Comedians may be earning millions of shillings for digital influencing marketing jobs, but socialites such as Amber Ray and Diana Marua are giving them a run for their money in terms of content viewership on social media platforms.
The two have been posting snapshots of soft life, drawing massive viewership through carefully curated glimpses of their lavish lifestyles.
A recent report by Nairobi-based analytics firm OdipoDev shows that most of the top-earning creators in 2025 were comedians.
“Entertainment dominates what Kenyans consume online, with comedy being by far the most popular content category,” the report notes.
Internet personality Amber Ray during the Polo Sunday Brunch at Jamhuri Park in Nairobi on September 8, 2024.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita| Nation Media Group
Amber Ray rules Instagram
According to the OdipoDev report, Instagram remains the most lucrative platform for Kenyan creators. Amber Ray led the pack with 171 million views, 60 per cent of them organic and the rest driven by paid partnerships.
“About the social media platforms, there is a gap nobody is teaching called platform role clarity. TikTok is a discovery engine; it's where audiences find you. Instagram is where brands pay you. Conflating the two is like blaming a billboard for not closing sales . That's the gap. TikTok builds the audience. Instagram monetises it. Facebook extends shelf life. If your strategy lives on one platform, you don't have a content strategy; you have a distribution habit. The creators winning in 2026 will treat TikTok as top of funnel, Instagram as the conversion layer, and owned channels such as email, WhatsApp, communities as the revenue floor no algorithm can touch. The monetisation gap isn’t a platform problem. It's an architecture problem,” says Elizabeth Wanjiru, a digital marketing strategist.
Africanah Ochieng, a lifestyle content creator, followed with 149 million views, 62 per cent organic. Kevin Bahati, a musician, came in third with 138 million views, with 34 per cent linked to sponsored content.
Radio presenter Sheila Kwamboka and comedian Crazy Kennar during Meta’s Brunch in Nairobi on September 9.
Photo credit: Pool
Crazy Kennar, a comedian, posted 119 million views, with 28 per cent coming from paid gigs. Fast-rising comedian Jamoh Decin followed with 95 million views, 61 per cent organic and 39 per cent sponsored. Former Miss World Kenya contestant Bernice Nunah stood out for her heavy brand alignment, with 95 per cent of her 89 million views tied to paid partnerships.
Jackie Matubia, an actress ranked seventh with 77 million views, followed by comedians Njugush’s 76 million, and Terrence Creative, who recorded the highest organic engagement, with 80 per cent of his 72 million views coming without paid backing. Dennis Ombachi, known for his food content, closed the top 10 on Instagram with 62 million views, pulling in 62 million views, with 55 per cent organic and the remaining from paid content.
The report paints TikTok as an attention magnet overflowing with views, but thin on payouts. While creators rack up massive organic reach on the platform, turning that attention into money remains a challenge, especially compared to Instagram.
Comedy trio Funny Team led the pack with 1.2 billion views, yet only one per cent translated into paid partnerships. Hilarious Kiragu, known for his witty Kung Fu skits where he scares members of the public with a ‘fake attack’, followed with 860 million views, converting just two per cent into brand deals.
Diana Marua.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Diana Marua, fondly known as Bibi Ya Tajiri ranked third with 488 million views. Notably, 10 per cent of her content translated into paid gigs, making her one of the top three converters among the ten.
Comic Jamoh Decin posted 361 million views and stood out for his conversion rate, earning 58 per cent of his TikTok content through paid partnerships—higher than his 39 per cent on Instagram.
However, there are also lingering concerns about whether these views translate to sales for the companies.
Syovo Maweu, a sales expert, argues, “based on my experience using content creators for marketing, the ROI (Return on Investment) is often minimal and often falls short of breakeven, highlighting the need for more strategic alignment and clearer performance metrics.”
A caricature of Kenyan comedian Eric Omondi.
Photo credit: John Nyagah | Nation Media Group
Eric Omondi, king of Facebook
On many blue-chip companies ditching traditional influencers and leaning more towards comedians to help market their products or create brand awareness, what most were drawn to was Erick Omondi’s 172 million views.
Presenter Kai, known for his witty interviews, had 153 million views, ahead of comics CEO Bruce Kufai, who posted 140 million. Dem Wa Facebook came in sixth with 106 million views, and ranked the second highest in conversion, turning 65 million of those into paid content.
The rest of the top 10 leaned heavily into comedy with Tom Daktari at seventh with 90 million, Adhis Jojo (86 million), Wanjiru Wa Maya (74 million), and Mulamwah (66 million).
