Malaysia’s thriving economy speaks volumes about its e-commerce, technology, tourism, and other fields. The constant emergence of new businesses in both the product & services sector promises a bright future for the country’s professionals. But it can be quite a task to excel in competitive markets where people have growing needs and changing preferences. An excellent solution to build your presence in the market is hiring the best KOL marketing agency in Malaysia that can win your brand the recognition necessary for growth. Brandholic , a global KOL Marketing Agency , works with businesses to connect them with KOLs and execute campaigns that yield positive results in the long term.
Who is a KOL?
If you are someone who is coming across this term for the first time, then you must know that KOL stands for Key Opinion Leaders . As the name suggests, a KOL is an individual who is believed to be an expert in a specific field. They can have specialized knowledge in a maximum of 1 or 2 domains, such as healthcare, academics, technology, finance, tourism, social welfare, etc. In fact, they may even work for a particular group of people like kids, the elderly, youngsters, students, etc. You may question what their relevance is in terms of your brand. A simple answer to this will be that a KOL is an influential personality who has significant followers looking up to them for advice. When this KOL talks about or promotes your brand amongst these people, there are strong chances for this population to convert to your brand’s customers. However, there are certain KOL-specific factors that determine whether your collaboration with such a famous person will be a success or not, which you can read about on this page further.
KOL Marketing: The Answer To Your Brand’s Success
Boost Profits —If you are concerned that your business’s Return On Investment (ROI) is stagnating or not increasing as per expectations, the KOL in marketing can help increase traffic to your business. The encouragement to use your products or services will ultimately boost your sales and let you enjoy better financial rewards.
Reaching New Markets- It can be difficult to scale your business, enter a new market, or target customers that are different from your original customer base. But, if you choose a local person belonging to this new community and ask them to market your brand, then there are higher chances of the target audience recognizing your brand.
For example, if a Japanese business wants to sell their product- jewelry promoting minimalistic designs- in the Middle Eastern countries, it will be best for them to partner with a local jewelry brand and ask a popular gemologist/jewelry designer to create content that can be shared among the masses.
Increased Customer Trust- When a KOL gives opinions to their followers, they are considered to be expert opinions and not just plain reviews. The KOLs follower knows that their thought leader has specialized knowledge and have surely tried and tested what they are talking about. It will be easy for this customer to trust your brand, thus winning you credibility.
Recognition In The Market- Can a business really succeed unless they have a name in the market? It is necessary that people ‘ Know’ who you are, your benefits, and what role your product/service has in their life. The popularity of the KOL can win you recognition through different platforms and creative content.
A Face for Your Product/Service- Customers or people are naturally inclined to use a brand when they can relate it to a known person. A KOL can be the face of your business, where the visual representation humanizes your product for actual use. For example, football legend David Beckham is an established ambassador for Adidas and is in collaboration with them for a lifetime deal.
Connecting With The Right Audience – Often, brands wonder what is the importance of a KOL when you can simply promote yourself on popular social media platforms. It is true that through random social media, you can get views or clicks for people visiting your website. But does this traffic get converted to become your actual customers? Contrastingly, a KOL in marketing will directly talk to the niche category that can benefit from your brand.
A Bridge Interacting With Your Consumers- A KOL is the bridge that will interact with your target audience by engaging them in conversations, sharing personal experiences, and highlighting the pros of your brand on their behalf. They can use emotional aspects and mental satisfaction as points to clarify why they are endorsing your brand specifically.
A Chance To Win An Ever-Growing Customer Base- Today, KOLs are effectively competing with influencers because of their growing followers in online as well as offline mode. Their subject expertise is a reason for a large number of people wanting to join their follower count. As new people join the KOLs clan, this can directly increase your brand’s customers.
The Difference Between How A KOL & Influencer Affects Your Business
No matter how synonymously people in the current times use the terms influencer and KOL, there remains a stark difference between the two concepts. Here are some viewpoints through which we can understand the differentiation between the two-
Priorities – An influencer’s responsibility is to maintain their strong relationship with their online followers. Their promotion of your brand is majorly for the purpose of monetization. A KOL’s priority is more towards winning the trust of their followers rather than simple engagement. If they promote your brand, they tend to be more genuine in highlighting its pros.
Kind of Content – Influencers usually make reviews or recommendations in the form of pictures and videos that can be posted on popular social media. KOLs have broader content-creating abilities as they may prepare reports, long-form and short-form recommendations, personal experiences, blogs, media posts, Q&As, etc.
Range of Reach- An influencer is mostly active on social media platforms only. KOLs, on the other hand, connect with their audience on social media, webinars, seminars, events, get-togethers, and meetings. Depending on how active a KOL likes to be, the frequency of the physical meetings may vary.
Relationship With Brand- Generally, influencers have a very formal relationship with the brand they are promoting (unless personal connections are involved). Although a KOL also maintains absolute professionalism with their collaborated partner, we can expect a more interpersonal relationship as higher emotional, financial, and personal stakes are involved.
Duration of Campaigns- Although there may be exceptions, influencers mostly have short-duration deals that may last a few days. KOLs have more elaborate campaigns and are expected to complete some set targets. So, they have longer engagements with their brands that may span over days, months, years, and sometimes a lifetime.
Frequency of Brand Partnerships- Influencers have a higher frequency rate of working with different brands/businesses in the span of their career. Contrastingly, KOLs comparatively work with only limited brands as they have expertise only in a specific field and cannot engage with everything that comes their way.
Platforms on Which They Are Active – Influencers are active on social media like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, X, Pinterest, etc. KOLs also have similar platforms but may have additional professional mediums also.
Types of KOL That You Can Hire
A brand can choose to work with either of the 3 different types of KOLs, which are different from one another on the basis of their follower count:
Nano KOLs Range of Followers- 1,000-10,000
Micro KOLs Range of Followers- 10,000-100,000
Macro KOLs Range of Followers- 100,000- 1 million
Mega KOLs Range of Followers- More than 1 million
The Importance Of Choosing The Right KOL
To make an informed decision of picking out the perfect KOL for your brand, you must keep in mind certain points as an investor.
Develop Your Business Goals- Preparing the product or service to sell is just the first step of a business. The main task is to work through where you want to be in the long term and the goals you want to accomplish in due time. So, develop business goals like the services you want to provide, your expected reach, the minimum or maximum number of people you want to target, penetrating national/international markets, etc.
Recognize Areas That Need Improvement- Analyze your brand’s performance until now by focusing on areas that require the most attention. It can be marketing, IT, optimization, or finance. Additionally, you must explain why exactly you want to hire a KOL and the field they should prioritize working on.
Consult With A KOL Marketing Agency- Kol Management and campaign design can be a complex task for which you must get in touch with a KOL Marketing agency. Marketing professionals here will research and strategize what kind of KOL your brand needs and prepare reports accordingly.
Acknowledge the Available KOL Options- Be actively involved with your KOL marketing agency and inspect all the options that they provide to you. You must have a targeted approach for examining which KOL can suit your brand best.
Check Their Previous KOL Performance – After picking out a KOL of interest, you can check out their previous professional engagements as a thought leader. This will help you validate their authenticity for this position, the standard of their followers, their engagement with their niche group, and contributions that make them a powerful influence.
Observe the Quality of Their Content- Ultimately, the KOL marketing strategies will be brought to their fruition in the form of content that will be presented to the viewers. Check the platforms on which your chosen KOL is most active and the kind of content with which they have the most influence (written, video, audio, pictorial, etc.).
Analyze Their Follower Count/Reach – The KOLs’ reach will directly impact the expected growth of your brand. Suppose an entertainer who has millions of national and international admirers advertises for an OTT platform. It is quite likely that soon, the OTT brand will see a huge inflow of viewers willing to stream content on this particular platform.
Discuss Collaboration With The Chosen KOL- Once you have built your faith in your chosen KOL, your marketing agency will contact the KOL to check whether they will be interested in a collaboration with you. Here, you must discuss with them your business objectives and how you want the KOL to contribute to them.
Offer Them A Deal- After both the parties are satisfied with the proposed terms and conditions, the formalities can be carried out, and responsibilities can be divided to do the actual work of developing targets and campaigns.
Countries In Which KOL Marketing Is Most Popular
Malaysia – Malaysia is one of the biggest consumers of content from key opinion leaders and social media influencers. It’s young and tech-savvy people actively use e-commerce websites and other facilities that have been endorsed by popular personalities. The right strategies and target approaches can help a brand penetrate the Malaysian market by giving them opportunities to connect with their KOLs.
China – China was one of the first nations in the world that benefitted from the concept of a Key Opinion Leader. Even in a competitive economy like China, KOLs have been beneficial in influencing consumer behaviors and increasing sales.
Korea – South Korean culture literally thrives on the reputation of influencers and KOLs that dominate not just their national population but the global audience as well. People are highly active on social media, which makes it the most preferred platform for brand promotion. Beauty, fashion, and entertainment are the top industries for which KOLs remain in high demand.
Japan – Japan’s businesses are regularly on the lookout for KOLs who can create content in their original language while keeping in mind the preferences of this population. KOLs in this region greatly value their niche audience and are very particular about staying updated with their knowledge.
Brazil – Brazil is one of the countries where the concept of a KOL has been most successful. Various stats prove that it has a fairly good conversation rate of people from viewers to customers majorly in the areas of sports, finance & investment, education, entertainment, and social awareness.
United States- The United States is a country with a large geographical area and population that has a variety of interests. Campaigns and data-driven strategies of a KOL here can have a large impac,t which has given an impressive identity to several brands and businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is KOL marketing?
KOL marketing is a process where brands and businesses who want to grow their reach come in collaboration with an influential professional who is believed to have good knowledge or expertise in a field where the brand operates. It is a trusted marketing strategy that increases profits mainly through higher customer engagement practices.
Q2. Is it important to hire a KOL agency in order to work with a popular thought leader?
Although there is no absolute compulsion to hire a KOL agency in order to work with a KOL/thought leader, it can be complex for an organization to deal independently with KOL management. A KOL agency usually has a team of professionals who can work through preparing the terms of your deal selecting a KOL, provide assistance in content creation, etc.
Q3. I am an entrepreneur who has recently launched my business where I sell packed food items with good durability. I am unsure about whether it would be beneficial to hire a KOL to market my products. Can you advise me?
Yes, depending on the quality of your marketing strategies, it can be highly beneficial to tie up with a KOL in marketing . Today, you can find a trusted KOL in all niches, and the food industry is no exception. Connect with a KOL agency that can help you find chefs, diet consultants, food scientists, or someone with a strong culinary background who will be interested in promoting your brand to their followers.
Q4. Is it expensive to work with a global KOL marketing agency in Malaysia?
Yes, it can be quite expensive to work with a global KOL marketing agency in Malaysia , as niche experts can be costly to work with. However, the kind of money you may have to invest mostly depends on the quantity and quality of services you want.
Q5. How can a KOL contribute to my brand’s success?
A KOL can boost your business’s growth in the following manner-
Your target audience will get recommendations and reviews from an individual who is an expert in the field of your product/service.
KOL in marketing are intellectuals who can creatively develop strategic campaign plans to talk to your audience through a variety of content.
They lead a large group of people and encourage them to have more credibility and trust in your brand.
Hiring a KOL in marketing can be the most reliable way to build your brand’s awareness in a local or a new market.
They can facilitate higher return on investment by encouraging people to use your product/services.
Q6. How do I verify that my KOL campaigns are a success in the market?
A KOL agency or a brand can employ various methods to assess whether their KOL campaigns are a success or not. They can use tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social or specifically monitor website traffic, conversion rates, brand visibility & growth, etc.
Q7. Which is the best KOL marketing agency in Malaysia?
Brandholic is one of the best KOL Marketing Agency in Malaysia . Certain factors that add to their credibility for this position are-
A strong network base to offer services to both KOLs and brands.
Professionals with more than a decade of experience in various forms of marketing.
Updated about current trends & advancements that consumers like to engage in.
Focus on preparing data-driven campaigns to ensure accuracy with our results.
Work experience with popular brands that have benefitted from our KOL campaigns.
Q8. Can I work with more than 1 KOL in marketing so that my brand can get greater recognition in the market?
Yes, a brand can work with more than 1 KOL to push its brand’s reach to a large audience. However, the number of KOLs required for a brand only after carefully deciding on your business objectives and requirements. Keep in mind factors like budget, target audience, demand for content, feasibility to do customer engagement, etc.