India's Top 100 Digital Stars: How influencers were ranked

A Forbes India-Goat study recognises content makers who've made their mark. Comedy creators dominate the list, but socially responsible creators are an important part as well

By Kunal Sawant

Published: Oct 16, 2024 12:06:47 PM IST

Updated: Oct 16, 2024 12:14:45 PM IST

Influencers who have made their mark, consistently creating high-quality and engaging content.

There are some key updates in the third edition of India’s Top 100 Digital Stars—a Forbes India-Goat study. Unlike last year where we focussed solely on verified profiles, this year, we’ve expanded our approach to include all creators—verified or not. While verification badges help confirm authenticity, we recognise that many genuine creators may not hold the blue tick. The rest of the methodology remains consistent with previous editions, ensuring a fair and data-driven ranking of digital influencers.

In this year’s list, we recognise influencers who have made their mark, consistently creating high-quality and engaging content.

Our focus during the curation of this list spanned Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. Acutely aware that not every influencer is active across all platforms, our methodology ensures inclusivity. If a creator’s data is accessible across multiple platforms through the Goat platform, we have combined key metrics such as followers, engagement, views, reach and impressions to provide a comprehensive ranking.

For 2024, comedy creators dominate the list with seven of the top 10 being comedy creators. They are followed by those from tech, and travel & photography which together comprises 50 percent of the list. The Goat changemakers, a group of socially responsible creators, is an essential part of the list, aligning with our Responsible Investment Framework.

Nancy Tyagi is the No 1 influencer on this year’s India’s Top 100 Digital Stars list. Her rise to the top is a testament to her unmatched creativity, dedication and authentic connection with her audience. Tyagi’s ability to consistently engage and inspire across platforms has set her apart in the influencer space.

Click here for India’s Top 100 Digital Stars

Step-by-Step Selection Process

Our list was compiled through a thorough multi-step process:

Initial Identification: We first identified top creators across nine genres, considering engagement rates and follower counts to form an initial pool of influencers. This was further refined based on several key metrics, including reach, engagement, impressions, authenticity, follower count and trending score, resulting in our final list of 100.

Goat Score: Our proprietary algorithm, the Goat Score, analysed these metrics to compare creators within the same category and audience size. Content was rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with top-performing content receiving higher scores. The average Goat score of the list is eight out of 10, clearing a sign of great scores across all parameters.

Goat Genuity Score: To combat fraud and ensure the integrity of the list, we utilised the Genuity Score to detect fake followers. The average Genuity Score of the top 100 influencers was over 81 percent, indicating a high level of authentic engagement.

Platform Analysis: We focussed on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook as the key platforms in influencer marketing, consolidating metrics such as followers, engagement, views, and impressions for those active across multiple platforms.

Goat Score vs Reach/Followers: It’s important to note that a high Goat Score doesn’t necessarily equate to a large reach or follower count. For instance, a creator with 74,000 followers might have a higher Goat Score than one with millions of followers, as the score also factors in engagement, audience quality and content impact.

This methodology allows us to present a comprehensive and fair evaluation of the top influencers in India, maintaining the rigour and reliability of our rankings, while adapting to the ever-evolving digital landscape.

(The writer is business head at the Goat agency)

(This story appears in the 18 October, 2024 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)