{"id":12347,"date":"2023-05-19T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T12:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=12347"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:31:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:31:32","slug":"what-3-top-kols-can-tell-us-about-influencer-marketing-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/what-3-top-kols-can-tell-us-about-influencer-marketing-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"What 3 top KOLs can tell us about influencer marketing in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s most successful influencers \u2013 and their route to the top \u2013 all have something to tell us about China\u2019s e-commerce ecosystem, writes Robynne Tindall<\/strong><\/h2>\n

China is a global leader in influencer marketing, with the market for key opinion leaders (KOLs) \u2013 the more common term for influencers in the Chinese context \u2013 reaching RMB 340 billion (\u00a341 billion) in 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly increased the amount of time people spend online, and KOLs have become a crucial part of successful marketing in China, with Chinese consumers ranking the opinions of influencers such as live streamers almost as highly as recommendations from family and friends when it comes to making purchasing decisions.<\/p>\n

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Li Jiaqi competing with Alibaba’s Jack Ma to sell the most lipsticks during a live stream (captured from Youku)<\/p><\/div>\n

Austin (Jiaqi) Li: Big isn\u2019t always better<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Taobao Live followers: 73.4 million<\/em><\/p>\n

Known by the moniker \u201cthe lipstick king\u201d after selling more than 15,000 lipsticks in five minutes on Taobao Live, Austin Li is one of the most prominent faces of China\u2019s live commerce revolution. The former shop assistant first gained fame for his marathon live streams, where he would apply hundreds of different lipsticks, and he soon became Taobao Live\u2019s most lucrative seller, playing a key role in the rise of shopping festivals like Singles\u2019 Day and 618. In 2021, Li was one of the few Chinese people to be included on the Time 100 Next list.<\/p>\n

The charismatic star\u2019s selling power has attracted many of the world\u2019s biggest brands, including NARS, Hilton, and Coach. However, the success of major streamers like Li has drawn increased scrutiny from the authorities and led to several uncomfortable scandals.<\/p>\n

Li became a cautionary tale in early June 2022 when one of his live streams abruptly went off the air after he presented an ice cream cake resembling a tank the day before the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests (although his team blamed the outage on technical issues). Li was nowhere to be found on social media for several months, before making a triumphant comeback in the run-up to Singles\u2019 Day 2022, with his first stream clocking up over 50 million viewers.<\/p>\n

His successful return put paid to speculation that the era of the live streaming megastar was over; however, his absence served as a reminder that hitching your brand\u2019s bandwagon to an internet celebrity can leave you open to being tainted by association if a scandal ensues. Moreover, while working with a superstar like Li can help raise demand for hero SKUs for brands with an established presence, it is unlikely to be an accessible strategy for brands that are still building awareness, which may be better served working with smaller KOLs on platforms like Xiaohongshu.<\/p>\n