Influencer Marketing Enters a New Era of Community-Driven Growth
New data shows 70% of influencer campaigns remain focused on awareness, as TikTok closes in on Instagram and XiaoHongShu strengthens its role in consumer discovery.
Influencer marketing is entering a new phase, where community trust and platform-specific engagement are becoming as important as performance metrics.
As brands navigate an increasingly fragmented social media landscape, understanding how consumers discover, validate and act on recommendations is critical. New research from AnyMind Group‘s Influencer Marketing in Malaysia 2026 report offers a detailed look at these evolving dynamics.
Serving as a version of the company’s regional APAC report, this localised edition offers a comprehensive, three-year data-driven analysis of Malaysia’s creator economy, utilising first-party insights from the AnyTag platform.
The data outlines a maturing creator economy that stands uniquely apart from broader regional APAC trends. While much of the broader Asian market rushes toward outcome-driven metrics, Malaysia remains deeply anchored in high-visibility awareness, community trust, and a rapidly evolving platform mix.
The Strategic Role of Awareness Content
The Influencer Marketing in Malaysia 2026 report reveals that awareness-driven campaigns dominated at 70% of total influencer marketing activity.
Performance-driven initiatives, defined in the report as campaigns targeted to meet benchmarks such as engagement rates and link clicks, saw a temporary drop in 2024 to 21%, but picked up in 2025, closing at 30%.
This recovery highlights that while brands seek measurable metrics, the baseline for converting Malaysian consumers remains firmly rooted in long-term brand equity and authentic storytelling.
A Highly Competitive Multi-Platform Shift
A major highlight of the three-year data scope is the diversification of platform market shares. Malaysia has fundamentally shifted away from an Instagram-centric market.
TikTok experienced explosive growth;
- Rising from an 8% campaign share in 2023 to a massive 44% in 2025, nearly on par with Instagram, which sits at 48%.
Brands are now deploying dual-platform strategies, blending Instagram’s aspirational lifestyle visuals with TikTok’s high-velocity, short-form video formats to drive mass reach.
The Rise of XiaoHongShu as a Specialised Third Pillar
Beyond the top two social media companies, XiaoHongShu has firmly established itself as a critical third pillar, capturing over 7% of all official brand influencer campaigns.
Far from a niche channel, XiaoHongShu has become a dominant hub for high-intent community seeding, capturing over 28% of all campaign spend in the Lifestyle & Home category.
The report highlights a clear difference in content strategies between XiaoHongShu and other platforms. While mainstream channels rely heavily on entertainment and rapid trend participation, XiaoHongShu creators prioritise home-centric utility and travel discovery.
On legacy platforms, creator content is heavily concentrated around high-energy, broad-appeal categories, led by Entertainment at 23%, followed closely by Fashion & Beauty at 23%, and Food & Drink at 14%.
In contrast, XiaoHongShu has carved out a distinct niche centred on utility and lifestyle aspiration. The platform’s top content categories are uniquely driven by Lifestyle & Home at 31% and Travel at 23%, alongside a strong Fashion & Beauty presence at 25%.
This positions XiaoHongShu as the premier search-and-recommendation network for high-consideration purchases in Malaysia.
The Future of Influencer Marketing in Malaysia
As the local creator economy matures, the report underscores that true campaign success comes from leaning directly into the distinct attributes of the Malaysian consumer.
Lee Chin Chuan, Country Manager, Malaysia, AnyMind Group, said, “The data clearly underscores that the Malaysian influencer landscape operates on a foundation of long-term validation rather than passive scrolling.”
“While other regional markets are moving towards outcome-driven goals, local brands continue to see the immense value of awareness-led storytelling to build real consumer trust.”
“Our objective is to give marketers in Malaysia the ultimate cross-platform engine, pairing TikTok’s viral velocity and Instagram’s premium brand visuals with a strategic, early-mover advantage on XiaoHongShu’s high-intent discovery ecosystem.”
By structuring campaigns around trusted nano- and micro-influencer networks, balancing mass video awareness on TikTok with visual storytelling on Instagram, and scaling up lifestyle seeding on XiaoHongShu, brands can build long-term consumer confidence that naturally transitions inspiration into purchase action.
Moving forward, marketers who view creator partnerships as an always-on strategic investment rather than quick, seasonal bursts will be the ones who successfully build lasting brand equity in Malaysia.
ALSO READ: Moving Beyond Rules-Based Workflows to Coordinated System of AI Agents
