The success of Chinese Livestream Influencers

Livestream is finding its place in the mainstream eCommerce industry partly because of Chinese eCommerce giants and influencers.  
The heavyweights like Alibaba and other smaller-scale companies have proven that livestream shopping brings results and is the future of shopping.  
The success of livestreaming can be attributed to its intimate and interactive nature. Consumers can have complete peace of mind before going through with the purchase on a livestream.
Plus, coupled with influencer marketing, livestream shopping can work like a miracle for brands.  
In this article, we talk about the successful use of livestream shopping by Chinese influencers and its effects on the rest of the eCommerce world.
Let’s dig in.

Chinese Livestream Shopping Giants

‍
It might not be news now that the Chinese eCommerce industry has been on the rise and the pandemic has given it a push forward.
A study suggests that China has the highest level of retail sales in the world. And, most of it can be justifiably tied to live commerce.
The eCommerce giant Alibaba’s Taobao enjoys the largest share of 80% in live commerce. And, other Chinese eCommerce companies like Baidu and JD.com aren’t far behind either.
Livestream shopping platforms like Taobao have been successful at connecting shoppers and brands. It has not only been selling at a massive scale to consumers but also is a source of entertainment for the masses. Something that other eCommerce platforms might want to replicate.

Chinese Livestream Influencers Getting Celebrity Status

‍
Influencer marketing has already been growing at a pace comparable to any other marketing strategy. What that means is that influencers are gaining popularity in their respective industries.
But, influencer marketing isn’t limited to social media platforms. Chinese Ecommerce heavyweights like Taobao have proven that by using influencers to sell a historic number of products on livestreams.
Ecommerce livestreaming has elevated influencers to celebrity status, especially in China. They are thought of as key opinion leaders and are being paid generously as well.
KOLs in China receive a hefty sum of commissions on the products sold through their livestreams in addition to an appearance fee.
That said, as more and more people jump on the bandwagon of influencer marketing, there are a lot of relatively inexpensive options in virtually every industry.
As a brand, you just need to look at the right place with the right strategy. Plus, you can strike up a deal where most of your expenditure goes from the products sold. This would be a win-win for both parties.

The Growth of Livestream Influencers in the Smaller Sector

‍
While influencers that gained celebrity-like status in China have been quite impactful for brands, the trend seems to shift to smaller markets as well.
This can be encouraging for brands that can’t afford to invest a hefty sum of their marketing budget on a heavyweight influencer.
Niche influencers with a specialty in their own industry are gaining popularity not in China but also in the western eCommerce landscape.

The Impact of Chinese Live Commerce Success

‍
As digital media continue to be more relevant in the lives of a consumer, convenience will continue to find its way into their lives.
We’ve seen that how eCommerce has been taking the place of a brick-and-mortar retail store in the last few years.
The changing retail landscape experienced a boost when the crisis hit in the form of a pandemic. It affected everyone and limited human-to-human interaction on a massive scale.
And, some might say that eCommerce has been a saving grace for many consumers that didn’t have the option to leave their homes.
Meanwhile, China has been pretty active at using livestream commerce even before the pandemic hit. And, again, the crisis has only given it a push forward.
Even before the crisis, by March 2020, Chinese live commerce users were 265 million. This was more than 29% of the country’s overall internet users.
And, lockdown situations in China boosted the live commerce industry. You’d see Chinese brands doing livestreams weekly or even daily.
Seeing the success Chinese eCommerce platforms like Taobao had, many other digital giants like Amazon and Facebook jumped on the bandwagon.  
In 2019, the US eCommerce heavyweight also announced its own livestream platform “Amazon Live”. It allows brands and influencers to work together and present their products directly to prospects.
Not to mention the social media giant Facebook, which now also owns Instagram, jumping on the bandwagon of livestream shopping.
But, is there still room for improvement for the western eCommerce industry? Let’s see.

What the West Can Learn?

‍
Clearly, the west needs to catch up as far as eCommerce livestreaming is concerned. It still trails China in the “livestreaming for selling” industry.
A prominent factor that renders Chinese companies more effective at utilizing live commerce is the less fragmentation in eCommerce.
While Amazon and eBay are major players in the worldwide eCommerce phenomenon, the US still lacks in this sector.
Amazon accounted for 37% of the eCommerce in the US in 2019 while eBay had a share of 6.1% of the market. Beyond that, the picture is not that bright.
Almost everything else in the online retail industry relies on individual websites. It’s a fragmented market and consumers need to explore a variety of websites from different sellers to find what they want.
In contrast, you’d find a lot of integration in China. The country’s 2 eCommerce companies, Alibaba and JD.com account for about 72% of the overall market share.

Creating Livestream-specific Talent

China has also been producing skillful hosts that know how to maneuver livestreams. They know the art of engaging the audience while also selling products effectively. Something that’s probably lacking in the western livestream influencer industry.

Building Cross-functional Platforms

‍
Did you know that Google tried to move into the social media arena and Facebook took its shot at eCommerce?
Well, both initiatives didn’t go quite as planned. While both are extremely successful in their own category, they haven’t been able to capture other markets as effectively up until now.
The audiences in the west see these platforms belonging to completely different categories and aren’t really ready to accept the cross-functionality.
In contrast, Chinese eCommerce industry leaders like Alibaba have been able to move into categories other than eCommerce as well.
For instance, Taobao, a livestream shopping platform where hosts don’t only sell products but also deliver great content to consumers.
Alibaba has also integrated its own payment solution “Alipay” into the mainstream. Moreover, WeChat is another example of how the masses can use a single platform for multiple purposes.

What Should You Do as a Brand?

‍
So, as a brand, what can you learn from the success of Chinese influencer Livestreaming? For one, you should consider starting livestream shopping if you haven’t yet.
Second, as a brand, you need to look into the ways you can use livestream influencers to grow your brand.
See, influencers don’t only know the craft of creating engaging content, but they are also great at communication.
Plus, if your business is new, you could use an already established audience by working with a seasoned influencer in your industry.

Finding the Right Influencers for Your Livestreams

‍
The next step after you realize that influencer livestreaming can help you get more customers is creating your strategy and finding influencers.
But, any influencer won’t do. You would need to find out the one that can not only engage your audience but make them act on your offers as well.
First, find the platforms where you think your target audience might be hanging out. See if you can find some influencers that have a decent engagement rate on their content.
The most important factors while considering an influencer for your livestreams are:
• The industry
• The audience size
• The engagement rate
Once you have a small list of influencers, you can then pitch your offer to them. Making sure that you offer them something first can substantially increase your chances of getting a reply.
Most influencers are great at engaging and selling to the online audience. You may even not have to provide a content outline for your livestream.
If all goes well, you can form a long-term partnership with them so that you don’t have to look for new influencers for your future streams.
The massive success that the Chinese livestream influencers had tells us a lot about influencer marketing’s potential.
Besides the right influencer, probably the second most important thing you need to carry out impactful livestreams is dedicated livestream software.
We are excited to tell you that now you can do livestreams with full control and ease with Jumble’s own livestream software.

Start your live commerce journey as are tail brand from here.

‍