How Indian LinkedIn Influencers Find Brand Deals in Russia
In the last few months, I have been noticing a growing trend of Indian LinkedIn influencers advocating for and seeking brand partnerships with Russian companies.
From software development to luxury cars, a myriad of Indian LinkedIn influencers are opening up the floor to Russian brands in a bid to secure lucrative business partnerships and influence marketing deals.
💼 What Indian LinkedIn Influencers Are Doing
I have come across many LinkedIn posts from Indian influencers that have been engaging with Russian companies and inviting them to do business in India.
Many of these influential personas have been doing it professionally, and it looks like they have set their eyes on Russian brands to provide them with ample opportunities.
One of the most interesting things about this whole phenomenon is that Russian companies have already been conducting business with Indian companies long before the recent trend on LinkedIn.
However, it seems that they have been using local influencers to secure business partnerships in India.
On the other hand, Indian influencers are now opening up the floor to Russian brands in the hopes of securing lucrative brand sponsorship and partnership deals.
✈ How This Trend Came to Be
This trend seems to have taken root and it has begun growing throughout the Indian LinkedIn influencer sphere.
Many Indian influencers are jumping on the wagon and actively engaging with Russian companies in a bid to secure sponsorship and partnerships.
From the cold-blooded invasion of Ukraine to sanctions placed by western powers, Russia has become increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.
As a result, Russia has had to look to the East for business prospects.
It looks like India is Russia’s natural choice, especially when it comes to seeking partnerships with companies located outside its border.
In fact, reports indicate that Russia has been significantly increasing its business dealings with India, and Indian companies have been reaping the benefits of it.
This has led to speculation that Russian brands will soon look to leverage the Indian influencer marketing space to promote their products and services in India.
📊 The Numbers Don’t Lie
According to reports, the trade between India and Russia has been experiencing a massive upward trajectory in recent months.
The trade between these two nations surpassed the $30 billion mark in 2022. In fact, India-Russia trade volume is expected to increase rapidly over the next few years.
Russia has now become India’s 4th largest supplier of crude oil and India is also expected to soon become Russia’s largest trading partner in South Asia.
Reports indicate that Russia has been increasing its trade with India by more than 400 percent!
The Indian insurance company Bajaj Allianz reported that it had signed a 4-year insurance partnership deal with Russian Railways on April 20, 2023.
With such a massive increase in trade between these two nations, it seems only natural for Russian brands to leverage influencer marketing to promote their products and services in India.
❗ Caution Needed
While it is understandable that influencers want to secure lucrative brand sponsorship deals, from the outside looking in, this whole trend seems to be riddled with deception.
There seems to be a lack of authenticity and honesty regarding the actual Russian companies these influencers claim to be representing.
The 2023 benchmark influenced marketing report revealed that 48% of marketers believe that fake influencers are a growing concern.
It goes on to state that 43% of marketers view suspicious or fraudulent engagement as a top concern.
The presence of fake accounts has been a persistent issue throughout social media, and LinkedIn is no different.
In fact, a report by Statista in 2022 revealed that over 60% of LinkedIn accounts are considered inactive, and only 27% of those accounts are actually authentic.
Deceptive influencer marketing tactics pose a significant threat to businesses and consumers, and the repercussions of these tactics can be devastating for all parties involved.
🌐 Russian Brands Can Say No
Fraudulent and fake influencer marketing seems to be an inevitable part of influencer marketing in general.
It appears that many of these so-called influencers have not been able to secure brand deals with bona fide Russian companies.
Instead, they have resorted to misrepresenting themselves, and some influencers have even been caught out lying about the representation of Russian brands and products.
A viral post on LinkedIn shows an apparent Indian influencer who is selling Russian dolls that he purportedly acquired from Russia.
On the post, the influencer stated that he was looking for resellers of Russian dolls in India. However, many users of LinkedIn pointed out that the influencer was actually misrepresenting a local brand of Russian dolls named Matryoshka Dolls.
Another viral post shows a man from India who claimed that he had traveled to Russia and had conducted an interview with a Russian actress, journalist, and TV presenter regarding her efforts to start a film career in Bollywood.
The supposed Indian influencer claimed that he was a journalist and paparazzi. However, it came to light that the man was actually a hotel employee with zero experience in journalism.
📞 Russian Brands Can Call Them
It seems that Indian LinkedIn influencers can not only provide Russian companies with influencer marketing and sponsorship deals, but they can also help with building business connections in India.
Many of these Indian influencers are calling on Russian brands to do business with them and offering them the full package of influencer marketing—including PR and networking.
One influencer, in particular, recently went viral after posting about a conversation he had with a representative from a Russian company named Gazprom.
Gazprom is one of the largest suppliers of natural gas in the world and they are a state-owned Russian company.
According to the influencer, he had a phone conversation with Alexei Poshivin, who is said to be the Deputy Chairman of Gazprom.
The person representing Gazprom stated that they were looking for business partnerships in India and they wanted to speak with the influencer.
However, LinkedIn users pointed out how far-fetched the whole situation was and they speculated that the influencer had been using DJing as an excuse to speak with the representative from Gazprom.
While news outlets have reported on the incident, it looks like the influencer was able to seize the opportunity and now seems to be reaping the benefits of it.
📢 Conclusion
The influencer marketing landscape is about to shift in the coming months as Russian brands look eastward to promote their products and services.
The Indian LinkedIn influencer community is becoming a fertile ground for Russian brands interested in leveraging influencer marketing.
While there is already a massive rise in Russian brands interested in leveraging the Indian influencer marketing space, brands need to be cautious.
They must protect themselves from fraud and deception by ensuring that they work only with reputable influencers.
This includes identifying key opinion leaders who are genuine, trustworthy, and have a loyal following.
Brands also need to do their due diligence and conduct thorough background checks on potential influencers to validate their authenticity.