Double 11, also known as China's Singles Day, is here! Being the world's biggest 24-hour online shopping event - just pre-event sales have generated over USD$56 billion, as reported from Alibaba! This the opportunity showing how influencers’ live streaming promotion has become a mainstream tactic on all major platforms.

Base on Taobao’s live broadcast data, live streaming started in the evening on 20 Oct till long till next day’s early hours, generated over 1-billion-yuan prepayment for top tier KOL Jiaqi Li and Viya. Live streaming examples like this are not uncommon, with that, we could see the crucial role these influencers are playing to push and drive sales in the China market.

Today, we are sharing the top 5 insights on China’s KOL market and practice that you should keep tabs on.

1. Short video content is key

China top tech media -36 Kr has published the 2020 China (FMCG industry) KOL marketing report this September. Compared with last year, the influencer market is gaining its popularity, particularly in the creation of short video content is on a rise.

With various cities’ lockdown measure in place, creativity starts at home boosting short video content creators to a rapid rising total of 773 million, meaning 8 out of 10 mobile internet users in China are using platforms such as Douyin to record, share or enjoy videos. Douyin has reached 518 million daily active users and is now one of the top 3 most popular social media platforms together with WeChat and Weibo.

Other than relies on KOLs to create content, this year, Douyin contributed a role to bring more engagement to Double 11. Douyin announced the “Fan Festival” to help fans participate.

2. Millennials & Gen Z influenced most by KOLs’ recommendations

Product recommendations from influencers have the most impact on millennials and Gen Z in China. Over half of them will like to consider KOL’s recommendation.

Gen Z has become a mainstream group of KOL fans - Benefiting from its diverse and inclusive growth environment, not only are they more open in accepting new things, but over half of them will actually consider KOL’s recommendation

3. Humor is key to be a top tier influencer

In terms of influencer content, audiences prefer to follow people who are humorous and talented. Top metrics to let audience remember the product depends on the influencer’s narrative and selling skills, while product quality and brand are the driving forces triggering the customer to purchase the product.

Take Jiaqi Li, one of the most famous KOLs in China, as an example, his bright and straightforward personality comes in when recommending products. “I am a person who speaks fast and direct during the live streaming. I will point out the short-comings of both famous brands or minority brands,” he once commented himself. We can see that unique narrative selling skills is essential for drawing audiences and potential buyers’ attention.

4. Beauty products are most popular amongst KOL market.

In the FMCG Industry, makeup and beauty products are the most popular product categories. Over 50% of KOL have had experiences in giving recommendations on makeup products.

More than that, the beauty crowd paid more attention to some domestic brands such as Perfect Diary, Huaxizi than international brands like L’Oreal and Estee Lauder. Price and packaging are the two intuitive factors that make consumers preferring domestic brands more.

5. Brands have specific preferences over KOL selection

We are seeing brands taking a more discerned approach in choosing which KOLs to partner with. Around 84% of the brands only work with the same influencer once, and only 16% of brands would partner with the same KOL multiple times. For example, L’Oreal selected Jiaqi Li as their KOL. He played 80 live broadcasts for L’Oreal, garnering tens of millions of viewers, and bringing L’Oreal direct sales to over 10 million.

Summary
The influencer market is something brands can’t miss when expanding to China market. Top 5 key points that Comms8 observed - Influencers are taking a very important role in the China market, and short video is the most popular media format. KOLs with a sense of humor is easier to attract audiences, and beauty products are the most popular amongst FMCG Industry.

If you are planning on entering the Chinese market, Comms8 is here to help! Contact us to develop a tailor-made Chinese marketing strategy for your business, we have the best marketing advice for you.

Main contact:
Carol Chan
Founder and Managing Director of Comms8
+44 (0) 20 3289 4349
carol@comms8.com