How Indian Telegram Influencers Are Finding Brand Deals in Thailand?

Telegram is an undisputed talk of the town for Indian influencers. In India, Telegram influencers are utilizing the encrypted messaging app to sell brand deals by reaching out to audiences in Thailand.

If you’re an Indian influencer and looking to establish brand deals on Telegram, it would be helpful to know how your fellow influencers are getting deals from Thailand.

Telegram influencers on Indian social media are getting brand deals in Thailand

In early 2022, there were whispers of Indian Telegram influencers cashing in on brand deals in Thailand. Almost two years later in 2023, the rumors have proven to be true.

A Telegram influencer who goes by the username ‘Shreyansh Tyagii’ has garnered 3.1 million subscribers on his Telegram channel, where he shares OnlyFans content of young women from around the world.

In September 2023, Tyagii shared a post on X asking brands to sponsor his OnlyFans content on Telegram for Rs 10,000,000. He didn’t say anything about brands from Thailand, but several X users slammed him for trying to attract Indian brands to such a ridiculous endeavor.

Sometime later, a user called ‘Addy’ posted a screenshot of a discussion he had with Tyagii. In that discussion, Tyagii requested Addy to sponsor his OnlyFans Telegram channel for a Thai brand called ‘Katoon’ for Rs 10,000. Tyagii instructed Addy to pay on behalf of Katoon.

To further support how Indian Telegram influencers are getting brand deals in Thailand, another Indian influencer named ‘Sanjay’ confirmed on X that he is also a Telegram influencer. He has been running a public dating channel for over three years and has amassed more than 100,000 subscribers.

Sanjay said, “You won’t believe it, but brands from Thailand pay me money in exchange for advertising on my Telegram channel.”

Now, it is important to note that Indian influencers have been promoting businesses from Thailand for years now.

For instance, starting from 2018, Indian influencers have been promoting a Thai sexual wellness brand named ‘EVE’S’. Just search “EVE’S Thailand” on Google and the first article will show you how Indian influencers have been promoting this Thai brand since years.

According to the Indian daily newspaper, Hindustan Times, EVE’S Thailand’s Instagram page has over 300,000 followers, while the brand’s feature has been printed in several media outlets across India.

From glamour models to social media celebrities, there isn’t a category of Indian influencers that has not done brand promotion for EVE’S Thailand.

This Thai sexual wellness brand also has a presence on Telegram, with millions of subscribers on several channels.

A Telegram influencer who goes by the username ‘Kedar’ has over 160,000 subscribers on his public channel named ‘#InfluencerAdvisor’. Kedar said that for Indian influencers, leading brand promotions on Telegram is more efficient and valuable for their time.

He said, “Most Telegram influencers prefer to work only with brands from Thailand. This is mainly because Thai brands pay more and negotiate less than brands from other countries.”

Telegram influencers are getting paid better by brands from Thailand

According to Kedar, the reason why brands from Thailand reach out to Indian Telegram influencers has a lot to do with the former’s work culture. He said that Thai brands not only pay better than brands from India, but they also pay for a longer duration.

Kedar explained, “Brands in India want to pay you 1,000 INR every 2-3 days for a period of one week only. On the other hand, brands from Thailand want to pay 4,500 INR per day for 30 days in exchange for advertising on your Telegram channel.”

In his X post about getting sponsored by a Thai brand, Tyagii said that he will only charge 10,000 INR per day from Katoon for advertising. So, he will charge only 300,000 INR for 30 days.

This payment structure presented by Katoon is far more lucrative than the standard payment structure presented by many Indian brands to Indian influencers.

For context, according to a report created by the Indian online magazine, Entrepreneur India, an influencer with 100,000 to 500,000 subscribers or followers on social media can charge anywhere between 30,000 to 200,000 INR for one post.

Below is a table that shows how much brands pay on average to Indian influencers from different categories:

Category Avg. Cost Per Post
Fashion & Beauty 30,000 - 1,000,000 INR
Health & Fitness 5,000 - 2,000,000 INR Food & Travel 5,000 - 150,000 INR Tech & Automobile 5,000 - 150,000 INR Lifestyle & Entertainment 10,000 - 500,000 INR Finance & Education 10,000 - 500,000 INR

How Indian influencers get brand deals in Thailand

So how do Indian Telegram influencers get brand deals from Thailand?

According to Kedar, Indian influencers can either approach Telegram brand marketing agencies from Thailand or representatives of the brand itself. In fact, Kedar revealed in his X post that he is working with a Telegram marketing brand agency based in Thailand called ‘Mikasa’.

In his previous X post, Kedar said that Mikasa provides influencer marketing services for brands from Thailand that want to grow their businesses in India, Indonesia, and Malaysia using Telegram.

According to Mikasa’s website, the agency has been conducting Telegram marketing for over three years now and has earned more than 30 million subscribers across various channels.

The agency has a solid presence on Telegram, with over 200,000 subscribers on its own channel.

The agency has also received positive reviews on their service from influencers in India.

Despite the lucrative payouts, Telegram influencers in India should be careful when working with agencies and brands from Thailand.

The potential risk of working with Telegram marketing agencies from Thailand

According to Kedar, working with agencies or brands from Thailand means that Indian influencers are likely to get paid in local currencies (Thai Baht and others).

Kedar said, “The first thing you should know is that if you are not a business owner or a registered service provider in Thailand, you won’t be able to open a bank account in Thailand. Most likely, you will be asked to create a Wise account to receive payments in Thai Baht.”

For those who don’t know, Wise is an international payment service owned by a British company called Wise PLC that allows users to transfer money to bank accounts abroad without the usual fees charged by banks.

This is good news, as Indian influencers can receive payments in Thai Baht without traveling to Thailand or opening a bank account in Thailand.

However, Kedar points out that Indian influencers might have to convert Thai Baht to Indian Rupees themselves, which means they will have to go through an international currency exchange service.

This could mean paying a transfer fee which could eat into the influencer’s profit margin. Besides that, there is another important factor to consider.

According to Kedar, with the rise of brand deals in Thailand for Indian Telegram influencers, there is also a surge in scams as well.

He said, “You will have to keep your guard up all the time when working with agencies and brands from Thailand. Since several fraudsters have also claimed to be Telegram marketing agencies from Thailand, you must validate their identity beforehand. If you fail to do so, you might end up working for free or worse, paying them instead!”

Conclusion

Kedar’s warning serves as a reminder that Indian Telegram influencers looking to get brand deals in Thailand shouldn’t grab every opportunity that comes their way.

Furthermore, Indian brands should consider why their competitors are paying Indian influencers higher payouts to advertise in Thailand.

It will be interesting to see how this trend develops and if it becomes a permanent fixture in the Indian influencer market.

BaoLiba will continue to update Indian influencer marketing trends. Stay tuned!