Influencer Marketing in APAC 2026 From Brand Awareness to Revenue Engine

Influencer marketing in Asia-Pacific is no longer just about likes, reach, and brand visibility.

In 2025, it became a serious performance channel driving trust, purchase intent, and measurable ROI.

According to the latest State of Influence in APAC 2026 Report by AnyMind Group, influencer marketing has officially shifted from an upper-funnel awareness tactic to a full-funnel growth driver across the region.

Here’s what brands and marketers need to know.

Influencer Marketing in APAC Is Now Performance-Driven

Drawing from first-party data via AnyTag, the report analyzed nearly 7,000 influencer campaigns and over 1.1 million influencers across 10 Asia-Pacific markets:

Cambodia
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
The Philippines
Singapore
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam

Based on full-year 2025 data and campaign trends since 2023, the message is clear: brands are under pressure to prove ROI and influencers are now expected to deliver measurable business outcomes.

Outcome-Based Campaigns Are Surging

While awareness campaigns still make up a large share of activity, performance-led influencer marketing has grown rapidly:

2023: 28.24% of tracked campaigns
2024: 30.67%
2025: 42.47%

That sharp increase signals a major strategic pivot. Influencers are no longer just storytellers. They are performance partners contributing to:

Engagement
Consideration
Click-throughs
Conversions
Commerce outcomes

For brands focused on commerce-led growth, influencer marketing has become a revenue-supporting channel rather than a visibility play.

TikTok’s Rise as a Performance Powerhouse

Platform dynamics in 2025 further reinforced the performance shift.

TikTok emerged as the dominant influencer platform across much of Southeast Asia, especially in:

Thailand: 66.0% of influencer campaigns
The Philippines: 64.3%
Vietnam: 62.9%

Its short-form, entertainment-led format continues to drive high engagement and action-oriented behavior, making it a strong channel for conversion-focused campaigns.

The platform also saw growing adoption in Japan, with a 16.3% increase in campaign usage in 2025, the same year TikTok Shop launched in the market.

Instagram Still Holds Strong in Key Markets

Despite TikTok’s rapid expansion, Instagram remains the leading influencer platform in several APAC markets.

Japan: 56.4% of influencer activity
Taiwan: 57.7%
Hong Kong: 45.3% (with a more diversified platform mix)
Malaysia: Nearly even split, Instagram at 47.7% and TikTok at 44.4%

These numbers highlight an important takeaway: platform strategy in APAC is highly market-specific. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Brands that localize platform selection based on user behavior and commerce readiness are better positioned to maximize performance.

Influencers as Commerce Partners, Not Just Creators

As influencer marketing matures across Asia-Pacific, brands are integrating creator campaigns into broader performance marketing and e-commerce strategies.

Instead of measuring success purely by impressions or engagement rates, marketers are now tracking:

Click-based actions
Product views
Add-to-cart behavior
Conversions
Sales impact

This evolution reflects a broader shift in marketing accountability. Budgets are being optimized around measurable outcomes, and influencers are increasingly embedded in the consumer decision journey.

The result? A more data-driven, ROI-focused influencer ecosystem across APAC.

What This Means for Brands in 2026

The State of Influence in APAC 2026 Report makes one thing clear: influencer marketing is no longer experimental. It is performance infrastructure.

Brands that treat creators as long-term performance partners, not one-off promotional assets, will be better equipped to drive sustainable growth in an increasingly commerce-centric digital economy.

For marketers navigating rising acquisition costs and tighter budgets, influencer marketing now offers something more valuable than reach: accountable results.

The full report is available from AnyMind Group for those seeking deeper data and market-by-market insights.