By Puja Gupta

New Delhi, Jun 10 (IANSlife): The lockdown lasted for nearly three-months, making people spend a lot more hours on screen time. This resulted in bloggers and influencers attempting to increase their reach.

While the number of followers might have grown, with the economy slowing down, income streams of social media platforms was seen drying up, as brand's cut back on budgets for collaborations.

"We also have a voice on social media. So brands reach out to us to reach the audience; this was much more now because everyone is sitting at home and learning on their phones. Brand collaborations, however, have become less with slashed brand budgets. So it has definitely affected the income for sure," says Shalini Samuel, a beauty blogger.

Bloggers and influencers are often criticized for doing paid endorsement and accused of not putting up honest reviews and misleading their audiences. To which the YouTuber, who's channel recently crossed 1 million subscribers, replies: "I feel as long as the influencer isn't misleading their audience and sharing real and honest feedbacks about the products it's absolutely fine. It's unfair to criticize because for most of us this is a full time job. We keep reinventing and try getting better with our production so we need to invest in good equipment and lots more in order to produce better content."

She further added: "Paid promotions are justified until it's honest and real. I sometimes use an X product myself so it the brand approaches me it's justified that I talk about it and make content as its part of my everyday routine. I feel people will be more aware of their spending. Sustainable clothing options and conscious consumptions will be of importance this year and that influencers will need to make more value driven content."

Samuel plans to make "more value driven videos" that are relatable to today's issues that prevail in the world. "More easy home remedies so grooming becomes even easier at home and women don't always need a salon. This way they can keep themselves safe and also save some money as the pandemic has affected everyone's income," she says. She also wants to start a series on reusing and sustainable fashion videos.