Who or what is ByteDance?

ByteDance is a Chinese-owned tech giant founded in March 2012 by Zhang Yiming. Zhang Yiming is an entrepreneur who is now one of richest people in China due to the success of the company’s portfolio of apps worldwide, including short-form video platforms TikTok and Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese counterpart).

Douyin was founded in 2016 and has built up a network of over 600 million daily active users. Meanwhile, TikTok was launched in the US in 2018 after it merged with lip-sync video platform Musical.ly, which ByteDance purchased for US $1 billion. Today, TikTok has an estimated 170 million users in the US.

ByteDance also owns several popular apps within the domestic Chinese market, including Toutiao. Toutiao is a news aggregator platform powered by artificial intelligence, and has over 120 million daily active users. One of the earliest apps created by ByteDance was Neihan Dianzi, a platform that enabled users to share jokes through videos, memes or text, but which was subsequently shut down by Chinese authorities in 2018.

What does the Supreme Court’s decision mean for TikTok?

The US Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app by 19 January 2025 or face a nationwide ban. The decision stems from national security concerns over data collection and potential foreign government influence. If ByteDance does not divest (which it has repeatedly stated it will not do), TikTok will be removed from Apple and Google app stores in the US, preventing new downloads and updates, which could eventually render the app unusable.

The White House has said that President Joe Biden will not enforce the ban during his remaining time in office, stating, “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.” As a result, the decision has been left to incoming President Donald Trump, who has said he plans to “save” the app (despite the ban first coming to the fore during his last term in office).

Could TikTok be banned in the UK?

While other countries, including the UK, have expressed concerns about the security of user data when it comes to Chinese tech companies, it is unlikely ByteDance will face a ban like the one suggested in the US. TikTok has recently shown a willingness to cooperate with British authorities in addressing privacy concerns after inviting parliamentary committees to visit TikTok’s offices to analyse its algorithms.

Furthermore, it has been suggested that the bans on Chinese technology products were used as leverage during the run-up to the US election in a bid to gain favour among certain voters through extensive press coverage.

Due to close relationships with both China and the US, the UK was put in a precarious position to act, although it is unlikely that the new president-elect will continue the politics of his predecessor.

Will anything change once Trump is in power?

Despite Trump’s animosity towards TikTok during his first term in office, he now seems likely to try and save TikTok. Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported that Trump ally Elon Musk could be brought in to try and negotiate the sale of the platform. The most likely action for Trump would be to enact an Executive Order postponing the ban to allow more time for a potential buyer for TikTok (or alternative workaround) to be found.

The post Why is TikTok getting banned in the US? appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

With the US Supreme Court seeming increasingly likely to uphold a law banning TikTok over national security concerns unless parent company ByteDance sells the platform to a non China based company by 19 January 2025, many of TikTok’s 170 million US users have been preemptively downloading Xiaohongshu.

In a twist no one saw coming, content creators say they are checking out the platform as a potential alternative to share their content and maintain their communities, while others have done it to point out the irony of being able to download and use other Chinese apps just days before TikTok could be removed from US app stores.

What is Xiaohongshu?

Xiaohongshu, also known as Red or Rednote in English, began life in 2013 as an online overseas travel guide for Chinese shoppers. Often compared to Instagram (but more realistically a blend of Instagram, Pinterest, Amazon and TripAdvisor), today, the platform incorporates a range of functions, including text and image posts, videos, live streaming, and social commerce. Targeting 18-to-35-year-old Chinese urban females, the platform is known for its strong interest-based communities and high-quality, trustworthy user-generated content. It has around 300 million monthly users.

Will Xiaohongshu become more popular than TikTok?

While Xiaohongshu’s current surge in US popularity is significant, with the number of posts on the app tagged ‘#tiktokrefugee’ now well over 60,000, it is likely to be relatively short-lived. The platform was not designed with English speakers in mind (although many bilingual Chinese users have shared guides for new US users), and it will take time for creators to build up the kind of communities that they had on TikTok. Moreover, the law banning TikTok states that any “foreign adversary controlled application”, like Xiaohongshu, faces a similar ban in future. Nonetheless, the trend underscores a growing user desire for diverse social media experiences and the resilience of online communities in the face of regulatory challenges.

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Social commerce combines social interaction with online shopping, leveraging platforms where users can share, discuss, and directly purchase products. This seamless integration has created an engaging and influential ecosystem that appeals to the digitally savvy Chinese consumer. As a result, social commerce has seen exponential growth in recent years, reaching a gross merchandise volume (GMV) of RMB 3.42 trillion (£373.5 billion) in 2023, and expected to exceed RMB 4.8 trillion (£524.2 billion) in 2025.

This article explores what social commerce is, examines the platforms leading the trend, and uncovers why it has become a cultural and economic phenomenon in China.

What is social commerce?

Social commerce allows users to shop directly within social media platforms or through community-driven e-commerce platforms. Unlike traditional e-commerce, which primarily focuses on transactions, social commerce thrives on interaction, personalisation, and trust. It integrates elements such as live streaming, short videos, influencer endorsements, and group buying into the shopping experience.

Compared to traditional e-commerce platforms like Taobao/Tmall, which depend on consumers actively seeking out products through search queries (as you would on Amazon), algorithms on social commerce platforms serve content and product listings to users tailored to their preferences and behaviours.

For example, if a male user browses several exercise-related videos every day, Douyin can display product listings for protein powder, athletic apparel, or other supplements, and when the user sees those products offered to him for purchase, he can make the purchase instantly within the app. Once they are converted on one purchase, Douyin will expose that user to additional fitness, sports, and healthcare content and products. 

In China, this dynamic approach resonates strongly with consumers who value authenticity, convenience and social connection. Social commerce platforms empower buyers to discover new products through peer recommendations, influencer campaigns and interactive experiences, all while completing their purchases without leaving the app.

What are the main social commerce platforms in China?

China’s social commerce landscape is diverse, with various platforms driving the trend. Here are some of the most prominent players:

WeChat
WeChat, owned by Tencent, is China’s ubiquitous super-app. Its WeChat Mini Programs enable businesses to create e-commerce stores directly within the app. Social sharing, user reviews and group-buy features make it a powerful social commerce tool. Many brands use WeChat to launch flash sales and engage their communities.

Xiaohongshu
Xiaohongshu (pronounced “shao-hong-shoo”) allows users to share product recommendations through photos and short videos. With its focus on beauty, fashion, and lifestyle, Xiaohongshu has become a trusted platform for millennials and Gen Z users seeking authentic reviews before making purchases. During the 618 shopping festival in 2024, the order volumes from the platform’s livestreaming sessions increased 5.4-fold, and GMV from in-store broadcasts grew by five times.

Pinduoduo
Pinduoduo (“pin-door-door”) epitomises social commerce in China with its innovative group-buying model. It encourages users to team up with friends to secure discounts on products, creating a communal shopping experience. Pinduoduo also leverages gamification to engage users and drive purchases.

Douyin
Douyin (“dough-yin”), China’s version of TikTok, merges entertainment with shopping. Through live-streaming e-commerce, influencers and brands showcase products in real-time, interacting with viewers and offering exclusive discounts. Douyin’s short video format also facilitates product discovery and impulse buying. During 618 in 2024, Douyin short videos featuring shopping cart links garnered 115.1 billion views.

Why is social commerce thriving in China?

Social commerce has found fertile ground in China for several reasons:

High smartphone penetration and digital adoption
China boasts one of the world’s largest smartphone user bases, with over 1.2 billion active internet users. The ubiquity of smartphones, combined with affordable mobile data, ensures that social commerce platforms are accessible to a vast audience.

Integrated digital ecosystem
Chinese consumers are accustomed to using multifunctional apps. Platforms like WeChat and Alipay eliminate friction in the shopping process by allowing users to discover, interact, and purchase without switching apps.

Cultural emphasis on community and trust
The Chinese consumer market values trust and authenticity, often seeking recommendations from friends, family, or influencers. Social commerce taps into this cultural tendency by fostering a sense of community and relying on user-generated content to promote products.

Rapid growth of live streaming
Live streaming has become a cornerstone of China’s social commerce. Consumers are drawn to the immediacy and interactivity of live stream sessions, where they can ask questions and receive real-time feedback. Influencers and celebrities often host these sessions, further enhancing their appeal.

Conclusion

Social commerce is transforming the way people shop in China, blending the social and transactional aspects of digital life into a cohesive experience. Platforms like WeChat, Xiaohongshu, and Pinduoduo are at the forefront of this evolution, leveraging China’s unique digital ecosystem and consumer behaviour to redefine e-commerce.

As social commerce continues to grow, it is setting a benchmark for other markets worldwide, demonstrating the power of integrating social interaction with online shopping. For brands looking to enter China, understanding and leveraging social commerce is no longer optional – it is essential for success in one of the world’s most dynamic retail markets.

The post Your super simple guide to social commerce in China appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

When it comes to social media marketing in China, the first platforms that spring to mind will almost certainly be WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin. While Zhihu may not be as well known on the international stage, its reputation as one of China’s most trustworthy, expert-led social media platforms means that it is well worth exploring in more depth.

Founded by Zhou Yuan in 2011, Zhihu, which means “do you know?” in classical Chinese, is a Q&A forum. The platform’s core offering is simple: users ask and answer questions on topics covering everything from software development to post-natal care. Users can like, save, share, and comment on answers, and even invite specific users to answer their questions. In 2016, Zhihu introduced enterprise accounts, and international brands that are active on the platform include Audi, Siemens, and SK-II.

Zhihu is one of the “top five comprehensive online content communities in China” (according to the platform’s SEC registration statement). As of Q2 2024, Zhihu had 81 million monthly active users, of which around 15 million were paying users. In March 2021, Zhihu raised USD 523 million in its NYSE IPO, plus private placements from investors including Alibaba and JD.com.

Comparisons to Quora, which was founded two years earlier in 2009, are apt, but Zhihu differs in a number of key ways. Zhihu has vastly grown in scope since its early days, adding new business and content blocks, including paid knowledge services such as audiobooks and online courses; live streaming sessions with an emphasis on real-time knowledge sharing; paid consultancy services, in which people pay to consult with specific users with professional knowledge in their field; and premium branded content. In 2024, the platform launched a generative AI tool to respond to user queries, as well as a series of back-end AI functions such as AI-powered search.

Thanks to Zhihu’s many functions, it has a very engaged community of core users, many of whom are specialists in their field, and people turn to it as one of the more authoritative sources of information and advice on the Chinese internet.

For brands, there are a number of benefits to using Zhihu, especially for those with a focus on content marketing. First, Zhihu’s users are highly-educated millennials from first-tier cities who typically have a high income and strong purchasing power, placing them right in the key demographic for many brands. The platform’s high levels of interactivity and engagement also help with market research, as it can give brands an insight into the concerns of their key customers on a deeper level than sales or survey data can provide. 

Zhihu can be an essential part of a brand’s SEO strategy in China as it ranks highly on major Chinese search engines like Baidu, as well as WeChat’s built-in search function. This can help increase brand visibility, and, if content is leveraged correctly, strengthen trust in a brand due to the platform’s own inherent trustworthiness. 

Zhihu’s reputation as one of China’s most trustworthy, expert-led social media platforms means it has great potential for brands

Nevertheless, Zhihu should be approached with a clear strategy in mind. The simplest way to engage with the community is to ask and answer questions, ideally those that relate directly to your brand’s expertise or the latest developments in your industry. Content should be meaningful and informative rather than brand-focused, as users typically don’t respond well to overt promotion. Additionally, brands can consider using some of the platform’s newer features, such as Zhihu Live, to showcase their expertise; for example, a cosmetics brand could live stream beginner makeup tutorials.

Zhihu’s unique positioning among China’s social media platforms has a number of potential benefits for brands, especially for B2B companies and those in expertise-led fields such as IT and professional services.

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The Chinese social media landscape can be a tough one to understand. It is both more diverse and more integrated than its Western counterparts. Platforms such as WeChat provide a multitude of services, effectively combining the functions of several widely used Western channels into one. At the same time, livestreaming on platforms such as Douyin has emerged as the fastest-growing e-commerce sales channel in China.

While laptop-savvy Western consumers were browsing websites in the 1990s and 2000s to chat, surf, and shop, China skipped the home PC and laptop era, leapfrogging straight to smartphones to access the internet. As a result, traditional websites never gained traction in China; instead, social media platforms surged. Designed with a mobile-first approach from the outset, this foundational difference has shaped marketing strategies in China, emphasising mobile driven, social media content.

With all Western social media platforms blocked in China, domestic competitors not only launched local alternatives but also rapidly outstripped their Western counterparts. Now, as anyone who has visited China in recent years knows, nearly every transaction, purchase, or booking is made via a smartphone app – most commonly through a handful of social media platforms.

The pace of change in this landscape is astounding. Trends rise and fall, new platforms emerge, and the popularity of certain channels varies greatly depending on the demographics and geography of the country. Today, 24.2% of China’s 1.06 billion social media users turn to these platforms to find products, 22.2% to discover content from their favourite brands, and 21.6% for work-related networking or research.

The Chinese social media landscape is vastly different from that of the West. Key opinion leaders (KOLs) play a pivotal role, selling products on behalf of brands and wielding far more influence – and revenue potential – than influencers on Instagram or TikTok. Meanwhile, social commerce – a concept still in its infancy in the West – has been the norm in China for over a decade.

There is much to learn about the complex Chinese social media landscape, but thankfully, the China-Britain Business Council has teamed up with software platform Sinorbis to produce a definitive guide to China’s social media landscape for 2024.

“We wanted to provide a clear roadmap for those unfamiliar with platforms like WeChat, Little Red Book, Douyin, and others that are uniquely influential in China,” explains Nicolas Chu, CEO and Founder of Sinorbis. “This guide is the culmination of in-depth research, industry insights, and firsthand experiences that span across the varied digital touchpoints in China,” he says.

Sinorbis is a unique player in the Chinese marketing ecosystem because of its software platform that enables companies to manage their digital presence in China and more widely across Asia without needing a physical presence in China. The company empowers international marketing teams to effectively engage their audiences in Asia, saving both time and money while adhering to local regulations.

Chu’s firsthand experience of creating, managing and analysing digital content in China while launching various products and businesses inspired the model. The lack of accessible software for Western cross-border businesses to penetrate the Chinese market highlighted this need.

Sinorbis enables brands to create China-ready websites and landing pages, offering easy-to-use templates and drag-and-drop tools for creating content for web and social media, ensuring it’s optimised for China’s unique digital ecosystem. The Sinorbis Digital Experience Platform allows businesses to publish, engage, and measure their digital activities within China.

The platform facilitates omnichannel messaging with automatic translation tools and social media management and analytics – all from a single back-end platform, creating a one-stop shop for an organisation’s marketing needs across Asia.

Sinorbis operates on a subscription model and has collaborated with companies ranging from major global enterprises to SMEs across various sectors, including consumer goods, education and travel. Any company prioritising China would benefit from this software.

The report, released at an event in November 2024, dives into the various channels available in China and includes case studies of successful campaigns.

Click here to download the full report and watch the event webinar

The post Decoding Chinese Social Media: A Guide to Navigating the Digital Landscape appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Success in the Chinese market is rarely the result of a uni-directional strategy; it requires a more complex approach that takes in multiple platforms and strategies.

To help businesses build a presence and loyalty in the Chinese market, Dana Goldburd from Up2China has outlined what businesses need to know about the most common digital marketing methods. By highlighting the advantages and challenges of various marketing approaches, companies can navigate the complexities of China’s dynamic market landscape with greater clarity and informed decision-making.

Live streaming

The gold-paved streets of China’s live streaming landscape have attracted many brands, keen to get a slice of a market valued in the trillions of RMB. For millions of Chinese consumers, live streams are a major part of the e-commerce experience, watched as much for entertainment as they are for commerce.

Pros: No marketing method enables real-time engagement with an audience quite like live streaming. Via a well-known host or an in-house presenter, brands can answer audience questions and get feedback in real-time. This makes it great for brands that need to provide product education – for example, a nutritional supplement or a professional haircare product – enabling them to explain key benefits and functions.

Cons: A successful live stream is often dependent on the popularity and skill of the host, and the best hosts come at a high price. There is also a complicated regulatory landscape to navigate, as well as the threat of technical challenges or disruptions.

Key opinion leaders

China is a global leader in influencer marketing, with the market for key opinion leaders (KOLs) – the more common term for influencers in the Chinese context – reaching RMB 340 billion (£37.7 billion) in 2021.

Pros: An endorsement from the right KOL instantly adds credibility to your brand. Chinese consumers trust KOL recommendations and use them to decide what to buy, ranking the opinions of KOLs almost as highly as recommendations from family and friends when it comes to making purchasing decisions.

Cons: As with live streaming, working with major KOLs is very costly and may be out of reach for smaller brands. Moreover, some Chinese consumers are starting to have doubts about the authenticity of KOL recommendations. For companies, there is a risk that promotions with a KOL who promotes a lot of different brands comes off as inauthentic.

Key opinion consumers

In response to the cons of KOLs, many brands are instead choosing to work with key opinion consumers (KOCs) – basically micro-influencers with a much smaller but much more engaged audience base.

Pros: As the name suggests, consumers turn to KOCs for trusted opinions on products and brands and working with the right one can give you access to a highly engaged community of potential brand loyalists. Since they have fewer followers, campaigns with KOCs are also typically less expensive than KOLs.

Cons: There are many creators who could qualify as KOCs, so identifying the right one for your brand can be challenging. Since they have limited influence on a broader scale, KOC collaborations are better considered as one part of a broader marketing strategy.

Official social media channels

Wherever they are in the world, businesses need to have a strong social media presence. In China, consumers expect to be able to use social media – especially the biggest platforms like WeChat and Weibo – to find out key information about businesses.

Pros: A strong social media presence gives you control over your brand’s content and tone of voice. It allows you to engage with your audience and build a community of people who resonate with your content and tone. Moreover, detailed metrics about followers can be used to inform other marketing strategies.

Cons: Social media visibility is at the mercy of the algorithm, which can make growth seem slow, especially if you are a new business just starting out. Businesses must also consider the risk of social media crises, as negative opinion spreads very quickly on Chinese social platforms.

For more insights from CBBC Member Up2China, join CBBC’s upcoming Consumer Masterclass on ‘Navigating the Chinese Market: Strategies for Success’ on 25 April. Click here to register.

This article is based on an infographic created by Up2China. Click here to view the original infographic.

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China’s vast consumer market defies classification. And yet, amidst the mosaic of consumers divided by everything from geography to socio-economic status, one key group has more power than most – the 300 million-strong middle class, many of whom were born after the 1980s.

China’s rapid transformation over the last four decades has given rise to significant shifts in consumer behaviour. The journey began with a focus on cost, dictated by limited disposable income that led buyers to chase the lowest prices. The narrative then transitioned to prioritising value, with quality versus price considerations becoming central. Subsequently, luxury brands started to lure in consumers, becoming status symbols for the newly wealthy.

In the wake of these trends, a new class of savvy, conscientious consumers has emerged, especially in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. These shoppers are driven by a desire for experiences and exclusivity and are adept at applying the knowledge they have gleaned from online research to find the best product at the best price.

The lure of localised offerings

While international luxury labels continue to be popular with China’s burgeoning middle class, brands are now adapting their offerings to resonate with Chinese consumers on a deeper level and appeal to the trend of China Chic – or Guochao as it is known in Chinese. Many brands are incorporating Chinese icons or elements tied to traditional festivals or stories into their products. Moreover, limited-edition items crafted exclusively for the Chinese market are gaining traction too.

This localisation extends beyond the product to the experience. Brands must establish meaningful connections with their audience through well-chosen collaborations that have cultural resonance. For example, Diageo’s Johnny Walker Blue Label launched a Forbidden City Limited Edition bottle, while British fragrance house Creed partnered with Benzo, a rapper from Chengdu, to incorporate mention of their fragrance into his music.

The review revolution

The contemporary Chinese consumer is defined by their discernment, and their willingness to seek out the opinions of their peers. When prospective buyers first start looking for a product, their first instinct is to check opinions on platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin. These reviews, often from other customers with a similar socio-economic profile, play a pivotal role in shaping purchase decisions.

The significance of reviews extends across borders. A stroll down London’s Bond Street or a trip to Bicester Village reveals the same pattern among Chinese shoppers – they will not hesitate to share or seek out opinions. The digital landscape has given consumers the power to scrutinise not only a product’s quality and utility, but also the customer service and refund policies offered by brands. British brands should build awareness of these behaviours into their customer service ethos both in China and in the UK.

Influencers become the architects of consumer choice

Influencers wield remarkable sway over consumer choices all over the world. In China, these opinion shapers come in various tiers. Key opinion leaders (KOLs) – usually existing celebrities (singers, actors) or influencers with a celebrity-sized following such as Li Jiaqi – are instrumental in raising product awareness among their expansive follower bases. Key opinion consumers (KOCs) cater to niche audiences, offering detailed reviews and insights. Key opinion sellers (KOSs) leverage their knowledge and influence to drive direct sales within specific demographics, often through more private spaces such as WeChat groups (limited to 500 people).

Beyond these tiers lies the average consumer, keen on sharing their purchases and experiences online. Thus, the customer journey becomes a blend of trusted reviews, peer endorsements, and celebrity influence, all of which can have an effect on a brand’s reputation and success.

Experiential shopping is transforming the retail experience

In the face of online competition, today’s bricks-and-mortar shopping experiences must transcend transactional moments; they must deliver an immersive experience. This notion holds especially true in China, where architects are reimagining shopping malls to prioritise experiences over conventional retail spaces. Simon Mitchell from renowned architecture firm Sybarite explains how malls are transforming into hubs of art installations, public spaces, green zones, and socialising spots. This change is indicative of a larger shift from shops as mere storage spaces to showrooms.

Technology is completely intertwined with this experience, with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) empowering consumers to make more informed choices. VR and AR tools facilitate personalised interactions, allowing customers to visualise products in their lives before purchasing. British brands such as Molton Brown and Burberry have already started leveraging digital platforms to craft bespoke experiences that seamlessly merge the online and offline worlds.

Conscious consumerism: The ethical imperative

One of the newer threads running through China’s middle-class consumption trends is the growing awareness of ethics and sustainability. Young Chinese consumers are no longer just buying products; they are investing in brands with sound ethical and environmental foundations. This change has prompted companies to integrate sustainability into more aspects of their operations. Consumers demand more than symbolic corporate responsibility; they seek authenticity, transparency and community engagement.

Shaping the future of consumption

The story of China’s middle-class consumer is one of transformation, shaped by a rich tapestry of historical shifts, technological leaps and ethical considerations. This dynamic narrative continues to unfold, offering brands an unparalleled opportunity to be part of the journey that is shaping the future of consumerism in China and beyond.

As China’s consumer landscape evolves, brands are compelled to adapt or risk irrelevance. A symbiotic relationship between consumers and brands has emerged, where shared values and experiences define success. The road ahead demands ethical practices, localised offerings, immersive experiences, and a genuine commitment to community development.

The post How China’s Consumer Landscape is Evolving appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Xiaohongshu (also known as Little Red Book or RED) is a thriving place for Chinese users to share product and brand experiences, provide and obtain recommendations and lifestyle tips, and most importantly, discover new products and brands. As one of the most popular platforms in China, Xiaohongshu currently has over 150 million monthly active users, which represents a 50% growth in traffic compared to January 2020.

The platform is known for its user-generated content, which feels trustworthy and authentic to viewers and can be utilised for word-of-mouth marketing. This feature is further enhanced by the algorithmic feed that shows users a combination of content from accounts they follow, trending content, content based on user interests and location-based content, making the platform perfect for product discovery. Moreover, due to this algorithm, posts on Xiaohongshu, called notes, tend to have a much longer lifespan compared to platforms such as WeChat. Notes will still generate new traffic a month after being published, although the cycle of when and how content boosts occur is hard to predict. On the other hand, the lifespan of content on WeChat usually lasts less than seven days, as it is only pushed to WeChat account followers, making it difficult to obtain organic traffic.

With that said, these are some of the top trends, insights, and strategy suggestions for Xiaohongshu for 2022.

Shift in user demographic

Although the platform demographic remains largely female, the percentage of male users has risen from under 10% a few years ago to almost 30% today. Despite the influx of male users, Xiaohongshu users remain young, with almost 75% under the age of 35 years old. Moreover, users on the platform tend to have higher purchasing power and over 50% come from Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

These demographic shifts present new opportunities for brands and categories, with more male-dominated content having a chance to become popular on the platform and reach the relevant audience.

Top categories on Xiaohongshu

As seen in the graphs above, by the end of 2021, the top categories when it came to notes posted on Xiaohongshu included gourmet and food, beauty, entertainment, travel, home furnishings, and education. More typically male-dominated categories such as gaming and auto are showing rapid growth.

A more recent trend from 2022 is the rise of fitness and exercise content, which became popular after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the lockdowns in China. As a result, more Chinese consumers have become interested in maintaining their health at home, which has caused a surge in notes on Xiaohongshu related to athleisure clothing, home workout equipment, exercise suggestions, etc.

Notes related to beauty remain very popular on the platform, even as the category’s growth rate drops. Top keywords within this category include efficient skincare, effective skincare, gender-neutral products, functional skincare and make-up, and men’s beauty.

How to increase purchase desire and conversion rates

Consumer behaviour on Xiaohongshu indicates that after product discovery, users will leave the platform to make their purchases on other platforms such as Tmall and JD. As a result, the market share of Xiaohongshu in-app stores is declining. However, word of mouth marketing on Xiaohongshu has still proven to be effective at driving sales for brands through their other online sales channels, generating a positive return on investments and continued improvements in store performance.

Dealing with the increased demand for authenticity

Content on Xiaohongshu should include ‘lifestyle’ photos or videos that appear more natural, less commercial and include people who look Chinese. The content should emphasise the people, the products and the environment to build a sense of authenticity. Working with KOLs and KOCs on the platform is a key strategy for increasing brand awareness and reputation, even though the costs of collaborations are rising and KOLs are becoming more saturated on the platform. Reusing content from KOLs and KOCs after permission has been obtained is also highly suggested.

Testing for success

Xiaohongshu has no daily posting limit, which means that there is a lot of space for testing and optimising. Brands can test different types of posts, including professional photoshoots, more natural at-home photos, product-only pictures and graphic illustrations to determine which types of posts perform better. These same tests can be done for different keywords, although brands should also use trending or top-ranked keywords within the relevant categories where possible. Through the results obtained, brands can continually optimise their content.

As can be seen, despite shifts in user demographics and top categories on Xiaohongshu, it remains a crucial platform for brands to utilise when marketing and expanding their presence in China. When developing a strategy for Xiaohongshu, brands need to keep in mind who their target audience is, how to meet their demands and how to attract their attention on a highly competitive and increasingly saturated platform.

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Most brands nowadays will be familiar with China’s unique social media platforms – WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin – and how they compare to their Western counterparts like Instagram and Facebook. While there are many similarities between Chinese and Western platforms, particularly in terms of their young, entertainment-hungry audience, their differences mean that marketers need to subtly shift their strategies when creating content for the Chinese market, particularly when it comes to influencer marketing – or KOL (key opinion leader) marketing, as it is usually known in China.

Chinese consumers have traditionally been seen as being very receptive to seeking recommendations for new products and ideas online. This has been reflected in the format of user-generated content-driven platforms like Xiaohongshu and also in the degree of acceptance and importance given to influencers. “Chinese consumers are more receptive to promotional content because it is more of a guide,” says Robin Liu, co-founder of social media marketing agency Influencer Hub International.

“They are used to searching for information about the products on social media, which is the start of the customer purchasing journey.” Liu notes that OgilvyOne reported that over 55% of Chinese users had participated in online discussions about brands and that these discussions are able to directly affect businesses. It can be difficult for audiences to discern the extent of promotional content because people naturally trust and accept the influencers.

In either market, influencers from famous media or professional backgrounds or with a large number of loyal followers will automatically win more trust. Liu notes that the biggest difference between Chinese and UK influencers is professionalism, and the emergence of multi-channel networks (third-party services that work with multiple channels and creators to develop content), also known as MCN, is the key reason for this difference. Thousands of MCNs in China, such as Dayu Media, Mei One, and Hive Media, offer professional training and a variety of resources to influencers. More importantly, this number is still growing. According to iiMediaResearch, there were 30,000 MCNs in China in 2021, responsible for some of the country’s biggest internet celebrities, such as ‘Lipstick King’ Li Jiaqi (prior to a recent controversy that saw him disappear from the internet) and Papi Jiang.

As a result of this “content factory” structure, there is less pressure on influencers to be “authentic” or anti-commercial, especially since their careers were often started on social commerce platforms, as WWD China Markets Editor Tianwei Zhang noted in an interview with High Snobiety. That being said, the most popular influencers are still those that have successfully blended their own unique style and topics that genuinely move them with relevant brand partnerships.

Clearly, the ecosystem for influencers and brands is much more mature and well-regulated in China, as Jake Xu, co-founder of Shakeup Cosmetics, points out. Based on Shakeup’s experiences, this means that “Chinese social investment is much more costly than in the West, but this is in proportion to the size of the market. Commercially, influencer campaigns in China generate more tangible and visible monetary return… and brands get better control of their ROI.”

“Consumer awareness and mature warehousing and logistics infrastructure have played a big role in the rapid growth of [the influencer ecosystem] in China,” adds Liu. This infrastructure has been particularly beneficial to social commerce, with more than 70% of Chinese consumers saying that they are likely to shop on social media platforms, far ahead of the 42% worldwide average. But the UK is catching up, with social commerce expected to grow by 37.5% to reach over $21 billion (£17.3 billion) by the end of 2022.

But with so much content being churned out every day, consumers in China and the West are starting to complain of “influencer fatigue”. So how can companies keep working with influencers while making sure that the content is true to their brands and also appeals to consumers?

“Simply put, it is about improving creativity,” Liu says. “Rather than direct sponsored content, brands should consider product placement with well-selected influencers based on the target audience. Brands should also consider giving the influencer more artistic control over the content to make it more authentic and engaging for their audience. For long-term projects, such as launching a new brand in the China market, companies can consider identifying and developing a key opinion consumer (KOC) (the equivalent of a “micro influencer” in the Western market) that can grow alongside the brand and build following and reputation organically.

Many of the lessons learned from influencer marketing in the West can be applied to KOL marketing in China, and vice versa. Whatever market you are working in “make sure the size of the prize can justify the risk before you commit,” cautions Xu.

Call +44 (0)20 7802 2000 or email enquiries@cbbc.org now to find out how CBBC can further help you identify the best social commerce platforms for your brand and target market in China.

The post What are the differences between influencer marketing in the UK and China? appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Comparing Chinese platforms to those we are familiar with in the West often provides a helpful analogy for understanding the way they work: WeChat and WhatsApp; Tmall and Amazon; Douyin and TikTok. However, the reality is often quite different from the analogy; most of the Chinese platforms mentioned may have started out conceptually similar to their Western counterparts, but they have evolved to incorporate a much more dynamic and multi-faceted set of functions and utilities. Even Douyin is light years ahead of TikTok in terms of e-commerce, and they are owned by the same company. One of the rising forces in Chinese eCommerce that you may have heard a lot about recently is the ‘Instagram of China’ Xiaohongshu (aka Little Red Book or RED). 

But once again the comparison does not do the Chinese platform justice. RED started off more like Pinterest, a lookbook platform for users to mostly list and share images of their favourite fashion and beauty items with friends. But today, RED is much more than content. Targeting 18-to-35-year-old Chinese urban females, the platform helps users discover and buy luxury, fashion and beauty products from overseas as well as share shopping tips and swap fashion ideas. Over 50% of RED users are under 30 years old, and more than 80% of them are female. 56% live in first and second tier cities. More than 50% belong to the upper-middle and middle classes.

As with most successful social media and content platforms, RED has introduced commerce to the platform, allowing users to either buy directly from a brand-owned RED store, or by linking externally to a Tmall or WeChat store to purchase. But user generated content (UGC) is still the lifeblood of RED, so when it comes to standing out and succeeding on RED, recommendations are everything. To get brand exposure, it is not about how much you pay, but how big is your brand’s tribe of followers. 

The RED ‘tribal commerce’ cycle

Fueling the tribal commerce engine: Trust + proximity + interest

Content may be king on RED, but everything is still geared to push you to buy stuff. From live streaming to image galleries and videos, influencers, independent labels or everyday bloggers use RED to recommend products, services or experiences to their peers.

The platform is designed to push you content that indexes against your preferences and profile. There’s “Follow,” which brings you a feed of the latest posts from accounts you follow; “Explore,” which shows curated posts based on what you’ve browsed; and “Nearby,” which features posts from creators geographically near you. Compared to Instagram, “Xiaohongshu is more open,” said Zoe Lu, project manager at strategic research agency Daxue Consulting. It’s less about subscribing to particular creators. Instead, an AI-powered algorithm shows you videos the app thinks you might be interested in.

To get brand exposure on RED, it is not about how much you pay, but how big your brand’s tribe of followers is.

For any platform that is heavily reliant on UGC, fakes and fraudulent behaviour are constant challenges to credibility, so trust is something that RED takes very seriously. So much so that late last year, nearly 30 brand users on RED woke up to find their accounts being limited by the platform after having been found to “have been severely involved in false marketing.” The brands were caught on suspicion of recruiting a somewhat mysterious group known as the ‘internet water army’ – a group of social media users that pose as fans of brands to post positive content about their products and boost exposure. 

Thanks to its engaging features and crackdown on bad behaviour, RED has successfully reinforced this feeling of trust, safety and belonging to a community of like-minded friends. A sizeable proportion of consumers are opening the app up to seven times a day. Brands’ awareness and reputation can quickly catch on fire as their message spreads through a set of fans who get joy from sharing and talking about their products. 

Finding your brand’s community amongst 1.4 billion people

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that the lion’s share of purchasing behaviours shifted online almost overnight, and e-commerce saw the equivalent of 10 years of growth in just three months. Today we are at the cusp of another fundamental shift in the world of commerce. On the consumer side, the most innovative retailers have realised that they need to deliver a purchasing experience wherever the consumer is — whether that is in a mobile app, social feed, text thread, live video shopping or in-store. It can be so difficult to get a 360 degree view of your customer base in a market the size of China with such a varied digital landscape that brands can waste a lot of money spreading themselves too thin without knowing who their community is and what they think of their products.

The RED homepage, where users can discover algorithm-recommended content or content from accounts they follow

RED has created an environment that allows consumer hype to drive exposure rather than the brands themselves setting the narrative. Fans come to the platform to hear the real story on foreign fashion brands or to get the inside scoop on beauty tips and tricks with the products they use every day from people they can relate to. With the cost of media in China ever-rising, using RED as a sandbox to find your brand’s community in China is a savvy way to test the market. 

Whether it is identifying the right price point for your products or the selection of SKUs you choose to launch with in-market, RED’s community is a vibrant and fruitful place for brands to get real-time feedback from real fans. In a market of 1.4 billion people, selling products isn’t the hard bit, finding the foundation of fans that will define how your brand develops in China is the key to succeeding in the long term, and RED might just be where to find them. 

Call +44 (0)20 7802 2000 or email enquiries@cbbc.org now to find out how CBBC can help you identify the right social media platform for your brand and target market in China. 

Mark Bellamy, General Manager, EMEA, Aiken Digital
Mark has spent a decade working in advertising, eCommerce and digital consulting between both Europe and APAC, spending the last five years working with brands in search of growth to harness the best of what China has to offer. With the help of Aiken Digital’s global strategy team, Mark directs brands to the right models for implementing sustainable growth in the market.

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