How Indian Telegram Influencers Find Brand Deals in Australia
Indian Telegram influencers are actually raking in big cash from Australian brands over social media, here’s how.
🤑 How Telegram influencers are making crores in Australian dollars
When you think of telegram influencers, your mind will probably jump straight into the dark recesses of your brain that have seen too many “Telegram girls”, and the last thing you think of would be Australian brands.
But according to a report by the Guardian, and later by the Times of India, Indian Telegram influencers are securing lucrative brand partnerships across Australia.
The report claims that Indian Telegram influencers have become so critical to Australian brands that one marketing executive even claimed these influencers had become “the backbone” of some of these companies’ marketing campaigns.
And while lucrative deals can be found all over the world, they are particularly abundant in Australia, where Indian Telegram influencers can often find sponsorship deals in the millions of Indian rupees.
But when asked how the influencers approach and secure sponsorships, often in the range of 20 lakh INR to 1 crore INR, the influencers reported that they did not engage in any direct outreach.
“Most of the time, they come to us directly. We use different types of account names. Some of them are hidden. One is a pure business account,” one influencer told the Times of India.
The influencers then stream Telegram videos that market products like herbal oils, CTM kits, and other beauty products, that have become popular in Australia.
Despite the romantic allure of an influencer simply being approached by a brand, in actuality, there is little chance of it happening unless the influencer has worked to put themselves out there, or if they are utilizing a third party organizational service that specializes in influencer marketing.
And it seems that most of these influencers are simply taking the hand-me-down influencer deals that are passed over from Indian influencer marketing agencies that use Telegram influencers in place of Instagram influencers.
Since Australian brands are contracting Indian marketing agencies to fill their needs for social media influencers, many agencies are choosing to outsource this work to smaller and more affordable Telegram influencers.
💡 Why are Australian brands using Indian Telegram influencers?
Bear in mind that Australia is a country steeped in traditionalism. From what seems like an ‘old people’ way of doing commerce, to the language they use, the way they interact with outsiders, and the way they deliver service, Australians seem to do everything the way they did it 50 years ago.
As such, it may not necessarily be the best fit for Australian brands to work with Indian influencer marketing agencies directly, because, quite frankly, that would simply just be “too foreign” for them.
Instead, Australia seems to have invented the perfect corporate middle-man, which are Australian influencers marketing agencies that hire Indian influencers marketing agencies to do all of their influencer marketing work for them.
This way, the Australian agencies can keep up appearances, while the marketing agencies do all the real work, and it doesn’t stray too far off the rails for these brands.
One Indian marketing agency owner who was cited in both the Guardian and the Times of India reports that he works as an outsourced influencer marketing manager for Australian agencies.
His company contracts Indian Telegram influencers based in India, and then he connects them with Australian brands through the Australian marketing agencies.
One of the sticklers in this process is that Telegram influencers are notorious for not wanting to go on camera.
But, in this case, that doesn’t seem to be a huge limitation, according to the marketing agency owner.
“Telegram influencers are known for their voice and text messages, and that is why they get more leads. They do not show their faces, but they are popular for their product sales. They are not as glamorous as Instagram influencers, but they get the job done more efficiently. Telegram influencers also have huge followings because their audience can remain anonymous,” he said to the Times of India.
🔍 The untold secret of Indian Telegram influencers’ Australian success
Telegram influencers do market real products, and it seems that the Australian brands that hire Indian Telegram influencers for their marketing campaigns are Indian-sourced brands, like India’s native herbal oil products.
From what has been cited in Times of India and the Guardian reports, there are Indian marketing agencies that specialize in providing Indian influencers and Indian marketing techniques to Australian brands.
But instead of working directly with Indian influencer marketing agencies, which may be rife with too many unknowns for Australian companies, one of the biggest advantages to come out of this whole convoluted process that Australian brands get free marketing through Indian agencies.
The whole process seems to be a win for all parties involved. The Australian brands get the same old Indian marketing techniques they have become accustomed to over the years, but with the added bonus of having their marketing campaigns facilitated through the already popular medium of Telegram and influencers that have already made a name for themselves.
On the other end of the equation, the marketing agencies in India get their slice of the pie for their work, and Indian Telegram influencers get lucrative deals that can range anywhere from 20 lakh Indian rupees to over a crore rupees for a brand deal.
Not to mention, when you convert that to Australian dollars, Indian Telegram influencers are raking in anywhere from AUD 40,000 to over AUD 2 million for a single brand deal.
📱 How telegram influencers are making millions for a single deal
For these massive deals, Indian Telegram influencers might be less famous than Instagram or Tiktok influencers, but they still have the reach and clout to get the job done. It all comes down to one thing: quantity.
Telegram in general has a reputation for being a social media platform that is more technologically savvy, more gritty, and has a more diverse user base. As a result, Telegram users tend to attract people who have more in common with their interests, and the people in them are often more loyal.
According to stats cited in the Times of India and the Guardian reports, although Instagram influencers could have hundreds of thousands of followers, only a small percentage actually interact with their content. In contrast, Telegram influencers might only have thousands of followers, but upwards of 50% actually engage with their posts.
In fact, Telegram allows users to share videos and images on channels that have no user limit. This means that Telegram influencers can reach a lot more people than Instagram influencers can through the same methods.
On average, Indian influencers on Telegram can get 50% of their followers to interact with their posts. In contrast, Instagram influencers see only about 6% engagement.
And Telegram influencers can also see a conversion rate from followers to customers of about 20%. That means if they have 20,000 followers, about 4,000 of them will likely buy what the influencer is recommending.
👀 The dark side of telegram marketing
Of course, nothing comes without its negatives. The same unique qualities that make Telegram influencers appealing to Australian brands, like anonymity and niche communities, are also the same qualities that make them ripe for exploitation.
Because Telegram allows users to set up channels entirely anonymously, it becomes a little too easy for people to present themselves as more than they actually are.
For example, all the engagement and conversion rates we just went over? They can be manipulated easily with the use of bots.
A recent cyber report published by SMC Cyber that was cited by both the Times of India and the Guardian found that many Telegram channels have been found to be rife with bots, and often actual Telegram chats are 90% bots.
In fact, the same report indicated that Telegram is one of the most bot-ridden social media platforms compared to others, and Telegram’s current structure makes it one of the most susceptible to bots as well.
🚨 How to avoid being scammed by telegram influencers
So if you’re an Australian brand looking to work with Indian Telegram influencers, how do you know if they are the real deal or a fraud?
These same reports gave some solid tips that you can use to investigate whether or not a Telegram influencer has a questionable reputation.
Only use verified channels. Telegram has its own verification process that will show a little blue check next to the channel name. This is a sign that Telegram has verified that the channel is legitimate.
Engagement is everything. Look for channels that have substantial engagement. Obviously, if an influencer claims to have thousands of followers, but only a handful of people “like” their posts or comments, beware, as it could be a big red flag.
Check for historical context. A good channel to endorse a product will often have a history of posts about it or its brand, including posts that are not related to marketing campaigns. This is a good sign that the channel is consistent and has a genuine interest in the products it sells.
Do a reverse image search. If an influencer is using their face to market a product, do a reverse image search and see if the same picture has been used elsewhere on the web. If their face and name keeps showing up in unrelated marketing campaigns, they may be using another person’s image.
Consult a real marketing agency. If you are unsure about the authenticity of a Telegram influencer, consider contacting a reputable marketing agency to do the leg work for you. They will know exactly what to look for, and they will likely have their own vetted list of Telegram influencers to recommend.
🚀 Conclusion
Indian Telegram influencers are carving out a lucrative niche for themselves in Australian influencer marketing.
They have a massive amount of potential for real results, but the same qualities that make them appealing to brands also make them susceptible to fraud that can hurt campaigns.
If you are an Australian brand looking to work with Indian Telegram influencers, be sure to do your research, and beware of the dangers that are lurking around every corner.
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