KOL Influencer Marketing in China: What is WeChat, Weibo, Douyin TikTok, and Little Red Book?
KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) refers to people or organizations that have such a strong social status that their recommendations and opinions are listened to when making important decisions. Good examples of key opinion leaders are political figures, columnists and social media celebrities.
Engaging KOLs or influential bloggers is one of the most effective ways to promote a brand or industry. KOLs can assist through content creation, online campaigns, voting in contests or live streaming. They have their own follower bases and their opinions and suggestions are considered credible and informed. Sharing company information or launching campaigns with bloggers can raise awareness, attract new followers, and contribute to brand credibility.
So which social media platforms do people in China use and which one is the best for me?
Let’s take a look at the top social media platforms in China to have a grasp of which one suits your best.
The Top KOL Marketing Platforms in China
1. Weibo: The Chinese Twitter
Sina Weibo is one of the biggest social media sites in China and And Weibo is the Chinese version of Twitter. Sina Weibo is one of the biggest social media sites in China. With more than 772 million monthly active users in 2018, Weibo’s user base is more than double that of Twitter’s 330 million. Getting in touch with the Chinese market will almost definitely involve using Weibo.
With a large and stable user base, KOL marketing on Weibo helps raise brand awareness. According to a report by Weibo with iResearch, 53.9% of all the KOLs’ followers are aged under 25.
If your business targets a younger audience, Weibo might be the platform for you. Weibo is a highly visual platform so ensuring that you have high-quality visuals as well as interesting content is very important for success on the platform.
2. WeChat: The #1 Social Media in China
WeChat is an all-in-one platform in China, offering everything from messaging to e-payments. With around 846 million monthly active users, a WeChat KOL with a strong follower base is a great way to get closer to customers, build your brand and collect feedback for branding or sales purposes.
KOLs on WeChat are more like bloggers. The content they post is longer and is usually made up of a combination of text and visuals. WeChat KOLs post regularly with most of them either contributing to or managing their own WeChat Official Account. KOL marketing on WeChat is better for more informative content as users are more willing to read.
One unique feature that WeChat offers is KOL advertising. This allows brands to place banner advertisements within the content of a KOL’s posts.
3. Xiaohongshu (The Little Red Book): Where Reviews and Social Media Meets E-Commerce
With over 100 million users, Little Red Book, (Xiaohongshu) is China’s most trusted social shopping platform.
Xiaohongshu was ranked as the #1 App in the cross-border e-commerce App category with 15.4 million MAUs. It also makes up for 5.6% of the total cross-border e-commerce market
Xiaohongshu KOLs are a bit more varied in the types of content that they share. KOLs on Xiaohongshu mostly share personal stories, testimonials, product review, or even live-streams. The authentic and relatable content makes it a suitable platform for building brand awareness, trust, and increasing sales.
Like Weibo, Xiaohongshu has a young audience with over 70% of Xiaohongshu’s users being born in the post-1990s. However, unlike Weibo Xiaohongshu has a user base that is almost entirely female, with a report from iResearch claiming that over 80% of Xiaohongshu users are female.
4. Tiktok (Douyin): The Fastest Growing Social Media Platform
Tiktok (Douyin) is the #1 short video platform in China, and the first Chinese social media platform to gain any traction abroad. Douyin is an app for making and sharing short videos with filters, special effects and popular music clips.
Videos on TikTok have a strict limit on their length with the longest allowed being only 15 seconds to capture the audience in the shortest time.
Till mid 2018, it had reportedly hit 500 million global monthly active users, most of whom are young people age from 15 to 22-year-old.
As a new media channel, Douyin offers a range of innovative ways to do brand and influencer marketing.
Due to how short the videos are, content posted on the platform is often seen quickly and has a high potential to go viral. KOL marketing on Tiktok is like viral marketing, better for raising brand awareness and promoting events as opposed to driving sales. Tiktok has an even younger audience as compared to Xiaohongshu and Weibo with 50% of its users being born post-1995.
So now you have an understanding about the social media platforms in China and ready to launch a KOL campaign? Contact us to help you streamline the process of influencer marketing.
How do I find the best KOL for my campaign in China?
Working with ChinaKOL can make it easy to find the right influencer for your campaign. You know your ideal candidate for partnership but don’t know how to find them. Partnering with an agency keeps you from having to trawl through social media. They match you with an influencer with the right amount of engagement and the appropriate subject niche.
Visit our website to find out more.
Have any Questions? Comment below and we can answer your questions.
ChinaKOL is a company that helps companies increase their social media presence in China. Check out our website at: https://www.chinakolexperts.com
