Latest China News

May 31, 2022

Chinese Consumers are Comfortable Sharing their Data Compared to Consumers in Other Markets

Between 2017 and 2021, China’s loyalty programme market grew at a 13.7% annual rate to $15.7 billion. Over the following four years, it is predicted to increase at a rate of 13.0% each year.

Quick-service restaurants are establishing green rewards programmes to incentivize consumer behaviour in order to promote a more sustainable lifestyle and attract consumers who are driven by eco-friendly companies.

Link: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220512005913/en/China-Loyalty-Programs-Market-Intelligence-Report-2022-Chinese-Consumers-are-Comfortable-Sharing-their-Data-Compared-to-Consumers-in-Other-Markets—ResearchAndMarkets.com

WeChat Channels Live Streaming Rewards “Traffic Coupon” to Drive Traffic and Sales

Option 1: Mini program live streaming: Brands and businesses can add a Live Streaming module or component to WeChat mini program. For example, brands such as Perfect Diary, Forest Cabin (in Chinese: 林清轩), and Prada have held live streamings through WeChat mini program for sales or events.

Option 2: WeChat Channels Live Streaming: Up to early 2022, WeChat Channels have reached 450 million Daily Active Users, a 50% increase compared to early 2021. WeChat Channels Live Streamings are more visible to the public audience compared to mini-programs. For example, people browsing content on WeChat Channels may enter live streaming of a brand they didn’t know before.

Traffic coupon: In 2022 April 12th to December 31st, any live streaming for shopping purposes with the shopping cart function activated will be automatically participating in Merchant Incentive Plan. 

Brands or merchants have to introduce 50 new viewers that didn’t come from WeChat Channels to gain official traffic coupons. You can drive followers from your WeChat Official Account, spread the news through WeChat Moment, WeCom, personal chats, or groups, to Channels Livestreaming.

Link: https://walkthechat.com/wechat-channel-livestreaming-rewards-traffic-coupon-to-drive-traffic-and-sales/

How to Inspire Word of Mouth Marketing from a Chinese Audience

Any marketing strategy’s success is determined by two factors: reach and impact. Unlike mass media advertising, which has a broad reach but a limited impact, word-of-mouth marketing has a narrower reach but a far greater impact.

The value of word-of-mouth marketing is represented in statistics: according to Semrush, word-of-mouth marketing accounts for $6 trillion USD in global expenditure each year and accounts for 13% of all sales.

Currently, the top social media platforms in China for word-of-mouth marketing include WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu (RED), and Douyin (Tik Tok’s Chinese counterpart), all of which also have their own e-commerce functions built in.

  • KOC
  • DTC
  • Group Purchase

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/IRwuZJ_-B26ACLLWt5osEw

Three Chinese Digital Marketing trends in 2022 

 

Regular product updates: More than 200 million new products will be launched on Tmall in 2021, accounting for 35% of the market. It signifies that new products have emerged as one of the most critical components of brand growth.

New goods, on the other hand, do not have to replace prior ones; rather, the new ones might be based on the previous ones and emphasise essential components to highlight the brand’s individuality. For example, OPPO debuted a new series Reno 6 with a light blue cover in September 2021, then 6 months later, they released a new colour Purple Star with the same feature.

Second, more and more brands are collaborating with other brands, particularly those that focus on completely different areas, in order to introduce a brand-new concept and capture the audience’s interest. For example, LV and Nike Air Force collaborated on a new shoe design. Holland, in collaboration with Pokeman, has released a new line of cakes.

Introducing virtual space and unleashing marketing imagination: Because of the Facebook revolution, metaverse has grown in popularity since 2021. More and more firms are creating advertising based on this notion, and NFT makes it even more appealing. With the advancement of new technology and the increasing risk of celebrity (scandals), more corporations are creating their own virtual idol for marketing objectives.

On the one hand, developing virtual idols assists firms in lowering marketing costs. Brands, on the other hand, can create a virtual image to suit the company’s position.

Brand responsibility has been enhanced: In recent years, a few corporations have developed a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) department with the goal of increasing both social and financial value. Sustainable development will be one of the most essential aspects of a brand that encompasses three major themes: environment, climate, and biodiversity.

– Kangshifu and Pepsi both launched a drink without labels, to reduce carbon and build an environmental concept.
– Kuaishou created an advertisement, revealing the reality of the polar bear, and started a public campaign calling upon the whole society and corporations to actively respond to global warming with low-carbon actions.
– Clarins, together with WWF, created a foundation, starting with protecting the habitat of Siberian tigers and appealing to people to pay more attention to the living status of those tigers and hoping to help them come back home sooner.

Link: https://socialbeta.com/t/10-digital-marketing-trend-in-2022

WeChat Channel Admin Can Be Migrated

Previously, if we wanted to display the channel on the official account’s page, we needed to have the same administrator for both the WeChat official account and the channel. However, if the administrator of the official account is removed for personal reasons, but the administrator of the channel remains the same because the channel administrator does not support change, the channel will not be featured on the front page.

Now the administrator of the channel can be changed, and the function is still under test.

Key points:
It can be replaced 5 times a year
Only certified video numbers are supported
Private messages cannot be migrated

Link: https://developers.weixin.qq.com/community/develop/article/doc/000882fe1d01a003afed3e00e5b013

 

 

 

 

 

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Weibo & Twitter: Are They Comparable?

May 26, 2022

Weibo is often called China’s answer to Twitter but is that actually true? Let’s dig into the specifics of both of the platforms and understand what Weibo is really about. 

With over 140 million active users, Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms in the United States, and the platform was acquired by Elon Musk for $44 billion, about a month ago. In China, Weibo is regarded as Twitter’s equivalent. There are a number of Chinese microblogging sites. The most popular of these is Sina Weibo.

Unlike Twitter, Sina Weibo, which debuted in 2009, was not the first in this space. However, it has increased its user base during the last three years. 

Twitter Vs. Weibo: Features

  1. Rich Media
    Weibo:  Sina Weibo allows users to insert extra material such as photographs, videos, music, emoticons, and polls. The site also allows you to see links from video streaming sites such as Youku Tudou, without leaving the site.
    Twitter: Twitter, like Facebook, allows you to include video URLs in your tweets and reshare videos. It also allows you to download videos on occasion, but only at a very low level. Here, it might take a page from Weibo and implement a feature that allows users to view videos linked to tweets without leaving the platform, so increasing user retention. 
  2. Comment Threads
    Weibo: Weibo has capitalized on its platform’s social validation feature by making its comment thread user-friendly. You can see comments properly sorted out under a tweet with a single click. You can also include your @username in the comment to remind the audience about your brand and company. In this way, Weibo supports corporations in raising brand awareness.
    Twitter: Twitter, on the other hand, is still unorganized in that sector because you have to take the time out to browse and track who has responded to your tweets. The ones commenting on the tweets mix with other comments about different topics. The thread is sorted under one umbrella. 
  3. Trending Categorization
    Weibo: Weibo’s hall of fame is a dedicated page that tells you what’s ‘trending,’ similar to Twitter’s except for this one. Weibo dominates the trending game because it divides its trends into categories such as sports, entertainment, finance, and travel, making it more user-specific.
    Twitter: Since the hashtags that appear on a user’s feed are generally news or brand-related issues, Twitter has yet to categorize its trending hashtags based on user preferences. 
  4. Contests
    Weibo: Weibo includes a function called ‘event,’ which is the virtual equivalent of a party, but in sections (as usual). The feature aggregates everyone’s ideas, increasing engagement by a factor of ten. The Weibo event allows you to participate in local events, prized events, forum events, and other great events highlighted at the top of the website, as well as spark Weibo messages (weebs).
    Twitter: Twitter hasn’t yet reached this level of engagement, but it has managed to generate interest through contests and meet-and-greets with influencers. These sponsored contests have provided marketers with an exciting way to reach out to their consumers, but they could learn a thing or two from Weibo on how to organize it on a larger scale. 
  5. Number of Characters
    Sina Weibo, like Twitter, has a character limit of 140 characters. Nonetheless, it makes a significant difference. A Chinese character, like an English word, has a meaning. A string of 140 characters might mean a lot of different things. In English, however, each word consists of many characters. The 140-character constraint restricts the expression of thoughts. As a result, you cannot use extended words to explain complex concepts on Twitter. According to the most recent Economist research, Chinese is great for microblogging.

Twitter Vs. Weibo: Revenue

Twitter: At first glance, Twitter’s business appears to be in good shape. Its revenue increased by 7% in 2020 due to the pandemic but increased by 45% year over year in the first nine months of 2021 as those challenges faded.

Twitter’s total monetizable daily active users (mDAUs) increased by 27% to 192 million in 2020. It had 211 million mDAUs at the end of the third quarter of 2021, up 13% from the previous year. This expansion was driven by its expansion in other markets, particularly Japan.

However, Twitter became unprofitable in 2020 and continues to lose money in the first nine months of 2021. A substantial chunk of the losses was due to tax and legal charges, but they were also exacerbated by a 30% rise in staff this year.

Twitter also anticipates that the forthcoming sale of MoPub will cut revenue by $200-$250 million next year, making it more difficult to meet its target of producing more than $7.5 billion in annual revenue by 2023.

Weibo: Weibo’s income declined 4% in 2020 due to the pandemic, which lowered ad sales. Its live streaming business has also slowed. However, Weibo’s income increased 39% year on year in the first nine months of 2021 as those businesses recovered. Analysts anticipate a 37% increase in sales for the full year.

Weibo’s total monthly active users (MAUs) increased by less than 1% year on year to 521 million at the end of 2020. However, it concluded the third quarter of 2021 with 573 million MAUs, a 12% increase from the previous year.

Weibo, unlike Twitter, has been consistently profitable under generally accepted accounting rules (GAAP). Its net income fell 37% in 2020 but increased 10% year on year in the first nine months of 2021 as pandemic-related challenges faded. Analysts predict that its net income will grow faster in the fourth quarter and by 54% for the year.

They predict Weibo’s revenue and earnings to climb 12% and 29%, respectively, in the coming year, which is still outstanding growth for a stock that trades at only ten times forward earnings

Weibo Twitter

Conclusion

If you’re a business looking to expand globally, or considering entering the Chinese market for the first time, this article should be a good guide. Both Twitter and Weibo have their advantages and disadvantages, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution here; instead, it’s a matter of researching your target audience and deciding which platform is best to your needs. It may even make sense to maintain a presence on both—if nothing else, that will allow you to reach customers at both ends of the spectrum.

Both platforms are popular worldwide, and their differences open avenues for different types of businesses. For example, Chinese businesses would benefit from a Weibo account to attract Chinese customers and global firms should rather create a Twitter account to attract customers worldwide.

Though the features of Weibo outnumber those of Twitter, and revenue for the Chinese platform appears to be increasing, it is still too early to determine whether Twitter will be replaced (or at least complemented) by Weibo. However, with Weibo’s recent development and expansion, it is certainly a unique alternative to Twitter. 

Read more about Weibo and its recent status here.

If you wish to know more about Weibo and other Chinese social media platforms, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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China Weekly News Roundup

May 24, 2022

Elon Musk Praises the WeChat Model As He Discusses Plans for Twitter

Elon Musk praised WeChat as “really an excellent app” and labelled it “a good model” 

“We don’t have anything like that,” Musk said, as he complimented the Tencent super app’s offering of services like Twitter, PayPal and more “all rolled into one.” 

“Such an app would be really useful” in markets outside of China, speculating that it could be created by converting Twitter to something all-encompassing or starting a new app from scratch. 

Musk’s comments quickly went viral in China, with the hashtag “Musk praises WeChat” amassing more than three million views within a few hours on the microblogging platform Weibo.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/19/elon-musk-praises-wechat-model-as-he-discusses-plans-for-twitter/

Tencent’s Total Revenue Stays Flat, Profit Drops in Q1 Amid Regulatory and COVID Headwinds

Tencent fell short of market forecasts after posting almost flat revenue growth in the first quarter of this year ($21.2 billion in revenue versus $21.1 billion in the same period last year).

The company’s earnings for the period were RMB 26.3 billion, a 24% reduction year on year, while net margins fell to 19% from 26% the previous year.

Tencent’s worst result since its IPO in 2014 is primarily due to clients’ reduced ad spending and more competition from competitors like TikTok owner ByteDance. Despite the state signalling a softening of pressure on digital giants, the impact of regulatory crackdowns will remain since it will “take time for specific regulators to convert directly into meaningful action.”

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/19/tencents-total-revenue-stays-flat-profit-drops-in-q1-amid-regulatory-and-covid-headwinds/

TikTok Parent Aims to Double Ecommerce Volume on China App to $240 Billion

This year, ByteDance hopes to more than double the amount of shopping done on Douyin in China to about $240 billion. ByteDance is now planning a global e-commerce development.

TikTok launched an e-commerce function, TikTok Shop, in the United Kingdom and Indonesia last year, allowing users to complete transactions within the app.

It launched the feature in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines last month.

If TikTok’s 1 billion active monthly users embrace the buying option, ByteDance will be a serious competitor to Amazon.

Link: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/tiktok-parent-aims-to-double-e-commerce-volume-on-china-app-to-240-billion

JD Rolls Out Online-to-Offline Department Store Business with Plans for Physical Outlets

JD has introduced a new department store channel by combining numerous existing businesses from its fashion and lifestyle areas, such as apparel, cosmetics, and housewares.

In addition to online platforms, the company intends to expand the service’s offline presence by opening themed brick-and-mortar storefronts in major cities. The first will open before June 18 in Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi’an.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/10/jd-rolls-out-online-to-offline-department-store-business-with-plans-for-physical-outlets/

Zhihu 知乎: The Q&A platform for B2B marketing

Zhihu 知乎, which was created in 2011, is a Chinese social platform that has been compared to the western question-and-answer website ‘Quora.’ With more than 100 Million Monthly Active Users in the fourth quarter of 2021, the 36.4% year-over-year rise attests to the community’s ongoing development and potential.

Unlike Baidu Zhidao 百度知道, where the sort of content and responses are given are shorter in length, Zhihu 知乎 provides high-quality content that prioritises quality over quantity.

Even though the platform has a large user base, a larger portion of the audience exhibits unique characteristics. The majority of users are highly educated; they spend about 40 minutes each day reading the stuff submitted, and 60% are between the ages of 25 and 35.

How can you improve your visibility on Baidu?

Since Zhihu has a strong domain authority on this search engine, sharing content on Zhihu boosts your chances of appearing on Baidu SERP.

You can link your business social profiles as well as your corporate website on your Zhihu page, guiding viewers to your key communication channels.

Other features have been added to the platform throughout time. Zhihu Column 知乎专栏, for example, allows you to produce an essay on a given topic without having to attach it to a specific query. Zhihu Roundtable 知乎圆桌 allows specialists to deliver in-depth insights about a certain field of expertise, whilst Zhihu 知乎 Live allows people to interact with the company in real time.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1uguDRjXl01yj0f4W5BkQQ

Balenciaga’s WeChat Campaign for China’s 520 Day

Balenciaga produced a campaign that includes a number of social activities and limited editions, all of which were available on their official website and in their physical locations. The “5:20 Video Game Hall,” a virtual arcade with pixel art and realistic audio that is now live on the company’s WeChat channel until May 20, stood out. Along with this, 520-exclusive profile images and WeChat gags were made available for free download.

The mini-games throughout the hall struck a chord with Chinese Millennials who grew up with arcade classics like Galaxian and Super Mario, and many WeChat users have already utilised the memes and profile images. Such assets serve as a virtual identity stamp, assisting the company in consolidating its digital significance and expanding its online communities.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/520-2022-balenciaga-louis-vuitton-prada/ https://www.163.com/dy/article/H7MFPPE20552U2HZ.html?f=post2020_dy_recommends 

Wufangzhai Created the Cone Universe

Wufang Pictures has reopened and has officially released “The Next Stop of the Metaverse.” Not only did the brain hole fly out of the Metaverse in this blockbuster, but the copywriting made people crave it.

The short film concludes with a gloomy night, the Metaverse city with many high-rise structures, but no sign of human people. However, no matter how many worlds exist, there is no alternative to the preciousness of human people, which tickles the emotional link deep within every individual and tempts them to try that magical zongzi.

Link: https://socialbeta.com/c/11455 

The WeChat Service Account Has Added a Function–No Notification

The “no notification” capability was incorporated in the most recent WeChat upgrade. To see the message non-disturbing switch, click three points in the upper right corner of the home page of each service number, and then choose “Settings” in the pop-up menu. When there is a new message in the service number after opening the message without interruption, the unread number is not displayed but is simply represented by a small red dot.

This might be bad news for the service account: because it includes a reminder function, it can remind users to read the articles on time, so increasing the amount of reading.

But it’s also good news to a certain extent: according to our experience, after each article is pushed, the account will lose some users. Maybe when the user is not disturbed by the reminder information, the user will not unfollow the account.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zQtJ5RU7edeAvzFd22l2-A 

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WeChat Stickers – A Quick Guide

May 18, 2022

WeChat (微信, Weixin) is China’s most popular social media platform – no less than 1.27 billion users use the app on a monthly basis. It has outgrown its initial messaging functionality a long time ago and now is a powerhouse offering a myriad of options for users including interacting with brands on different levels. 

By 2023, the predicted e-commerce gross merchandise value (GVM) on WeChat would be 13 trillion RMB (more than 2 trillion USD). Hence, making it a vital platform for brands to connect with their target audience.

WeChat has various features that help brands increase engagement and interact more effectively with their customers. The WeChat Sticker is one such tool that brands can leverage. 

What Are WeChat Stickers?

Global consumers devote significant time to social media and instant messaging applications. Every internet user has sent an emoji at some point, and over 10 billion emojis are transmitted each day. Emojis and stickers in messaging apps are quickly becoming an important element of our online language, if not our culture. Netizens use this special “language” to communicate with one another while also having fun. Chinese netizens, particularly Chinese millennials, are no exception.

With 50 billion messages sent on WeChat every day, many of them are WeChat stickers. WeChat stickers are simply light-weighted png or GIF files shared directly from the keyboard in the WeChat message window. It’s not surprising to see stickers appearing in both personal and professional conversations and group chats. In fact, many users proudly boast their sticker collections or even create their own. While most of the stickers take the form of cute animals, brand mascots, and animated delicacies, some of them can express a deeper sense of humor or irony. 

Behaviors Around Stickers

Chat interactions on WeChat are frequently sprinkled with animated stickers, in both professional and personal contexts. Stickers are used to express emotions (such as joy or pity), infuse humor into a conversation, and deliver seasonal holiday greetings. 

In reality, because outward expression of sentiments and attitudes is discouraged, as well as a predilection for an obscure sense of humor, Chinese users are even more passionate about the so-called 表情包 (Biao qing bao=facial expression pack, Chinese for stickers pack used on messaging applications). 

How users can get stickers?

WeChat stickers can be found through browsing the app’s sticker section, searching for keywords, or bookmarking stickers and sticker packs provided by friends. Users can store sticker packs (collections of 16 or 24 stickers) or individual stickers on their accounts so they can use them readily in chats.

How Brands Are Utilising Them?

Businesses are repurposing the WeChat sticker frenzy as marketing tools to help their brands expand. Brands looking to digitalize their image and engage with consumers throughout their everyday activities are discovering that stickers can make their messaging stick.

Many social networking networks provide emojis, GIFs, and sticker sets to express emotions via mobile app messaging functions. WeChat stickers are widely used in mobile messaging platforms.

Example: The luxury company Louis Vuitton celebrated its founder’s 200th birthday in August 2021. Louis Vuitton devised a game for their global audience to commemorate the occasion and this game is available for download via WeChat and is available in both English and Chinese.  In “Louis the Game,” players must find 200 collectible candles to mark the anniversary; each one unlocks stories about Louis’ life and family. The game also includes 30 NFTs that players can gather along the journey. Moreover, Louis Vuitton designed a limited-edition series of WeChat stickers that users can share with their friends. The set includes Louis Vuitton-branded game items such as a key and candle.

WeChat Stickers Offer Key Advantages for WeChat Marketing in China

Stickers are an excellent tool for promoting your WeChat marketing in China. 

Stickers are great tools for:

  • Raising brand awareness
  • Interacting with your followers in a playful way
  • Promoting your brand, brand elements, and more importantly brand mascot
  • Connecting better with tech-enthusiastic Gen Z 

 

Who Should Create WeChat Stickers?

The great news is that virtually all brands can create their own sticker collections and leverage them in their communication. Obvious candidates are tourism destinations, the F&B industry or fashion but branded sticker collections for B2B brands are a great idea too. Employees cannot only use more fun ways to say ‘Thank You’ or ‘Meeting room is ready’ but also to use stickers with conversations with their contacts outside of the company. 

WeChat Stickers

Stickers promoting a Chinese tourist destination, French culture, Japanese food

How Brands Can Create Stickers?

Brands have two options to share their stickers with their fans.

(1) Publish a WeChat post with branded stickers for users to download. Users can long-press each sticker and save them one by one. 

This method doesn’t require setting an enterprise account therefore you can be more creative with your stickers and include your brand logo.

(2) Launch stickers without the brand/product name directly on the WeChat Stickers Gallery. Users will be able to download the whole pack or selected ones. 

In this scenario, you might have to remove your brand name or logos to pass the verification so your creations do not fall under the promotional stickers category. Alternatively, you can submit more documentation for Tencent.

WeChat Stickers

Stickers from Starbucks, Tiffany’s and Montagut The latter posted within an article

Registration materials required by Tencent:

  1. Go to the WeChat stickers portal
  2. Account information: company name and e-mail
  3. Registered company information: business license, license registration number, merchant ID (optional)
  4. Authorization Letter
  5. Operator information: name, ID card number and scan, phone number, active WeChat linked to a bank card  

Submitted stickers must respect WeChat’s audit standards and do not fall within the list of restricted topics like medicine or finance. WeChat doesn’t allow stickers with clear promotional and advertising content. We can help you navigate through these requirements. 

The general review period is ten working days.

WeChat Stickers

Conclusion

Emojis and stickers have become an integral component of internet conversations all around the world, and they have altered how teenagers and the younger generation connect with one another. A picture is worth a thousand words and can assist to lighten the mood, making online communication more engaging and fun. How can international brands use this instrument to enter into the lives of Chinese consumers?

The following are some major takeaways for international companies looking to leverage branded stickers in China:

  1. In China, stickers are more popular than emojis.
  2. WeChat dominates the Chinese internet messaging app market. International companies should release their branded emojis and stickers on WeChat rather than the App Store or Google Play Store.
  3. Before designing customised emojis and stickers, international firms should be very explicit about their aim and target audience. When customers can relate to the stickers, they are considerably more inclined to share them.
  4. Learn about the habits of Chinese millennials and the Chinese communication culture. Incorporating buzzwords or famous phrases into branded stickers could be a smart approach but requires understanding and cultural sensitivity. 
  5. Branded stickers should have a good balance of product and brand marketing and intriguing content (e.g., witty messages, cute graphics) to make them more appealing to consumers.

Find more news related to WeChat on our blog

If you wish to know more about WeChat stickers and other engagement tools, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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What’s New in China This Week?

May 17, 2022

Private Traffic = Fake Friends Shilling Lipstick: Welcome to WeChat’s Hottest Sales Trend

Thousands of Chinese firms are utilising WeChat to profit from a marketing trend that has swept the country’s e-commerce industry: private traffic. 

Traditional open eCommerce platforms such as Taobao and Tmall are considered impersonal and uninteresting, preventing firms from making genuine connections with customers. Brands employ private traffic to convert casual shoppers into loyal customers by connecting with them in the same way that they would text family and friends.

The intimacy, though, is a sham — enabled by a suite of technologies that allow businesses to collect data on consumers, automate interactions with them, and, in some circumstances, create entirely synthetic influencers.

This year, private traffic sales are expected to exceed 3 trillion ($454 billion).

Link: https://restofworld.org/2022/china-wechat-private-traffic/

Luxury Brands Navigate Shanghai’s Lockdown to Keep VIPs Pampered

Banks and high-end hotels have joined luxury businesses in sending out treats for the wealthy, a privilege that has not gone ignored on social media. In addition to presents, several brands have organised online classes. La Mer has taught DIY facial massages, while Dior has offered seven-day tickets to a premium yoga studio’s virtual sessions. Prada has held a virtual cultural club in which writers, filmmakers, and musicians were invited to recommend books, movies, and recordings.

Since Shanghai accounts for up to 12% of China’s offline luxury shopping, store closures have required a shift to virtually, but still personally, servicing VIPs to ensure transactions are made after the lockdown.

Link: 

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/luxury-brands-navigate-shanghais-lockdown-keep-vips-pampered-2022-05-10/

How Do Beauty Brands Hop on China’s Metaverse Bandwagon?

China boasts the world’s second-largest beauty sector and a growing digital native consumer base. The rise of new technologies, such as the metaverse and NFTs, is opening up new possibilities, and luxury companies appear to be eager to take advantage of these new tools in order to communicate with young, tech-savvy Chinese consumers.

Laneige’s campaign reached the metaverse in December 2021, when they expressly invited CHUAN (Chuan CHUAN), a popular virtual idol, to serve as Laneige’s Trend Experience Officer, claiming to have broken past the barrier of beauty.

Takeaway: There will be an increasing demand for expressive avatars who are creative and free to wear make-up as if in real life.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/works/how-do-beauty-brands-hop-on-chinas-metaverse-bandwagon/ 

Digital Policy Experts Weigh In on China’s New Algorithm Regulation

Many of the most popular Chinese apps, including WeChat, Douyin, Weibo, and Taobao, altered their app settings to allow users to turn off algorithm-based recommendation services in mid-March, two weeks after China’s new algorithm law went into effect.

The regulation is also the world’s first attempt by a national regulator to control the possible abuse of algorithmic decisions. It asks companies to notify consumers about the usage of algorithms, provide an opt-out choice, and protect vulnerable groups, such as minors and seniors.

It may be too early to predict the regulation’s impact on Chinese IT companies and, more broadly, on the expansion of China’s internet sector, which has already been subjected to intense regulatory scrutiny in the previous year.

Chinese tech firms are facing challenges on multiple fronts, including increased domestic regulatory scrutiny, a slowing economy, concerns about the possible delisting of US-listed Chinese stocks from foreign markets, and the precarious position Chinese tech firms find themselves in amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. This regulation is likely to add to their list of concerns.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/04/05/digital-policy-experts-weigh-in-on-chinas-new-algorithm-regulation/?utm_campaign=%5BASIA%5D%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=209626042&utm_content=209626042&utm_source=hs_email

Babycare Mother’s Day Campaign – Better Mother’s Day Gifts

The evolution of parenting concepts

As the leading brand in the maternal and child business, BabyCare has created an intriguing campaign titled “Better Mother’s Day Gifts” for Mother’s Day in 2022. BabyCare introduced a new concept in parenting by encouraging daddies to participate in parenting as well as giving mummies time to have fun.

On the eve of Mother’s Day, he uploaded a piece of rap created by himself on the Douyin platform, along with the video with the baby, as a “better Mother’s Day gift,” with the help of the new baby dad and rap star Bridge, who routinely brought babies out of the circle. The amount of views on the Douyin #bettermothersdaygift related topic page hit 10 million one day after the video was released, while the similar topic uploaded on Weibo got 300 million views.

According to Babycare, the label “raising infants is a mother’s business” is mirrored in the design of maternal and newborn items, as well as the intrinsic notion of parenting. Bags with babies, for example, are known as “Mummy bags,” and they are created to fit the body and aesthetics of women. Another example: the room where babies are changed and fed is known as a “mother-and-baby” room, and guys are normally not permitted to enter; so, changing diapers is unquestionably mum’s task. BabyCare feels that it is past time to break the mould and provide a new parenting solution for the next generation. As a result, they renamed the “mummy bag” “Diaper bag” and changed the style and size to masculine norms. In addition, Babycare has changed the moniker “mother-and-baby” room to “Nursery room,” and they plan to develop 100 mobile nursery rooms in eight provinces and cities, with dads permitted to enter.

BabyCare advocates for the de-gendering of baby and maternal items in order to create an egalitarian and welcoming parenting environment in which to raise children. Not only are they revamping things, but also a new generation of parenting ideas and practices.

Link: https://www.tellerreport.com/business/2022-05-07-%22mother-and-baby-room%22-becomes-%22nursery-room%22-babycare-promotes-%22de-gendering%22-of-mother-and-baby-products.SkG8AzLQIq.html

 

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China News for the Week

May 11, 2022

Top 5 Chinese Tech Firms Have Lost Nearly Half of Their Combined Market Cap in 2 Years

Why it matters: After two decades of phenomenal expansion, the top five Chinese tech behemoths have lost at least 46% of their total market capitalisation.

  • In April 2020, Apple’s valuation = Alibaba+Tencent+Meituan+JD.com+Pinduoduo the top five Chinese tech firms
  • In April 2022, Apple’s valuation = 49 top Chinese tech firms combined. Apple’s valuation has more than doubled while many Chinese tech firms’ valuation has decreased or stagnated

What are the reasons? 

  • A saturating local market
  • Pandemic outbreaks
  • US-China trade tensions
  • Rigorous government regulations
  • The loss of the “upbeat spirit” of China’s business world.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/09/top-5-chinese-tech-firms-have-lost-nearly-half-of-combined-market-cap-in-2-years/

Chinese Internet Users Buy Fake Covers After Social Media Forcefully Reveal Their Locations

Why it matters: Chinese internet users are playing cat and mouse with the country’s social media sites, which have violated users’ privacy by requiring them to give their geolocation.

Many people have been surprised by the new rules. Many popular marketing personas with international pictures and selling qualities, for example, are demonstrated to be based in China.

As a result, several enterprises are now selling services that change IP addresses on e-commerce platforms like Taobao for as little as RMB 6 ($0.9) per day. Many of these businesses claim to be able to change location information (in Chinese) on platforms such as Weibo and Douyin.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/05/07/chinese-internet-users-buy-fake-covers-after-social-media-forcefully-reveal-their-locations/

Why Is Email Marketing Ineffective in China?

An email has never been popular in China in comparison to the West. Experian Market Services statistics from 2015, which examined email marketing success in selected Asia Pacific nations, showed that China’s total opening rate was barely 10.5%, compared to 33.1%  in New Zealand.

Chinese users check their emails 22% less frequently than users worldwide. Smartphones have mostly overtaken desktops as the primary computing device in China. The country was a late adoption of computers, and as internet cafés began to develop in the 1990s and early 2000s, young people began to engage with one another using social messaging apps such as QQ.

Email marketing frequently disappoints marketers because the majority of Chinese do not regularly check their personal emails (if they have one at all) and would expect the brands they care about to meet them in their native digital environment.

WeChat brand accounts are far more engaging than email and can provide information on several elements of the brand.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/opinions/why-does-email-marketing-not-work-in-china/ 

The Future of E-Commerce on Douyin and 5 Tips on How to Prepare

In China, TikTok is known as Douyin. With over 600 million active daily users, it’s a hugely popular short video app. That equates to half of China’s population.

Unlike TikTok, Douyin clearly integrates e-commerce. Douyin users can complete purchases within the app by clicking links within each short video. Douyin thus becomes a viable sales channel, perfectly adapted to impulse purchases.

Link: https://agencychina.com/blog/e-commerce-on-douyin-5-tips-how-to-prepare/ 

WeChat to Reveal Users’ IP Location on a Public Posts

WeChat announced on Friday that it will begin displaying users’ whereabouts when they post on a public account.

WeChat, which is controlled by Tencent, said it would soon begin testing the setting, which only applies to users of its “public platform,” where they can comment on news, essays, and other written content published by official accounts.

The new settings will show the province or municipality of Chinese users who post on public accounts. Posts made by users from other countries on public accounts will show the nation indicated by their IP address.

WeChat, which has over 1.2 billion monthly users, stated in a notification that the action targeted misinformation about “local and international hot-topic topics,” but did not elaborate.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-utfIpLwq7Iq6GKqldKRhw

A Part of Gen Z Decides to Give Up Filters on Social Media

Posting on WeChat is becoming increasingly tiresome for many individuals. Typically, it takes them 5 minutes to take photos and 1 hour to edit them in Photoshop, plus they have to think of an interesting environment to write in. Finally, it appears to be extra labour.

As a result, as more people become dissatisfied with social media, they want a platform that is easier and less stressful. Then, all of a sudden, a new app becomes extremely popular. It’s called “BeReal,” and it was created in France.

Users cannot upload photos to this platform. Instead, they can only utilise the app’s camera to snap a live photo. Furthermore, the platform lacks a filter and editing tool, so users may only send original photographs. Furthermore, BeReal does not allow users to choose when they want to snap photos and share them. Instead, the system tells every user to perform everything at once. Every time, users have only 2 minutes to shoot photos and upload them before it is too late. BeReal wishes to save the most genuine moment in your life. Furthermore, you cannot choose not to be genuine because both of your phone’s cameras will be activated, allowing people to see both your face and where you are. Finally, there are no “like,” “share,” or “comment” buttons on BeReal; the only way to communicate with your friend is to take a picture of yourself and send emoji.

The concept of BeReal is that they want people to calm down and forget those annoying data, while just focusing on what is happening in real life. Perhaps because of that, BeReal suddenly became popular. In the first quarter of 2022, the number of users increased by 315%. And it has become the Top 4th app in America, France, and England, just behind Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest.

In France, 80% of the users are Gen Z, mainly because they are tired of pretending and being identified by others. They are not afraid of being “ugly”, they just want to be themselves rather than live in other people’s comments.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5L0JpmtmXZ-j7Va2sVB-xQ

Glamping Swept China’s Social Media This Labor Day Holiday

Because of the COVID-19 control measures and continued domestic travel limitations, Chinese people spent their Labor Day holiday this year on short getaways and staycations. The most popular topic these days is “glamping” (glamorous camping). According to Ctrip data, online traffic for “camping” reached a historic high on the first day of the holiday, and search volume jumped by 90% over the previous week. There are nearly three million campaign-related UGC (user-generated content) entries on Xiaohongshu, ranging from gear photos to the journey itself.

From January to April of this year, the number of participants on Ctrip was five times that of the entire year of 2021. In addition, the number of camping facilities has increased by 800% since this year.

Camping can be classified into two categories: luxurious camping and survival camping. The first emphasises quality, whereas the second emphasises the difficulty of surviving in the field. The most popular is luxury camping because most people prefer to explore nature rather than build a genuine fire. And those stunning photographs on social media have had a huge influence on individuals who have never gone camping before, making camping a new fashion trend among young Chinese visitors.

This brisk growth portends a bright future for the outdoor equipment and apparel business. According to Daxue Consulting, the sector would be worth $100 billion (666.8 billion RMB) by 2025. Luxury residences were eager to seize this opportunity. Prada debuted its Outdoor Collection last year, a distinctive ready-to-wear line inspired by the great outdoors.

However, this part still has many obstacles, such as style, functioning, colours, activities, and so on. Players in this game should think outside the box and be more creative while maintaining quality.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/glamping-labor-day-china-prada-beast/?utm_source=Jing+Daily+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=069f57ad7b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_12_06_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8dec01cd8d-069f57ad7b-40884038

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China’s Gen Z As Luxury Consumers

May 10, 2022

From Balenciaga to Gucci and Louis Vuitton, the Chinese market has become the most crucial driver of growth for European luxury brands. Nothing is more important for success in the Chinese luxury industry than capturing the hearts and minds of Gen Z. These are the Chinese consumer generation born after 1997.

Chinese Gen Z is growing as a diverse customer demographic that global brands want to understand more about. The luxury industry, in particular, given that China accounted for more than a third (32%) of the global market for luxury goods in 2020. It’s expected to surpass the US to become the world’s largest market for those products in the next five years.

Traditionally, luxury companies relied on an older, established, and affluent buyer base, with a minority of younger buyers keen to express wealth and status. While this buying pattern persists today, the luxury market has become significantly more democratic, younger, digital, and global in the last three decades, with luxury products considered not only as a method to indicate wealth but also as a way to represent one’s particular style.

What Makes China’s Gen Z Such a Good Target Group for Luxury Brands?

For luxury brands, Gen Z is a dream generation. They consider themselves to be “personal brands,” and spending up to nine hours a day online creating social media material qualifies them as expert brand builders. Many are familiar with crypto and NFTs, hastening a quick transformation in new luxury categories that earlier generations struggled with.

According to McKinsey, Gen Z, those born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, represent 15% of China’s population. That equates to more than 210 million individuals. They grew up in China amid an unusual period of rapid social and economic development. Recently, Chinese brands have benefited from the country’s growing sense of confidence – and Generation Z may be the most confident of all Chinese generations.

This confidence translates into a more critical and outspoken approach toward foreign fashion labels. As a result, this generation may have a significant impact on the Chinese fashion and luxury sector.

They are brand sensitive, hungry for uniqueness, and wealthy, ticking all the boxes that luxury brands set out to offer. Winning over these key actors in high-end purchasing is the first step for global luxury brands to flourish in China.

What Works With Gen Z?

The growing influence of millennial and Generation Z consumers in the luxury business can be seen in how brands communicate their message and who they hire to speak it for them. WeChat, which is a one-stop platform that allows users to interact with friends and family, stay up to speed on the latest news, engage with one’s favorite companies, and pay for a variety of goods and services, also plays an important part in these conversations and sales.

For luxury brands, millennial and Gen Z spokespeople, brand ambassadors, and creative directors are becoming the standard. This is especially true in China. Gen Z celebrities such as Wang Yibo (born in 1997), Cai Xukun (born in 1998), Fan Chengcheng (born in 2000), and Ouyang Nana (born in 2000) are fronting advertisements for Chanel, Prada, Givenchy, and others. However, simply being present on social media, hiring young brand ambassadors, and dressing up popular celebrities is insufficient to reach and influence Gen Z customers.

For starters, like with millennials, rigid premium brand loyalty is virtually non-existent among Generation Z customers. This is especially true in China, where according to McKinsey & Company, 52% of consumers born after 1990 will purchase luxury goods other than their “favorite” brands.

Gen Z & Luxury – Do’s & Dont’s

The most common mistake in attempting to attract Gen Z is to appear as though a brand is particularly young or funky even if it does not fit the brand. “Young collections” are a good example of this. Many established fashion businesses attempted this and failed. When a company isn’t relevant to Generation Z as a whole, creating a purportedly youthful collection and hoping young customers will take the hook seldom if ever, works. To be relevant to Gen Z, brands must be present on platforms such as Bilibili, Douyin or Xiaohongshu. This is where they can better engage with the audience and create trending articles to attract the right audience. 

Learn more about What is Bilbili? and the main differences between Douyin and TikTok.

Generation Zers, on the other hand, value authenticity due to their easy access to information. People, in fact, expect brands to be brutally honest and truthful. As a result, many incumbent brands appear out of reach, inauthentic, and remote to younger audiences. A new, honest, inclusive, and spontaneous method of communicating with Generation Z is required. 

The implication for luxury brands is to be brave and unapologetic in their position for something. Clear values are what Generation Zers look for in brands. As a result, brand equity, brand positioning, and brand narrative are more important than ever. This might be putting many incumbent businesses at a considerable strategic disadvantage. 

According to reports, some of the most compelling reasons for Generation-Z customers to purchase personal luxury products in China in 2020 are:

  • Signaling social status – 6%
  • Gift – 20%
  • Identity statement – 24%
  • Uplift of confidence – 45%
  • Pursuit of fashion – 61%
  • A reward for self – 68%

Conclusion

Millennials (ages 26 – 41) are huge, but China’s Gen Z (ages 10 – 25) might be even bigger. As a new generation of consumers emerges, brands’ strategies and marketing must evolve to cater to this new demographic. This indicates that brands must be honest, truthful, and inclusive in order to reach out to the next generation, in addition to being trendy and developing products for the younger age.

Massive developments in the digital age indicate that generational divisions are narrowing, for better or worse. If businesses want to flourish and prosper in today’s ever-changing world and create a business in China, we believe they must discover more relevant ways to reach consumers of all generations. Check out our piece on China’s eldest consumers – Silver Generation. 

If you wish to know more about Gen Z consumers or need assistance in China, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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WeChat Channels – How to Post for Success?

May 7, 2022

WeChat Channels, which was released for beta testing in early 2020, is a relatively new short and largely untapped video platform within WeChat that allows users to produce and share short video clips and photographs to their own WeChat Channel.

The WeChat Channels feed also allows users to discover information posted to other Channels (by their friends and other WeChat accounts). Here’s our Beginners Guide to WeChat Channels if you want a shorter version or TL: DR one

WeChat Marketing Strategies

WeChat Channels, with over 200 million MAUs (Monthly Active Users), are becoming an increasingly essential touchpoint for marketers in China. They greatly aid in brand discovery because the content is displayed to all users rather than just followers, as is the case with articles on official accounts. With fully open content dissemination and adoption of hashtags, content is discovered in a whole new way on WeChat. Compared to official accounts where updates are only visible to followers, this is truly a gamechanger. 

What Are Some of the Advantages of WeChat Channels?

Channels provide numerous options to promote your brand by encouraging people to share with their friends or in their Moments. Viewers can like and comment on the post, as well as on the remarks of others. Channels content liked by your contacts will be automatically shown to you in the tab ‘Liked by friends’ and they will see content liked by you too (unless you change your privacy settings). 

Each WeChat Channel post may have the following elements:

  • A short description 
  • A number of relevant, popular, branded and contextual hashtags
  • A location tag
  • A link to an article on WeChat Official Account or a red packet 
  • A link to an online event (live streaming)

Trending Content on WeChat Channels

The most popular WeChat channel content is very similar to that found on Douyin or TikTok. It is viral in nature and is driven by trends and hashtags such as dancing challenges, lip-sync skits, memes, and fashion and food-related videos. 

However, Channels are also a great brand discovery tool for B2B brands with a much more mature audience that uses WeChat on a daily basis for professional communication – educational content and news are among the top content. That’s why visual and video professional content has much higher chances to resonate on WeChat compared to other short video platforms. 

According to the Weixin Class pro, Tencent will pay even more emphasis on Channels in the coming months, and there are already some modifications in the works, such as the addition of WeChat’s own services menus.

Read about WeChat Class PRO 2022 (WeChat creator’s annual competition)

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Channels on WeChat

Step 1: Open your WeChat account.

To begin, log in to your personal WeChat account using the WeChat app.

Even if you have an Official Account on WeChat, Channels must first be launched by personal accounts before they can be linked to brands.

Pro tip: Before you start, keep in mind that if you want to link between your Official Account and Channel account (these two are not automatically connected), the admin of the OA and Channel account must be the same. 

Step 2: Proceed to the WeChat Channels tab.

Once you’ve logged into your personal account, go to the main navigation bar and click on the ‘Discover’ button, then select ‘WeChat Channels.’ This will take you to the WeChat Channels feed.

Step 3: Select the camera icon in the upper right corner.

You should see a small camera icon in the upper right corner of the WeChat Channels feed – click on it, and then the ‘new channel’ option appears.

Step 4: Complete your WeChat Channel profile.

You will then be prompted to submit the following information:

  • Name (use your brand name)
  • Bio
  • Gender
  • Location 

Fill these in and click ‘create’.

Next steps: As a next step you might want to connect your official account with the newly created Channels account and apply for verification (blue tick). 

Posting on WeChat Channels

Today, we’ll go through how to post on channels to get the most out of your efforts.

There are two methods for posting to Channels.

  • One from the mobile (for brands account only for the admin mobile)
  • One from the computer (operators can be added in the backend)

Apart from a number of video editing capabilities that are useful for on-the-go artists (adding music, cropping video), both offer the same options for post-production optimization.

WeChat Channels

WeChat Channels Backend View

WeChat Channels Content Types – Formats

What goes into a post on a WeChat Channel?

  • Up to 9 images can be uploaded.
  • Videos can be up to one hour long, 2GB in size, and in mp4 format.

Pictures function similarly to Instagram carousel posts, but video footage can be preferred by the algorithm. So, if you have a few photos, you can try to edit them into a film to get better results.

When it comes to videos, bear in mind that the attention span on WeChat is relatively short, so while you can publish extended movies, try to make them brief and relevant.

Choose a vertical format whenever possible! Users usually check WeChat Channels on mobile devices, therefore horizontal may not be attractive for viewers.

WeChat Channels

Tips to Optimize Post Description 

  • Length – Keep it brief and to the point, just like you would for Instagram. Keep in mind that only the first few lines of our copy will display, therefore hook.
  • Hashtags – will help to increase your visibility, but Channels are not entirely hashtag-driven platforms. Concentrate on a few well-chosen hashtags, such as your business name, campaign topic, or broad topic. Put the hashtags at the beginning or end of the copy.
  • Mentions – In your post, you can tag the accounts of other Channels. Excellent for collaboration. 
  • Location – you can include it to boost exposure, but it’s optional.
  • Link – From an official account or a red cover, you can link to an article. To find your article link, open it in WeChat and click (…) in the upper right corner, then ‘copy link.’ Use this feature to direct traffic to your official account.
  • Activity – you can add a link to a live-streaming event 
  • Time of publication – You can schedule your post or publish it immediately.

Conclusion

Short video content has become the latest trend in China and is growing at an astonishing speed. It is reported that the number of short video users has reached 920 million by end of 2021.*  

WeChat has been pushing users to make and watch videos on WeChat Channels, so it may see increased traffic in the near future. If you wish to know more about WeChat channels or need assistance in optimising your WeChat account, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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Xiaohongshu RED Beauty Trends 2022 – What’s Hot?

May 5, 2022

Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle platform, released a report dedicated to the trends gaining popularity at the beginning of 2022. Called Little Red Book, or simply RED, attracts a big number of beauty enthusiasts. As of now, it has over 200 million monthly active users. Beauty has consistently been one of the most popular content categories on Xiaohongshu, owing to a large user base with a strong interest in beauty and makeup.

Women account for 89% of clients who view beauty-related articles, while those aged 18 to 34 account for 87%, according to the survey. More importantly, many of them are now in the habit of using the site to study skincare and beauty items before purchasing them. Recently, we dug deeper into RED marketing with our Quick Guide to Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) Marketing and talked about 5 Reasons to Leverage RED/Xiaohongshu and How to Set Up an Account?

Earlier this month, China’s lifestyle social platform Xiaohongshu released its 2022 Xiaohongshu Beauty Trends Report. The report provides valuable insights into what trends are emerging in the beauty sector from a large user base that is highly interested in beauty and makeup. It allows brands and investors to iterate their products in response to market demand and develop more targeted marketing and investment strategies. 

Xiaohongshu forecasts trends based on content searched on the platform in the previous year, including ‘efficient skincare,’ ‘haute makeup,’ ‘stacking products,’ and ‘gender neutrality.’

The Four Major Beauty RED Trends 💁‍♀️

 

  • Haute Makeup
    Simultaneously, searches for personalized and custom makeup increased in 2021, as individuals sought makeup that might transform potential flaws into distinct qualities. Searches for “Square face makeup” jumped 1100%, “How to define olive skin” increased 470%, and “Facial angling” increased 163%.

 

  • Stacking products
    Combining the use of various items, according to Xiaohongshu, became popular since it was supposed to provide an exponential effect. Searches for “lip oil layering” and “perfume layering” jumped by 135% and 82%, respectively.

 

  • Efficient skincare
    When it comes to skincare products, quality always outweighs quantity. Searches for “simple skincare” grew by 170%, while searches for “skincare pyramid” increased by 560%.

 

  • Gender neutrality
    On the site, men’s attractiveness has grown in popularity. Men are searching for a broader range of beauty goods than perfumes, facial cleansers, and lotions. Searches for “Men’s eyebrow shape” and “Men’s cosmetics cream” increased by 130 and 354%, respectively.

Some of the RED Report’s Key Takeaways

 

Men’s beauty is emerging: More categories of cosmetics have been added to men’s beauty wishlists, in addition to the evergreen perfumes, facial cleansers, and lotions. Furthermore, the survey revealed a significant increase in men in 2021, with 14% of these becoming content creators. This group has the potential to push more men to abandon outdated notions of masculinity. Hence accelerating the rise of gender-neutral beauty labels.

Self-acceptance drives personalization: Similarly, the report demonstrates how Xiaohongshu users have embraced variety. This transition is evident in the emergence of personalized and tailored makeup showcasing the distinctive qualities of beauty customers. The practice of layering multiple cosmetics, such as lipsticks and perfumes, exemplifies the desire for individuality. Some of the brands gaining benefits from these are Perfect Diary, Proya, Carslan, FlowerKnows, Zeesea, and more.

The need for cosmetics ingredients is increasing: Cheng Fen Dang (成份党) has been a key trend impacting the beauty landscape in China since its inception in 2017. This exclusive club, founded by skincare enthusiasts with scientific degrees, discusses the professional understanding of cosmetic components and how they influence different skin types. Some of them use personal social accounts to provide product reviews that evaluate various substances and their features, which have become reliable sources of information for locals. 

Xiaohongshu’s Beauty Influencers

The number of beauty-related artists in Xiaohongshu is increasing, with a 14% increase in male users in 2021 (it didn’t happen without some controversies – see our news bulletin). Beauty influencers are also increasingly younger. The group born after the year 2000 accounting for 20% of the platform’s beauty creators. Almost 70% of Xiaohongshu’s beauty producers live in major cities.

Check out our previous posts to discover more about how to advertise on RED.

Conclusion

If you wish to know more about Xiaohongshu or need assistance in creating content, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact at contact@thewechatagency.com.

 

 

 

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