Exclusive: Sonal Malhotra on Influencer Challenges & Authenticity in Collaborations

Sonal Malhotra, a popular digital creator, shares her inspiring journey of navigating motherhood, content creation, and brand collaborations while juggling a demanding career. From capturing personal memories to becoming a recognized name in the influencer industry, Sonal's story is a testament to passion, perseverance, and authenticity.

In this exclusive interview, she opens up about her beginnings, brand collaborations, industry insights, and the challenges of content creation, offering valuable advice for aspiring creators.

What inspired you to start your journey as a digital creator?

During the COVID lockdown in 2020, when my daughter was born, I started creating content to capture memories like her monthly milestones and special moments. Initially, I used Snapchat, but soon shifted to Instagram, using hashtags like #babygirl and #daughters, which brought positive responses from people who enjoyed the cute outfits and pictures. After six or seven months, I realized content creation was a thriving industry.

Coming from a finance background with limited social interaction, this creative outlet became exciting and fulfilling. Brands soon noticed my posts and began approaching me for collaborations, asking for photos and reels featuring my daughter and their products. I learned about content creation techniques, algorithms, and audience engagement along the way.

I got involved with platforms like Mom Shares Club, hosting live sessions discussing motherhood challenges such as postpartum depression and body positivity. After around two years of consistent posting, invitations to events from brands like Johnson's and Philips Avent started coming in, which allowed me to network with fellow mom creators and grow professionally in the industry.

And the mommy to your little doll, how do you balance motherhood with the commitments as being a blogger and influencer?

Balancing motherhood with commitments as a blogger and influencer is challenging, especially since I also work full-time as a private banker. COVID-19 provided an opportunity to balance better because I was on maternity leave, followed by a prolonged work-from-home schedule. Although managing office tasks, childcare, content creation, and family responsibilities can be overwhelming, the encouragement from my audience motivates me to keep going.

After five years in content creation, I've learned the importance of valuing my work and creativity. I've moved beyond barter collaborations and now emphasize paid partnerships to ensure my time, effort, and creativity are properly valued. Occasionally, I do collaborations as goodwill gestures or reciprocal support, but overall, creators should prioritize paid partnerships and value their own work.

So, Sonal, how do you curate content that resonates with both parents and lifestyle enthusiasts?

To curate content that resonates with both parents and lifestyle enthusiasts, I regularly follow trends and insights provided by Instagram, such as trending songs, highlights, and transition modes. I pay close attention to weekly Instagram notifications to keep my content relevant and engaging.

Additionally, leveraging platforms like Momspresso, OPA, and Creator's Tag, along with WhatsApp groups and application-based collaborations, helps enhance content visibility and monetization. These platforms connect directly with Instagram insights, enabling creators to be compensated fairly based on reach and audience engagement.

Can you share your favorite brand collaboration till date? What made it special for me?

My favorite brand collaboration was with Nykaa. So, so recently, like, Nykaa has just picked up the right thing. Every month, they have an association of NAP PR by Nykaa. So we have a beautiful content creating all around Nykaa, beauty products, lifestyle, and everything. And second would be the Myntra association that I have done and also being onboarded on their glam clan program that they have launched it on the profiles right now.

What is your approach to maintaining genuine engagement with your audience across to diverse niches?

Create quality content without overposting. Posting multiple unrelated contents daily can confuse your audience. Schedule posts strategically and clearly communicate your brand commitments. Keep content categories separate—don't mix promotions like diaper collabs with winter apparel simultaneously, as it dilutes engagement. Spread out promotions to ensure clarity and effectiveness, so your audience knows exactly when and where to find relevant coupon codes or offers.

You being a mother who also have travel commitments, how do you incorporate travel into your content while balancing personal and professional commitments?

As a mother who loves traveling, I incorporate travel into my content thoughtfully while clearly distinguishing family time from professional commitments. For instance, celebrating my daughter's first birthday internationally in Langkawi, Malaysia, was strictly family time. I keep travel for personal enjoyment separate from work-related obligations. I've learned the importance of saying "no" to professional commitments that conflict with personal and family time, emphasizing the need to value one's own boundaries and priorities.

What's been the most challenging aspect of being a digital creator, and how have you overcome the fact?

Most challenging part, first of all, is shooting. 2nd is writing the scripts. How to create the content and that it has to be unique. Thirdly, writing the captions. If you're not engaging in your caption, no one will comment. No one will put a like or a share or anything.

So you do it whole and soul, or do you have a team for it?

So I am doing right now whole and soul. But I do use professional tools, with the photographers on the, the spot or, like, the basis only when I have a good opportunity in product. All depends.

Creating reels and all of these things, do you find it a little difficult?

Yes, because sometimes it's like you have a work commitment. You can't be if you are calling someone for a photograph, then you dedicate that time to that one hour. He will shoot. He'll go writing a script and everything. You have already pre-decided the things. So you are in a well prepared manner or a planned manner in that case. But sometimes, it's like you are not even prepared, but it's a brand commitment and you just do it for this only.

How do you address concerns about influencers promoting products they don't genuinely use or believe in?

Addressing concerns about influencers promoting products they don't genuinely use or believe in, I emphasize authenticity. Promoting a product and later criticizing it creates conflicting messages. Influencers should avoid endorsing products purely for financial incentives or barter deals if they don't genuinely use or like them. Authenticity matters—if you truly believe in a product, you'll personally invest in it. Promoting products you genuinely use builds credibility and trust with your audience.

There is an ongoing debate about influencers not disclosing paid partnerships adequately. What is your take on maintaining transparency in collaborations?

Regarding transparency in influencer collaborations, brands should clearly disclose paid partnerships and compensate fairly based on genuine follower engagement and reach. It's crucial to distinguish authentic influencers from those inflating engagement through artificial groups or panels. Brands need to evaluate genuine insights carefully and reward content creators who deliver real, meaningful interactions with their audience, rather than focusing solely on follower numbers or artificially boosted engagement metrics.

But don't you think, Sonal, these days people are just, like, looking at the content of others and, doing the same thing? Like, script bhi manipulate nahi karte hai, copy kar lete hai pura ka pura hi.

Yes. Because if, you see Ankita Bhargava or maybe Aashna Shroff doing something or if they have a festive edition, people will start following that festival. People will start having that festival coming or if there was a deal wherein, someone posted about a magnet pushing on the fridge and then you are being over fat and all that also got trended. And then we will start in making reels on them. Arey use your creativity. Take the ideas create something humorous around you or maybe there are so many life events which you can capture and think I will integrate this. Maybe take some idea when you're differentiating your journey from other creator's journey or you raising your kids right now and people raising their kids before. So you can take that idea out there. But it's not like you're copying things all along and, you know, creating things on those same lines.

Some believe that the influencer industry is very oversaturated and at the risk of losing credibility also. Like, everybody you see these days doing the same thing. So do you agree? And where do you see it heading in the next few years?

Oh yes! The industry is oversaturated. Every other person sitting at home, says ki mein content create kar leti hu. Jo bhi mein product buy karti hu, paid partnership dikha ke content create kar leti hu. But I think that's not a creator or a influencer or a creativity plan that you have. They will do it for a few months. It's actually a hard job doing it and putting lots of efforts. They'll be meeting their commitments, managing their routine life, going pitching their profile to the products and all that is actually difficult in that case.

So, this is oversaturated but yes, the things will move on. More people coming in if they have their creativity at the best and they are genuine. They will stay in the industry and rest everything will flow off.

How do you handle online trolling? It's a part of digital era these days. So how do you handle online negativity or trolling, especially when it directs at personal aspects of your life?

It hurts, but the negative comments are altogether. People sweeter to you in front, where at back, they will be bitching about you or maybe taking a bad words like isne toh aisa kara tha, yeh toh har event pe aajati hai and, you know, things like that. We get to know from each other. We have some good connections with few people and they tell you ki isne toh usko bitch kiya, ki isne toh yeh saare events pe aati hai, yeh engage nahi karti hai mere posts pe or mujhe kehti hai engage karle. Which is okay, I think so! You have to forego that and do what you are doing. Don't overthink of your negativity things.

Can you share any exciting projects or collaborations you have in the pipeline as of now?

One pipeline is for the baby hug that I have in pipeline. Another one, I talked about the Pink Friday Nykaa sales that's going on. So Nykaa's content is gonna be live soon. And, another one is with the Himalayas baby care products that I have in pipeline right now.

What advice would you give to moms or aspiring creators looking to carve a niche of their own in digital creation?

Be at your best. Don't follow what others are doing it. Take some idea, but do your own creativity out creating things. Don't just copy paste the things.