Social dominates brand marketing budgets, surpassing paid search in advertising investments globally and becoming the dominant media channel (WARC Global Ad Trends, 2024). What started as an uncoordinated and opportunistic approach to marketing has now become strategic, data-driven, and irreplaceable.
While Asian marketers find ways to leverage influencers, they must contend with a social ecosystem that is being dramatically shaped in new directions by content creators, regulators, consumers, and platforms. The most visible sign is the increasing number of niche and diverse genre influencers who are starting to trend online. There are different categories for almost every type of interest. From mushroom foragers to “grandfluencers”.
The paradox of Asia’s social media landscape is that despite the large user base and deep engagement (time spent on social media), the market is niche. As marketers are constantly trying to track and optimize their spend, how can they navigate the complexities of influencer marketing in this region?
Finding a match between resonance and performance
Marketers can also partner with agencies to manage influencer rosters, hire through creator platforms, or have in-house teams take charge of these relationships. But with influencers from nano to mega offering so many options for potential collaborations, there is an even greater need for due diligence to ensure brand and sales goals are aligned. Masu.
best practice: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and success metrics to track actual results against influencers’ previous commitments. Incorporating this into the contract agreement will give marketers a clear understanding of the compensation model they wish to implement.
Make sure you get what you pay for
The product receipt process is one of the riskiest areas of an influencer’s engagement funnel. Discrepancies between promises and actual purchases are common. To enable better evaluation and future audits, brands need to set appropriate contractual terms for their partnerships. Clear expectations for pricing transparency and allowing for tracking through process control checks should be a key part of these agreements.
Influencer content is not always reviewed or vetted by brands before release, so marketers should be proactive in ensuring inclusive and responsible use of new technologies such as partner-generated AI. is needed.
best practice: When reviewing influencer marketing contracts, mandatory additions should include clauses, audit rights, performance of deliverables, penalties for lapses, and itemized invoices with clear cost breakdowns. To ensure transparency, influencers must submit invoices and document their agreements as part of the billing process.
Keeping influencer marketing in line with the law
Regulators in several Asian countries are updating their frameworks to ensure that revenue generated by sponsored content and brand partnerships is accounted for. Sensitive industries such as finance and insurance require influencers to make advance declarations identifying paid contracts to protect consumers.
A recent example is that Indonesia banned social media operators from facilitating payments within their systems in order to separate social commerce from e-commerce and protect MSMEs from predatory pricing. can be mentioned.
best practice: Due to differing legal requirements and practices, marketers should conduct a landscape assessment of individual markets within Asia to better understand safe parameters for engagement with influencers.
Although by no means definitive, implementing these steps is essential to running an effective, results-oriented influencer marketing campaign.
