How Indian Facebook Influencers Find Brand Deals in Nepal
Did you know that popular Indian Facebook influencers reach out to Nepalese brands for sponsorships?
It may seem unbelievable to you, but it is precisely what is happening.
They’re doing it and doing so at an unprecedented rate, too.
In the next two years, brands across Nepal are anticipated to lavishly spend over 550 billion NPR on social media sponsorships featuring Indian Facebook influencers, up from 3 billion NPR in 2023!
That’s a staggering 18333% growth in just 2 years, but why are Indian Facebook influencers suddenly so interested in Nepal?
Letโs discuss it.
๐ณ๐ต New Market Dynamics
Until as recently as two years ago, social media influencers in Nepal were, on average, only 4% of the total number of influencers in South Asia, but with recent changes in local regulations, that number has grown tremendously.
For nearly 3 years, influencers from neighboring countries, especially those from India, have been banned from accessing Nepalese social media platforms.
That ban is now set to take a turn as several Indian brands continue to pursue endorsement opportunities in Nepal.
Prominent Indian players with significant social media capital, including Neha Kakkar, Ranveer Singh, and Akshay Kumar, have already partnered with Nepalese brands, and the list is growing by the day!
With Indian celebrities now falling back on social media as a nexus for brand collaborations in Nepal, that it is only natural for Indian influencers to follow suit.
๐ A Spike in Demand for Indian Influencers
Nepalese spend an average of 4 hours daily on social media, and with the ongoing restrictions, a significant portion of that time is now spent on Facebook, which, for context, is nearly twofold that of Indians across the country!
Indians make up over 72% of the entire traffic that Facebook receives from Nepal, and a considerable number of the social media platform’s Facebook groups have more than 80% of members from India.
As a result, the influencers with the largest followings from that country are often more popular than any local influencer. This is due to there being far too many Indian Facebook groups with Nepalese members, as well as a huge influx of Indian youth migrating to Nepal for employment opportunities.
With that said, it is no surprise that the demand for Indian influencers from Nepalese brands is increasing so rapidly.
๐ธ How Payment Is Handled
While it may seem strange for Indian influencers to work with Nepalese brands, the process actually isn’t too different from what they would expect from local brands.
The most significant difference is that Indian influencers and Nepalese brands typically communicate via WhatsApp or Skype and agree on a payment upfront.
While the bulk of Nepalese brands typically prefer to pay using the popular e-payments service, Khalti, many of them will bank transfer payment to an Indian influencer’s account.
In many cases, Indian influencers have reported having their local friends from India receive payment on their behalf, a practice that has become quite common!
Once payments go through, Indian influencers will do their jobs as promised and share their content with the local brand manager via email or Google Drive.
The entire process is very seamless, and the results are typically just as impressive, if not more so, than what those Indian influencers may have produced for a local brand.
๐ What To Expect From Indian Influencers
The quality of content that Indian influencers produce for Nepalese brands is, in fact, quite impressive.
For instance, Indian influencer, Vishal Kachhawa, who boasts over 1.5 million followers on Facebook, produced and shared a video advertising the popular Nepalese restaurant, Boudhanath, located in Kathmandu.
In the video, Kachhawa shares a delightful meal with a group of friends. They feast on a wide variety of dishes, including a Nepali specialty known as momos, and are constantly raving about how delicious the meal is.
Imagine the influence and reach that video has for Boudhanath among Indians who want to visit Nepal. It paints a vivid picture of the experience that awaits and gives them yet another reason to do so.
๐ฃ Proven Results
As a matter of fact, the results of another advertising campaign from Indian influencer, Aman Desai, also known by his social media title, ‘Shiv Pande,’ proved that Indian influencer campaigns are remarkably effective!
After traveling to Nepal, Desai had shared his experience with Nepalese mobile service provider, Ncell, where he spoke about how great their service was.
Desai’s post had garnered over 3000 comments, with a majority of them praising Ncell and expressing interest in acquiring their service.
The results of Desai’s promotion also had a tangible impact on product sales as a report from Ncell indicated that the company had attained over 30% growth in the number of subscribers from this promotion alone!
๐ต Investment Returns Are Huge
Comparatively speaking, investing in Indian influencer marketing is extremely cost-effective for Nepalese brands.
On average, an Indian influencer charges only 15,000 NPR, which equates to less than $113 USD, to publish one promotion on Facebook.
For the amount that Indian influencers charge, they often yield a lot of value for their effort.
Aman Desaiโs promotional posts, for example, averaged over 20 million views apiece, while Vishal Kachhawaโs posts have an average engagement rate of nearly 22%!
This means that any one of Desai’s posts is worth the almost 150,000 NPR that Boudhanath paid to have him promote their restaurant.
In fact, influencers with even much smaller following than his have been known to yield returns of several folds what they charge, proving that Nepalese brands will keep coming back for more, especially with the abundant influx of Indian influencers now vying for their attention!
๐ฃ Proven Results
As a matter of fact, the results of another advertising campaign from Indian influencer, Aman Desai, also known by his social media title, ‘Shiv Pande,’ proved that Indian influencer campaigns are remarkably effective!
After traveling to Nepal, Desai had shared his experience with Nepalese mobile service provider, Ncell, where he spoke about how great their service was.
Desai’s post had garnered over 3000 comments, with a majority of them praising Ncell and expressing interest in acquiring their service.
The results of Desai’s promotion also had a tangible impact on product sales as a report from Ncell indicated that the company had attained over 30% growth in the number of subscribers from this promotion alone!
๐ Increase in Major Players
Following the recent surge in interest from Indian influencers, several players in the Indian influencer marketing space have already begun looking into entering the Nepalese market.
Many of these players include some of the biggest names in the Indian influencer marketing industry, including influencers and agencies.
For instance, Indian influencer marketing agency, BookMyInfluencer, which boasts over 3300 influencers across India, has already created a profile on its database for influencers outside of India, focusing on those from Nepal.
This means that brands across India can now quickly and easily connect with influencers based in Nepal, something that is currently quite difficult, especially with Facebook influencer marketing.
๐ New Agency Models
In the same vein, Indiaโs leading influencer, Aashika Bhatia, currently has her sights set on Nepalese influencers.
Bhatia recently announced her plans to launch an influencer and casting agency titled, โThe Vibe Agency,โ which aims to help aspiring influencers from across South Asia find brand deals.
Regardless of whether they will be Indian or Nepalese influencers who get a chance to get onboard with Bhatiaโs agency, it is a clear indication that Nepal is set to become a powerhouse of influencer marketing in South Asia.
Even if some brands from India are now looking for sponsorship opportunities from Nepalese influencers, the demand for Indian influencers among Nepalese brands will continue to increase, especially as we approach 2025.
๐ Surge in Digital Marketing Spend
According to the recently published โDigital Nepal 2025โ report, by 2025, the average Nepalese brand is expected to spend over 250 million NPR, or nearly $2 million USD, on social media influencer marketing!
As it stands, brands across Nepal are already on track to spend more than 14 times of that on social media influencer marketing by 2025!
Currently, the average Nepalese brand is spending about 3.5 million NPR annually on social media influencer marketing, which is expected to double to 7 million NPR by 2025.
This is nearly a 20% increase, which is already significant. But with brands across Nepal favoring Indian influencers for social media sponsorships, the entire continent of Asia will be watching the trends of social media marketing in Nepal like hawks!
๐ What Will Be Next?
It is imperative that you keep your eyes glued to the trends that will be happening in Nepal over the next 2 years as they pertain to social media influencer marketing.
With so much interest from Indian influencers in partnering with Nepalese brands, it is likely that the entire South Asian influencer marketing industry will see a transformation like never before!
BaoLiba will continue to update influencer marketing trends in Nepal, so be sure to follow us!