How Indian WhatsApp Influencers Find Brand Deals in China
As China opens its doors to the world again, Indian WhatsApp influencers are flooding in to find brand deals. They are not interested in visiting the Great Wall or Tiananmen Square. They are here to sell herbal toothpaste and skin whitening creams.
WhatsApp is a particularly popular medium in India for influencer marketing. The app has been a great way to connect with rural audiences and it boasts an unparalleled engagement rate. A WhatsApp influencer can have thousands of followers and yet only a handful of them may be verified accounts. This makes it harder to assess an influencer’s reach, but WhatsApp influencers tend to be more relatable than their Instagram or YouTube counterparts.
Besides, WhatsApp is a platform that Indians have taken to their hearts. It has come to form part of the Indian way of life, and it is ideal for the Indian influencer who wants to dabble in global marketing.
TikTok is also a very popular platform in India, but it has been banned since 2020. As a result, many Indian influencers have shifted to WhatsApp to maintain their international connections, and in search of new ones. This has made WhatsApp the new frontier in influencer marketing, a trend that Chinese brands are beginning to notice.
🧧 Chinese Brands Connect with Indian Influencers through WeChat
Todo, a Chinese health and beauty brand, recently held a marketing campaign in India to promote its products. A group of Indian WhatsApp influencers were invited to a paid tour of China. They were to act as brand ambassadors for Todo, and also help facilitate its entry into the Indian market.
But the influencers were not in China to play tourist. They spent most of their time in a hotel conference room, learning how to market Chinese herbal remedies through WhatsApp. They were instructed that when they got back to India, they were to reach out to their contacts in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. There, they were to offer Todo products to their friends and family as a way of generating hype.
Despite the rigmarole of the trip, the WhatsApp influencers were excited about their new partnership with Todo. They were given free flights to China and a hotel to stay in for a week. Todo promised that they would also be paid 15,000 INR for every 500,000 Indian rupees worth of product they managed to sell.
The WhatsApp influencers were ecstatic about the deal, and they couldn’t wait to return to India to push their new line of herbal remedies.
After returning to India however, they discovered that not only had they not been paid, they had also been scammed. Todo had vanished into thin air when it was time to pay up.
It turned out that Todo was not a legitimate health and beauty brand, but rather an elaborate scam that preyed on unsuspecting influencers. The WhatsApp influencers were not the first to fall for its promises, and they certainly would not be the last.
🧧 China is Not Well Known for its Influencer Marketing
There are very few platforms for influencer marketing in China. The most popular one is WeChat, which is where most of the Chinese influencers will be found.
This poses a problem for Indian influencers looking for brand deals in China. The WeChat influencer marketing platforms are not accessible to foreigners, and so Indian influencers will have a hard time penetrating the Chinese market. This is where WhatsApp comes in.
WhatsApp is popular in India, and it is not uncommon for influencers to have thousands of followers on the app. China is well known for its strict social media policies, and platforms like Facebook and Instagram are banned. However, WhatsApp still works in the country, and it has become a prime way for Chinese brands to connect with Indian influencers.
🧧 Connecting with Chinese Brands through WeChat Groups
Every WhatsApp influencer worth their salt will be in a group or two where they can connect with brands. These groups are often very crowded, with hundreds of influencers vying for attention. But the competition is worth it, as there are plenty of brands looking for influencers to promote their products.
Chinese brands especially are looking for WhatsApp influencers in India. They have found that WhatsApp offers a more personal connection with potential customers compared to other platforms. This is particularly beneficial for Chinese brands trying to penetrate the Indian market because they can connect with tier 2 and tier 3 city dwellers who are more likely to trust a WhatsApp influencer than a big-name celebrity.
Chinese brands are so eager to work with Indian influencers that some have gone as far as to create special WeChat groups just for Indian influencers.
📞 WhatsApp Influencer Marketing Groups connect with Chinese Brands
WhatsApp influencer marketing groups are popular in India. They allow influencers to connect with brands that are looking for advertising. These groups can also provide additional resources for influencers, such as tips on how to get paid and how to recognize scams.
A popular WhatsApp influencer marketing group that connects Indian influencers with Chinese brands is the “WhatsApp Influencers” group. This group has over 50,000 members and is the largest of its kind in India.
The group shares plenty of opportunities for influencers, as well as tips and tricks on how to get paid and how to spot scams. However, a recent post in the group has raised some eyebrows.
A member of the group asked the group admin how to join a WeChat group for Chinese brands interested in working with Indian influencers. The admin responded by saying that the group was restricted to women only.
A female influencer in the group then asked if she could join the WeChat group since she was a woman. The admin told her that she could join, but only if she sent him 300 INR first.
The influencer sent him the money, but when she asked to join the WeChat group, the admin ghosted her.
📞 Finding Chinese Brands through Social Media
Many WhatsApp influencers have turned to social media to find brand deals. They now regularly check platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram for leads.
There are also websites dedicated to connecting influencers with brands, such as BaoLiba. The site has been gaining traction in India, where it has become a popular way for influencers to connect with brands looking for advertising.
However, influencers have to be careful when using websites like BaoLiba. Scams are rampant, and many influencers have fallen victim to them. For example, one influencer shared that she was contacted by a brand on BaoLiba. The brand said that they were a Chinese company that produced herbal remedies, and they were interested in working with her. The brand told her that they would send her a product, and she would receive 6,000 INR as payment.
The influencer shared that she was excited about the brand deal. She received the product but never got paid. The brand went dark after it sent her the product.
📞 How WhatsApp Influencers in India can Protect Themselves from Scams
Scammers are targeting WhatsApp influencers in India and have made the influencer marketing industry in India unsafe. However, there are steps that influencers can take to protect themselves from scams.
Do Research: Before accepting a brand deal, influencers should do their homework. They should Google the brand and see if it has a social media presence. If the brand claims to be a Chinese company, influencers should check if it has English-speaking representatives who can communicate with them. If a brand is offering an influencer a deal that seems too good to be true, it probably is.
No Payment in Advance: Brands that ask for payment in advance are most likely scams. Legitimate brands will always pay influencers after they have completed their tasks.
Use Trusted Platforms: Influencers should use trusted platforms like BaoLiba to find brand deals. These platforms have a vetting process for brands, which makes it less likely that influencers will fall victim to scams.
🚨 Brands in China are Beginning to Recognize Indian WhatsApp Influencers
Despite the challenges that Indian WhatsApp influencers face in trying to connect with brands in China, they are beginning to gain traction.
In an article by Business Today, it was reported that a Chinese beauty company has recently started collaborating with Indian WhatsApp influencers. The company’s CEO recently posted in the “WhatsApp Influencers” group that they were looking to collaborate with Indian influencers.
The CEO stated that their company produced over 300 products in personal care, health, and wellness that were already popular in China. Now they wanted to expand into new markets, and they were looking for Indian influencers to help them do that.
In fact, the CEO mentioned that they wanted to create a WhatsApp group exclusively for Indian influencers. This was a significant development, as it was rare for a brand to create a WhatsApp group specifically for influencers.
🚨 Major YouTubers are Also Getting in on the Action
Even major YouTubers in India are getting in on the action. Recently, a popular YouTuber who goes by the handle “Dumb Indian Guy - D.I.G” shared that he was contacted by a Chinese brand interested in working with him. The brand, which specializes in beauty products, wanted to send him products and have him advertise them on his YouTube channel.
He told his followers that he was not sure about the offer, as he suspected it may be a scam. However, he also mentioned that he was intrigued by the possibility of working with a Chinese brand.
🚨 The Future of Indian WhatsApp Influencers in China
Indian WhatsApp influencers looking for brand deals in China face many challenges. However, they also have many opportunities to find brand deals in the country.
Most importantly, they can protect themselves from scams by doing their homework and using trusted platforms like BaoLiba to find legitimate brand deals. In the meantime, they should also keep an eye on the “WhatsApp Influencers” group, just in case a Chinese beauty company announces another special WhatsApp group for female influencers.
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