CONTENTS
Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are extremely powerful influencers on Chinese social media platforms and can have a strong positive impact on your marketing campaign. In this module, you will gain an overall understanding of the KOL industry in China, including how to approach them and how to work with them effectively. You’ll be able to select the KOLs best suited to your brand, run an effective KOL promotion and clearly evaluate it afterwards. You’ll also learn about KOL budgets, payment methods and what preparations are required prior to a campaign.
1. AN INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
The development of KOLs in China can be traced back 15 years. Various platforms feature different types of influencers.
Roughly, there are 4 types of Chinese KOLs:
To engage in KOL marketing, Weibo and WeChat influencers are the top priority. In recent years the number of Weibo and WeChat KOLs has grown rapidly, as have their follower numbers. Weibo and WeChat KOLs can be loosely grouped into 2 groups: those having more than 100,000 followers and those having more than 1,000,000 followers.
As for the most popular short video platform, Douyin, ads on this platform are a little bit different and most of the popular products sold by its KOLs are for women. There are 11 hot topics on Douyin and if your brands or products are related to these topics, it’s worth your while to leverage Douyin KOLs for advertising and sales.
2. SHUIJUN: WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
Shuijun (the internet water army) is one of the largest factors that affects a KOL’s true influence and the effectiveness of a KOL promotion. They’re professional groups paid to like, comment and gossip on online platforms, such as Weibo and WeChat. They can bump up positive reviews and even remove negative feedback. The issue for influencer marketing, in terms of Shuijun, is that they’re not a real target audience who may purchase your products and the engagement between them and the KOL isn’t real.
In the past, there were only two or three evaluating factors on Weibo and WeChat. However, in order to avoid Shuijun, an integrated assessment model must be used to measure the quality of a KOL and a promotion. It includes multiple methods, both quantitative and qualitative, and a close look at the KOLs’ past performance as an influencer.
3. IDENTIFYING AND AUDITING KOLS PRE-PROMOTION
To find the right KOLs for your brands or products there are usually three approaches:
4. THE 5 STEPS OF AN EFFECTIVE KOL PROMOTION
To find the right KOLs for your brands or products there are usually three approaches:
FAQ
How are Chinese influencers / KOLs different from KOLs in the West?
Chinese bloggers are the only bloggers in the world who are directly selling their own and others’ product lines online in posts, campaigns and live streams. That’s why it’s important to understand them, their audiences and the messages they’re communicating.
Will we talk about budgeting for campaigns and the structure of KOL fees?
Yes. We’ll talk about the best practices in terms of effective distribution of your budget.
Is KOL promotion only suitable for B2C companies?
Depending on the industry, KOL promotion can also work for B2B firms.
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