How Indian Twitter Influencers Find Brand Deals in Japan
In a digital marketing landscape where creativity is the norm and attention spans are short, the quest for influencer-brand partnerships is an unending cycle of trial and error across various platforms. But Indian Twitter influencers are attempting to take the lead on a different frontier: Japan.
They’re bridging the gap between Indian brands seeking to export their goods more effectively and Japanese consumers ready to buy them. They create buzz for Indian snacks and cosmetics at Japan’s ultra-luxurious department stores, they cheer up Japanese youth with desi memes, and they even help Japanese otaku get in touch with their Indian side.
But how do Indian Twitter influencers manage to penetrate the traditionally hermetic Japanese market? To find out, we reached out to three of them.
🗣️Engagement is Key
“Many influencers use LinkedIn to connect with brands, but Twitter influencers work differently,” said Shweta Mishra. Based in Kanazawa, Japan’s historic city of crafts, Mishra is an Ayurveda therapist turned social media influencer who trades in witty cultural commentary on her Twitter account @Shweta_in_Japan.
“LinkedIn is about finding work-related connections, whereas Twitter is more social and open. If brands want to reach out to me, they can do so through my Twitter account, where my huge follower base is a testament to my influence.”
@Shweta_in_Japan is a prime example of how kinks in social media profiles can lead to lucrative brand deals. Mishra had a more professional handle initially, but a lapse in due diligence cost her dear.
“When I created my Twitter account, I named it @Shweta_Mishra_Ayurveda. I had over 2000 followers when I noticed that I wasn’t getting any inquiries about Ayurveda therapy. But I was still getting inquiries about my Twitter account. So, I checked and found that people were typing ‘Shweta Mishra Ayurveda’ in the Twitter search bar and seeing my account show up as a result. A lot of them were interested in Ayurveda therapy, but were mistakenly ending up on my account.”
What followed was a moment of marketing epiphany.
“Instead of trying to reclaim the handle, I decided to change my focus and became an influencer. The followers who wanted to know about Ayurveda therapy got what they bargained for, and my new followers were interested in me as a person. My follower count skyrocketed to over 50,000. Since then, I have had many inquiries about brand partnerships. I charge around $200 per tweet. If the tweet requires me to tag the brand, I charge around $300.”
Mishra’s reach has put her on the radar of many Indian brands, including the Delhi-based Pratha, which specializes in traditional Indian apparel.
👘A Traditional Twist
“During a video call meeting with the founder of Pratha, I noticed that she was wearing one of her brand’s saris,” Mishra recounted.
“She told me that she was preparing to do a fashion show at the prestigious Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi in Tokyo, the oldest department store in Japan. As I have a background in traditional Indian dance, I suggested that I perform in the fashion show wearing her brand’s apparel.
“Her eyes lit up at the idea, so I took the deal. I wore two of her brand’s saris and performed the Kathak dance in them. It was a proud moment for me and an unforgettable experience for the Pratha team. After the show, they sold out the entire stock of saris I wore in the performance!”
Mishra’s experience with Pratha is a textbook case of how Indian brands can leverage Indian Twitter influencers to overcome barriers to entry in the Japanese market.
🥟Breaking Barriers
Indian Twitter influencers can also help brands conquer the barriers to Japanese tastes and sensibilities.
A case in point is UP-based brand Karamell, Pvt. Ltd. that specializes in Indian confectionery. Karamell recently partnered with Mishra to target Japanese customers with a penchant for hard-as-nails Indian sweets known as petha.
“There are all kinds of petha,” explained Karamell marketing manager Gaurav Sharma, who reached out to Mishra via her Twitter account.
“Petha is a very popular confectionery item in northern India. Karamell specializes in exporting soft and exotic varieties of petha that have a much longer shelf life than the traditional kinds.
“Because of its hard consistency, the classic petha has not been well received by Japanese consumers. Many of them consider it too tough. That’s where Shweta comes in. She is very popular in Japan, so we requested her help in creating excitement about our products.”
Sharma has so far acquired three different flavors of petha from Karamell’s Kashmiri supplier. He plans to ship them to Mishra as soon as they arrive in India.
“Shweta will make a video performing a Japanese martial art called Kendo while munching on our petha. Kendo practitioners wear armor that resembles a samurai’s battle gear. It’s very heavy, so we need a strong sweet to represent it.
“Petha fulfills this requirement perfectly. The petha will help her overcome the toughness of the armor, and the video will help us break into the Japanese market. To sweeten the deal, we’ll also send her our exotic flavors of petha.”
🎇Sweet Success
Although they plan to work with Mishra exclusively, Karamell has no shortage of Twitter influencers to choose from, should they require more.
“We have already partnered with a popular influencer,” Sharma revealed.
“Her name is Radhika and she goes by @RadhikaInJapan on Twitter. She runs a company that organizes Indian cultural festivals in Japan.
“When she advertised our hard petha during the recent Vidyanjali festival, we received so many inquiries that we are trying to find buyers in bulk to meet the demand.
Indian Twitter influencers are able to tap into Japan’s huge population of Indians yearning for home, and promote Indian products in a way that is tasteful to Japanese customers.
💰Payment Methods
When the brand deals involve products that need to be shipped, payments arrangements can be made with systems that work across national borders.
But when it comes to monetary transactions for purely promotional brand deals, Indian Twitter influencers have a distinct advantage over other influencers.
“Indian Twitter influencers can receive payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a mobile payment system designed and developed by the National Payments Corporation of India,” said Mudit Sethi, founder of work-from-home influencer management firm Inked Media.
“UPI is the only payment system that allows instant transfer of funds. Other payment systems used by influencers, such as PayPal and Stripe, are slow and charge hefty fees.
“It can take several days for funds to show up in the influencer’s account after a transaction. This delay can be frustrating for both influencers and brands. But Indian Twitter influencers can receive payments instantly, and that’s why they are in demand from brands all over the world.”
🎤A Micropayments System
UPI allows users to transfer and receive funds only using their mobile phone numbers, which are linked to their bank accounts. This eliminates the need to share sensitive banking information such as their account numbers.
According to Sethi, India is one of the world’s largest remittance markets, with more than $80 billion flowing into the country annually.
“The vast majority of this remittance comes from countries with large Indian diasporas, including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and the Gulf states,” Sethi explained.
“Currently, there is no reliable means of transferring micropayments—payments under $100—across borders. But UPI could be a game changer for paying micropayments for brand deals to Indian Twitter influencers.
“UPI has tested the system with the payments giant PayNow in Singapore, and will soon launch it with Worldline in the UK. Once UPI establishes global connections, it could enable instant micropayments for Indian Twitter influencers. We’re also working on connecting UPI with cryptocurrency networks to streamline cross-border micropayments even more.”
📣A Global Game
The global online community is more connected than ever, and people everywhere are becoming increasingly aware of the unique offerings and perspectives that others have to offer.
As Indian Twitter influencers pave the way for Indian brands to break into the Japanese market, the mutual benefits of cross-border influencer marketing are becoming apparent.
Brands that are able to forge partnerships with the right influencers can unlock new markets, and influencers can open up new revenue streams by partnering with brands abroad.
The future of influencer marketing is global, and early adopters like Indian Twitter influencers are taking an important lead.
People Also Ask
How much do Indian influencers charge per post?
Indian influencers charge between $500-$700 for a Twitter post.
Do influencers pay brands to feature them?
Some influencers do, while others charge the brands instead.
How much do micro influencers charge India?
Micro influencers in India charge between $100-$400 for a tweet.
How much do influencers charge per post?
Most influencers charge between $0-$300 per post.
BaoLiba will continue to update Indian influencer marketing trends, stay tuned!