Nano influencers are packing a punch in Malaysia

Nano influencers in Malaysia record higher median engagement rates than their larger counterparts, but a new report suggests that follower count alone is a poor guide to performance.

According to SushiVid’s “State of influencer marketing in Malaysia 2026” report, based on 41,039 active creator profiles in its database, nano creators with 1,000 to 10,000 followers have median engagement rates of 3.08% on Instagram and 8.95% on TikTok.

By comparison, creators with more than one million followers record median engagement rates of 0.85% on Instagram and 3.90% on TikTok.

However, the differences between individual creators within the same tier can be even more pronounced than those between tiers. The middle 50% of Instagram nano creators have engagement rates ranging from 0.89% to 7.64%, while the equivalent range on TikTok is 2.73% to 27.63%.

Don’t miss: Why brands in Malaysia are gravitating towards micro-influencers

Instagram dominates, but TikTok delivers higher engagement

Instagram appears on 86% of creator profiles in SushiVid’s database, compared with 47% for TikTok. However, SushiVid cautions that TikTok’s presence may be underrepresented because its team does not always record creators’ TikTok handles. The company said “IG Reel synced to TikTok” is now among the most common deliverables it quotes.

TikTok engagement rates are approximately three to five times those on Instagram across creator tiers. However, SushiVid advises against comparing rates directly across platforms, as each calculates engagement differently. A higher rate on TikTok does not necessarily mean it outperforms Instagram.

Among creators with more than 1,000 followers, nano creators account for 40% of Instagram profiles and 31% of TikTok profiles. At the other end of the scale, only about 4% of Instagram creators and 7% of TikTok creators have more than 500,000 followers. Overall, 73% of Instagram creators with more than 1,000 followers have fewer than 50,000 followers.

Women account for 66% of creators in the database, while 62% are aged between 25 and 34. Among creators who disclosed their ethnicity, 50.4% are Malay, 31.4% are Chinese and 3.9% are Indian. Most create content in more than one language, with English the most common at 64%, followed by Malay at 49%, Chinese at 22% and Tamil at 2%.

The creator pool is also concentrated geographically, with the Klang Valley accounting for 56% of profiles. East Malaysia accounts for 7%, comprising 3.8% in Sarawak and 3.6% in Sabah.

For brands promoting physical outlets in Johor, Penang or East Malaysia, SushiVid recommends starting creator searches early. Local creators are particularly relevant to businesses such as restaurants, clinics and showrooms, where audiences may need to visit in person.

Food is the most common content niche, accounting for 39% of creators, followed by home and lifestyle at 37% and beauty and skincare at 33%. Other niches have a smaller presence, with parenting accounting for 4% of creators, while automotive and gaming each account for 2%. Brands targeting less represented categories may need to plan further ahead, consider adjacent niches and account for potentially higher costs.

Live streaming is also relatively uncommon, with only about 5% of creators who answered the relevant question saying they can host live streams.

What brands pay for creator content

SushiVid’s average asking rates for an Instagram Reel also published on TikTok range from RM434 for creators with 1,000 to 9,999 followers to RM5,364 for those with 150,000 to 299,999 followers. For TikTok-only content, asking rates range from RM340 to RM4,075 across the same respective tiers. 

Who Malaysia’s creators are

These are asking prices rather than final rates. SushiVid said prices are often negotiated down, particularly for multi-post campaigns or longer-term partnerships.

While nano creators generally command lower rates and have higher median engagement, brands may need to work with larger numbers of creators to achieve their campaign objectives, adding to coordination and management demands.

SushiVid’s campaign data illustrates how uneven creator performance can be. In one skincare launch involving 61 nano creators, just three of 125 posts generated about two-thirds of the campaign’s 913,813 views. The campaign recorded an estimated cost of RM0.02 per view, compared with an industry average of about RM0.15, according to SushiVid.

The findings echo a broader trend in Malaysia’s creator economy. In March, AnyMind’s “State of influence in APAC 2026” report found that nano influencers consistently delivered the highest engagement rates across platforms in Malaysia. It also described the market as being dominated by Instagram and TikTok, with fashion and beauty accounting for 67.9% of influencer marketing investment.

Meanwhile, the creator economy is increasingly becoming a source of full-time income. A Kearney study for TikTok found that about 45% of surveyed creators earned more than Malaysia’s RM1,700 monthly minimum wage, while 17% earned more than RM5,000 a month. Nearly 35% identified as full-time creators.

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