Cheap handsets and low mobile data costs have helped India become WhatsApp’s biggest market, boasting more than 200 million active users. Yet while many use it simply to message loved ones or colleagues, group chats are proving to be fertile ground for political content and ‘fake news’.

Online influencers have shaped the way people interact with brands since the advent of social media, adding context to products outside of typical advertising channels. But the idea that more followers equate to more consumer sway is not always true. How exactly is influencer marketing evolving?

When Instagram announced its new algorithm that would prioritise popular content in feeds, over 340,000 people signed a petition against it. Now, influencers are forming private ‘pods’ to support each other’s posts in defence against the change. But why is there such concern over online snaps?

Private messaging is an ideal medium to do the obvious – open a dialogue and conduct a conversation. In fact, 59% of all US social sharing now occurs in private channels. But while people are happy to chat to their mates on platforms like Facebook Messenger, how can brands get involved?