How Indian Twitter Influencers are Scoring Brand Deals in Saudi Arabia
It all starts with an invite.
For Indian Twitter influencers, gaining access to the Saudi tourist board’s Twitter Spaces is like a golden ticket to the Willy Wonka factory. It is a versatile platform where influencers can engage with local brands and authorities, ultimately landing celebrity-level deals in the kingdom.
This is how Indian influencers are effectively networking in Saudi Arabia to score brand deals back home.
🔑 Why Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia has become one of the biggest markets for brand deals on Twitter, and Indian influencers are taking notice of this lucrative opportunity.
Twitter is a relatively new platform for influencer marketing in India but the brand deal potential is huge. International brands are embracing Twitter for their India operations, and local brands feel they need to play catch-up with their competitors by using the same platforms.
This is why Indian influencers are using Twitter Spaces to effectively network with Saudi Arabia brands.
Saudi brands are also offering unprecedented financial packages for social media influencers, and Indian influencers don’t want to miss out on a sweet deal.
According to data from Cision, Middle Eastern brands plan to spend more than $3 billion on influencer marketing in 2023. The report states that Saudi Arabia represents more than 40% of the region’s influencer marketing spending.
🕌 India vs Saudi Arabia
Influencer marketing is a booming industry across the globe. Saudi Arabia is no different. According to the Statista Consumer Insights survey, 70% of respondents in Saudi Arabia think influencer marketing is effective.
In comparison to India, the growth of influencer marketing in Saudi Arabia is in its infancy. Statista forecasts influencer marketing will grow to about $254 million USD in 2025.
Saudi Arabia has 31 million social media users, approximately 90% of the population. Although India has a massive 575 million users, that represents only about 42% of the population.
The average Saudi Arabian citizen has more than 6 social accounts. Unlike India, which has a plethora of regional social media platforms, Saudi Arabia is dominated by a few key apps.
Social media platforms heavily used in Saudi Arabia include:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
🧕 How Are Influencers Scoring Brand Deals?
Saudi Arabia influencers believe that engaging with Indian influencers provides an excellent return on investment, especially since it is free for them.
Indian influencers gain access to Saudi Arabia accounts with curated content that showcase the country’s tourism and lifestyle benefits. They can then chat with local brands during Twitter Spaces sessions, building valuable relationships that can lead to lucrative brand deals.
Local Saudi brands often have little expertise in influencer marketing, so they may rely on Indian influencers to help them with their own influencer campaigns. This reliance creates an even stronger incentive for Indian influencers to get involved.
🇮🇳 Twitter Spaces for Influencers
Twitter Spaces is a social audio feature that allows users to create their own public or private audio chat rooms. Members can also record Spaces sessions for later playback.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism is one of the biggest advocates of Twitter Spaces as a marketing tool. They regularly hold sessions that provide insights about Saudi Arabia’s tourism initiatives.
The Ministry of Tourism’s Twitter account has over 632,400 followers and their latest Spaces session had 1.4 million listeners. The Ministry has held many Spaces sessions, some that lasted for more than 90 minutes.
Ministry of Tourism Twitter Spaces sessions often feature Indian influencers as moderators. They are instrumental in creating hype for the sessions and keeping the discussions flowing.
🔥 Influencers as Moderators
Indian influencers as moderators is a common practice in Saudi Arabian Twitter Spaces. Moderators are essentially hosts of the audio conversations.
Twitter Spaces moderators have the power to mute and unmute speakers, control who can join, and end the chat. They also get more visibility by being placed at the front of the listener list.
India-based Twitter influencers work hard to gain these influential moderator spots, and they are often rewarded for their efforts.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism Twitter Spaces sessions often attract 600,000 to 1.4 million listeners. The Ministry has held sessions with as many as 4.5 million listeners.
This kind of “clout” has massive appeal for Indian Twitter influencers.
🪙 Financial Rewards
Influencer marketing is a lucrative industry, and Twitter influencers are no exception. According to a 2022 report by Influencer Marketing Hub, it is estimated that Twitter influencers earn as much as $2,000 per post for paid partnerships.
Saudi Arabian brands are offering Indian influencers even higher rates. For example, Halal Bird, a restaurant in Saudi Arabia owned by Indians, is offering $2,500 for a tweet and $3,700 for a Twitter Space session.
Halal Bird even offers free food and transport to the airport for influencers who come to the restaurant to eat. Indian influencers can also claim tax benefits if they stay in Saudi Arabia for more than 180 days.
Tax-free income is a huge incentive for anyone, especially those coming from countries with high tax consequences.
🇸🇦 Twitter Spaces Sessions
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism holds regular Twitter Spaces sessions. Often, Indian influencers are practically begging to moderate these sessions.
For example, Rajendra Kandel is an Indian influencer who specializes in the tourism niche. He frequently tweets about his desire to moderate a session. Kandel has stated he would “feel proud” to have the honor.
According to Kandel, sometimes he even finds himself in Saudi Arabian Twitter Spaces without an invite. Talk about crashing the party!
🎊 Saudi Twitter Spaces Session
Sajid Ahmed, an Indian influencer on Twitter, also boasts a heavy interest in Saudi Arabian Twitter Spaces sessions. He frequently tweets about moderating the sessions and his experience.
The “Welcome Home” Twitter Spaces session was an especially memorable experience for Ahmed. He was named the first honorary Saudi citizen during the session, hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Tourism.
“Yesterday I came to know that I am the first-ever honorary Saudi citizen from India,” Ahmed tweeted. “I am extremely grateful to the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia for honoring me with the title.”
This is just one of many examples of how Saudi Arabian Twitter Spaces sessions can offer glamorous rewards for Indian influencers who land the right gigs.
💵 Who Does the Payment?
Indian influencers can earn significant cash and reap incredible exposure from Twitter Spaces sessions with Saudi Arabia brands. So how exactly does the payment process work?
Saudi Arabia brands pay influencers through intermediaries based in India. The intermediaries handle the majority of influencer marketing campaigns for Saudi Arabian brands.
The local Saudi Arabian brands benefit by keeping costs down. The money that the brands save is put toward generous influencer payouts.
📈 Influencer Marketing Boom
An increasing number of influencers are finding lucrative opportunities in Saudi Arabia. This is attracting attention from others who want to get involved in influencer marketing.
Reports show there are over 2,800 influencers in Saudi Arabia, a sharp increase of 25% in just the past year. The Saudi influencer marketing industry is expected to grow at a healthy 9.5% annual growth rate between 2022 and 2025.
Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in its tourism sector as part of the Vision 2030 initiative. The initiative aims to increase tourism levels to 100 million by 2030.
The country is aiming to attract an additional 60 million people each year. This aggressive growth plan means Saudi Arabia will need even more influencers to promote its tourism initiatives.
🌊 Indian Twitter Spaces Influencers
The marketing potential for Indian Twitter influencers in Saudi Arabia is huge. They feel that Twitter Spaces sessions provide them with incredible exposure and are a smart career move.
According to an Indian influencer who specializes in Twitter Spaces, the key to being successful as a moderator is by having a strong pitch. He tips aspiring influencers to focus on their profile bio, profile photo, and pinned tweet.
According to the influencer who spoke anonymously, many Saudi Arabia brands are looking for influencers with “political interests”. The influencer also relayed how Saudi brands seem to have an interest in promoting Indian Muslims.
He stated, “Saudi Arabian influencer partners want to work with people who are Muslim, but Indian Hindu influencers are also welcomed.”
📅 The Future of Brand Deals
The future looks bright for Indian influencers who are pursuing Twitter Spaces sessions with Saudi Arabian brands. They have already made a solid foothold and are capturing the attention of the world.
The trend of Indian influencers pursuing brand deals in Saudi Arabia is likely to become even more commonplace in the future.
According to influencer marketing expert Prashant Gupta, “2023 will see a rise in influencers who hail from different countries.” He states they will be more involved with influencer marketing campaigns in India.
“Saudi influencers will focus on Indian influencers this year,” Gupta says.
❗ Key Takeaways
Indian Twitter influencers are scoring lucrative brand deals with Saudi Arabian brands largely through Twitter Spaces sessions.
Saudi Arabia brands are increasingly eager to partner with Indian influencers because they feel they can reach a massive audience. The cost to securing these brand deals is practically nothing for Saudi Arabian brands, making them an easy choice.
The Saudi Arabian influencer marketing industry is projected to grow steadily through 2025, and Indian influencers will continue to aggressively pursue marketing opportunities in the country.
It looks like big money brand deals are on the horizon for Indian Twitter influencers.
BaoLiba 将持续更新 India 网红营销趋势，欢迎关注我们。