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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What Is Dewu?

March 9, 2022

You probably hear a lot about RED, one of the biggest UGC (User Generated Content) platforms in China. Well, there is another one that is super popular among Chinese millennials and Gen Z, that is DEWU (得物), previously known as POIZON or Du (毒).

Shanghai Shizhuang Information Technology Co., Ltd. launched Dewu, commonly known as Poizon, an online shopping app. It is China’s largest fashion brand exchange and trading platform, including features such as evaluating the validity of fashion labels and trend sharing. Product listings, trade mechanisms, and unified delivery are all subject to strict authenticity checks.

Poizon Dewu

Dewu’s USP

The “identify first, ship later” shopping approach is Dewu’s unique selling point. Trendy shoes, fashion, watches, accessories, gaming, digital and home appliances, beauty, vehicles, and more are among the product categories. At the same time, by consistently accumulating fashion content, Dewu is becoming a trend indicator and voice for young users as a trendy lifestyle network for young people. 

People can also share their impressions and discuss their purchases with other users. For example, the app boasts a thriving community of sneakerheads who discuss the latest releases on the platform. As a result, the most trending topics of discussion revolve around sneakers, fashion brands, celebrities, street culture, cars, watches, and fashion art, all of which are popular among young people.

Poizon Dewu Poizon Dewu Poizon Dewu

Growth of Dewu

Dewu App has become synonymous with “quality e-commerce”, leading the new demand for quality consumption

The Dewu platform’s total revenue in 2019 was 7 billion yuan, with sneakers accounting for the majority of that. The domestic second-hand shoe market was nearly monopolized by this app. In the same year, the app had accumulated 47 million product identifications. 

In 2020, the number of identifications will have expanded dramatically, surpassing 60 million, with roughly 40 million active monthly.

According to Fan Ruan, Dewu’s MAU (Monthly Active User) hit 81 million in May 2021, representing an increase of 8% month over month. 

Key User of Dewu

The structure and demographics of Dewu’s DAUs (Daily Active Users) is very interesting as the ratio of male to female users on Dewu is 52:48. This is in stark contrast to RED, which has a predominantly female user base.

Dewu has a sizable percentage of young customers. The post-90s generation accounts for more than 75% of the total. These young people are the driving force behind online consumption and the architects of the new online economy’s future development. They consume with strong personal qualities. They are not only open to trying new products, but they are also more willing to share their consumer experiences with others and strive for a positive consumer experience. 

When it comes to China, 61% of Gen Z is looking for brands that will set them apart. As a result, Dewu is a platform that assists Gen Z in meeting its needs. 

Why do more and more brands choose Dewu(得物）？

Dewu’s app store ranking has been in the top ten for quite some time. Dewu has now become a “platform level” product, based on the IOS store rankings and the average daily downloads of more than 100000 users. Because of that, Dewu is attracting an increasing number of companies and service providers.

At present, more than 5,000 brands have settled in, mostly fashion wear brands and high-end brands, such as sports brands Adidas, luxury brands such as Coach, Michael Kors, Armani, and so on.

The reason why high-end brands choose Dewu is mainly due to the following two points:

  1. The user group and consumer demand are expanding.
    The consumer demand of users grows as user groups expand: male users are interested in shoes, watches, accessories, and men’s apparel; female users look for more women’s clothing, beauty makeup, and skincare goods, among other things. There is space for brand development due to consumer demand.

    At the same time, the “post-90s” account for more than 80% of property users, according to the most recent government statistics. Young people are the target audience for high-end brands.
  2. The content community system is also good for the brand.
    The platform will guide customers to consistently develop high-quality content in Dewu’s content community system. When producing news on Dewu, for example, the platform will provide “high-quality strategic advice” to help people write high-quality news.

Dewu’s current content community, like Xiaohongshu’s, is in UGC mode, with many KOL and MCN institutions settling in. According to official public data, Dewu collaborated with approximately 100 MCN institutions in the first half of 2021.

Incentive for brands

The platform offers a number of benefits that attract top businesses to collaborate with the platform. They are as follows:

  • Discounted pricing for businesses (Lower cost and faster shipment)
  • The user interface is simple (high-speed operation)
  • Service of operation (New product launches, operation guidance, marketing activities, community promotions)
  • Customer service from a single merchant (Efficient response, fast payment)

Poizon Dewu Poizon DewuPoizon Dewu

Step-by-Step Process on Becoming a Seller on Dewu

The registration process for sellers is similar to that of other Chinese e-commerce platforms. There are various steps to it.

Step 1: Create an account and log in.

  • Register the personal user account for the platform
  • Create a password for your account
  • Go to the merchant’s registration page, select “I want to enter,” and read the instructions.

Step 2: Fill in the information

  • Complete the company and brand information, and then submit your qualifications.
  • Next, verify the accuracy of the information before submitting it for evaluation.

Step 3: Wait for the review

  • Within 7 working days, you will receive a response.
  • Check the status of the review, make any necessary changes, or move on to the next step.
  • Confirm the merchant’s agreement to participate.

Step 4: Make a deposit.

  • Go to merchant login backstage
  • Then make payment via online deposit or upload bank account details.

Conclusion

Dewu is a second-hand marketplace with strict anti-counterfeiting measures in place. Consumers are protected by these procedures, which provide them with psychological security by preventing them from spending money until the products have passed an authenticity check.

The platform is great for high-end, limited-edition items. Things such as co-branded items, luxury items, and collectors’ items are some examples. 

The platform also provides room for budding Chinese brands, making it an excellent starting point for those wishing to establish a brand in China.

Are you looking for setting up an e-commerce business on Dewu? Please get in touch with our team. We apply our knowledge and experience to assist businesses in forming meaningful connections and expanding their consumer base in China. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

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The Week’s Update In China

February 23, 2022

Alibaba goes after JD’s direct retail model with new e-commerce app:

It is establishing a new online platform that will follow the direct sales strategy of rival JD’s. Maoxiang, the new platform’s name, will first focus on consumer electronics.

Why it matters: 

Alibaba is trying out different models to boost business growth amid weakening consumer spending, intensifying competition, and tightening regulations. 

Details: 

Maoxiang will adopt a direct retail model. The online platform can sell branded merchandise directly to consumers, having more control over sourcing, quality, storage, delivery, and after-sales.

For starters, the platform will focus on selling consumer electronics products, big-ticket items that JD also focused on during its early days. SF Express and Danniao Logistics are possible couriers for the service to ensure next-day doorstep delivery.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/02/18/alibaba-goes-after-jds-direct-retail-model-with-new-e-commerce-app/

Chinese otome games mark Valentine’s Day with fresh female content

Chinese female-oriented online games released new content to celebrate Valentine’s Day and attract new players. 

Why it matters: 

Otome (Japanese for “maiden”) games are primarily role-playing games aimed at female gamers (RPG). These online games pander to the emotional demands of female gamers by giving a variety of love fantasies. For these game designers, Valentine’s Day has become the most popular annual event.

Details: 

Eight out of the top 10 otome games listed on TapTap, a game review platform and player community, released special content for Valentine’s Day.

For example, I Should Be a Rich Lady, the most downloaded otome game in Apple’s Chinese app store, unveiled Valentine’s Day contest on Feb. 10. Players are asked to vote for their favourite romantic characters. The game maker, Tomato Games, produced customized stickers for the winning character based on the votes. The game’s app ranks fourth overall in Apple’s RPG category.

Mr Love: Queen’s Choice, produced by Papergames, also released an update, adding more holiday plots and scenes. Players have the chance to win cash and other game content rewards  (in Chinese) during the time-limited update.

Link: https://technode.com/2022/02/14/chinese-otome-mobile-games-mark-valentines-day-with-fresh-female-content-mr-love/

How fashion can leverage blind box marketing in China

Blind boxes have grown into a massive industry that is expected to be worth 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) by 2024. Many Chinese consumers enjoy unexpected content, which fashion firms may use to create interesting narratives.

The problem is figuring out how to make blind box marketing work for fashion and luxury firms. Lanvin, which developed a blind box lottery on its Wechat mini programme for Chinese Valentine’s Day in August, is one luxury brand that has previously tried the waters.

Lanvin, a Chinese company controlled by Fosun International, set a low threshold for entrance into their Chinese Valentine’s Day lottery last August. To participate, participants simply had to pay 200 yuan. Team or group games might be played, garnering 50,000 players in a month and five-folding Lanvin’s Wechat views.

Link: https://www.voguebusiness.com/consumers/how-fashion-can-leverage-blind-box-marketing-in-china

Beauty in 2021: Trends, Observations, and KOL+KOC Marketing

Competition between domestic brands, both old and new, is increasing, as is competition between domestic brands and foreign brands. Limited collections and interesting brand ambassadors are used by brands to captivate consumers.

Men’s make-up, body care, and other beauty and skincare categories grew by triple digits, with male perfume consumption increasing threefold in four years.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/BXK4dLCsxNdAI9imxLj0LA  

Why do more and more brands choose Dewu(得物）？

The ranking of Dewu in the IOS app store has been in the top 10 of the app store for a long time. Judging from the IOS store rankings and the average daily downloads of more than 100000 users, Dewu has now become a “platform level” product. More and more brands and service providers have begun to invest Dewu.

At present, more than 5000 brands have settled in, mostly fashion wear” brands and high-end brands, such as sports brands Adidas, luxury brands ascoach, Michael Kors, Armani, and so on.

The reason why  high-end brands choose Dewu is mainly due to the following two points:

  1. The user group and consumer demand are expanding.
    The consumer demand of users grows as user groups expand: some guys are interested in shoes, watches, accessories, and men’s apparel; girls require women’s clothing, beauty makeup, and skincare goods, among other things. There is space for brand development due to consumer demand.

    At the same time, the “post-90s” account for more than 80% of property users, according to the most recent government statistics. Young people are the target audience for high-end brands.

  2. Second, the content community system is also good for the brand.
    The platform will guide customers to consistently develop high-quality content in Dewu’s content community system. When producing news on Dewu, for example, the platform will provide “high-quality strategic advice” to help people write high-quality news.

    Dewu’s current content community, like Xiaohongshu’s, is in UGC mode, with many KOL and MCN institutions settling in. According to official public data, Dewu collaborated with approximately 100 MCN institutions in the first half of 2021.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/0xP54EO37NE3K3kUPW7hEQ

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China’s Weekly Learnings

January 17, 2022

Xiaohongshu’s registers new trademark ‘Laohongshu’, eyeing Chinese elders

Xiaohongshu is now focusing on the elderly in China, a profitable customer segment that is mostly untapped.

More lately, elder generations have witnessed a surge in internet usage, becoming more tech-savvy as a result of the pandemic, to the point that a new wave of influencers over 55 has emerged. In the next few decades, China’s elderly population is expected to exceed 500 million. They are the generation that is catching up on social media and becoming more visible, particularly on short-form video platforms. 

Xiaohongshu justified the registration as a defensive measure after discovering that many other parties were attempting to register the Laohongshu trademark ahead of time. As a result, a defensive registration has been implemented to keep malevolent squatters at bay.

It all began when Youyou Video, a new app, was released in June, around the same time as the trademark application was filed. With features such as bigger fonts, voice remarks and feeds that include tips on age-reducing clothes and makeup, the app displays a focus to the middle-to-elite-class senior female users.

With the Chinese population rising and more people entering the digital world, Chinese elders are becoming a new market that Internet companies like Xiaohongshu are vying for.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/news/xiaohongshus-new-trademark-registration-approved-eyeing-chinese-elders/

Crackdowns in live streaming in China: how brands should approach it

Key takeaways:

  1. As the Chinese government promotes the ‘Common Prosperity’ concept, the government is cracking down on live streaming.
  2. Foreign brands should pay greater attention to the government’s live streaming laws and alter their tactics accordingly.
  3. Brands should ensure that their collaborating influencers follow the regulations of the government, or at the very least that the influencers’ personal behaviours do not have a substantial impact on them. Viya had to pay a record-high sum for tax evasion despite being the “live streaming queen.”
  4. Based on the restrictions issued by the government, e-commerce platforms are likely to tighten their regulations. Although the guidelines are still in the works, they are expected to limit live steamers the ability to use the platform in the way users are used to. They should, for example, speak Mandarin and dress more appropriately.

In China, crackdowns on live streaming do not always imply that the government is opposed to it. Rather, it means that businesses should ensure that their live streaming strategies are in line with, or at the very least do not contradict, government rules.

Link: https://daxueconsulting.com/chinese-livestreaming-crackdown/

How Do Brands Encourage User-generated Content On Bilibili?

Bilibili began as a video platform for anime, comics, and games. It is now one of the most widely used video platforms among Chinese Generation Z. It’s also known for having a very active community.

UGC is one of the most engaging mediums that companies can use (user-generated content). Because Bilibili users respect authenticity, high-quality user-generated content (UGC) can quickly go viral, allowing the business to reach thousands of new prospective customers, stimulate product development, and more.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/phbEIoaoBg7Ipik8F5YF_g

Tapping into the explosive growth of personalized beauty in China

In traditional offline beauty stores, sales associates greet customers, try to understand their needs and make product recommendations.

That has changed now. People may now access massive amounts of information with a few easy clicks at home thanks to modern technologies. Algorithms aid in the limiting of the knowledge pool, while other users’ ratings and reviews on social media assist in determining whether a product is truly effective. COVID merely accelerated the process.

They are guided by a variety of diagnostic tools, artificial intelligence (AI), widgets, applications, online quizzes, and online experts. However, in many cases, none of the items is actually individualised. The technologies under discussion are more concerned with speeding up the decision-making process of consumers than with meeting their actual demands.

WeChat’s powerful ecosystem provides a full data collection, branding, marketing, selling, and brand refresh cycle.

Link: https://beautymatter.com/articles/tapping-into-the-explosive-growth-of-personalized-beauty-in-china

WeChat Red packet cover

New shape: from rectangle to different other shapes

New ways to get: the users can get them from their Moments. 

Users who receive Moments ads with the label “shake out surprises” can shake and receive the red packet cover. If the sponsors give you “one more” chance, you can share the cover with one of your friends and they will receive one as well.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3JzCpTEFbG7rQWPyvnVfow

Bilibili 2021 Top 100 uploaders

Bilibili selected 2021 Top 100 uploaders by their professionality, influence and creativity and will hold a ceremony this Friday at 19:00. It’s a good opportunity to know why they are outstanding from the uploaders.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5PooWe308n67FhdD9fmW9Q

Wecom 2022 new product launch conference summary

At the new product launch in 2022, Wecom mainly talked about three major points. 

  • The first point is to connect the consumer market and bring businesses closer to their customers, as evidenced by the channel and WeChat customer care. When watching the video, watching the live broadcast, or on the main page, users can add Wecom personnel to the video number. WeChat customer service means that it can be customised whether it is in the official account channel mini programme or outside of WeChat.
  • The second point is to establish a connection between upstream and downstream partners. Companies from upstream and downstream can join the corporate address book and contact each other at any time. People from various companies can collaborate to produce papers that can then be shared with a single click.
  • The third point is that enterprise Wechat has partnered with Tencent to establish a new office function called Tencent document Tencent conference. Working on, viewing, and commenting on online papers is convenient for a large group of individuals. WeChat allows users from outside the company to collaborate on documents. Internal and external colleagues, partners, and other meetings can be invited to online meetings. There are further features like meeting minutes that can be sorted into text records automatically.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5OKKBjZ5TMvg437xOQU0oA  

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This Week’s Highlights in China

January 11, 2022

China announces breakthrough in 6G mobile technology

A huge milestone in “world’s fastest” real-time wireless transmission has been announced by a high-tech institute:

The maximum transmission speed might be up to 100 times faster than the present 5G system, which can already carry data 20 times quicker than prior standards.

Around 2030, China is anticipated to see 6G technology hit the market. It lays the groundwork for future 6G holographic communication, the emergent buzzword “metaverse,” and other yet-to-be-developed applications.

By “replacing the vast number of cables in the data centre, allowing for more efficient Internet transmission,” it might also “substantially” cut expenses and power usage.

Link: https://daoinsights.com/news/china-announces-breakthrough-in-6g-mobile-technology/

WeChat users & platform insights 2022

Overview: 

  • 1.26 billion monthly active users 
  • 330 million use video calling.
  • 780 million users are on the social networking section WeChat Moments 
  • 120 million publish updates
  • 450 million users access Mini Programs
  • The commercial realization of WeChat mini-games increased by 20%
  • China game live streaming revenues to double by 2021
  • WeChat Search: The number of monthly active users of WeChat search has reached 700 million according to WeChat official data released in January 2022.
  • WeChat Pay: more than 240 million users. It boosted the conversion rate of e-commerce orders by 14%
  • WeChat Channels: Tencent’s ultimate weapon in the short video market. It’s maturing with the integration with Official Account, Search, Mini Programs, etc.
  • WeCom: 80,000 enterprise WeChat partners, with a year-on-year growth of 400%. 

Link: https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/31608/wechat-statistics/

Is Xiaohongshu losing its attractiveness?

In recent months, RED has encountered a number of significant challenges, both internally and externally.

Unfair KOL/UGC content was discovered for a large number of brands, while other accounts were accused of producing overly-beautified and unrealistic evaluations. The site was also attempting to appeal to more male customers by advertising gaming-related content, as well as sexually suggestive information that may potentially reach minors.

Furthermore, Douyin and Taobao are adding new elements to their “growing grass” (种草)  efforts.

Link:  https://jingdaily.com/is-xiaohongshu-losing-steam/ 

Tapping into the explosive growth of personalized beauty in China

In traditional offline beauty stores, sales associates greet customers, try to understand their needs and make product recommendations.

People may now access massive amounts of information with a few easy clicks at home thanks to modern technologies. Algorithms aid in the limiting of the knowledge pool, while other users’ ratings and reviews on social media assist in determining whether a product is truly effective. COVID merely accelerated the process.

They will be guided by a variety of diagnostic tools, artificial intelligence (AI), widgets, applications, online quizzes, and online experts. However, in many cases, none of the items is actually individualised. The technologies in the discussion are more for speeding up consumers’ decision process rather than catering to their real needs.

WeChat’s Powerful Ecosystem Offers a Complete Cycle of Data Collecting – Branding – Marketing – Selling – Brand Refresh

Link: https://beautymatter.com/articles/tapping-into-the-explosive-growth-of-personalized-beauty-in-china

WeChat open class pro-2022

Channels: promote it by supportive policies and Livestream concert

  • Lead the traffic to the original creators; make 1 million creators have income
  • Livestream concert: in 2021, they held 2 big concerts (Westlife: 27 million visitors; Mayday: 12 million visitors)

WeChat pay: in the past, people used WeChat coupons/discounts to save 22.9 billion RMB; the total consumption amount was 520 billion RMB.

  • Optimize the digital management
  • 10 billion RMB project to help the small and micro-merchants to upgrade their system

Mini program: DAU 450 million

  • the mini-program accelerated their integration into all walks of life due to the pandemic, such as Make an appointment for vaccination, Online office tool and Government service etc
  • They will Improve the users’ experience and support the service provider

Search: MAU 700 million

  • Integrate Search to mini-program, account and Channels

WeCom: Over 1 million people use WeCom in 1 hour at the same time, they will focus on 

  • Internal management
  • Connect the brand and the potential customers

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/RVvgIcrpLguNpL_wTLN1sA

The lifestyle trends making it big in 2022… from air fryers to going green

More than 70% of Xiaohongshu users are from the post-90s age, who are young, active, and enthusiastic about their life. They provide a peek into what fascinates China’s new generation by researching the latest trends and sharing their experiences on Xiaohongshu. By evaluating the content on Xiaohongshu throughout the year 2021 and sorting out quickly growing trends, we can predict which ones will most likely break into the mainstream in 2022 and be extensively adopted by the young Chinese population this year.

In 2022, let’s look forward to the trends that will add a refreshing spin to everyone’s lifestyles:

  • Mountain life

For the past two years, there has been an epidemic. People who live at home and work for lengthy periods of time can feel suffocated at times. To slow down, they appear to need to find an outlet and take a deep breath of fresh air outside.

  • Air fryer

According to xiaohongshu’s trend projection for “frying everything using an air fryer,” there would be more than 60 million searches for information connected to the air fryer in the station by 2021.

  • Immersive experience 

Xinhong data (xiaohongshu data platform of Xinbang) https://xh.newrank.cn/ ）It shows that the notes of “immersive home”, “immersive bath” and “immersive makeup” released by several xiaohongshu users have won more than 100000 praise collections

  • Ice Skating and Skiing

The volume of searches for “skiing tutorial” in Xiaohong Book increased by 100% year over year in 2021. There are more skiing-related notes (380000+) than skateboarding-related notes (280000+) that can be done all year.

Link: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/en/newsroom/detail/the-lifestyle-trends-making-it-big-in-2022-from-air-fryers-to-going-green

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Weekly China Review

January 4, 2022

Baidu unveils China’s first metaverse platform ‘Xi Rang’

Users can create avatars, connect with other players, and explore the virtual world of XiRang using Baidu’s new metaverse platform.

It is available in China and lets you create avatars, chat with other users, and even build your own place on the platform. Players can explore Creator City, XiRang’s first city, as well as the surrounding virtual natural landscapes and other traditional Chinese settings.

Unlike Meta’s ‘Horizon Worlds,’ which is only available to Oculus Quest 2 headset owners, XiRang may be accessed via a smartphone, a computer, or a virtual reality headset. Baidu hopes to encourage creators to develop new activities on its platform in a variety of areas, including gaming, entertainment, education, advertising, and events, by making it easily accessible.

Link: https://www.scmp.com/video/technology/3160931/baidu-unveils-chinas-first-metaverse-platform-xi-rang

What Will Travel Retail Look Like in 2022?

The Chinese Duty-Free Group’s priority in 2022 and beyond will be on finding new ways to deliver more commodities choices to travel retail shoppers.

The travel retail industry should focus on rising market prospects in newly opened duty-free zones including Qianhai Pilot Area, Henan Pilot Free Trade Zone, and Pudong New Area in 2022. To further its retail growth beyond the pandemic, China wants Hainan to become a key holiday destination for both Chinese and overseas visitors.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/china-travel-retail-trends-hainan-shanghai/

What is exactly a metaverse and why does it matter? Report

By the end of 2021, the term “metaverse” had become a buzzword that was all over the news. However, the concept might be perplexing, and different stakeholders will understand it differently. 

Mark Zuckerberg, for example, refers to it as the “embodied internet.”

Although the metaverse is still in its infancy, some existing technologies and platforms already provide many chances for businesses to exhibit themselves there, demonstrating their digital innovation and readiness to interact with users online. Building a 3D presence can also open new revenue streams.

Interoperability, or the seamless connectivity between digital experiences, is a key feature of the metaverse. Closed platforms, on the other hand, are the rule right now.

Link: https://media.monks.com/articles/report-make-sense-metaverse

Who are KOCs and how do you work with them?

KOCs means Key Opinion Customers. Compared to KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) they are individuals with relatively strong influence over their peers, family, friends and group of potential followers.

Because they are not paid, they are more genuine, making KOC marketing a low-cost marketing method. This means fewer people will see your content, and you’ll have less control over it. You’ll also have less tracking.

 Platforms: Xiaohongshu, Dianping, WeChat, Douyin.
Methods: asking for feedback, personalization, product seeding, live streaming, focus groups. 

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/u9IQ3gyL_tR0-COMeniOBw

2021 Top 4 trendy scenarios for brands

  1. Metaverse: As a result of the post-pandemic increased social virtualization, marketers sought out new scenarios to expand their commercial opportunities.

    Xirang (希壤)is the name of Baidu’s social metaverse app. In the app, users can make friends and trade. Xirang will become a major site for life, work, and recreation in the future due to its strategic location. The ambition of Baidu is to become the Metaverse’s infrastructure platform, providing AI, cloud computing, and other technical engines for Xirang and other Metaverse businesses. Xirang’s version number is currently – 6.0, which is still negative after more than a year of development and testing. It’s not ideal, and there’s still a lot of opportunity for improvement. Many brands, including Burberry, Oreo, and OPPO, have developed their own NFT variants.

  2. Outdoor camping: People are increasingly interested in outdoor activities as a result of the disease, and they want to get in touch with nature. According to Alibaba research, the number of reservations for tents and camping on their travel platform surged by more than 14 times month over month
    – CTI magazine worked with Milklad and Red to host a “City coffee camping season” offline event.
    – Adidas teamed up with Camplus, an outdoor lifestyle platform, to host an outdoor hike at the Great Wall’s base.

  3. New consumer brand stores (Concept store or crossover): This type of store helps communicate the brand’s distinct concept to a younger audience.

    – Ice cream brand Zhongxuegao collaborated with coffee shops
    – Coffee brand Saturnbird collaborated with lifestyle brands and organized a pop-up market. It will become a dancing party at night.

  4. Creative Livestream: The brands tried different formats like talk shows or created new formats to attract potential users.

    – Down jacket brand went to Tibet
    – Milk brand showed the audience the cattle on the grassland

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cfi9hkzjXVOs1rJpwMw9-g

Why don’t young people pay for the “internet celebrity brand” anymore?

Last year, an Internet celebrity brand Zhong Xuegao developed a “lixiangguo” dumpling brand. The price of a single dumpling was around 3 yuan, with the hopes of attracting customers’ attention through “high price,” however it had had little success.

Why don’t young people want to pay for the “internet celebrity brand” anymore?

  1. For internet celebrity products, most customers think that the products are expensive. Consumers will choose them because of their temporary popularity, and give them up because of the influence of product quality.
  2. In most cases, High-cost investment and huge risks make brands unbearable. They focus on Marketing which can bring a lot of traffic in the short term, so brands spend money on famous platforms like Douyin, they only pursue marketing and ignore products.
  3. Many internet celebrity products generally have a weak foundation, the team and products are not mature enough and will not be finely operated.

If a wanghong brand wants long-term development, it should pay attention to promoting product design;  it should also pay attention to user experience. Continue to innovate and create new value.

Link::https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-J95lxEC7zOS3b-wAI__2A 

 

 

 

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This Week’s China Roundup

December 16, 2021

Weibo MAU grew to 573 million in Q3 2021

Monthly active users (“MAUs”) on Weibo totalled 573 million in September 2021, an increase of 62 million people year over year. Mobile MAUs accounted for 94% of all MAUs.

In September 2021, the average daily active users (“DAUs”) were 248 million, an increase of 23 million users year over year.

Weibo’s overall net revenues for the third quarter of 2021 were $607.4 million, up 30% from $465.7 million in the same period the previous year.

Link: https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/31281/weibo-quarterly/

 

Top 5 Cross-Border Retail Trends to Watch That Are Captivating Chinese Consumers

No. 5 The ‘Fur Baby’ Boom: Pet owners in China are increasingly viewing their animals as family members. This shift in behaviour has spawned a thriving business that includes anything from luxury pet diets and “smart litter boxes” to cat and dog cosmetic products.

No. 4 Healthy Snacking: From edible cosmetic items to gummy vitamins and individualised dietary-supplement kits, young consumers are driving the growth of a new breed of health-and-wellness consumables.

No. 3 Haircare is the New Skincare: China is the second-largest market globally for the hair care industry after the United States. It will likely grow at a CAGR of 4.9% up to 2025, faster than the U.S. at 3.4%, according to market research company Euromonitor.

No. 2 Ingredient-based Beauty: China’s increasing community of skincare ingredient aficionados, or “skintellectuals,” has opened doors for developing beauty companies like Murad, Obagi, Kate Somerville, and The Ordinary, which focus on effective, high-performance ingredients.

No. 1 Vintage in Vogue: As homebound customers tidy and adopt sustainability, the pandemic has boosted the resale of luxury objects. If the 11.11 shopping festival and Black Friday are any clue, China’s shopping habit is picking up momentum. Since last year, Tmall Global has attracted a number of well-known Japanese luxury resale stores, including Brand Off, Reclo, Daikokuya, and Brandear.

Link: https://www.alizila.com/top-5-cross-border-retail-trends-to-watch-that-are-captivating-chinese-consumers/

 

KAWO 2022 Ultimate Guide to China Social Media

China’s internet penetration is still only 71.6%, compared to nearly 90% in Europe and North America, indicating that there is still room for improvement. The fastest-growing segments were rural users, who saw a 48% increase in internet penetration, and over-50-year-olds, who saw a 5.2% increase in internet prevalence since 2020, with 22 million joining in the last six months.

The targeting choices on Chinese social media platforms are limited, and with China’s new privacy rules, you know even less about your audience. As a result, you may need to make sure that your content strategy includes a variety of information that is tailored to different types of users. Messages that appeal to a middle-class, college-educated city dweller are likely to differ significantly from those aimed to younger consumers in China’s rural areas. Consider building distinct social channels for each of your target audiences.

Virtual Property Tours – 35x increase in VR house tours between agents and prospective buyers on platform Beike VR. The U.S.-centric model of Boomer, Gen X and Gen Y are meaningless in China’s context. Instead, distinct generational groupings are defined with 后 (hòu). The character ‘后’ means “after”. So instead of “Baby Boomers” or “Millennials”, in China we typically talk about generations in decades e.g. “after 90’s”. You’ll even hear people discussing 95后 — or post 1995 — so rapid are the changes!

When you maintain your customers on one platform, their trip will always be easier. However, Taobao links may now be viewed within the WeChat environment, and Taobao has launched a Taobao Feed that can be synced with WeChat contacts to share purchases. 

Neither platform has yet added the ability to accept payment methods from their competitors. Brands in a hurry to avoid being left behind by ‘China Speed’ should remember that China has been a market for thousands of years, and while the channels may have changed, the fundamentals haven’t changed.

Link: https://kawo.com/en/ultimate-guide-to-china-social-media-marketing-2022/pdf-view

 

Opinion: The Digital Revolution, The Metaverse and The Quest For A Whole New Luxury

Online channels influence nearly 75% of all luxury purchases and big and small brands make announcements about diving into the metaverse on a daily basis. There is nothing more exciting to an industry willing to shape every single creative detail that follows a specific aesthetic vision than to be fully immersed into a wonderland of a virtual project, where democratic luxury can develop and expand and there are no limits posed by the rarity of raw materials and human savoir-faire.

The virtual environment offers the impression that every detail of an event can be managed and altered in accordance with the brand’s aims, and that everything can be designed exactly as planned and expected.

The term “Web3” refers to the third wave of internet innovation, which will undoubtedly have an impact on how people live, how brands work on brand awareness and appeal, and, last but not least, how consumers approach the purchasing process.

Link: https://www.luxurysociety.com/en/articles/2021/12/opinion-digital-revolution-metaverse-and-quest-whole-new-luxury?ueid=3a844b2001

 

Brands are pursuing sustainability

According to Mckinsey research, over 80% of Chinese interviewees would pay for environmentally friendly packaging. Green buying is popular among Chinese shoppers. As the government promotes the concept of sustainable consumption, brands are paying more attention to it.

In fast fashion, the brands start from the fabric, using degradable materials:

  • Blue skylab (belong to car brand NIO): Used the remaining materials after the car production to make shoes.
  • Timberland: Built a pop-up shop by using the Sugar cane. The pop shop itself and the decorations in the shop were made by sugar cane. They use sustainable and recycled materials to create goods.
  • Adidas: Leveraged the recreation of the old clothes. They invited hundreds of designers and students from art college to join the campaign.

In the food and beverage industry: 

  • Starbucks: Opened the world’s first environmental protection experimental store in September, the furniture was made by recyclable materials; in the shop, you can see the artworks created by the coffee grounds
  • Jindian (a Chinese famous milk brand): Did a 3 month live stream in bilibili and invited people to watch the grassland, 
  • Budweiser: Collaborated with the bilibili’s KOLs and made artworks by grain waste 

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/L1K7OHmCQ4vErU9k29mGnA 

 

McDonald’s sells cat nests, pet economy has become a new traffic password

To receive a limited cat box, go to the McDonald’s app /elemev app and buy the specified set. Officials stated an hour after the event that many seats had been sold out.

There are more brands like McDonald’s that use cat and dog features in their marketing activities: Starbucks cat claw cups, perfect journal, and Li Jiaqi’s dog Never’s animal eye shadow, for example. Pet marketing has given the business a lot of attention.

Why do so many young people adore pets? “Meng” is the answer! According to the 3B concept, brand advertising uses beauty, beast, animal, and baby as methods of expression, which is in keeping with human nature of paying attention to life, making it simpler to attract consumers’ attention and love. 

According to iResearch consulting’s white paper on China’s pet consumption trend in 2021, the pet industry’s market will be close to 300 billion yuan in 2020 and will continue to develop gradually over the next three years.

One of the new features of this years double 11 is the pet economy. The turnover of tmall dog/cat staple food, cat treats, beauty and cleaning items, and other categories exceeded 100 million yuan, according to tmall pet. In this regard, the pet economy has progressively evolved into the mainstream.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/DCz8ryKj3HAiuVgOXocaHA

 

Top 10 online phrases of 2021

China’s language resources monitoring centre has announced the top 10 online phrases of the year 2021.

  • YYDS, the pinyin abbreviation of Chinese “永远滴神”
  • 破防 Something that has breached my defenses, or “this really got me!”
  • 元宇宙 Metaverse
  • 躺平 Lie flat
  • 觉醒年代 The Age of Awakening
  • 双减 Double reduction
  • 绝绝子 Awesome, marvelous, amazing, brilliant
  • 伤害性不高,侮辱性极强 Not harmful, but utterly embarrassing
  • 我看不懂,但我大受震撼 “I don’t understand it, but I was shocked.”
  • 强国有我 Young people are committed to building a stronger China

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/bDFGlXuy–lJklXU–RUog

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China Roundup This Week

November 16, 2021

What can Europe learn from China’s live e-commerce boom?

Consumers in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Poland expressed interest in live e-commerce for online shopping, with 70% expressing interest. In 2020, Western brands will see 15 times more engagement in live e-commerce than they did on traditional social media, three to five times more sales, and a 50% increase in customer numbers.

If China’s growth trajectory is followed, Europe has the potential to reach over 160 million live streaming e-commerce consumers by 2024, with about 100 million of them making purchases while viewing live feeds.

China is about five years ahead of Europe in terms of economic development. China’s experience may provide us with valuable lessons. It took China a few years to turn live e-commerce into a popular format used by both companies and consumers on a regular basis. Europe is currently in the research and development phase, but we can anticipate some significant changes in style and approach:

 

Link: https://technode.com/2021/11/04/what-can-europe-learn-from-china-livestreaming-ecommerce-boom/ 

 

Can C-Beauty Brands Cultivate Loyal Consumers?

Florasis, which ranked third on Tmall’s “Double 11” best-selling brands list in 2020, has dropped out of the top ten this year. Local beauty brands frequently spend more than 65% of their income on marketing, substantially exceeding the market norm of 30-40%. Although their massive advertising, KOLs, and live streaming budgets quickly generated social buzz and attracted new customers, they failed to maintain user loyalty.

“Through data analysis from ByteDance, we found out that most international companies work on the branding side, while Chinese brands focus more on the performance side,” Hwee Chung, Kantar Worldpanel’s head of the China beauty market, stated. That is, Western brands employ influencers to create a desirable atmosphere around their products in order to attract customers. Domestic brands, on the other hand, use low pricing and KOL promotions to entice customers to buy specific products. R&D and licencing are not addressed by C-beauty brands. Yatsen Group, for example, holds 38 licence patents, but Procter & Gamble files 3,800 licences each year.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/c-beauty-brands-loyal-chinese-consumers/

 

Changing Attitudes Towards 11/11 Shopping Festival?

Despite setting new sales records, Alibaba and other e-commerce companies are keeping their sales figures quiet this year.

Alibaba attempted to rebrand “Double Eleven” as the Chinese government pursued attempts to regulate big digital businesses and wipe out the worst excesses of economic inequality. The company’s annual promotional extravaganza lacked the star power of prior years, with green efforts, homegrown companies, and rural products taking centre stage.

Link: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1008954/alibaba-tries-an-unfamiliar-new-singles-day-strategy-restraint

 

Douyin City

This is a big IP from Douyin. This offline event was held for three years by Douyin in collaboration with local tourism/brands. Every time they visit a city, they should promote both the place and the companies. They’ve visited over 70 cities, and this time they’re in Sanya. Its goal is to raise awareness of Douyin through various activities such as dreamland, a music festival, and a webcast. People will also learn about the city, where to go, and what distinctive foods they have, among other things. They built six blocks for Sanya’s Dreamland, where players can take on various identities, complete stages, and win prizes.

They used VR, AR broadcast, and the Douyin micro application to create interactive and social situations. People would be able to see brand information through virtual reality and augmented reality interactive experiences. Celebrities and musical KOLs were also asked to attend the festivals. This is a win-win idea for both Douyin and the cities; by uploading short videos with #Dou In the City, KOLs will encourage more people to come and visit. This effort will give the KOLs more exposure.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Imd1eRm2LYkcR9auoLWXKA

 

Singles’ Day posts record haul despite slower pace, as China’s antitrust moves dampen world’s biggest online shopping event

The world’s biggest online shopping event recorded a slower pace of annual growth after Alibaba Group Holding swapped the usual razzamatazz of Singles’ Day for a more down-to-earth event that stressed sustainability.

The gross merchandise value (GMV) for this year’s Singles’ Day reached a new high of 540.3 billion yuan (US$84.5 billion) across the 11-day campaign, representing an increase of 8.45% year on year. Since Alibaba launched Singles’ Day in 2009, this is the first year of single-digit GMV growth.

  1. This year’s Singles’ Day was weighed down by China’s slowest economic expansion pace in decades, as growth slowed to 4.9 per cent in the third quarter
  2. This year, Tmall issued 100 million yuan worth of ‘green vouchers’ to encourage purchasing decisions that ‘contribute to an environmentally friendly lifestyle’

Link:https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155762/sales-growth-alibabas-singles-day-drops-amid-chinas-crackdown-big

 

How to Recontextualize Brand Narratives in China

The house’s 70th-anniversary campaign, which featured Max Mara’s iconic Teddy, was a major hit in China, driving organic social traffic to offline footprints.

Image courtesy of Max Mara’s Mini Program.

  1. With a sophisticated understanding of China’s digital ecosystems, Max Mara has successfully built up a content-to-commerce loop.
  2. Luxury brands need to tailor social currency that can be showcased and shared with users’ friends via social platforms, per each campaign’s themes, as well as each platform’s user demographics and capabilities.
  3. Global HQs of luxury brands need to be aware of the uniqueness of China’s ecosystems and allow higher flexibility in experimenting with innovative approaches in the market.

Link:https://jingdaily.com/max-mara-70-anniversary-campaign-china/

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This Week In China

September 28, 2021

TikTok limits younger users to 40 minutes a day in China

Following the stepped up efforts to protect minors from the internet’s risks by the Chinese Government, TikTok created a new app for its younger audience. The new app, called Xiao Qu Xing or “Little Fun Star,” offers a personalized feed of short videos in areas ranging from science to literature and art history.

Users are allowed to like clips but not upload or share them. This youth mode limits daily usage time to a maximum of 40 minutes for those aged under 14, while banning them from accessing the app from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. With this new set of restrictions, Chinese authorities want to tackle addiction to online devices.

Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-20/bytedance-s-new-tiktok-for-chinese-kids-sets-strict-user-limits

 

China passes sweeping data privacy law, to go into effect Nov. 1

The law, which is one of the most stringent in the world on personal data security, will make it more difficult and expensive for Chinese tech companies to acquire and utilise customer data. The complete wording of the final law has yet to be disclosed, but according to Xinhua, it will provide users the ability to turn off targeted advertising. It could lead to a ban on tailored advertisements.

Link: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/china-passes-sweeping-data-privacy-law-that-goes-into-effect-nov-1/

 

You Can Now Use All Links on WeChat!

Tencent said on Friday that users can access external links in the one-to-one chat scene after upgrading to the WeChat latest version of ,  because Chinese industry authorities ordered internet leaders including Alibaba and ByteDance to open up their platforms to each other.

On the premise of ensuring information security, users can access external links in the one-to-one chat and it will also establish an external link complaint portal, which allows users to report illegal external links. Continue to develop group links and provide users with discretion but now Tiktok and Taobao can not jump directly in the service account article.

Tencent also stated that it will actively cooperate with other internet platforms to jointly implement the special guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, explore the technical possibilities of smoothly using WeChat services on other platforms, and achieve further interconnectivity.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2BPntlnbCy-OLeyXzyUSHw 

 

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What is Bilbili and Why Brands Must Consider it When targeting Gen Z

September 14, 2021

When it comes to establishing a business and grabbing the Gen-Z audience through Chinese video-sharing platforms, forums such as Douyin and Kuaishou that create short-form videos take up the majority of air. Hence, one of the fastest-growing social platforms among China’s Generation Z called the Bilibili is often overlooked.

 

What is Bibili?

Bilibili, often known as B site, is a Chinese video-sharing website where users can contribute and read “bullet” chats, which are real-time comments sent while users watch videos. Bilibili is, without a doubt, an ACG (anime, comics, and games) platform at its core and its homepage looks like any other video-sharing site on the surface, but the aesthetics are dominated by anime characters and screenshots from video games. It is because of this content that the daily active user rate has exceeded 65 million, surpassing Youku to become China’s third-largest long-video platform.

Unlike other Chinese video-sharing services such as Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent Video, Bilibili emphasises professional, user-generated material, hence earning recognition as the Chinese version of YouTube.

Users spend over 80 minutes every day on the platform, resulting in 4.7 billion monthly interactions. It also appeals to one out of every two young people in China. The platform has a highly balanced user base of 49% female and 51% male users, making it one of the most popular video platforms in the country.


Why must brands consider Bilbili?

Bilibili’s new e-commerce mini-programs debuted on the platform in April 2019. After Alibaba invested in Bilibili, it changed its online marketing strategy, focusing on e-commerce rather than user acquisition. Because of the evolving Gen-Z lifestyle, which includes online shopping as one of their most popular pleasures, it has recently become a more profitable enterprise due to which many brands are seeking to register an official Bilibili account as a means of tapping into China’s youth market.

Brands can use this platform for branding by using the “Splash Screen Ads”, which usually appear when users first open the App. Such ads were used by brands such as Swaroski to promote themselves among young Chinese audiences. Brands can also use the service to host virtual presentations and live streams.


How can brands leverage the platform?

Businesses can also use Bilibili to promote their products through its marketing platform, “Sparkle” (Huahuo), which can help with monetization by offering features like smart price recommendations, exhibiting sample work, and access to data on followers and user interaction. Another way to promote their business on Bilibili is by partnering with well-known key opinion leaders (KOLs) or key opinion consumers (KOCs) who engage with Gen Z consumers. 


How to engage with the audience on the platform?

Two of the most popular ways for brands to engage with customers on Bilibili include partnering with influencers or opening a personal account.  In both cases, it’s critical to have a good understanding of the platform and the target audience. As we all know, the majority of Bilibili users are Gen Z, who are very engaged and on the lookout for authenticity. They are savvy consumers who are well-versed in e-commerce and thus have a lot of options. To win this group, brands should work on creating their brand image and connecting it to a lifestyle, a community, a passion, or an attitude, rather than just hawking their products based on numbers.


Conclusion

Therefore, it is without a doubt that Bilibili has effectively positioned itself as a unique social video platform, with a loyal user community that is deeply involved with the creators and companies that they see as supporting the community. That’s something you won’t find on most other Chinese social media and video platforms, which is why companies should consider Bilibili as a way to reach China’s Gen-Z.

 

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