In this article, we are discussing if Influencer Marketing on Facebook in Pakistan can produce results as good as Facebook Ads targeting Pakistani audiences. Before we get to business, let’s look at some stats about Facebook in Pakistan
- As per March 2019, there are 31,467,000 Facebook users in Pakistan.
- This means that 15.2 percent of our population is using Mr. Zuckerberg’s social medium.
- Majority of these users are Male (81%) and females (19%) are in a smaller number.
- People aged between 18 – 24 years are the largest user group of Facebook in Pakistan.
As a brand, you have no option to tap out of Facebook. But you are not alone.
Several individuals have dedicated their days and nights to make ‘being on Facebook’ a career, and now they have niches and a large fan following. We are talking about influencers. Pakistan’s Facebook influencers are a force to reckon with, and a cool way for brands to propagate their marketing messages.
There are so many ways to work with influencers on Facebook. For example
- Invite the influencer to go Live on your page
- Create content with the influencer and post it on both of your pages
- Make video content and invite influencers as guests
- Have influencers creative say and let them take charge of your promotional strategy
- Sponsor a post on their page
While these avenues are interesting, you must be wondering why we are not talking about using Facebook Ads instead. Why take the trouble when you can just spend some money and get done with it?
Because small businesses don’t operate on high marketing budgets. Also because the competition is tough and even tougher for small fish in the sea of Facebook Ads. That’s why brands turn to the large follower base of influencers on Facebook.
However, Facebook Ads can’t be ruled out of the picture in entirety. A cleverly optimized Facebook Ad works like a seasoned archer- hitting right on the spot! Influencer Marketing on Facebook in Pakistan
Facebook Ads are Still Relevant
Many people argue that organic reach on Facebook is dead. It is hard to assume otherwise when Facebook itself keeps tweaking the algorithms to present fresh content to the target audience. So, organic reach is still effective but in limited cases.
For businesses, it is impossible to fare well on Facebook without one or two sponsored posts every other while. Facebook Ads are the most effective when marketing in Pakistan because they cut through the noise and reach your target customer.
Since Facebook is a huge community now, ads make it easier to sell and convert, if used correctly. You can customize each detail of Ads, like location, gender, age, interests, etc. Influencer Marketing on Facebook in Pakistan
The ideal way to promote your business through Facebook Ads is by making them look just like a regular post. This strategy works for most businesses because of the Ad gels in with other posts on a user’s timeline. Take the example of this Ad by CarFirst
With the option of adding a call to action with the Ad, CarFirst can convert relevant and interested leads to their website. This is easier than any on-ground activation or promotion. Influencer Marketing on Facebook in Pakistan
Better ROI Through Facebook Ads
You cannot overlook the reach of this powerful platform that has helped so many small businesses gather leads. Trivial daily chores like laundry, delivery, grocery shopping, book shopping, and even meat shopping can be done with the help of a local business on Facebook in Pakistan.
Businesses can get a better return on investment (ROI) through highly targeted Facebook advertising. This is because you are choosing every detail, and creating a campaign based on a particular objective. Next step will be to measure the ROI to see the effectiveness of your campaign.
If the meat brand spent 1500 PKR to sponsor this post for 3 days and got 20 customers through the Ad, they got a high ROI based on the specifics of their campaign.
Same is the case with engagement-based posts on Facebook. The number of likes, shares, and comments you get on a sponsored post will also determine if the investment was good. With these numbers in hand, marketers can learn and tweak the next campaign to become even more specific.
These numbers and customers are bigger than the ones gotten through influencer marketing. It is direct marketing that results in interested consumers throughout their buying journey. However, influencer marketing can’t be excluded from this mix because it gets you customers who are highly engaged from the get-go.
Influencer Marketing on Facebook in Pakistan
Influencer Marketing is a gift that keeps giving. There is nothing quite like the creative content made by savvy local creators. Only an individual who has a good idea of your community and culture can be deemed as the relevant influencer of your country.
It is good to see that Pakistani influencers are now working hard and pursuing their career on Facebook seriously. Top content creators like Danish Ali, Comics by Arsalan, Bekaar Films and Karachi Vynz are collaborating with brands who are willing to go that extra mile.
However, these partnerships have their own setbacks. You may or may not be successful in reaching out to customers through influencer endorsements. There is no doubt about the organic, highly interested audience that engages with partnered posts, but it still does not guarantee conversions.
Surprisingly, it’s not the same for Instagram and YouTube influencers. Our Pakistani influencers are having the time of their lives on these platforms, just like their global counterparts.
PR mail is the popular thing on Instagram, where the brand sends a package to the influencer and they review it. One story or post can get so many followers and purchases to a brand. On YouTube, brands can promote their message through paid videos on an influencer’s channel.
Here are a few examples
For example, Hafsa is a lifestyle YouTuber with 36k+ subscribers on her channel. She regularly partners with brands that match her channel’s theme, like Khaas clothing brand or Veet. In her videos, she carries on in her usual style of vlogging and subtly inserts the brand message along.
For avid followers of an influencer’s Instagram or YouTube, paid promotions do not look out of place and get more interactions. We believe that the site structure also has a key role to play in this course. Getting from one profile to the other on Instagram takes a few seconds, and YouTube is very addictive.
Facebook’s interface does not invite people organically in the first place, so paid promotion is the best resort to bring more traffic, even better than partnering with influencers.
Last word
Currently, there are no clear ROI indicators present for Pakistan. As a small with less marketing budget, Facebook Ads will provide more ROI. Facebook will remain a key player in your brand’s marketing mix because the majority of internet users in Pakistan are active on it.
As an established brand with a high marketing budget, influencer marketing can help you dominate the target audience and earn a good ROI. Your brand will be able to work on a pull/push strategy and convey key messages.
If you are looking for the best influencers to partner with, our team would love to help you out.
