Nadeem Hussain, chairman of the Pakistan Fintech Network, writes in Dawn’s Business and Finance Weekly of 12 October that advertising in Pakistan is moving off television and billboards toward people who already have an audience on social media.
The counts in the column
He puts adult social-media user identities at around 80 million. TikTok’s advertising reach is approaching 80 million adults, YouTube around 54 million and Instagram around 22 million. Among creators, he names Jannat Mirza at over 25 million TikTok followers, Ducky Bhai at over 10 million YouTube subscribers, Rajab Butt’s family channel at around 9 million, and Hania Aamir past 20 million on Instagram. He adds that thousands of smaller accounts cover fashion, food, beauty, technology, travel, gaming, cars and financial services.
How he says the money works
A post can be a fixed fee: a few thousand rupees or free products for smaller accounts, tens or hundreds of thousands for established creators, and more for celebrities. He is more interested in commission on a code or a link, so a brand can see which creator produced sales. His example is a clothing company with 100 influencers and different codes. He also writes that 50,000 followers who care about motorcycles can be worth more to a bike maker than 5 million general followers.
On live selling, he says Pakistan already has smartphones, social media, digital payments, delivery and a young audience that buys on a screen. The risks he names are undisclosed paid posts, especially for financial and health products, and fake followers. Brands, he writes, should measure cost per customer, engagement, conversion and repeat purchases. Television and billboards stay, but they no longer have the field to themselves.