Social media influencer marketing in Vietnam

Download: State of Influence in Asia 2021 report now

Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic and fastest-growing markets for social media influencer marketing, and rightly so.

With a population close to 97 million people, there are over 145 million mobile phone connections (150% population penetration rate), with 68.17 million people (70% of total population) connected to the internet, and 65 million people on social media (67% of total population), according to a 2020 report from We Are Social and Hootsuite.

Those numbers might not immediately stand out, but if we look further into growth trends, Vietnam saw a year-on-year increase of internet users by 10% (6.2 million people), and increase of social media users by 9.6% (5.7 million people) compared to 2019.

This has presented a pristine opportunity for marketers in Vietnam and marketers looking to reach audiences in Vietnam.

Looking at social media platform usage, Facebook comes in top, with YouTube a close second. Rounding up the top five are Instagram, TikTok and Twitter respectively.

Although this can paint a good overview of influencer marketing in Vietnam, we’re looking to dive further into our data and insights.

The impact of social media in Vietnam
Starting off with how social media is impacting businesses, data by insights firm Clutch, indicates Facebook as the most impactful social medium for B2C businesses, and LinkedIn the most impactful for B2B businesses.

It will come as no surprise then, with Facebook reaching 61 million users in Vietnam, Instagram at 5.4 million users in Vietnam, Twitter with 1.27 million users, and LinkedIn reaching 3.3 million users in Vietnam, based on data from the aforementioned We Are Social and Hootsuite report.

This is important for marketers when strategizing essential social mediums when planning influencer marketing campaigns and activity.

Taking a closer look at influencers in Vietnam
Vietnam’s influencer marketing story is one of growth, and we’ll take a closer look at the top three fastest-growing influencer categories in Vietnam.

Lifestyle
Starting off with the lifestyle category, many influencers fall under this category due to the uniquely broad nature of the category. Lifestyle influencers provide followers with a look into their lives, including sharing of their talents, passions, tips and more. In Vietnam, some lifestyle influencers include Giang Ơi and Ohsusu, who are able to deliver engaging content to their followers.

Gaming
Another growing category of influencers in Vietnam is in the gaming space. These influencers are shaping the way games are being marketed in Vietnam, providing personal insights and a new depth into audience insights into games. Gaming influencers have various platforms to deliver content, including live streaming platforms and social mediums like YouTube. In this space, two gaming influencers stand out in Vietnam, Quang Cuốn and Cris Phan.

Family and Kid
Another one of our three fastest-growing social media influencer categories in Vietnam is the family and kid category. With influencer families becoming increasingly popular, and a generation of social media natives starting their own families, the family and kid category is one to watch right now and in the future. Collaborating with influencer families can be particularly beneficial for marketers, as they cover a wide variety of spaces where collaboration can happen. Two fast-growing family and kid influencers in Vietnam are Gia đình cam cam and Huy Khánh Vê Lốc.

To see more social media influencers and content creators in Vietnam that are creating waves in their respective niche, head on over here.

And now a closer look at influencer marketing in Vietnam
Taking insights from the past six months worth of influencer marketing campaigns run through the AnyTag platform (previously known as CastingAsia), Facebook is the platform of choice, followed by YouTube and Twitter.

With that said, a similar trend we’re noticing across various markets in Asia, is that engagements and shares definitely extend the reach of influencer content (great for awareness campaigns), but the quality of content and how well it does to convince a user matters more for clicks and conversions. We’ve seen clickthrough rates as high as 12%-20% (versus total reach) for campaigns run through the AnyTag platform.

Influencer marketing trends in Vietnam
We’re now turning our focus towards various trends we’re noticing for influencer marketing in Vietnam, based off insights from our local team of influencer marketing experts and the AnyTag platform.

Influencer marketing and online commerce
If the past year is anything to go by, online commerce is growing rapidly in Vietnam. With Facebook, Instagram and YouTube possessing in-platform commerce capabilities, and a fast-growing e-commerce landscape, the Vietnam market looks primed for growth. Additionally, we’re seeing more CPA-based (cost-per-acquisition) campaigns run through the AnyTag platform – tying influencer marketing activities to actual business impact.

Creativity remains at the core for growth
Consumers are increasingly picky when choosing if a video or social media content is interesting. Due to the large influx of content, influencers in Vietnam have shared that one of the problems they face is how often “creativity blocks” happen. Creating fresh content can become challenging when there are so many content creators covering a wide variety of angles and topics.

Although jumping on or creating trends is the common content strategy for influencers, instances like the 1977 Vlog in Vietnam still can have considerable impact. This proves that audience engagement can still be gained even without heavily-invested production.

Content creation
It can be argued that YouTube gave rise to today’s social media influencers, where anyone, and not just celebrities, could upload videos and broadcast to a wider audience. From a video-only platform, YouTube has now expanded into other content forms, including live streaming, paid channels, written and visual newsfeeds.

Amongst the various platforms available today, including TikTok, Facebook Stories, livestream & 360-degree video, Instagram Story and more, expect user-generated and influencer video content to skyrocket in the future.

In the same vein, lifestyle and how-to content will become increasingly popular in Vietnam, as the 4.0 generation further goes online to find entertainment. Those that create content which is honest and has an element of storytelling, will engage more audiences.

AnyMind Group’s influencer marketing offerings in Vietnam
At AnyMind Group, we’ve built out a comprehensive array of offerings to ensure domestic and international marketers are able to fully utilize influencer marketing in Vietnam.

The AnyTag platform (formerly known as CastingAsia) enables marketers to discover influencers, along with activating, managing and tracking influencer marketing campaigns in Vietnam and other markets around the world.

AnyCreator (formerly known as CastingAsia Creators Network) is an Asia-wide influencer network that was launched by AnyMind Group, and equips influencers with resources and knowledge, preparing them for further growth.

AnyMind Group also has local influencer marketing experts with a wide range of experience running influencer marketing campaigns in Vietnam.

Find out how we helped social media platform TikTok challenge the traditional meaning of the “Tết” festive season in Vietnam, or how we helped GrabFood tap into a pool of Vietnam’s most influential talent.

Also, AnyCreator influencer, Dustin Phuc Nguyen, speaks to Branding in Asia about life as an influencer in Vietnam.

Round-ups from other markets
• Social media influencer marketing in Indonesia
• Social media influencer marketing in Japan
• Social media influencer marketing in Thailand
• Social media influencer marketing in the Philippines
• Social media influencer marketing in Singapore
• Social media influencer marketing in Hong Kong

If you’re keen to learn more or find out how you can run effective influencer marketing in Vietnam, please feel free to reach out to us through the form below.