Chinese Online Celebrities and Live-streaming Create New Marketing Opportunities for Overseas Sellers

The landscape of China’s eCommerce keeps evolving rapidly. As traditional marketing channels are gradually losing their charm in acquiring new users, new channels emerge to solve this problem. Online celebrities and live streaming marketing are the new ch...

by Azoya

The landscape of China’s eCommerce keeps evolving rapidly. As traditional marketing channels are gradually losing their charm in acquiring new users, new channels emerge to solve this problem. Online celebrities and live streaming marketing are the new channels employed by Chinese eCommerce industry to reinvigorate the sagging online marketing business.

The success of social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo in China has given rise to a number of influential bloggers and social commentators, apart from the usual suspects including national celebrities and politicians.

If brands are going to survive in the competitive Chinese market, they will need to learn how to build relationships with these vital sources of advertising. In essence, Key Opinion Leaders are people with a large number of followers whom other Chinese netizens (users of the Internet)trust. They can include academics, celebrities, businessmen and women, and even professional bloggers.

The advantage of online celebrities

Traditionally, online advertising works as a “funnel model”: As the communication curve extends, the number of receivers decreases, forming a funnel-like model. However, online celebrities marketing can generate a “ripple effect”: the brand communication works like a ripple which transmits the brand information without being weakened.

Online celebrities attract followers mainly by their authority in certain fields. The fans have a higher level of trust on online celebrities, thus are less likely to be annoyed by ads. So online celebrities can imperceptibly persuade their followers to buy.

Online celebrities marketing also solves the problem of inadequate information of the consumers. Online celebrities are experts in some consuming sectors. They gain their credibility via a long history of interacting with the followers. They live on the veracity of the information they provide. As a result, online celebrities are regarded as more trustworthy than online advertising. Plus, online celebrities are the ideal choices in customer education.

Online live-streaming helps to boost engagement

The growing popularity of the live-streaming service rides on tech-savvy Chinese craving a real-time connection with these internet personalities. User-generated video streams are broadcasted on various online platforms.

Combined with online celebrities, online live-streaming means a traffic goldmine waiting to be tapped into for eCommerce. As users are watching the live-streaming of online celebrities, they can engage simultaneously at any moment. Users are more inclined to engage with the host and are more ready to place orders. Normally, online live-streaming marketing has a higher conversion rate.

Opportunities for overseas sellers

For overseas online retailers who sell products to China via cross-border eCommerce, online celebrities, and online live-streaming can be used to promote customer engagement and acquire new customers at a lower cost.

This is how Azoya helps its Australian retail partners to enhance brand awareness among Chinese tech-savvy online shoppers.

In August, Azoya will organize a tour that invites 4 renowned Chinese online celebrities to Australia. These bloggers have a wide-spread influence on the online community. They will be invited to visit Australia pharmacies and post their experiences online. Meanwhile, their tour will be broadcasted in many online live-streaming channels.

By creating and organizing this activity, Azoya aims to develop more effective and rewarding channels for its Australia partners. The online celebrities will be given the opportunity to testify the authenticity and reliability of Australian ethical products, which is what Chinese customers are eager to know. Through online live-streaming, Chinese customers can catch a glimpse of how their favorite products are packaged and distributed. Then they can be rest-assured on the products they plan to buy. During the live-streaming, purchase links will be pushed to the users to place orders immediately.

A local team in China will help promote this event. The team will be responsible for attracting more users to participate. Meanwhile, the local operation teams for these Australian retailers will launch corresponding campaigns to maximize the outcome of this event.