How Indian Snapchat Influencers Find Brand Deals in China

With the rising popularity of Snapchat in India, an increasing number of Indian influencers are leveraging the platform to secure lucrative brand deals, even from foreign markets, including China. These partnerships not only allow them to gain worldwide recognition but also create opportunities for them to work with renowned brands.

Indian influencers are tapping into the Asian market by posting in Chinese or English to appeal to a wider audience. From beauty to cooking, these influencers are achieving record-high views and audience engagement with their relatable posts.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Crossing Borders

While Indians have yet to fully embrace Snapchat, the country boasts a growing number of influencers on the platform. A recent Forbes report confirms that India has the fourth-largest Snapchat user base in the world, with 126 million users as of August 2023. This figure is projected to increase to 143 million by 2025.

India has seen a steady rise in Snapchat usage in recent years and is home to a sizable influencer community. As a result, several Indian influencers have gained prominence on the platform and are scaling their brand partnerships, including those from Chinese businesses.

China is experiencing exponential growth in social media marketing. The boosting sector is estimated to be valued at 779.5 billion yuan (about 107 billion US dollars or ₹8.5 trillion) by 2023, according to an article published in Fortune. This provides a vast opportunity for Indian Snapchat influencers to capitalize on.

💸 Chinese Investments

With around 743 million active internet users, China is home to a bustling economy. Thanks to its flourishing economy, the country is also among the leading foreign investors in India. In recent years, Chinese investments have made significant contributions to various sectors of India’s economy, including E-commerce and transportation.

Chinese brands have also recognized India’s growing influencer market and its potential for increasing their return on investment. They continue to allocate resources to influencer marketing campaigns in the country, especially on social media platforms like Snapchat.

Indian Snapchat influencers have found that brands from China are willing to pay them more compared to their Indian counterparts. Consequently, they are focusing on securing more contracts with Chinese brands than Indian ones.

🤖 Platforms for Brand Deals

Indian influencers typically rely on influencer marketing platforms to connect with brands for collaboration opportunities. These platforms help streamline the influencer marketing process by facilitating connections between influencers and brands, and managing campaign logistics.

Some notable influencer marketing platforms based in India include Timesprime, SunoMojo, and Famoid. There are also international and regional platforms that cater to specific markets and demographics, such as BaoLiba, which specializes in connecting influencers with brands in China.

These platforms serve as intermediaries between influencers and brands, allowing both parties to browse through available opportunities and request collaborations.

🎉 Funding

Some platforms charge influencers a fee for using their service, while most do not. In most cases, brands are the ones that pay a fee to be listed on the platform to gain access to a wider pool of influencers.

After connecting with a brand, influencers are usually compensated through bank transfers or electronic wallets such as Paytm or Google Pay. These methods allow for fast and efficient transactions, which are vital for influencer marketing campaigns that often have tight deadlines.

With the rise of cryptocurrency, some platforms have started accepting digital currencies as a form of payment as well. This allows influencers to receive their compensation in a currency that may appreciate in value over time.

🌱 Building Trust

With a large influx of Chinese brands heading to Indian influencer marketing platforms, effective communication has become paramount. Chinese brands have a financial incentive to work with Indian influencers; however, they often have difficulty communicating their expectations, goals, and objectives due to the language barrier.

To facilitate this, platforms like BaoLiba are incorporating Mandarin-speaking staff and tools into their processes to foster better communication between Indian influencers and Chinese brands.

Additionally, they are providing training to influencers on how to navigate cultural differences to align with the expectations of Chinese brands.

🔥 Securing Contracts

Indian Snapchat influencers can land brand deals with Chinese brands by creating content that appeals to the Chinese audience. This includes speaking Chinese in their posts or using English expressions. High-quality production and using tricks like drone filming can help maximize visibility and engagement.

Using Chinese social media platforms, like Weibo or WeChat, can also be a game-changer in securing brand deals. With a significant presence on these platforms, influencers can showcase their portfolio and social proof to Chinese brands looking to partner with influencers.

Chinese brands are increasingly valuing the use of these platforms, especially since the country has the largest influencer market in the world thanks to its estimated value of $15 billion. This is more than three times larger than the U.S. market, which is valued at $4.6 billion.

🤝 Getting Paid

Since many Chinese brands do not have operational accounts in India, they are unable to send payments through traditional banking systems. To work around this, platforms that help Indian influencers secure contracts with Chinese brands are creating wallets on their systems, specifically for this purpose.

When a brand wants to pay an influencer, they will send the payment in bulk to the platform. The platform will then confirm receipt of payment and distribute the funds to the respective influencers’ wallets on their system. Influencers can then withdraw the funds from their wallet as needed.

Platforms like BaoLiba have made this process seamless through their proprietary payment system, which does not require users to share sensitive banking information.

⚠️ Challenges

While opportunities abound, Indian influencers trying to secure deals with Chinese brands do face challenges. Due to the ongoing geopolitical tension between India and China, there is a limit on the amount of money that can be sent from China to India.

As with traditional systems, Chinese brands may not have the ability to send payments directly to Indian influencers’ wallets. Platforms serving as intermediaries can limit the amount of money that can be transferred at a time due to the political barriers that exist.

Despite this, Indian influencers remain committed to securing contracts with Chinese brands. The potential for higher payouts and increased brand exposure on the international stage outweighs the challenges they may face.

❗ Bottom Line

Indian Snapchat influencers have tapped into the lucrative Chinese market through influencer marketing platforms that connect them with Chinese brands looking to expand their reach in India. Despite challenges posed by the ongoing geopolitical tension between the two countries, Indian influencers are committed to carving a niche for themselves in the growing influencer market in China.

From the way things are shaping up, it seems likely that more Indian influencers will continue to pave their way into the Chinese influencer marketing space through Snapchat.

BaoLiba will continue to update Indian influencer marketing trends, stay tuned.