Adgully Bureau
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At FICCI Frames 2026, Meta Country Director, India Arun Srinivasand Kusha Kapila, Digital Content Creator, Actress, and Co-Founder, The New Fandom, explored how Reels, creators and digital communities are reshaping the way audiences discover content and build connections with creators.
The fireside chat, titled ‘The New Fandom: How Reels, Creators and Communities Are Rewiring What India Loves’, focused on the evolution of fandom in India, the rise of creator discovery beyond metros, the growing importance of engagement over follower count, and the ways creators are turning communities into businesses.
Kapila said that the creator ecosystem has increasingly moved beyond simply tracking follower growth, with audience engagement and the impact of content becoming more significant.
“I think what really matters is how engaged people are with what you’re saying on the internet and how much of an impact of what you’re saying has on their life,” she said.
Srinivas noted that follower count is no longer the only route to discovery on Reels. He pointed to instances of creators with 20,000 to 30,000 followers generating millions of views, highlighting how content can reach audiences beyond a creator’s existing follower base.
He also stressed the importance of analytics and insights, including follower and non-follower reach, skip ratios and like ratios, in understanding how content is performing.
Creator discovery moves beyond metros
The speakers discussed the growing participation of creators from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and smaller towns.
Srinivas said content creation is increasingly being viewed as a career across these markets. He also noted that the creator ecosystem has expanded beyond its early concentration around fashion and beauty, with creators now building audiences around a wider range of interests and areas of expertise.
Kapila attributed the traction of many emerging creators to their authenticity and ability to offer audiences a window into their everyday lives.
Citing creators such as Life of Pooja and Renu Begnath, she said these creators are giving audiences an insight into their individual worlds and experiences.
“It’s no longer linear. It’s no longer gate-kept. It’s very democratic in its nature,” Kapila said, describing the changing nature of creator discovery.
Srinivas also pointed to what he described as “unconnected discovery”, where content can reach users based on their interests even when they do not already follow the creator.
He cited examples of food-related content being discovered by users interested in food, illustrating how content can travel beyond established follower networks.
Engagement and community become key to creator-led businesses
The conversation also examined how creators are using their communities to identify opportunities and build businesses.
Kapila spoke about her experience of building Underneath through content. She recalled that when she shared outfits and tagged brands in her Stories, she saw significant engagement with the tagged products.
According to Kapila, Stories receiving around three to four lakh views generated approximately 70,000 to 80,000 sticker taps on the tagged brand.
“That’s when I realised that there’s a real need for a product like this,” she said.
She said that before launching the brand, she also published several videos discussing what she was wearing, using audience response to understand the demand and identify a gap in the market.
Micro dramas gain traction among younger audiences
The conversation also touched on emerging storytelling formats and changing content preferences among younger audiences.
Kapila said Gen Z audiences are increasingly engaging with lived experiences, live events and glimpses into creators’ personal lives. She also pointed to the growing interest in micro dramas, where creators release stories across multiple short episodes.
She said she was experimenting with the format herself and was set to launch a micro drama series on Instagram.
Srinivas said the popularity of short-form content is linked to audiences having greater control over what they consume, when they consume it and in which language.
He also noted that micro dramas are emerging across markets including China, Korea and Japan, indicating a wider shift towards shorter episodic storytelling.
AI finds a place in the creator ecosystem
AI was another key theme of the discussion, with Kapila sharing how she is using AI-enabled tools in her content and business workflows.
She highlighted translation capabilities that allow creators and audiences to access content across languages. For her business, she said she uses Ads AI and Melo.AI for areas including advertising and optimising content hooks.
Srinivas discussed Meta’s AI developments and referred to Muse, which he described as a personal AI assistant. He said the product was already live in the US and that Meta hoped to bring it to India in the future.
He outlined potential applications including research, travel planning, restaurant reservations, shopping and other everyday tasks. He also discussed how AI agents could potentially help creators manage content calendars and handle large volumes of direct messages.
For small businesses, Srinivas said AI agents could assist with sales, customer support, order management and other operational functions. He also pointed to potential developments in creator-focused tools for video production, editing and language dubbing.
‘AI can be the supporting character’
Addressing those who are yet to experiment with AI, Srinivas encouraged users to begin with everyday applications and gradually integrate the technology into their workflows.
He suggested exploring AI tools available through Instagram and WhatsApp for practical use cases such as travel planning, business requirements and everyday tasks.
“We’re still, obviously, the main character. AI can be the supporting character,” Srinivas said, describing AI as a tool that can help users manage information overload and reduce their workload.
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Media30-Sep-2026Kusha KapilaArun SrinivasFICCI FRAMES 2026
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