{"id":10757,"date":"2022-08-10T07:30:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T07:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=10757"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:38:15","slug":"what-are-the-differences-between-influencer-marketing-in-the-uk-and-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/what-are-the-differences-between-influencer-marketing-in-the-uk-and-china\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the differences between influencer marketing in the UK and China?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Li Jiaqi to Kim Kardashian, it’s no secret that influencer marketing can be key to the success of consumer brands. But what do UK companies entering the China market need to know about its influencer marketing ecosystem, and how does it differ between the two countries?<\/h2>\n

Most brands nowadays will be familiar with China\u2019s unique social media platforms \u2013 WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu<\/a>, Douyin<\/a> \u2013 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 \u2013 or KOL (key opinion leader) marketing, as it is usually known in China.<\/p>\n

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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. \u201cChinese consumers are more receptive to promotional content because it is more of a guide,\u201d says Robin Liu, co-founder of social media marketing agency Influencer Hub International.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are used to searching for information about the products on social media, which is the start of the customer purchasing journey.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s biggest internet celebrities, such as \u2018Lipstick King\u2019 Li Jiaqi (prior to a recent controversy that saw him disappear from the internet) and Papi Jiang.<\/p>\n