How Chinese Influencers Turn Fans Into Sales

While social media platforms in the United States like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have been slow to adopt direct e-commerce features, their Chinese equivalents were designed from the ground up with social commerce marketing in mind. When social media giants like Facebook and Instagram implemented a "buy" button, Chinese platforms realized the marketing potential of incorporating user-generated content and social media interaction into the shopping experience.

One of these forward-thinking businesses is called Xiaohongshu (also known as RED), and it has created an entire marketing ecosystem based on the concept of users discovering new services and sharing reviews and photos of those products with one another (user-generated content). At the same time, it gives customers the ability to purchase the products that have been praised in the reviews (e-commerce). Because social media commerce puts people rather than products at the center of the buying process, it fosters a higher level of marketing trust, which, in turn, increases the volume of online sales.

In the Chinese landscape, social commerce has been growing at an amazing rate, and lifestream sales have been a big part of this. According to research from Insider Intelligence, sales of live streams on Chinese social media sites are expected to reach $132 billion by 2021. The Chinese industry's social commerce market is expected to make $281.21 billion from live-streamed shopping by 2023, which is 60.9% of the market. Live streaming is a business marketing method that is becoming more and more popular. It lets customers watch a live demo of a social media product and ask the presenter any questions they might have about the product. Livestream shopping, which takes its cues from television selling models like QVC, also creates a social media environment with a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to take advantage of deals before they expire.

For this kind of activation to be most successful with customers in the Chinese market, a marketing sales model with a lot of social media discounts is usually needed. However, it's possible that this kind of strategy won't work well in other parts of the world. This is especially true for companies and products with a high price tag that don't like to be discounted. However, a social media approach that is more creative and driven by key opinion leaders might be more successful. One example of this kind of social media strategy is the marketing production of a limited quantity of a product that is only available to the audience of a specific influencer.

Some of Chinese landscape's most popular internet personalities have millions of dedicated fans. When it comes to having a marketing impact on society, they are unparalleled. It shouldn't come as a surprise that they create products in collaboration with their fans. E-commerce players, including specialized KOL incubators, supply the necessary infrastructure and resources. They work hard to identify promising individuals, provide them with training and guidance, cultivate a loyal fan base, and set them up with the resources they need to launch successful media businesses. They offer support in the areas of media marketing, strategy, and resource provision.

Inverting the traditional relationship between an influencer and a brand has been shown to increase brand loyalty and make consumers come back. Chinese KOLs can make and sell their own media products, unlike their Western counterparts, who are restricted to using traditional sponsorships and marketing budgets. After a particularly successful marketing sale (such as on Singles Day), they split the money with their respective incubators.

Affiliate marketers in the Chinese industry often use closed chat rooms on services such as WeChat and Telegram to share their special links for purchases made on those sites. Asia Elisa Harca, co-founder and CEO of Red Ant Asia, says that this idea could be easily changed to work on WhatsApp in the UK and the US. It helps you build a loyal following by connecting with people who are likely to buy from you again, and you can use your marketing position of power to offer them special pricing or freebies. This can be done by the manufacturer or the store, and it works best for high-end products to make people feel there aren't enough of them. About 78 percent of Chinese citizens between the ages of 16 and 64 use WeChat, making it the most popular social commerce platform in the country.

Over a hundred of Mini Cooper's limited edition vehicles were sold in 2017 largely due to journalist-turned-blogger Becky Li (aka The Buy Buy Buy Buy Goddess) teaming up with the automaker on WeChat. This shows how effective it is to add affiliate links to social markets to boost sales and bring in more customers.

The Chinese economy just recently debuted its very first 'Meta-Human,' which is a fully AI-developed, CGI, humanoid character that is powered by animation technology. Ayayi's first-ever post was published on the e-commerce marketing platform Xiaohongshu in May 2021. It received nearly 3 million views and 40,000 new followers overnight, and as a result, it attracted the attention of several brands, including the French cosmetics house Guerlain, the luxury automotive company Porsche, and the technology brand Bose. Virtual worlds such as the Metaverse are providing new marketing opportunities that are unique and rich in engagement for brands and retailers operating within the realm of digital commerce. As a result, virtual marketers are in the ideal position to form campaigns within the space, particularly if the target audience is comprised of Gen Z members.

According to a survey done by Influencer Intelligence, 66 percent of marketing professionals think it is important to work with influential people who have a natural affinity for the brand and share the company's ethical values in order to increase sales. While the Chinese landscape is having a lot of luck with social commerce advertisers, the West could learn a thing or two from the way the country goes about identifying them, which could vary depending on whether the goals are primarily commercial or brand-oriented. In the Chinese industry, live streamers are usually chosen based on their ability to affect sales, while key opinion leaders (KOLs) are often chosen because they have a larger audience and are good for campaigns that focus on storytelling or raising awareness. As part of its influencer marketing strategy, the country employs a pyramid structure, with celebrities and other individuals with widespread recognition at the top, KOLs with 1 million or more followers in the middle, and key opinion leaders who desire regular users at the bottom.