China influencer marketing rates on Messenger in South Africa
According to recent reports, China continues to gain immense popularity across various social networks in Africa, including South Africa and Kenya.
As audiences across Africa flood to Chinese channels in search of fashionable outfits, spicy Asian dramas, creative hacks, tutorials, and humorous content, brands have begun to partner with Chinese influencers when advertising their products and services.
Messenger continues to be one of the most trusted social media apps for African audiences.
🌍 Understanding China’s popular social media channels in South Africa
China’s most popular apps such as WeChat and Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) account for the largest audience of 21% found from South Africa, marking the highest growth of any audience in the world.
According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), there were approximately 1.05 billion WeChat users in China alone, with over 300 million of those users located overseas.
South African users alone have increased by over 213% in the year 2023.
WeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent originally released in January 2011 that is commonly used every day in four major areas: messaging, social media, mobile payments, and business services.
Messenger Chat apps such as WeChat, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger experience the most audience growth in Africa.
📈 The rise of influencer marketing in Africa
While China was able to boost its audience growth on Messenger apps like WeChat and Facebook Messenger, Africa continues to see a consistent rise of over 57% in the overall influencer marketing growth rate.
According to the latest statistics, 1 in 3 people use social media to make a purchase decision.
Moreover, a staggering 82% of consumers trust a company more when its CEO is active on social media.
Brands have quickly adapted to the update of how audiences engage with social media.
By investing in influencer marketing, brands have been able to remain relevant, increase their social media engagement rates, and ultimately drive up conversions and revenue.
💡 Chinese influencer rates on Messenger
According to reports, average influencers will charge South African brands around R3,085 for a single post on their channel.
Brands should expect to pay between R2,500 to R5,500 for a single post by Chinese influencers marketing their products or services.
If you are looking to partner with a mega influencer, expect to pay somewhere between R8,500 to R25,000.
Building a long-term partnership with mega influencers can sometimes attract lower rates, being that they may charge around R12,500 for long-term campaigns.
Brands can often negotiate rates with micro and macro influencers by offering free products in exchange for promotion.
It is also common for influencers to request a commission on each sale made through their endorsement.
It is apparent that Chinese influencers have quickly gained popularity in South Africa.
Brands such as RMF, 2iC, Future Farmers, Cape Town’s International Convention Centre and Valcare have all tapped into the power of Chinese influencers to sell their products to the growing Chinese audience in Africa.
In 2025, even more brands are expected to join the Chinese influencer marketing trend.
📊 Brands that are using Chinese influencers in South Africa
RMF
RMF is an online fashion supplier that offers a massive selection of affordable fashionable clothing to help retailers reduce their business running costs while maintaining high product profit margins.
Earlier this year, RMF began running paid ads on Facebook to promote RMF’s stylish products and their partnership with Chinese influencers.
Their ads continue to convert audiences who want to know how they can own their own online fashion store.
2iC
2iC is a South African company that specializes in the creation of durable and affordable silicone cookware that can withstand both high and low temperatures.
With over 4,000 Chinese influencers registered on BaoLiba, South Africa’s largest influencer marketing platform, it is no surprise that 2iC has partnered with Chinese influencers to promote its industry-leading silicone cookware.
Cape Town International Convention Centre
The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is a convention centre that offers world-class services and facilities to ensure quality experiences and lasting impressions for convention visitors.
At the beginning of 2023, CTICC announced its partnership with Chinese influencers to advertise their upcoming events.
This milestone established the CTICC as the first convention centre in South Africa to collaborate with Chinese influencers.
Future Farmers
Future Farmers is an initiative that provides young South Africans with opportunities to develop a career in agriculture.
As more young Chinese citizens migrate to Africa, Future Farmers has recognised the importance of reaching out to this audience and has partnered with Chinese influencers to help engage their Chinese counterparts.
Valcare
Valcare is a non-profit organisation that seeks to empower, equip and mobilise civil society organisations to tackle poverty within the Cape Winelands.
In January 2023, Valcare began using the services of BaoLiba, South Africa’s largest influencer marketing platform to find Chinese influencers to promote their fundraising events and increase awareness of their organisation.
🚀 The rise of Android downloads in Africa
Despite being amongst the most affluent populations across the continent, Android continues to dominate the smartphone market in Africa.
According to reports, smartphone shipments grew by 10% in the first quarter of 2023 as demand for low-cost devices drove recovery from the declines of 2022.
The high demand for affordable Android devices across Africa has created a unique opportunity for Chinese smartphone brands.
By the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, Chinese brands accounted for over half of total smartphone shipments in Africa.
This is significant since the Android market share in Africa is nearly 100 percent.
As most Chinese smartphone brands, such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, depend heavily on Android, smartphone seekers across forests and cities are flooded with Android apps that simply do not exist on iOS.
❗ The debate on organic vs paid growth
There has been much debate among marketers on the importance of organic versus paid growth for influencers marketing themselves to brands.
While organic growth is significantly harder to achieve in a competitive influencer landscape, many still oppose the idea of marketing oneself through sponsored posts as the core essence of influencer marketing is often being authentic.
However, many top influencers in South Africa have been exposed for having used bots to inflate their engagement metrics while others have resorted to buying fake followers.
These issues of inauthenticity have caused brands to become sceptical about whether or not an influencer is worth their investment.
This is where platforms like BaoLiba help bridge the gap between brands and influencers.
By serving as a connection between both parties, BaoLiba ensures that brands can find and contact the right influencers for their upcoming campaigns, while influencers also get to grow their audience without having to jump through multiple hoops.
Brands can trust the performance metrics of each influencer that lists their profiles on BaoLiba.
✍🏻 How to find the right Chinese influencer for your brand
If your brand is looking to partner with a Chinese influencer, be sure to consider the following:
1. Evaluate the influencer’s audience.
It’s important to know who makes up the influencer’s audience before forging a partnership. The influencer should ideally have a following that matches your target audience.
2. Assess the influencer’s artistry.
Each influencer has a unique edge to their content that sets them apart. This edge is commonly referred to as “artistry”.
Knowing the influencer’s artistry can help brands determine how they can best fit their products and services into the influencer’s content without compromising the influencer’s identity and authenticity.
3. Find out how the influencer engages with their audience.
The more engagement the influencer’s content has, the better the chances of converting potential customers.
High engagement across all platforms is a favourable indicator as a high level of engagement generally leads to higher conversion rates.
🔗 BaoLiba and South Africa’s Chinese influencer market
BaoLiba, South Africa’s largest influencer marketing platform, has over 4,000 registered Chinese influencers across Africa with most of them based in South Africa.
They ensure that brands can find the right-fit influencers for their campaigns without all the fuss.
From micro influencers to mega influencers, BaoLiba has Chinese influencers in multiple niches ready for brands to partner with.
According to the latest statistics from Google, Africa has over 1.5 billion people.
With 62% of Africa’s population projected to be under 25, marketing to youth will not only be pivotal to achieving economic growth and stability, but will also ensure continued consumer viability.
As trends and interests change rapidly, brands must start marketing their products and services to people who actually live them.
This is where influencers can help bridge the gap and lead the charge for more authentic brands.
Through their services, BaoLiba ensures that brands in South Africa and beyond can partner with the right influencers and stay relevant.
✉️ Say hi to BaoLiba today!
If you’re ready to grow your brand’s audience, let us help you and connect you with the best brand ambassadors to promote your products and services.
With South Africa’s largest influencer marketing platform, we are dedicated to providing you with effective influencer marketing solutions.
Register for an account with BaoLiba today to unlock our full suite of influencer marketing services!