Influencer Marketing in China: No Longer an Option, Now a Necessity

Since working with influencers is now a necessary part of a marketing strategy in China, there are some key things marketers should understand in advance.

First, influencer marketing requires a significant budget. In China, influencers expect marketers to pay them outright, because product links in posts are restricted on most social media channels and affiliate marketing and profit share models are not as common as in the West. So for an effective influencer marketing strategy, brands need to provide sufficient funding and allocate more of their marketing budget to KOL marketing. Otherwise, they’ll flounder and fail to gain traction.

While costs are higher, the return on investment (ROI) is often lower than marketers expect. Rather than applying Western standards and key performance indicators (KPIs) to the China market, marketers should be aware that China is a much more competitive and expensive market so standards and KPIs need to be adjusted so that realistic goals can be established based on the actual situation in China.

Influencer marketing needs to be done strategically. Working with a few KOLs on a one-off campaign won’t create significant impact. It’s best to collaborate with a variety of influencers who have large and small follower bases. Establishing long-term collaborations with high-quality influencers is also a good way to strengthen a working relationship.