitality chains and kick started my mystical blogging journey.
This was definitely something that I had always dreamt of, but never actively pursued.
I call my social media handle- “Salmon on Stilettos”. As the Salmon is a fish that flows against the current. We need to break deadlocks, break the boundaries we impose on our own self.
Talking about her own channel, “Salmon on Stilettos” , she says – my life is what a salmon must feel like. Always upstream, going against the current. And that’s me , an experience junkie in stilettos or rather skateboards! Always in pursuit of breaking every barrier that stops me from growing in life.
A lot of times we lack confidence in our own capability. We are unable to see how much innate potential lies within our own being. We usually use the words “I cant”. But those are merely self imposed restrictions. We are giving into the belief that “we can’t”.
These are roadblocks and barriers created by our own self-that are stopping us from blooming to our full potential. So the key is to “truly, genuinely believe and have faith in our own magnanimous abilities”.
3. How would you distinguish the term blogger from an influencer?
A blogger is a content creator. But when that content starts to create ripples and starts to impact lives, its a journey towards influencing. That’s when you are a change agent and have the power to influence behaviour.
With all the fun and perks of being an influencer comes a strong sense of responsibility. Lots of people hold their trust in you. A lot of them “ do what you do”, a lot of them learn from you. So you cannot at any point be reckless. You cannot at any point forget this sense of responsibility. This sometimes tends to be overwhelming, but taking responsibility is non-negotiable
It’s almost a ladder. You start as a blogger. But when your blog creates loyalist and consumers desires your point of view- that’s influencing.
4. Is it financially sustainable to be a lifestyle influencer today?
I feel for most bloggers who end up influencing, there is always a trigger for entry - a reason why they started doing what they are currently doing. For some it’s passion , for some it’s a vent out of there creativity, for some it’s the recognition and for some it’s the money. Each person has a different motivator. A lot of people truly believe in a cause and will go to any extreme to promote it even without a penny of compensation.
To each his own. That’s what I feel. For me content creation has been a passion. I love visual story telling. I’m born to an artist mother and a business man as a father, so I’m a mix of a marketing mind with a strong creative bent of mind. So for me my blog is my canvas.
3. How would you distinguish the term blogger from an influencer?
A blogger is a content creator. But when that content starts to create ripples and starts to impact lives, its a journey towards influencing. That’s when you are a change agent and have the power to influence behaviour.
With all the fun and perks of being an influencer comes a strong sense of responsibility. Lots of people hold their trust in you. A lot of them “ do what you do”, a lot of them learn from you. So you cannot at any point be reckless. You cannot at any point forget this sense of responsibility. This sometimes tends to be overwhelming, but taking responsibility is non-negotiable
It’s almost a ladder. You start as a blogger. But when your blog creates loyalist and consumers desires your point of view- that’s influencing.
4. Is it financially sustainable to be a lifestyle influencer today?
I feel for most bloggers who end up influencing, there is always a trigger for entry - a reason why they started doing what they are currently doing. For some it’s passion , for some it’s a vent out of there creativity, for some it’s the recognition and for some it’s the money. Each person has a different motivator. A lot of people truly believe in a cause and will go to any extreme to promote it even without a penny of compensation.
To each his own. That’s what I feel. For me content creation has been a passion. I love visual story telling. I’m born to an artist mother and a business man as a father, so I’m a mix of a marketing mind with a strong creative bent of mind. So for me my blog is my canvas.
My medium of expression. I truly believe when you are passionate about something, compensation follows you. You get rewarded for your efforts. So the money is a bi-product. It’s not the motivator behind the work I do.
5. What do you think influences consumer behaviour?
Humans are never in isolation. Consumers are ultimately humans. They are exposed to a gamut of things. Each exposure leaves an imprint and each imprint has an impact on choice.
There is so much external stimulation, education- so much information that at times the difference between what’s right and wrong too gets blurred and confusing.
In this chaos and overloading of information and multiplicity of choices- you cannot expect loyalty , you can just be a part of their repertoire set. At the end of the day- it is a world of flirts. Consumers are constantly flirting with new brands, experimenting, educating themselves and making their choices.
Marketeers need to be sensitive to this consumer mind. They need to understand the vacant spaces that they can occupy best in this consumer’s mind to create their own unique niche.
6. What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?
For me success has different meaning systems.
Firstly, Success is growth . One needs to keep growing in life. That’s my perspective. This movement towards betterment is what I would call success. I think of myself a work in progress. Almost a beta version. Because I know there is infinite scope of improvement and I’m constantly at it.
5. What do you think influences consumer behaviour?
Humans are never in isolation. Consumers are ultimately humans. They are exposed to a gamut of things. Each exposure leaves an imprint and each imprint has an impact on choice.
There is so much external stimulation, education- so much information that at times the difference between what’s right and wrong too gets blurred and confusing.
In this chaos and overloading of information and multiplicity of choices- you cannot expect loyalty , you can just be a part of their repertoire set. At the end of the day- it is a world of flirts. Consumers are constantly flirting with new brands, experimenting, educating themselves and making their choices.
Marketeers need to be sensitive to this consumer mind. They need to understand the vacant spaces that they can occupy best in this consumer’s mind to create their own unique niche.
6. What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?
For me success has different meaning systems.
Firstly, Success is growth . One needs to keep growing in life. That’s my perspective. This movement towards betterment is what I would call success. I think of myself a work in progress. Almost a beta version. Because I know there is infinite scope of improvement and I’m constantly at it.
I am an ardent believer of the lotus sutra and nichiren Buddhism. They focus a lot of Human revolution. I think that is fundamental and for me progressing each minute, each day is success. Stagnation in life is synonymous to failure . When you stop seeking, stop yearning to grow , it’s the first step toward regressing.
The second meaning of success is to take the steering of your life in your own hands. At many times in life things don’t happen the way we want them to. At those moments people tend feel victimised, almost at the mercy of the environment- cribbing and lamenting. For me this is failure. Success means being active and taking charge of your life. Navigating your own life sitting in the driving seat rather than just being passive.
7. How can someone become a successful lifestyle influencer?
I truly believe that all of us are very unique. We are exceptional in our own ways. We cannot be put into water right boxes. When you call someone a lifestyle influencer, it means that person is living a life that’s setting goals for you, that’s influencing you, aspiring you and motivating you. I think that is the mantra of success for a lifestyle influencer.
Also with influencing comes a strong sense of responsibility, as a lot of people are watching you and I feel it’s important for an influencer to be able to add value to the viewer’s life. Time is money and if your audience is devoting time to you, you must give back through meaningful well through through content that resonates with your audience . Also it’s very important to understand the consumer sentiment, we need to give them what they can digest. You cannot feed them more or something that would not be palatable for them.
8. Which is your favourite book and why?
I read a lot of spiritual texts, pertaining to Nichiren Buddhism. There are multiple books I’m currently reading by Daisaku Ikeda. The most profound life concepts have been explained in the most pleasant and understandable manner. The work that I am reading currently talks about the individual challenges and takes inspiration from the lotus sutra. Something that has always stayed with me from this writing is the analogy of the lotus flower.
The lotus flower blooms in the muddy water. That’s where it gets it’s nourishment from. So for us too, escapism isn’t ever an option. Bloom here. Bloom now. Use the obstacle as an opportunity.
The second meaning of success is to take the steering of your life in your own hands. At many times in life things don’t happen the way we want them to. At those moments people tend feel victimised, almost at the mercy of the environment- cribbing and lamenting. For me this is failure. Success means being active and taking charge of your life. Navigating your own life sitting in the driving seat rather than just being passive.
7. How can someone become a successful lifestyle influencer?
I truly believe that all of us are very unique. We are exceptional in our own ways. We cannot be put into water right boxes. When you call someone a lifestyle influencer, it means that person is living a life that’s setting goals for you, that’s influencing you, aspiring you and motivating you. I think that is the mantra of success for a lifestyle influencer.
Also with influencing comes a strong sense of responsibility, as a lot of people are watching you and I feel it’s important for an influencer to be able to add value to the viewer’s life. Time is money and if your audience is devoting time to you, you must give back through meaningful well through through content that resonates with your audience . Also it’s very important to understand the consumer sentiment, we need to give them what they can digest. You cannot feed them more or something that would not be palatable for them.
8. Which is your favourite book and why?
I read a lot of spiritual texts, pertaining to Nichiren Buddhism. There are multiple books I’m currently reading by Daisaku Ikeda. The most profound life concepts have been explained in the most pleasant and understandable manner. The work that I am reading currently talks about the individual challenges and takes inspiration from the lotus sutra. Something that has always stayed with me from this writing is the analogy of the lotus flower.
The lotus flower blooms in the muddy water. That’s where it gets it’s nourishment from. So for us too, escapism isn’t ever an option. Bloom here. Bloom now. Use the obstacle as an opportunity.
- Upasana Kochhar
Instagram @upasanakochhar
- Interviewed by - Nishad Kinhikar
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