The China Influencer Marketing Podcast

Meet the short-video app Bilibili — a platform that brands know they should get on, but they are reluctant (or maybe too intimidated) to pull the trigger. Why is that? Its user culture is stronger than that of other Chinese social media and video-sharing platforms. Bilibili is where all the subcultures go, the anime, comic, and game nerds, the artists, the content creators that don’t want to make clichéd 15-second dancing videos. Get your campaign right and your ROI will be high; get it wrong and you will be scorned and mocked.

In this episode, Lauren brings Miro Li, a digital marketing consultant based in Hong Kong, back on the podcast to give an overview of Bilibili. She digs into what makes the platform unique and shares how and why brands should be using it.

­To learn more about marketing in China, sign up for Lauren’s newsletter: The China Marketing Update!

Resources:

Chinable Academy Bilibili 101 Course

(Special discount code for listeners: BILI20)

WeChat mini program livestreaming webinar: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2015887102237/WN_9ymTeoX9RoCQ5aUnyszstw 

Guest: Miro Li

LinkedIn | WeChat: Miro509

Host: Lauren Hallanan

Website | LinkedIn | WeChat: H1212118514 

Check out Lauren’s book: Digital China: Working with Bloggers, Influencers and KOLs. 

Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking our brief survey.

This podcast was edited and produced by Jason MacRonald.

Many brands find it difficult to select the right KOLs to work with. My conversation with this week’s guest Anny Lou may help.   Anny is a prominent fashion influencer with over 1.6 million followers on Weibo. While my interview was focused on learning about her career, her thoughts on Weibo, and her experiences working with brands, her responses revealed a great deal about the key characteristics of an influencer who is truly worth working with.   Some of the key traits she reveals are: A true passion for their subject matter A desire to share products and experiences that they think will benefit other people, regardless of whether they are getting paid or not Long-term commitment Dedicated to building a reciprocal relationship with their audience Professional and responsible attitude towards working with brands   There are a ton of other great takeaways from the episode, but this is what really stood out to me, that she is a prime example of the type of influencer brands should seek to work with.   What we cover: How Anny Lou became a fashion influencer Anny’s fashion knowledge How Anny’s modelling career took off When Anny started with Weibo Being an influencer with a full-time job and how Anny does it all   How does Anny Lou curate her content Why Anny focuses the most on Weibo How her team adds to her output The secret to growing such a large social media following How to establish a close relationship with a massive social media audience Frequency - How often do you need to post to generate a following and engagement Post styles that work with Anny’s followers How followers’ opinions should play a role in your content   What forms of online tools are part of her work Videos and vlogs are growing in China How Weibo has changed a lot as a platform and what you need to know What is the deal with Weibo and sponsored posts Which other online platforms does Anny engage with   How does Anny Lou work with brands Her perspective on brand partnerships She tries out new brands to ensure quality Posting about free products Common problems that occur when working with brands Brands that are doing great marketing How does brand reputation play a role with Chinese consumers     To learn more about influencer marketing in China, sign up for our new newsletter: The China Influencer Update!     Thanks to our sponsors PARKLU and The Meet Group:  www.parklu.com  www.themeetgroup.com/blog      For additional information head over to -  www.chinainfluencermarketing.com   Host: Lauren Hallanan Website: www.laurenhallanan.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-hallanan/ WeChat ID: h1212118514   Guest: Anny Lou Weibo and Instagram: @安妮时髦精 WeChat: Anny_Lou

This week I’ve brought back Antoine Bunel, one of China’s top F&B influencers, to discuss some of the big changes that have happened in his career over the past six months since he was last on the show.  To kick off the show we discussed Douyin - Antoine launched an account on the platform shortly after Chinese New Year and already has over 350k followers. Antoine shares his experience and opinions on the platform and gives some advice for integrating brand content into Douyin videos. We also discuss Antoine’s new creative agency, the travel show he is producing, and the state of the Chinese live streaming industry. Antoine has so much experience in the industry and so much enthusiasm for what he does. I love having him on the show!   Guest: Antoine Bunel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinebunel/   Host: Lauren Hallanan Website: www.laurenhallanan.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-hallanan/ WeChat ID: h1212118514   Mentioned in the Episode: China Ad Agencies Lose Their Edge to Influencer-Led Creative Studios Meipai Shut Down Drives Influencers to Douyin in Droves     Thanks to our sponsor PARKLU: www.parklu.com   For additional information and show notes head over to www.chinainfluencermarketing.com     If you like this podcast and know someone who might find it interesting, please share!

In this episode I spoke with Hailey, one of the co-founders of the fashion and lifestyleWeChat Official Account Sugarandspice. If you’ve read my book, Digital China: Working with bloggers, Influencers, and KOLs, then you may be familiar with her name as we used the theSugarandSpice mini-program shop as a case study in the book.   Hailey and the account Sugarandspice are yet another one of those examples of KOLs who have claimed a niche in the market and set the bar really high when it comes to the content they produce and the brands they work with   As usual we cover a wide variety of topics including: What is unique about their content and why it appeals totheir audience Their criteria for working with brands What it’s like to run an official account in 2019 and how they continue to grow The pros and cons of running a mini-program e-commerce store Tips for brands who want to collaborate with influencers The changes they plan on making this year Check out my book:Digital China: Working with Bloggers, Influencers and KOLs To learn more about influencer marketing in China,sign up for our new newsletter: TheChina Influencer Update!   Detailed notes: About Sugar and Spice: Their Official account has approx. 250,000 followers Hailey and her co-founder were high school classmates and roommates Saw a hole in the market and decided to fill it Unlike many accounts which are led by one influencer and a team, SugarandSpicehas two co-founders, Hailey thinks this has been beneficial because they had each other to lean on, an accountability partner, especially since until recently they have been running this account while holding full-time jobs Content: Current publish about 1 post per week but now that they have both quit their full-time jobs and can invest more time, they will hopefully increase the number of posts Either way, they value quality over quantity In many of their articles they like to go deep and share the history and culture behind an item; there are many nouveau-riche in China who buy things because they can, not because they understand it, so their content helps educate consumers They still produce all the content themselves, they feel it is tough to outsource because readers are so familiar with their writing style Travel content increasingly popular Have a series called monthly haul where they review their favorite 6 items they bought that month, that is also very popular The content must have a takeaway Brand collaborations: They are notoriously selective when choosing which brands to work with Must get the product at least a month ahead of time so they can use it Products must meet their standards-If they feel like they wouldn’t be willing to buy the product themselves then they won’t share it Their followers are very savvy; they understand the industry and know that influences will work with brands, but since they are so stringent about who they will work with their followers don’t mind as much Now that they are full-time, they want to go deeper with their brand partnership and try to collaborate in new ways First time working with a brand will often do a smaller collaboration and if it goes well they will expand the scope  Growing a WeChat account: Fewer people are willing to share articles, that’s why the new Wow (看一看)feature is very important, helps with discovery and reach Definitely seems to be a bottleneck these days But she believes meaningful, quality content will still always do well They use Weibo, Douban, Wangyi and other platforms to help them drive people to their WeChat account E-commerce mini-programs: Featured SugarandSpice in my book as they were one of the earlier accounts to work with LOOK to launch an e-commerce mini-program With LOOK they can essentially create a mini-program store and then curate items from retailers, essentially create their own storefront, and they get a commission for selling those items, but they don’t have to deal with logistics The mini-program is doing very well, they are one of the top 15 partners with Farfetch But Hailey says they barely promote the store, maybe once every couple months or so, because they don’t want followers to feel forced Treat it like affiliate links, just letting their followers know, hey, if you want to buy something, get it through our store and you’ll know it’s exactly the item we recommended Mini-programs stores much faster than H5 stores, WeChat really pushing them Hailey thinks it’s necessary for luxury brands to have one, gives the example of Burberry's monthly exclusive WeChat capsule collections Tips for brands: Don’t treat KOLs like traditional media, we will not just repost your press releases Estee Lauder holds its own KOL conferences where they have discussions with KOLs to learn how they can better help the brand grow socially Developing relationships is important, will make you stand out from other brands    Guest: Hailey WeChat Official Account:sugar_spice Email: [email protected]   Host: Lauren Hallanan...

Over the past couple of years, Chinese brands have been experiencing massive growth. Newly founded direct-to-consumer brands are booming, while the more established Chinese brands have rebranded and revitalized themselves to attract a younger audience.

So, where does this growth come from? Top-earning brands have proven themselves to be savvy marketers, quickly adopting the newest social platforms and promotional tactics, and developing products, branding, and messaging that show a deep understanding of their target audience’s preferences and tastes.

In this episode, Lauren and Chinese marketing expert Doris Ke give us an overview of the marketing industry and key drivers of growth. Doris also shares some of her favorite domestic brands that she is watching right now.

Doris is the founder and CEO of Digipont, a well-known B2B marketing thought leader in China with a popular WeChat Official Account. If you subscribe to Lauren’s newsletter, then you have definitely read her articles before!

Brands mentioned in the episode:

• Perfect Diary (wánměi rìjì 完美日记) 
• Genki Forest (yuánqì sēnlín 元气森林) 
• WonderLab

Upcoming webinar: What can we learn from China livestreaming ecommerce?

This webinar is perfect for the product developer who is looking to get a better understanding of Chinese ecommerce livestreaming platforms. From the seamless user experience to the loyalty, gamification, and social sharing features, the UX of QVC and Home Shopping Network pales in comparison with China’s ecommerce livestreaming platforms. Lauren will also share her predictions for ecommerce livestreaming’s future in the West.

Register here.

Guest: Doris Ke, Founder & CEO of Digipont

LinkedIn | Email | Website 

Host: Lauren Hallanan

Website: | LinkedIn | WeChat: H1212118514

Check out Lauren’s book: Digital China: Working with Bloggers, Influencers and KOLs.

­To learn more about marketing in China, sign up for Lauren’s newsletter: The China Marketing Update.

This podcast was edited and produced by Jason MacRonald.