In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, offline events and public gatherings have been delayed indefinitely or cancelled altogether in China. Additionally, most people are working from home and self-isolating to allow for social distancing.
Given this physical seclusion, more people are online more often than usual.
Hence, marketers in China must adjust their strategies for at least the next 2-3 months.
This includes moving offline events online and using digital media and KOL resources to promote your products, services, and brand on China’s many livestreaming platforms.
Here, we discuss some of the most effective livestream platforms in China to help brands connect with their audience during this uncertain, unfortunate time.
Kandian Live (看点直播)
Kandian Live is a livestream platform made by Tencent for brands with a WeChat official account.
Kandian Live supports live video streaming, live voice streaming, and video replay. It consists of two products: an app and a mini program. Brands can open a Kandian Live account by inputting their WeChat official account ID into the Kandian Live app.
Once you launch a livestream event, a QR code is generated, which you can share in a post on your WeChat official account. Your audience can then scan and enter the Kandian Live mini program (there is no need for them to download a different app) to watch and interact with your live broadcast.
In addition, after subscribing to the live broadcast, users will receive a notification to remind them to watch the live show.
Check out our article on how to livestream from your WeChat official account.
Inke. Tiktok. Kuaishou. (映客. 抖音. 快手.)
B2C brands can use the Inke, Tiktok, and Kuaishou livestream platforms. These are popular among the general public. Their users are younger and enjoy online shopping and interacting with video creators.
The key feature of these apps is that users can directly purchase products and services on them. Proven marketing strategies on these apps include:
- Working with KOLs or celebrities for them to promote your products or services on their own livestream platforms
- Launching your own livestream channels to share unique insider info with your audience, such as the process of creating your products or services
Ximalaya. Lychee. ITalk. (喜马拉雅. 荔枝. 造就.)
Ximalaya, Lychee, and ITalk are audio livestream apps (similar to podcasts) that help brands share knowledge, such as educational, financial, technology, scientific, and social information and data.
Ximalalya and Lychee allow brands to pre-record or livestream audio.
ITalk, similar to TEDTalks, allows brands to feature speakers from all different industries and backgrounds.
Tencent Cloud. Baijiayun. Youin. Vhall. Xylink. (腾讯云. 百家云. 有因. 微吼. 小鱼易连.)
In the B2B industry, brands often require event customization, like limited attendance numbers, entrance codes, event sign-ups, etc. Luckily, there are many livestream platforms for these types of B2B or internal enterprise events.
Tencent launched Tencent Cloud, while Baidu has Baijiayun. Youin, Vhall, and Xylink are all also mature B2B livestream platforms.
Brands can determine which platforms work best for them based on their needs.
Online Communities
Depending on your industry, you can find online communities of your target audience. These online communities facilitate online seminars, classes, interactivity, conversations, social listening, and more.
Brands can leverage online communities to build an audience to join or host a livestream event on any of the apps described above.
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Livestream is popular now due to the reduced in-person contact measures taking place in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, do note that livestream content must be of high quality to captivate your audience and usually requires coordination between different departments.
