Collaboration Models with Chinese KOLs: Finding the Perfect Fit for Your Brand

In recent years, with the rise of decentralized social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Weibo, and Bilibili, KOLs on these platforms have increasingly captured the attention of brands. Brands hope to leverage their strong influence and large fan base to attract new users and boost sales. So, how do brand businesses collaborate with KOLs? Which methods yield better results? Which way suits your brand's needs? Today, Chinatop Marketing will provide a comprehensive overview of these collaboration models to promote your 2023 marketing efforts.

Sending products to KOLs for creative content creation

This is the most common form of collaboration, where brands typically send products to KOLs. After receiving the products, KOLs use their content style to creatively capture photos or videos, sharing their usage experiences and highlighting the product's key selling points. This collaboration may involve product exchanges or monetary compensation. Generally, product exchanges are more suitable for bloggers with a smaller follower base, as they are more open to exchange collaborations. On the other hand, monetary compensation tends to result in higher-quality content from KOLs.

Gifting KOLs with special edition products

For top-tier influencers who do not accept product exchange collaborations, brands can showcase their creativity by designing and producing unique and eye-catching products. By gifting these special edition products to KOLs, many of them will spontaneously create content featuring these gifts. In previous interviews, we found that popular KOLs are likelier to post photos or videos featuring brand gifts if they appreciate the product design and packaging. Some influencers have shared their experiences, saying, "I received custom-designed pajamas with my name on them from a brand. I created dedicated content for it and frequently showcased it on social media." Beauty blogger @傅沛MelilimFu received customized cosmetics with her name, which she found meaningful and shared with her followers. She also received a unique custom gift, a self-portrait from Makeup Forever, which complemented the brand's launch of red lipstick. She said it was a special gift and hung it up at home.

KOL reposting and collaboration with brand accounts

This type of collaboration is common on platforms like Weibo. Brands create well-crafted video advertisements or lottery campaigns and collaborate with multiple KOLs to repost and recommend the brand. This generates interactive engagement among their respective fan bases and creates a buzz.

Involving KOLs as protagonists in brand advertisements

This deeper collaboration involves KOLs becoming the main characters in brand advertising stories. Brands incorporate KOL's background and shoot advertisements accordingly. For instance, in a previous water purifier advertisement, Zhihu influencer @一棵桉树, with his expertise in the food and beverage industry, endorsed the product, providing credibility and helping the brand establish influence in consumers' minds.

Inviting KOLs to visit offline pop-up stores

KOLs highly accept this form of collaboration. "I enjoy participating in interactive activities that allow me to understand the brand's product culture," says blogger @Aaron小宇哥. "One interesting experience was attending a new car launch event where I not only experienced the vehicle but also gained ownership of the new car." Well-designed events can attract more attention and exposure. KOLs are enthusiastic about sharing photos, but brands must provide them with something worth sharing. "I prefer well-decorated photos-friendly events involving small gifts," says blogger @钟恩淇.

Commission-based collaborations

This is a collaboration method that many brands are eager to explore, particularly for brands with sales-oriented marketing objectives. It can be divided into two models: pure commission and exposure fee + commission. New brands or those with limited marketing budgets often lean towards pure commission collaborations. When choosing KOLs for commission-based collaborations, content should not be the sole consideration. It is essential to communicate with KOLs to understand their fan demographics, sales experiences, and even their ability to drive sales.

Live streaming collaborations

When discussing commission-based collaborations, one cannot overlook the popular trend of "live streaming sales." However, brands must be cautious of potential pitfalls, such as setting excessively low promotional prices that may hinder brand building or sacrificing their flagship products. The host's sales ability should be carefully assessed. Brands can invite hosts to live stream on their platforms or ask them as guest participants in their live-streaming sessions to interact and liven up the atmosphere.

Brand-incubated KOLs

Many brands have expressed interest in incubating their KOLs for brand promotion in recent years. They believe that some specialized products require strong expertise, which many KOLs may lack, resulting in weaker persuasive power and sales. Brands naturally desire immediate conversion, but the high collaboration costs with KOLs may not always yield the desired results. Therefore, many brands have begun contemplating incubating their KOLs. However, nurturing a KOL requires a thorough understanding of social media platforms, knowledge of their dynamics, and establishing close and effective partnerships with social platforms. Additionally, consistently producing high-quality content and timing are also critical factors. Therefore, brands should carefully consider this approach.

As an emerging brand marketing mode in China, KOL marketing provides more communication opportunities for brands entering China. In cooperating with KOL, oversea brands must pay attention to KOL selection, cooperation mode, content creativity, and other aspects to achieve effective brand and product advertising. At the same time, by evaluating cooperation effects and user feedback, brands can continuously optimize their China digital marketing strategies and enhance the impact of brand communication. Through in-depth cooperation with KOL, oversea brands can stand out in the highly competitive market environment and maximize brand value.

Obtain the assistance you require

Whether locating the appropriate KOL, arranging commercial partnerships, creating localized content, or effectively managing branded social media accounts, a specialized Chinese marketing agency can enhance every aspect of your journey.

At Chinatop Marketing, we operate on a partnership basis, offering the expertise and capabilities necessary to connect you with the ideal KOLs for your brand. We possess the knowledge and efficiency to expedite Chinese social media KOL partnerships that yield a return on investment aligned with your objectives. To learn more, please don't hesitate to contact us.