Understanding Influencer Marketing in Asia Pacific: What’s Next for Brands in 2023?

Bryan Koh

July 27, 2023

October 25, 2024

As we step into the second half of 2023, the world of marketing continues to evolve, and one strategy stands strong: influencer marketing.

In the wake of recovery, brands are leveraging this dynamic approach to leave a lasting impact on their audience. With consumers spending more time on social media platforms, influencer marketing blends word-of-mouth power and social proof to create an unbeatable formula for success in this post-COVID era.

Did you know?

Influencer marketing is expected to cross $19 billion in 2023 and projected to hit $30 billion in 2027. Brands are realising that collaborating with influencers strategically, frequently and consistently, presents a unique opportunity to tap into niche audiences, boost awareness and drive conversions.

Let's dive into how this trend is reshaping the marketing landscape and propelling brands to new heights.

What did Partipost do?

We've gathered insights by conducting two surveys:

The first survey, with two hundred respondents from brands and marketers across various industries, explored how brands are managing their top social media spends and influencer marketing strategy.
The second survey involved nearly a thousand social media users aged 21-45, where we studied their social media consumption behaviours and interest towards influencers.

Brands Are More Confident to Increase their Influencer Marketing Budgets

Partipost’s survey in 5 Asian countries (Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia) indicated that more than half of all the brands increased their marketing budget up to 50% from 2021-2022. From the budget, more brands are using it for influencer marketing. The percentage of brands that have invested in influencer marketing increased from 73.2% in 2021 to 87.8% in 2023.

Marketing budget spent on influencer marketing by brands in 5 Asian countries from the Influencer Marketing Report 2023

Brands are also spending more on influencer marketing, as more than half (58%) of the brands will spend 10-50% of their marketing budget for influencer marketing in 2023. This may be mainly because it is one of the cheapest forms of branded content. However, it is important for brands to ensure that they are not only increasing their influencer marketing budgets, but also crafting campaigns that truly resonate with their audience in terms of social platforms used, content deliverables in demand, and influencer type.

Brands are Working with More Influencers in 2023

With nearly 60% (4.76 billion) of the total global population being social media users, the increase in frequency of brand influencer campaigns is foreseeable. The impact of COVID on increased social media usage has remained, even until this year, and social media accounts for the biggest share of total online time. On average, almost 4 in every 10 minutes online is spent on social media activities.

Number of influencers that brands worked with over from 2021 to 2023 from the Influencer Marketing Report 2023

Influencers are highly active and impactful on social media. More than 86% of social media users from Partipost’s survey prefer influencer accounts over brand accounts due to relatable content and honest reviews. It is therefore fitting for brands to seek influencers’ expertise to engage with target customers on social media platforms, where they spend most of their time on.

Nano Influencers Remain the Tier Brands Leverage the Most to Drive Awareness

Percentage of the different tiers of influencers followed by consumers on social media from the Influencer Marketing Report 2023

90% of brands are aware of existing influencer tiers (nano, micro, macro, mega). Throughout the years, they are most engaged with nano influencers, followed by micro, macro, and mega/celebrity influencers, to reach objectives such as brand awareness, driving traffic, and using influencer content for ads. This is in line with nano influencers being the influencer tier that is followed the most by social media users at over 58%, followed by higher tiers from micro, macro, to mega influencers.

Remind me:

Nano influencers have a range between 200 to 4,999 followers on social media.

While nano influencers are known for their high engagement and high level of trust from their audiences, brands may benefit more by running cross-tier campaigns, for instance, using nano influencers to drive engagement and higher tier influencers to widen reach.

Media Spends for SME and Large Enterprises

For larger enterprises, Instagram spend remained stable from 2021 to 2023, while the use of Facebook and YouTube has decreased over the same period as brands turn to TikTok and influencers. This may be due to the fact that 65% of TikTok users rely on online reviews and influencer recommendations in making purchase decisions. 2 in 3 20% shoppers also say they are inspired to buy something on TikTok even when they are not actively shopping.

Instagram spend remained stable at 65-69%, while the use of Facebook decreased as more SMEs are using TikTok and influencers in 2023. Unlike large enterprises, SMEs also use display ads as part of their top media, this could be due to SMEs focusing more on building brand awareness.

What’s next?

With projections indicating a continued upward trend until 2027, it's evident that influencer marketing has become a powerful force in the marketing landscape. In our next article, we'll shift our focus to understanding consumer behaviour and how brands can harness this valuable information to optimise their influencer marketing campaigns. By tapping into consumer preferences, interests, and consumption behaviours, brands can fine-tune their approach and prioritise campaigns that resonate with their target audiences on a deeper level.

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These insights are from Partipost's Influencer Marketing Report 2023. Download for FREE here.