How Indian Facebook Influencers Find Brand Deals in Japan

There’s an old, strange phrase in Japanese that goes, “A frog in a well knows nothing of the ocean.”

It’s an idiom used to warn against narrow-mindedness. To point out when someone shows a lack of awareness of the wider world.

It’s the exact phrase that came to mind when I discovered that Indian influencers have begun to conquer the Japanese market, one Facebook brand deal at a time.

The well frog is a metaphor for the ignorance of most Indian influencers when it comes to the ambitions of a small but growing tribe of Indian influencers from Mumbai, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, and Delhi who have taken their talents to native Japanese waters.

How do we know that?

Because the influencers themselves are proudly announcing it to the world on their social media accounts.

“We make Japanese brands go viral on Facebook with influencer marketing. We are the first Indian company to find influencers for Japanese brands,” said the caption of a recent post by a Mumbai-based company, Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing.

These Indian influencers are now the rising stars of Facebook influencer marketing in Japan, a country whose ad spend in influencer marketing is projected to grow to 175 billion yen (USD $1.1 billion) in 2025 — up from 130 billion yen (USD $870 million) in 2022.

It’s a staggering increase in investment, and it’s clear that Indian influencers are cashing in on Facebook for the share of that pie.

💡 Indians dominating Facebook influencer marketing in Japan

As expected, Indian influencers are primarily using the powerful digital megaphone that is Facebook to charm Japanese audiences.

“All of our influencers specialize in producing original content for Facebook and have experience working with top Japanese brands,” Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing boasted in a recent post, illustrating the point with a collage of beautiful 30-something men and women with immaculate Japanese skin, bright white smiles, and tailored clothing.

But let’s not kid ourselves here. It’s not just any brand deals these Indian influencers are landing.

We might expect that a typical collaboration would require that the influencer just post their usual tacky selfies on their Facebook feed, add a few hashtags in English and Japanese, and collect a nice fat paycheck for their efforts.

Well, we would be wrong.

“Japanese influencers are known for their professionalism and commitment to superior consumer experience. When you hire Japanese influencers, they will make quality content, and will deliver on time,” the caption from Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing read.

“Japanese influencers are experts in video storytelling. They will evoke feelings of happiness and excitement in their viewers. Your brand will enjoy increased shares, likes, and comments on its Facebook page.”

The way that Japanese brands leverage the premium quality of Indian influencers on Facebook is reminiscent of how Indian brands leverage the premium quality of American and European influencers on Instagram.

It’s the same dynamic — but in reverse.

More so, unlike the typical influencer marketing contracts in Indian, in which they often dictate the terms, Indian influencers signing contracts with Japanese brands tend to be the ones on the receiving end of actual commitment on behalf of the hiring brands.

Contracts are often six months to one year long, according to the Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing.

And they can expect a consistent payout of $3000 to $5000 every month.

Also, unlike their Indian counterparts, Indian influencers in Japan are required to maintain a near-perfect attendance record on their social media accounts for the duration of the contract.

A minimum of six Facebook posts and fifteen Facebook stories are expected of them per month.

To put that into perspective, here is a breakdown of what an Indian influencer can expect for just one campaign in Japan:

6 Facebook Posts: $1800

30 Facebook Stories: $6000

TOTAL = $7800

Most of the Japanese brands hiring Indian influencers are in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries, according to Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing.

But the company has recently started working with food and beverage brands as well.

“We had a recent project to promote tea,” said the company’s CEO Ahmed Khan in an email.

“I had two influencers do a photoshoot with tea, and post their photos on Facebook. I got two different tea brands to hire them. Since it was a photoshoot, I could not post their photos — but I have saved them. Here, check them out.”

When it comes to influencer marketing and advertising in general, Japan is a world apart from India.

According to a report from Dentsu, Japan’s total advertising spend is estimated to reach $40.7 billion in 2024. “Japan’s ad expenditure continues to be dominated by television, which accounts for 27% of total expenditures. In 2023, Dentsu estimates that total TV ad expenditures will reach ¥1.58 trillion ($12.1 billion), up 0.9% from the 2022 total of ¥1.56 trillion ($11.8 billion).”

That’s an 8.6% market share increase for television when contrasted to the 18.5% decrease it suffered against digital advertising in India.

The contrast is stark, and it explains why Indian influencers are flocking to Japan for brand deals on Facebook.

In fact, in a recent study by the two major PR firms in Japan, PR Times and A-Plus, it was revealed that the percentage of companies adopting influencer marketing measures increased from 10.5% in 2017 to 62.3% in 2022.

The rate of influencer marketing adoption is even higher among companies in the food and beverage sector at 84.6%.

Japanese brands are translating their heritage of quality to India’s premier influencers in a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Indian brands, however, have a long way to go in recognizing the power of influencer marketing on the Facebook platform.

Despite having the largest user base for Facebook worldwide (over 300 million), India ranks a distant 21 on the revenue per user index for Facebook.

Brands in India are only just starting to investigate influencer marketing on Facebook, with companies like Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing leading the charge.

Indian influencers need to realize that there is a vast ocean out there bountiful with opportunity for those who do not want to be the frog trapped in the well.

Indians are taking over social media in Japan. They are Indianizing it.

Indian influencers are not just leading the pack when it comes to influencer marketing in Japan.

They are entirely rewriting the playbook.

📢 Indians are rewriting the script on social media in Japan

It’s not just on Facebook where Indian influencers find themselves in unprecedented territory.

They are also making waves on other social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Just take a look at Naoko Shiraishi’s bio.

At the top of her Instagram page, right where you’d normally see the name of the account owner, is a full-blown advertisement for an Indian fashion brand.

It’s a surreal sight, and it speaks volumes of the current trends happening in Japan.

Naoko is not the only one making a mockery of the traditional rules of social media.

At the time of writing, the third most popular TikTok user in Japan is an Indian man by the name of Ranjit Singh.

And at number five is another Indian man by the name of Sadiq Shaikh.

Ranjit Singh has over 50 million followers while Sadiq has over 40 million followers.

They are the poster boys of how Indian influencers are completely indifferent to the traditions of Japanese media.

Ranjit Singh is a full-blown bhangra dancer who posts nothing but bhangra dancing videos to his TikTok.

While Sadiq Shaikh is a meme machine who speaks Hindi.

They are living and thriving examples of the truth that the best influencers are those who unapologetically embrace their cultural identity.

It’s this complete and utter disregard for the status quo, this overflow of cultural authenticity that is inviting Japanese brands to rely on Indian influencers to help them reach their audience.

It’s how they won over Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing.

The founder of Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing Ahmed Khan first discovered the trend of Indians infiltrating Japanese influencer marketing when he was doing his research on how to break into the industry.

“In his presentation, he said that the top three influencers in Japan were Indians. The first two are men, while the other is a woman. The man and woman are husband and wife. They are Bollywood actors. And they are more famous in Japan than in their own country,” Khan said.

“But that did not matter, because the fact is that they are Indian. The husband and wife duo are Japanese celebrities now. They speak fluent Japanese. They eat curry and rice during their breaks in between shoots, and they wear Yukata and Kimono for interviews.”

❗ Media personalities make successful influencers

The importance of authenticity cannot be overstated. And it’s what makes Indian influencers so uniquely qualified for the Japanese market.

Because they are not what Japanese brands expect from influencers.

Indian culture is vastly different from what is considered traditional or modern Japanese culture.

If you see a typical Japanese influencer, you’d expect them to be a male or female model or a male or female idol.

That’s it.

Male or female, male or female model, male or female idol.

But an Indian influencer?

They could be anyone.

Just take a look at the projects done by Indian influencer Sandeep Singh.

Steve (Sandeep Singh) has become a sensation in Japan, and it’s easy to see why.

He’s a trained actor and media personality, and his background in journalism allows him to stay one step ahead of traditional Japanese influencers when it comes to engaging with audiences.

He goes into detail in his videos, adding layers of storytelling that most Japanese influencers do not even think to include.

In one video, Steve talks about the “Lost in Translation” phenomenon that many foreigners experience when coming to Japan. And he goes to painstaking lengths to illustrate his experience with this phenomenon.

“I have been in Japan for over 20 years, and I cannot explain how many people make this mistake here in Japan.”

Steve is currently the most sought after Indian influencer by Japanese brands.

He specializes in fashion and beauty, and his reels and videos have resulted in remarkable success for the brands he collaborates with.

Many of the brands have hired him multiple times to do more work for them.

“I feel many brands should use influencers like me, who have played a major role in helping them grow,” he said in a recent email.

“I do many things beyond social media, including daily live streams and TV work that make a difference in brand visibility and sales.”

📊 10% Japanese businesses say influencers bring results

The Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing has been integral to the rise of Indian influencers in Japan.

Khan has already spent 17 years working in Japan across various industries, so he knows a thing or two about the market.

Now he is using that knowledge to help Indian influencers navigate the often-complex path of landing brand deals in Japan.

Though there is a rising demand for influencer marketing in Japan among brands, influencer marketing in the country is still relatively new.

Many Japanese brands lack a clear understanding of how it all works.

And that’s where Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing steps in.

They help brands hire the right influencers for their campaigns, while also helping influencers understand how to work with Japanese brands.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Association of Advertising Agencies (JAAA), only 14% of Japanese companies have done virtual influencer marketing work in 2022.

The number is still low compared to other markets.

But the Japanese Society of Influencer Marketing is helping brands understand the potential of influencer marketing.

Khan says that they are making a tangible difference in the Japanese market.

“Over 72% of companies in Japan are using or plan to use influencer marketing in the future,” Khan said in a recent email.

“If you’re interested in knowing more about influencer marketing in Japan, or how to get your brand on social media in Japan, please contact me.”

📢 2025 will see a boom in influencer marketing in Japan

Japan is known for its unpredictability when it comes to trends, and influencer marketing is no different.

“It is hard to put a specific number on this, but I would say that by 2025, influencer marketing will be a billion-dollar market,” Khan said.

“We expect to increase the number of Indian influencers working with Japanese brands from 20 to at least 1000 influencers every month. We are working to increase that number even more.”

If you’re an Indian influencer or an aspiring one, then you should consider heading over to Japan.

The ocean is vast. The opportunities are endless. And there is plenty of room for talented influencers like you to make your mark in the land of the rising sun.

Speaking of which…if you know anyone that can help me land a brand deal in Japan, please let me know.