It’s fair to say that 2018 was the year of influencer marketing all over the world, and it is going to continue to be a driving force for brands looking to grow their audience and improve sales through social media through 2019 and beyond. However, there are some substantial differences between Western and Chinese social media ecosystems that brand marketers should know if they want to expand their campaigns to lucrative Chinese markets
1) China’s Live Streaming Industry Is Booming
95% of e-commerce activity in China takes place on smartphones. Furthermore, a large amount of that activity is live-streaming.
In fact, Deloitte estimates that China’s live streaming revenue will hit $4.4 billion this year, up 32% from 2017. Live-streaming is so popular because the experience is interactive and immersive. Furthermore, it can also be particularly potent for niche and new-to-market brands who do not have the ability to generate buzz on their own. Live streaming provides assurance the product is used, accepted and loved.
On the other hand, live-streaming in China has another mode. There are direct cash-in rewarding systems provided by live streaming platform, and influencers are rewarded by audiences by real money. Engaged audiences reward influencers when, for example, a gaming influencer has done good job on live games, or even beauty influencer is simply chatting in the channel. For example, yyf, a gaming influencer on Douyu TV, has a monthly revenue of 580,000 dollars thanks to his audience. In America, social media influencers make money off of ads and endorsements.
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