Influencer marketing in China have become an essential tool in digital marketing and advertising. Better known in China as KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders), people with a large number of followers on social networks such as Little Red Book (chinese version of Instagram), Douyin (Chinese TikTok), WeChat, Kuaishou, Toutiao and Weibo.
KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) in China are people with large numbers of followers on social networks such as Little Red Book (Chinese Instagram), Douyin (Chinese TikTok) or WeChat
In addition, Chinese social influencers have great sway in the opinion of their audience, which makes them a key element for brands looking to promote their products and services.
Chinese influencers are considered professionals on social media in China, as they know how to stand out, in addition to having a great ability to promote and sell products effectively.
Their success is the result of the sum of their interesting personalities and their extensive knowledge of Chinese social media. Moreover, Chinese consumers rely heavily on recommendations from people they follow on social media, underscoring the importance of understanding this market.
74% of Chinese consumers make purchasing decisions based on influencers' recommendations, compared to only 30% in the rest of the world
1. Advantages of Influencer Marketing in China
Collaboration with top influencers in China has become a key strategy in the digital marketing world to reach consumers. In China, the use of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) plays an even more crucial role, largely due to the unique characteristics of the Chinese market. Incorporating KOLs into your China marketing strategy can offer numerous benefits. Some of the most significant advantages include:
1.1 Direct Access to a Massive Consumer Base
China’s population exceeds 1.4 billion, with over 1 billion internet users actively engaging on social media platforms. Influencers offer an effective way to connect with this massive audience, particularly when focusing on specific groups such as Gen Z, millennials, or affluent urban consumers. Major platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, with their millions of daily active users, provide unparalleled opportunities for influencer campaigns to achieve significant visibility and engagement.
1.2 High Levels of Consumer Trust
Chinese consumers often place significant trust in recommendations from Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) when deciding what to buy. Unlike traditional advertising, influencer content is perceived as authentic and personal, creating a sense of trust that motivates consumers to engage more deeply with brands.
For example, a Douyin influencer’s product demonstration can generate significantly higher purchase intent compared to generic advertisements, showcasing the power of influencer marketing in building consumer confidence and driving conversions.
1.3 Amplified Sales Through Livestreaming
Livestreaming has become a cornerstone of e-commerce in China, with influencers taking center stage in this dynamic market.
China streaming platforms, such as Taobao Live, enable influencers to showcase products in real-time, creating a sense of urgency that encourages immediate purchases and significantly boosts sales. The impact is undeniable—top influencers have proven their ability to generate millions in sales during a single livestream, demonstrating the unparalleled power of this format in driving consumer engagement and revenue.
1.4 Enhanced Cultural Relevance
Influencers play a crucial role in helping brands adapt their messages to the Chinese market, ensuring they resonate with local values, traditions, and consumer preferences.
For foreign brands looking to enter the Chinese market, influencers provide an essential bridge to connect with local audiences. Their deep understanding of cultural nuances allows them to tailor content in a way that feels authentic and relatable, minimizing the risk of cultural missteps. This localized approach can be the defining factor between a campaign that connects meaningfully with Chinese consumers and one that fails to make an impact.
Influencers play a crucial role in helping brands adapt their messages to the Chinese market, ensuring they resonate with local values, traditions, and consumer preferences.
1.5 Seamless Integration with E-Commerce
Seamless Integration with E-Commerce is one of the key advantages of working with influencers in China. Many Chinese influencers incorporate direct links to e-commerce platforms, streamlining the buyer journey and enhancing the overall experience of e-commerce in China. Platforms like WeChat mini programs and Douyin shops allow consumers to explore and purchase products without leaving the influencer’s content. This seamless approach not only reduces friction in the shopping process but also leads to higher conversion rates. By merging entertainment with commerce, influencers create a frictionless shopping experience that drives substantial sales in the rapidly growing landscape of e-commerce in China.
2. Steps to create a Chinese influencer campaign
In an industry as vast as the Chinese market, it is essential to have the right tools to find the best Chinese influencers to promote your brand.
Before implementing an influencer marketing strategy, you need to take into account several aspects:
- Define the objective of the campaign.
- Determine the budget.
- Select the types of influencers.
- Search for Chinese influencers on platforms.
- Other relevant factors.
When planning a campaign, it’s essential to recognize the significance of Chinese social media. Collaborating with multiple Chinese influencers across different platforms is one of the most effective strategies to promote your products or services and successfully attract a larger Chinese audience.
Collaborating with multiple Chinese influencers across different platforms is one of the most effective strategies to promote your products or services and successfully attract a larger Chinese audience.
Our agency, specializing in KOL marketing in China, is dedicated to helping brands boost their online sales and visibility by forming strategic collaborations with the right Chinese influencers.
2.1 Define the campaign objective
When planning a campaign, it’s essential to go beyond budget considerations and focus on defining clear objectives to ensure its success. These objectives typically include:
- Brand Awareness: Increasing visibility and recognition of the brand.
- Sales: Driving conversions and boosting revenue.
- Reach: Expanding your audience and targeting new customer segments.
- Interactions: Encouraging engagement and fostering a deeper connection with the audience.
Another key factor is identifying the geographic areas you aim to cover, such as Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, or Tier 4 cities. This decision should align with the demographic segment you want to target, based on the nature of your brand or product offering.
By aligning your campaign objectives with specific geographic and demographic targets, you can build a more tailored strategy that maximizes impact and ensures better results.
If you want to learn more about defining campaign objectives and strategies, be sure to check out our China Influencer Marketing Insights Report for in-depth guidance and valuable insights.
2.2 Determine the budget
At this point of the strategy, it is important to know that prices vary, depending on whether the influencers are located in highly developed areas of China or not. Another factor is what is required of the influencer, since the costs are not the same for a video as for a simple post
Top influencers in China also value the client’s requirements, such as: number of times the product appears, product orientation in the content (plans, appearance), the period in which they collaborate (Chinese holiday dates are usually less economical than periods without holidays), number of collaborations, reposts on social media, the Influencer’s commissions, etc.
It should be noted that some Chinese social influencers may charge higher rates for brands that are not yet very popular in China.
It is critical to have a clear idea of the budget needed to determine which types of Chinese influencers to hire.
2.3 Select the types of influencers
Choosing the type of influencer depends on the available budget. To plan the number of collaborations, it is essential to distribute the budget as effectively as possible. To do this, you need to know the types of Chinese influencers.
Depending on the budget, you will be able to access different types of Chinese influencers, which are divided according to impact, size and social networks.
By audience and impact
Depending on the influencer’s impact and audience, we can categorize into two types:
- KOL (Key Opinion Leader)
KOLs, as we have seen, have become increasingly important in the marketing strategies of those who wish to break into the Chinese market. KOLs are celebrities, writers, and social media celebrities who are considered experts in a certain field or topic, so their advice is perceived as genuine and unbiased.
- KOC (Key Opinion Consumer)
KOCs are consumers who personally promote products through reviews. These individuals tend to be much more selective in what they are willing to recommend and share as safe information, so their reviews are much more similar to advice among friends than user-generated content.
KOCs are key to users making a purchase decision because they are generally considered more trustworthy due to their authentic content.
By size
By size, influencers can be divided into:
- Nano: this type of influencer has a smaller audience, between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, so you will not have a large reach but you will be able to target a more specific audience. In addition, it is very useful for positioning specific content optimized for specific keywords on Chinese social networks. As a result, they will sustain the presence of many results in the search for information phase, so more traffic will be channeled to the evaluation and decision/conversion phase.
- Micro: they are less prevalent and their audience is small, between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. Campaigning with them does not imply a large reach but a more specific audience. As they are a more specific niche, the audience’s willingness to buy could be higher. As with nano influencers, this type of influencer is also very good for positioning specific content optimized for specific keywords on social networks, which will lead to more traffic being channeled to the evaluation and decision-making phase.
- Medium: they have a smaller follower base, between 100,000 and 500,000 followers, but tend to have a greater connection with their followers as well as vertical content, which helps to target more specific audience groups, having become the most frequently used to obtain targeted campaigns with high interactions.
- Macro: these influencers have the largest number of followers and a massive audience, starting at 500,000 followers, which can reach up to 6 or 7 million. Running a campaign with them ensures a very wide diffusion to a very varied audience, which probably includes a large part of the public that cannot afford the product.
Nano KOL | Micro KOL | Medium KOL | Macro KOL | |
Number of followers | 1K-10K | 10K-100K | 100K-500K | >500K |
Focus | Conversion and persuasion | Conversion and persuasion | Brand awareness, interaction and reach | Brand awareness, interaction and reach |
Pros | Increased credibility and engagement | Focus on specific niches | Greater reach and impact | Varied audience and maximum reach |
Cons | Low reach | Low reach | High prices | High prices |
Influencers can be nano (between 1,000 and 10,000 followers), micro (between 10,000 and 50,000), medium (between 50,000 and 500,000) and macro (500,000 and above)
By Chinese social networks
Chinese social networks are highly influential in the purchasing process of Chinese citizens. Moreover, according to data from Turespaña, 74% of Chinese tourists choose their destination based on recommendations on networks and platforms, compared to only 30% worldwide. In this respect, it is important to have a presence in Chinese online travel agencies (OTAs), such as Ctrip or Fliggy.
- Douyin
Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is a social network launched in 2016 that allows users to create and share short videos as well as stream live. While its global counterpart is known as TikTok, Douyin is a distinct and unique platform exclusively for the Chinese market.
Douyin offers an exceptional opportunity for companies to connect with the Chinese tourism market. Since it is still relatively new, brands have the chance to get ahead of the competition and establish a strong presence on this influential platform.
Douyin is an exceptional opportunity to stay ahead of the competition in the Chinese tourism market
- Little Red Book (xiaohongshu)
Xiaohongshu, commonly known as Little Red Book or the Chinese Instagram, has emerged as a highly popular platform in China for discovering recommendations, reviews, and information on products and services. It is widely used to explore destinations, restaurants, hotels, fashion trends, and various lifestyle experiences.
As of 2024, Xiaohongshu boasts over 200 million monthly active users, making it a powerful tool for brands looking to connect with Chinese consumers. The platform is particularly valued for its user-generated content and authentic reviews, which significantly influence purchasing decisions across industries.
Studies indicate that a significant percentage of users rely on Little Red Book to research products and services, especially in categories like beauty, travel, and dining. This highlights the platform’s potential for businesses seeking to enhance their visibility and build trust with an engaged audience. Incorporating Xiaohongshu marketing into your strategy can further amplify your brand’s reach and authenticity in this highly competitive market.
Studies indicate that a significant percentage of users rely on Little Red Book to research products and services, especially in categories like beauty, travel, and dining. This highlights the platform’s potential for businesses seeking to enhance their visibility and build trust with an engaged audience.
To learn how to effectively utilize Little Red Book marketing in China, it is essential to understand the platform’s unique features and leverage its community-driven content to resonate with its users.
2.4 Search for Chinese influencers on social media platforms
Being familiar with the most popular platforms in the process of searching for Chinese influencers is essential. Some of them are:
Xiaohongshu
Xiaohongshu is a Chinese application that combines elements of e-commerce, user-generated content, and product reviews, functioning as a social network. Advertising on Xiaohongshu is also highly significant for brands looking to expand their reach.
One of its key tools is Pugongying, a platform created by Xiaohongshu where brands can collaborate with Xiaohongshu influencers to promote their products and services through images, text, or videos.
To access the platform, a company must first be registered in China. Once registered, brands can send proposals directly to the influencers, who must accept the collaboration to establish communication and proceed with the campaign.
This is an open network platform that focuses on content sharing, visibility and community building.
Weirenwu is the official online advertising platform for Chinese influencers on the Sina Weibo social network. It features influencers in various areas such as comedy, gastronomy, entertainment, live streams, among others.
Xingtu
Xingtu is the official platform for collaborating with Chinese influencers on major social networks like Douyin, Xigua, and Toutiao. It serves as a centralized tool for brands to connect with influencers, manage campaigns, and access valuable performance data.
To access Xingtu, businesses must go through a multi-stage registration process, which includes verifying their information and obtaining approval. Additionally, it is mandatory for companies to be registered in China to gain access to the platform’s features and data. This requirement ensures compliance with Chinese regulations and allows brands to utilize Xingtu’s comprehensive analytics and influencer resources effectively.
However, collaborations through the platform tend to be more expensive, as Xingtu charges a percentage of the fees, and most influencers work with agencies that manage their collaborations, adding an additional agency fee. While this method can streamline processes for some brands, there are more direct collaboration options available. We offer direct contact with influencers, bypassing agencies and providing a more cost-effective solution for brands looking to work with influencers efficiently.
Kuaishou
Collaboration with influencers on Kuaishou can be crucial, as it is a social network that has been experiencing dizzying growth in recent years, plus it is the only social network that does not exclude anyone, so people from tier 3 or 4 cities or rural areas, which are the most interested in shopping, can see your products.
It is important to note that all collaboration platforms with Chinese influencers have as a main and mandatory requirement to have a company registered in China, in addition to paying taxes and a percentage of commission charged by the platform itself.
Any platform for collaboration with influencers in China requires having a registered company in China, in addition to paying taxes and a commission percentage
Another extremely important aspect is that, despite using these platforms, it is necessary to carry out an exhaustive study of the influencer and analyze the data of their videos, since most social media accounts have a considerable amount of fake followers.
Our agency specializing in collaborations with Chinese influencers has a large and solid database of high quality Chinese influencers. Our team has made a thorough selection and conducted successful collaborations with various brands.
We are committed to connecting brands with the right influencers to ensure strategic and effective collaborations. You can count on us to find the perfect Chinese influencers to drive your brand’s success in the Chinese market.
How many Chinese influencers do you need to collaborate with?
Brands that collaborate with several Chinese influencers are more likely to increase their online visibility. However, this depends on the available budget, which makes it very necessary to invest wisely, especially if the budget is limited.
In addition, it is important to promote and optimize posts. It is not the breadth of the campaign that matters, but the quality of the pre-planned strategy.
How much does engaging a Chinese influencer cost?
The price of collaborating with Chinese influencers depends on the popularity of the KOL, their number of followers, the sector of activity, the amount of products the KOL will promote, the time dedicated to the promotion and the sales generated.
In terms of budget, collaborations with Chinese influencers who have less than 500,000 followers can range from €1,300 to €3,500 per influencer, while for those with more than 500,000 followers, costs start from €3,500 upwards
Other relevant factors
Engaging directly with quality Chinese influencers can be tricky on the platforms we have seen, as they are open to almost all users who call themselves influencers. Also, competition in the Chinese market is stiff, and finding the right Chinese influencer can take time and money.
However, we are here to help you find the KOLs that fit your brand. We specialize in Chinese influencers and have a comprehensive and reputable database, which we have used in the past to assist other clients. If you would like more information about our services, you can contact us directly.
3. Conclusions
Chinese influencers are especially relevant for brands looking to connect with local consumers. With the rapid growth of e-commerce in China and the increasing purchasing power of the middle class, Chinese influencers have become an important tool for brands to promote their products and services.
If you need help with your marketing strategies in China, InfluChina can help you deploy the most efficient digital marketing strategies for the Chinese market. For more information email hello@influchina.com or check our services.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about working with Chinese influencers
What are KOLs?
KOLs are Chinese platform celebrities who are seen as experts in a certain field or domain.
Why are Chinese influencers so important in China?
Influencers in China are social media specialists, plus they have a huge ability to influence the opinions of their listeners.
Why collaborate with Chinese influencers?
Influencers in China are social media specialists, plus they have an enormous ability to influence the opinions of their listeners.
How to find Chinese influencers?
The best way to get Chinese influencers is to look for a specialized agency for professional advice and help to reach your targets.
