Digital Marketing Agency in China

Personal recommendation is the most powerful form of brand promotion in China, it takes place primarily through social media, and the most influential factor in product discovery, evaluation and opinion-forming are Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs).

Over 50% of purchases of mid and high-priced items in China are directly attributable to social media recommendations. KOLs play the single biggest role in this equation, and such is their pervasive attraction that a survey last year by Internet giant Tencent, found that 54% of university age respondents said that their preferred career was to be a KOL.

As well as being authority figures in the subject areas in which they operate, KOLs often have their own online shops, and at the higher end of the scale, they design or co-design their own products. Data from analysts Frost and Sullivan estimate that KOLs’ own sales reached £3.93bn in 2017, and predicted 40.4% compound growth over the coming five years.

Commanding power
KOLs take a variety of forms. Super KOLs, KOLs, and micro influencers. Celebrities may also be considered KOLs in China as they actively endorse and recommend products, retailers and services, and often all at the same time.

Super KOLs have enormous followings that are often in the many millions, and as a result, they command huge power. A good example is the case of Becky Li, who sold 100 limited edition Mini Coopers in less than four minutes, or Austin Li who earlier this year sold 15,000 lipsticks in fifteen minutes.

Last month (June, 2019), Italian luxury brand Tod’s launched a limited edition range of handbags designed in partnership with super KOL, Mr Bags, who has 5.3 million followers on social media platform Weibo, and nearly a million on WeChat. Within a week of launch, the bags sold out in Tod’s mainland China stores with sales figures well in excess of £500,000, which is almost double the figure for a similar collaboration by Mr Bags and Montblanc last summer.

Recommendation by KOLs is effective for reasons beyond the ability to communicate with large numbers of consumers. They carry influence because they are trusted arbiters on the subject areas they specialise. The level of assurance KOLs can provide supersedes any other form of assessment or recommendation.

“KOL marketing is a science and creative art. Retailers that work with KOLs should pay attention to vet and test KOL cooperation carefully to ensure the end result works to build positive word of mouth”

KOLs use emotive content, detailed writing and interaction to create a feeling of intimacy, realism and trust between themselves and consumers. This works very effectively to create authentic communication, and two-way communication is key to growing brand advocacy, which is difficult through direct commercial communications. Utilising KOLs’ unique relationships to place messages in front of their followers can produce very large returns, but it must be done well in order to work.

KOL marketing is a science and creative art. Retailers that work with KOLs should pay attention to vet and test KOL cooperation carefully to ensure the end result works to build positive word of mouth. Evaluation is extremely important in learning what is effective, and how messaging can be successfully extended to maximise sales potential. Analysis also enables the identification of micro-influencers that emerge within KOL follower groups, who in turn can be utilised.

An oversimplified approach to KOL marketing in which retailers or brands pay for overly commercial posts is quickly identified by consumers. Leading KOLs guard their audiences closely, and those that agree to ‘copy and post’ in exchange for a fee should be viewed with suspicion. Simply pushing out brand messages and product information does not work.