China is a large market with a total population of over 1.3 billion people. As of  June 2025, the number of Chinese netizens was over 1.12 billion, almost equivalent to 80% of the country’s total population. With the development of the Internet and widespread use of mobile technology, more and more people are using social media to connect with each other, share their achievements and feelings, obtain information, and voice their opinions. 

Because of this, businesses are turning to it for new marketing opportunities. This is especially true in China, where there are well over 1.08 billion social media user identities and where social media is highly intertwined with e-commerce.

Chinese social media platforms are similar to their Western counterparts. Although major platforms like Weibo, WeChat, Baidu, and Taobao have the largest number of users, the overall landscape of Chinese social media is relatively fragmented. Platforms are either segmented by function or cater to niche interest communities.

RedNote – The Lifestyle-First Chinese Social Media Platform

The Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu — also known as Little Red Book, RedNote, or RED — continues to dominate China’s lifestyle content and social commerce space. By 2025, it reached around 320 million monthly active users, up from just over 300 million in 2024. In early 2025, RedNote topped the U.S. App Store as TikTok faced potential bans, attracting “TikTok refugees.”

Its user base still tends to be young, urban, and female, but male adoption is steadily rising. The platform blends Pinterest-style inspiration with Instagram-like community engagement, making it a trusted space for product discovery.

Users post “notes” that combine photos, short videos, and text reviews across categories such as beauty, fashion, travel, home décor, and food. This authentic, peer-to-peer sharing culture drives strong purchasing intent. 

In late 2024, the platform saw over 600 million daily searches, confirming its shift from pure inspiration to an active product research hub.

Evolving Commerce Features on RedNote

In 2024–2025, RED’s buyer economy gained significant momentum. The platform elevated “buyers” — niche influencers with small but loyal followings — to drive live commerce. Livestream sessions exceeding ¥1 million ($1,40,000 million) GMV grew 8.1× year-on-year, with vertical buyers in categories like auto, home, and parenting performing as well as established KOLs.

Alongside this, KOS (Key Opinion Sales) emerged as a high-conversion format. Campaign results in 2024 showed notable gains:

• Auto brands saw a 42% increase in private messages and a 2.4× reduction in lead cost.
• Beauty campaigns generated 1.8× more inquiries and 2.8× higher exposure.
• Education promotions cut lead costs by 80% while boosting exposure by 76%.

The platform also reported 1million sales-associate notes (+115% YoY) and 120,000 associate accounts (+115% YoY), proving that sales-driven creators are becoming a core part of RED’s ecosystem.

Merchant and Livestream Growth Trends

RED’s merchant base expanded rapidly in 2024, with three times more new merchants than the previous year. The parenting, home, and hobby categories saw the fastest livestream GMV growth. 

Brands can run store-linked livestreams inside RED, which allows them to maintain complete control over branding, integrate customer service, and convert without users leaving the app.

Content Discovery on This Chinese Social Platform

Organic reach still depends on authenticity and relevance. The China Mega Report highlights several content strategies for natural distribution:

• Keep note titles concise — ideally under 20 characters.
• Use scene-based cover images and real product contexts.
• Include three to five long-tail keywords and up to ten targeted hashtags.

With these practices, brands can position themselves for RED’s algorithmic boost toward high-intent audiences. Because users often arrive with a clear idea of what they want, optimising for in-app search can deliver measurable conversion lifts.

Why RedNote Remains a Key Chinese Social Media Platform in 2025

What sets RedNote apart is the depth of trust in its community. Trends can emerge and spread nationwide within days, and small to mid-tier influencers can now generate GMV that previously required celebrity-level KOL budgets. For marketers, RED is no longer just a brand-building channel — it’s a direct sales engine with some of the highest purchase intent in China’s social media landscape.

Douyin – Short-Video Leader Among Chinese Social Media Platforms

Douyin, the leading Chinese social media platform and domestic version of TikTok, has become one of China’s most influential digital ecosystems. By early 2024, it recorded 755 million monthly active users and 400 million daily active users, with total user penetration reaching around 78% of the country’s internet population.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Average daily usage exceeds two hours, driven by ByteDance’s powerful recommendation algorithm and a steady stream of 15–60 second videos—ranging from comedy and cooking tutorials to travel vlogs and product reviews.

Core Features and Growth Drivers on Douyin

• Short-form video dominance – Vast, diverse content categories including entertainment, lifestyle, education, and product demonstrations.
• Integrated e-commerce – In-app product links and checkout enable frictionless shopping.
• Livestreaming commerce – Over 9 million livestreams per month, with influencers and brands driving impulse purchases in real time.
• Local life services – Restaurant bookings, hotel reservations, attraction ticketing, and city-specific promotions.
• Search and discovery – Increasingly positioned as a product and trend search engine, competing with Baidu for intent-driven queries.

Commerce Scale and Strategic Models

In 2024, Douyin’s e-commerce GMV reached an estimated ¥3.43–¥3.5 trillion (≈$480–$490 billion), growing 46% year-on-year. The platform’s “shelf” GMV (shop tabs, product pages) surged 86%, indicating that users are not only discovering products in their feed but actively browsing within Douyin shops.

The FACT+S model—Field, Alliance, Campaigns, Top KOLs + Search, Shopping Center, Shop—illustrates how Douyin transforms content into transactions. This approach ensures that brand storytelling, influencer partnerships, and search tools work in a closed loop, from awareness to purchase.

Creator Economy and Influencer Marketing

Douyin’s creator ecosystem expanded with 7.53 million new creators in 2024, supported by 27,000 MCNs. Top-tier sellers grew rapidly, with creators achieving over ¥10 million ($1.4 million) GMV, increasing by 52%. Entrepreneur-led IP has become a high-trust driver—Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun’s two-hour livestream drew 34 million viewers, underscoring how personal branding fuels conversions.

User Behavior and Content Performance

• Content volume: Over 200 million short videos uploaded monthly.
• Top categories: Food (27%), education (25%), travel, comedy, entertainment.
• Optimal length: 15–30 seconds delivers the highest completion rates.
• Music influence: Adding music can lift engagement and playback by up to 20%.

Douyin in 2024–2025: Role & Opportunities

Douyin has become China’s most powerful blend of entertainment, search, and commerce. It’s now a default marketing channel for brands targeting Gen Z and millennials. The combination of trend-led content, instant purchasing, and high engagement makes Douyin a prime space for influencer collaborations, product launches, and social commerce campaigns.

WeChat – The Super-App of Chinese Social Media

Another Chinese social media platform worth knowing is WeChat (Weixin). It remains the backbone of digital life in China. In Q1 2025, it reached 1.4 billion MAUs, up 43 million from early 2024, with over 87% of Chinese internet users logging in monthly. It’s used for messaging, payments, booking services, shopping, and more, making it not only the country’s largest social network but also a core infrastructure for commerce.

Core Functions That Anchor User Habits

• Moments Feed – Social sharing with “circle culture” where posts are visible only to mutual friends, fostering private, trust-based engagement.
• Official Accounts –
  • Service Accounts: Up to 4 pushes per month, appear in the chat list, ideal for transactions, customer service, and loyalty programs.
  • Subscription Accounts: Daily posts in a separate feed, better for consistent content marketing and brand storytelling.
• WeChat Groups – Private-traffic hubs where brands can build VIP clubs, run closed promotions, and provide tailored after-sales service.
• Mini-Programs – Lightweight apps inside WeChat for shopping, games, booking, and services, with full WeChat Pay integration and custom UI; brands retain user data for remarketing.
• Mini-Games – Over 500M monthly players, contributing ~15% of Tencent’s ad revenue, offering gamified brand-engagement opportunities.

Key 2024–2025 Updates for This Chinese Social Platform

• Video Accounts + Official Accounts Synergy: WeChat’s short-video feature is now tightly integrated with Official Accounts. In 2024, brands using both saw +120% follower growth and +43% more article reads. Short videos now act as the first touchpoint, leading viewers directly to long-form brand content and conversion channels.
• Souyisou Search Evolution: WeChat’s internal search has become a discovery engine:
  • Related search suggestions under videos/articles.
  • “Gray hint” prompts nudging users toward popular or commercial queries.
  • Direct deep links to Mini Programs, articles, and Official Account pages.

• Wenyiywen Q&A for Authority Building: A Quora-like module inside WeChat Search where brands can answer user questions. Verified, high-quality answers rank well and serve as evergreen SEO assets inside the ecosystem.
• Tuike Affiliate Program: A native commission system enabling KOLs, employees, and ordinary users to earn from sales they drive via Video Accounts, Official Accounts, and WeChat Groups. This lowers influencer-marketing barriers and extends reach via micro-promoters.
• AI-Powered Search with DeepSeek-R1: In February 2025, WeChat integrated DeepSeek-R1 into Souyisou. This adds AI-curated search results, conversational shopping queries, and more precise recommendation filtering, increasing the likelihood of product discovery.

Commerce & Marketing Opportunities

• Livestream Commerce – Fashion, beauty, and food dominate. WeChat’s warm, community-based audiences often show higher AOV and conversion than on open platforms like Douyin because traffic is pre-qualified.
• Private-domain marketing—Official Accounts, Mini Programs, and Groups provide long-term retention channels that brands control with minimal algorithmic volatility.
• B2B Marketing Edge – 76% of Chinese B2B firms now run Video Accounts for product demos, expert AMAs, and corporate livestreams, using WeChat’s built-in trust to shorten sales cycles.

Why WeChat Remains a Critical Chinese Social Media Platform in 2025

WeChat is no longer just a messaging app — it’s a closed-loop marketing and sales infrastructure. The combination of short-video reach, powerful in-app search, AI-driven discovery, and frictionless payment allows brands to manage the entire consumer journey without losing the user to external platforms.

For marketers, the 2025 opportunity is to integrate content, commerce, and community:

• Use Video Accounts for discovery.
• Drive to Official Accounts & Mini Programs for storytelling and conversion.
• Retain via Groups and targeted re-engagement.
• Scale reach with Tuike affiliates and AI-optimized search visibility.

Bilibili – Youth-Centric Chinese Social Media & Video Platform

Bilibili is another major Chinese social media platform that has grown well beyond its anime-focused beginnings, becoming a dynamic, multi-vertical cultural ecosystem. As of Q1 2025, it attracts 368 million monthly active users and around 107 million daily active users, with an average daily watch time of 99–108 minutes. Its signature danmu (bullet comments) create a communal, interactive viewing experience that few platforms can match.

Originally built around ACG (anime, comics, games) fandoms, Bilibili now spans a broad spectrum of content—from STEM education and tech explainers to mother-and-baby lifestyle videos (up 70% YoY), auto-related content (+40% YoY), music, and live cultural events. Gaming and anime remain strong pillars, but event-driven spikes like New Year galas and summer holiday campaigns show its role as a seasonal engagement powerhouse.

Audience and Cultural Positioning

With an average user age of 26 and over 62% aged 16–35, Bilibili is a Gen Z stronghold. Women make up about half its user base, and most users are urban, well-educated, and digitally savvy. This makes the platform a prime arena for brand rejuvenation and youth-oriented product launches. Engagement is deep—users spend nearly two hours a day exploring everything from mini-dramas to niche tutorials.

Brand and Marketing Opportunities

Bilibili’s monetization model is maturing, with 23.5 million premium subscribers (6.4% of MAUs) and robust value-added services like livestreaming and e-commerce integrations. While most transactions use open-loop links to platforms like Taobao or JD, the platform supports:

• High-credibility influencer collaborations with vertical UP creators (tech, industrial, education, lifestyle)
• Co-created technical or educational content like custom reviews, interviews, and science-popularization videos
• Interactive brand engagement through bullet-chat Q&A, polls, and comment-driven campaigns

Notably, Bilibili’s B2B “young decision-maker” playbook has drawn global brands in technical sectors. For example, Texas Instruments uses deep-dive technical videos and interactive discussions to build trust with young engineers.

Innovation and Tools

Bilibili continues to invest in AI-powered creator support, from “Smart Danmu” auto-transcripts to avatar generation and anime-style voiceovers. Advanced moderation tools maintain content safety, while “Youth Mode” safeguards younger users. This combination of creator empowerment, vertical depth, and high cultural credibility makes Bilibili a uniquely versatile marketing and community platform.

Kuaishou – Grassroots Commerce Chinese Social Media Platform

Kuaishou (快手), or “quick hand,” is one of China’s largest short-video and livestreaming ecosystems. By late 2024, it had around 736 million monthly active users and over 400 million daily users, with each spending more than two hours a day on the platform. What sets Kuaishou apart from Douyin is its focus on grassroots authenticity—content is often raw, personal, and rooted in the lives of everyday people. Rural vlogs, small-town talent showcases, and family moments form the core of its appeal.

The platform’s recommendation algorithm is designed to reward engagement and loyalty over quick virality. This approach has helped cultivate the famous “Laotie” culture, where creators and audiences form lasting bonds built on trust and relatability. For brands looking to connect with value-conscious audiences in China’s lower-tier cities, Kuaishou offers a direct path.

Commerce and Audience Reach

Kuaishou is a major force in livestream commerce and short-video e-commerce. In Q1 2024, it generated RMB 288.1 billion in e-commerce GMV, a 28% year-on-year increase. By Q4, short-video e-commerce sales were up more than 50% year-on-year. Livestream shopping is dominated by local goods, handmade items, and value-driven offers that resonate strongly with its user base.

The platform’s reach extends far beyond entertainment:

• Short dramas have surged in popularity, with daily active users reaching 270 million (+52.6% YoY) and paid drama transactions growing nearly 20× year-on-year.
• Local life services and automotive content are emerging verticals, with group-buy sales during the Spring Festival period rising 117% YoY and new-tier city paying users jumping 234% month-on-month.

Innovation and Future Growth

Kuaishou is investing heavily in AI to sustain and expand its content ecosystem. Its Kling Large Model enables fast production of high-quality ultra-short dramas, a format with massive engagement. Titles like The Mirror of Mountains and Seas: Breaking Waves have drawn tens of millions of views, proving the commercial viability of AI-driven storytelling.

For marketers, Kuaishou is more than a short-video platform — it’s an expanding digital economy hub that blends social connection, commerce, and entertainment in a way few competitors can match.

Weibo – The Trending Topics Chinese Social Media Platform

Weibo remains a central pillar of China’s social media ecosystem, serving as both a real-time newswire and a cultural pulse monitor. As of Q1 2025, it reported roughly 591 million monthly active users and 261 million daily active users—a sign that it continues to command attention even in a short-video-dominated market. Nearly half of China’s internet population still relies on Weibo for breaking news, trending topics, and influencer discourse.

Beyond microblogging, Weibo is intentionally deepening engagement through over 40 vertical social circles, spanning society, entertainment, ACG, sports, and consumption. These circles create interest-based micro-communities, where content distribution is optimized for relevance. 

Seasonal moments and holiday topics—users join an average of 3.4 holiday discussions—provide recurring spikes in engagement, while wellness trends such as Baduanjin and summer “晒背” (sun-exposing) demonstrate the platform’s ability to amplify niche cultural phenomena.

Why Weibo Works for Brands

Weibo blends mass reach with targeted engagement strategies, making it effective for both large-scale visibility and community-level influence. Brands can leverage:

• Trending Hashtags & Event Marketing—Real-time “Hot Topics” fuel national conversations, and piggybacking on holidays or big events drives rapid exposure.
• Vertical KOL Partnerships – Collaborations with creators in specific niches (relationships, comedy, sports, tech) deepen trust within target audiences.
• Emotion-Circle Marketing: Campaigns built around high-frequency emotional keywords like involution, lying flat, or healing, paired with story-driven videos, symbolic emojis, and UGC prompts to turn viewers into co-spreaders.

The Platform’s Unique Role

Weibo’s mix of short-term trend amplification and long-term value-based storytelling means brands can do more than chase virality—they can shape perception. Integrated e-commerce via Weibo Shop, live streaming, and influencer collaborations creates direct conversion paths, while memes, interactive polls, and visual storytelling keep campaigns culturally relevant.

Zhihu – Knowledge-Sharing Chinese Social Platform

Zhihu, meaning “Do you know?”, is China’s largest Q&A platform and a go-to space for in-depth discussions. Comparable to Quora, it attracts millions seeking detailed, trustworthy answers from professionals, academics, and enthusiasts across every field.

As of 2024, Zhihu has around 80–100 million monthly active users, making it one of the most respected sources for expert knowledge in China’s digital ecosystem.

What Makes Zhihu Unique

On Zhihu, any user can ask a question—from “What are the implications of quantum computing?” to “How can I improve my resume for tech jobs?”—and receive essay-quality answers.
The most upvoted replies often combine research, personal experience, and actionable advice, creating a knowledge-rich environment rare among social platforms.

Key differentiators include:

• Expert-driven content – Users include professionals, scholars, and industry veterans.
  Breadth of topics – From tech and careers to pop culture, travel, and product reviews.
• Trusted reviews – Many consult Zhihu before major purchases, such as cars or electronics.
• Special formats – Features like Zhihu Live (seminars) and paid consultations expand its learning ecosystem.

Brand & Marketing Opportunities

Brands use Zhihu to build thought leadership rather than push ads. Official accounts often publish informative, non-promotional answers or sponsor Q&A sessions. This approach positions them as credible voices, especially for industries like technology, education, automotive, and finance.

Baidu Tieba – Interest-Based Forums as Chinese Social Platforms

Baidu Tieba (百度贴吧), often dubbed China’s version of Reddit, has been a cornerstone of Chinese online communities since its launch in 2003. Embedded within Baidu’s search engine, Tieba automatically links search keywords to dedicated forums—or “bars”—where users can engage in in-depth, topic-specific discussions. 

As of mid-2025, roughly 59% of China’s internet users visit Tieba each month, suggesting a user base of several hundred million. Estimates range up to 300 million monthly active users.

Tieba supports a wide range of topics—anything from breaking news, pop culture, and exam prep to niche hobbies and brand fandoms. Users can post text, images, and videos, and interact through threaded discussions; popular topics often rack up thousands of responses, making Tieba a lively space for grassroots commentary.

Why Baidu Tieba Still Matters for Niche Communities

Tieba’s unique value comes from its positioning and community-driven nature:

• Built-in visibility: As part of Baidu’s ecosystem, relevant bars appear directly in search results, making content exceptionally discoverable.
• Deep engagement: Unlike short-form platforms, Tieba fosters focused, long-form discussion—ideal for serious fans and niche groups.
• Consumer insights: Many users consult Tieba forums to get peer reviews and recommendations—think of checking a phone forum before making a purchase.
• SEO synergy: Brand activity on Tieba can boost visibility and credibility within Baidu’s search results

Douban – Cultural & Lifestyle Chinese Social Media Platform

Douban is China’s go-to platform for culturally curious users—think IMDb and Goodreads meets Reddit. Founded in 2005, it lets users curate, rate, and discuss content across films, books, music, events, and more. It’s a deeply niche, interest-driven community appreciated for its thoughtful commentary and cultural engagement.

Who Uses Douban?

• As of 2024, Douban serves 300 million+ monthly active users, a substantial, engaged base of culture enthusiasts.
• Its audience is typically well-educated, middle-class urbanites, with 65% under the age of 35 and a 57% female skew.
• Users heavily rely on Douban for trusted recommendations—whether checking a film’s rating or joining a book-themed discussion group.

Why Douban Matters to Marketers

Douban isn’t about scrollable feeds—it’s about meaningful engagement. The platform enables brands to:

• Tap into passionate, intellectual audiences who value authenticity.
• Leverage “Douban groups” and “new stuff” listings for cultural outreach and soft product introductions.
• Benefit from high peer influence—many users trust ratings and community input over advertising.

Youku – The Streaming-Focused Chinese Social Media Platform

Youku, meaning “what’s best and what’s cool”, is one of China’s “big three” video streaming platforms, alongside iQiyi and Tencent Video. Once the undisputed leader of China’s online video market in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Youku has evolved to retain relevance in an age dominated by short-video platforms like Douyin and Bilibili.

Now owned by Alibaba, Youku’s strength lies in long-form, professionally produced content. It offers a vast library of:

• TV dramas and variety shows – including exclusive Chinese originals
• Films and licensed anime – streamed in high definition
• User-generated videos – such as vlogs and short films

At its peak, Youku reported over 500 million daily video views. While the exact current active user numbers are less public, it still commands a substantial audience that prefers full-length viewing experiences. Many hit series premiere exclusively on Youku, giving it a loyal base of drama and anime fans.

Interaction on Youku is primarily through comment threads under each video, fostering active discussion around shows, though without Bilibili’s real-time “bullet comments.” The platform has also embraced:

• Exclusive original productions tailored to younger audiences
• Integrated advertising opportunities, such as branded content and long-form ads
• Synergy with Alibaba’s e-commerce ecosystem for creative sponsorships

Youku’s Role in the 2024–2025 OTT Market

In 2024–2025, Youku remains a competitive force in China’s crowded streaming industry. Its strategy focuses on:

• Securing exclusive licensing deals to keep premium drama and anime fans engaged
• Investing in high-quality original productions to differentiate from rivals
• Maintaining strong partnerships with film studios and production houses
• Leveraging Alibaba’s resources for cross-platform promotions

By staying committed to high-production-value content and niche fandoms, Youku continues to attract a loyal segment of viewers who value immersive, long-form entertainment over quick scrolls through short videos.

How ChoZan Helps You Win on Chinese Social Media

Navigating China’s fast-moving social platforms requires insider knowledge, real-time market insights, and hands-on guidance. ChoZan specializes in helping brands, agencies, and executives maximize the potential of platforms like Douyin, WeChat, RedNote, Weibo, and Bilibili.

What We Offer for Your Social Media Success

• China Learning Expeditions – On-the-ground or virtual deep dives into China’s digital ecosystem. Experience platform demos, meet KOLs, and see how campaigns are executed on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and beyond.
• China Research – Tailored reports on audience behavior, content trends, algorithm changes, and competitor strategies across China’s top social platforms.
• Keynotes & Workshops – Practical, platform-focused training sessions for your teams. Learn campaign planning, ad placement, live commerce strategies, and influencer collaborations with measurable results.
• Consulting & Expert Calls – One-on-one strategic sessions with leading China digital marketing experts to refine your approach to social content, advertising, and e-commerce integration.

Why Work With ChoZan Now

• Stay Ahead of Trends – China’s platforms evolve weekly; we track updates so your strategy stays fresh.
• Local Expertise, Global Perspective – We connect your brand’s objectives with China’s unique digital culture.
• Actionable Strategies – Every insight translates into a clear execution plan, from platform selection to performance tracking.

Work with ChoZan to turn China’s social media opportunities into measurable growth. Whether you need deep market research, platform-specific training, or expert-led campaign guidance, we’ll help you cut through the noise and connect with your audience where they spend their time.

FAQs About Chinese Social Media Platforms

Below are some of the most common questions we hear about social media in China: