ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
www.businessmirror.com.ph
n
Sunday, February 8, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 119
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
New report sustains need for multiplatform approach for brands, even as nano- and micro-influencers are emerging as the backbone of Asia’s influencer economy.
NEW MEGA
ANO- and Micro-influencers are emerging as the backbone of Asia’s influencer economy, favored by audiences and increasingly tapped by brands for performancefocused campaigns, generating stronger engagement and measurable conversions than top-tier stars, a regional marketing insights firm reported. The State of Influence in APAC 2026 report by AnyMind Group classified influencers across markets based on total followers across all social media platforms. Under the framework, nanoinfluencers have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, microinfluencers between 10,000 and 100,000, macro-influencers between 100,000 and one million, and top-tier influencers more than one million followers. Drawing on data from nearly 7,000 influencer marketing campaigns and more than 1.1 million influencers across 10 Asia-Pacific markets—including Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam— the report found that micro-influencers account for the largest share of the creator ecosystem in most markets, exceeding 40 percent in several countries, while averaging roughly one-third of creators across the region. Regionally, micro-influencers represented 34.37 percent of creators in 2023, which dipped to 30.46 percent in 2024, and rebounded to 33.57 percent in 2025. Nano-influencers followed a similar pattern, accounting for
roughly one-third of influencers over the same period. Together, these smaller creators continue to dominate the regional influencer landscape. By comparison, macro-influencers made up about a quarter of the creator pool over the three-year period, while top-tier influencers with more than one million followers consistently represented the smallest segment, ranging from 6.42 percent to 7.91 percent. “The dominance of micro-influencers in most Asian markets proves that brands cannot rely on mass reach alone,” the report said, pointing to a growing emphasis on engagement and relevance rather than follower size.
Market-level patterns across Asia
MARKET-LEVEL data show how this shift is unfolding across individual countries, with platform preferences and performance dynamics varying by market. In Cambodia, TikTok has emerged as the most effective platform for engagement, with nano-influencers posting a median engagement rate of 13.77 percent. Influencer activity in the country is largely driven by short, trend-led video, while marketing
MEDIAN ENGAGEMENT RATES ON SOCIAL MEDIA (PHILIPPINES) Nano-influencers (1k-10k followers)
Micro-influencers (10k-100k followers)
Macro-influencers (100k-1M followers)
1st Quartile
Median
3rd Quartile
1st Quartile
Median
3rd Quartile
1st Quartile
Median
3rd Quartile
0.45%
1.16%
2.77%
0.30%
0.94%
2.53%
0.38%
1.24%
3.13%
0.20%
0.92%
3.36%
0.04%
0.23%
1.18%
0.32%
0.32%
1.45%
YouTube
0.25%
1.28%
4.77%
0.06%
0.29%
1.58%
0.21%
0.21%
0.76%
TikTok
0.77%
2.56%
14.62%
0.20%
0.97%
7.99%
0.41%
0.41%
2.67%
Platform
*Random sampling of 4k influencers in Philippines with 1,000 to 1,000,000 followers, across all influencer verticals. Source: State of Influence in APAC 2026 Report, AnyMind Group
“Trust and authenticity” remain central to engagement, with followers responding more strongly to creators they perceive as relatable and credible rather than distant celebrities. spend is concentrated in lifestyle and home content, reflecting strong interest in everyday living and visual storytelling. In Hong Kong, nano-influencers significantly outperform larger creators on both Instagram and YouTube, recording engagement rates several times higher than those of macro-influencers. Instagram remains the market’s primary platform, while XiaoHongShu is gaining traction as a secondary channel for product discovery, particularly in beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. The data indicate that campaigns built around multiple nanocreators tend to generate stronger returns than single high-profile
endorsements. Indonesia’s influencer market is dominated almost entirely by TikTok and Instagram, which together account for nearly all campaign activity. Nano-influencers deliver the highest engagement on both platforms, outperforming macro-influencers by as much as seven times. According to the report, this makes smaller creators the most cost-efficient option for brands looking to build trust and relevance within Indonesia’s highly engaged, mobile-first audience. In Japan, the influencer landscape is shaped by the strong presence of Instagram and X, which together account for more than
KAMRAN SHABIR | DREAMSTIME.COM
N
By John Eiron R. Francisco
three-quarters of platform usage. While short-form video continues to grow through TikTok and YouTube, the sustained popularity of X, which differs from trends seen in most Southeast Asian markets, highlights Japan’s preference for text-based, news-driven, and realtime discussions. TikTok delivers the highest median engagement across all influencer tiers, with nano-influencers reaching 13.14 percent. Meanwhile, solid engagement on Instagram and YouTube underscores the need for a multiplatform approach, with brands balancing visual storytelling, long-form credibility, rapid short-form reach, and timely conversations. In Malaysia, the data indicate that high-volume campaigns involving smaller creators are the most effective across platforms. Engagement is strongest among nano- and micro-influencers, particularly on TikTok, where authentic, creator-led content drives costeffective conversions. Instagram remains the primary platform for brand building, while TikTok plays a growing role in reach and virality, especially in fashion, beauty, food, and lifestyle segments.
Tiktok’s central role in PHL
A SIMILAR pattern is evident in the Philippines, where nano-influencers record the highest engagement across platforms, significantly outperforming macro-creators.
TikTok dominates the local influencer market, accounting for more than 64 percent of campaigns, compared with about 25 percent for Instagram. The report noted that TikTok in the Philippines has evolved beyond a discovery channel, now playing a central role in driving trend-led sales and performance outcomes. In Singapore, engagement rates are also highest among smaller creators, with nano-influencers on TikTok consistently outperforming macro-influencers across all platforms. While Instagram captures the bulk of brand investment for visual storytelling and aesthetics, TikTok delivers stronger performance metrics, particularly among younger and mobilefirst audiences. The report highlighted lifestyle, home, and food content as areas with strong growth potential, amid saturation in entertainment and beauty categories. In Taiwan, nano-influencers deliver the most efficient engagement across major platforms. On Instagram, nano-creators post a median engagement rate of 3.82 percent, compared with just 0.98 percent for macro-influencers, while a similar gap appears on YouTube. The report also pointed to the rapid rise of Threads as a complementary platform for real-time engagement, particularly among lifestyle and beauty brands. In Thailand, TikTok generates the highest engagement across all influencer tiers, with nano-influencers once again leading performance. While Instagram and X also show strong engagement, YouTube lags in organic effectiveness. The data support the use of high-volume nano-influencer campaigns as a reliable and costefficient strategy for building community trust in the Thai market. Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.8270 n JAPAN 0.3746 n UK 79.6047 n HK 7.5284 n CHINA 8.4810 n SINGAPORE 46.1388 n AUSTRALIA 40.7318 n EU 69.2923 n KOREA 0.0400 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.6872 Source: BSP (February 6, 2026)
AMMENTORP | DREAMSTIME.COM
MICRO IS THE