Show notes
Welcome back to the only podcast to ask: China, WTF?! What’s The Future?In this episode, we chat about Douyin, China’s hyper-developed TikTok twin. It is no secret that short-form video is taking over the world and that brands need to jump on the social train, so now is the right time to be looking at Douyin when you’re thinking about China marketing. Although Douyin and TikTok are owned by the same Chinese giant Bytedance, they are rather different in many ways. We touch on the different features and focus, as usual, on the people that use Douyin, their user behaviour and how that influences the content on the platform. Of course, brand strategies and monetisation models are also introduced. Here are some time stamps for reference:02:00 Differences between TikTok and Douyin03:10 The figures on short form video in China04:28 Douyin’s AI and interest-driven content feed07:24 China’s other popular short video platforms (Kuaishou, Xigua, Huoshan, etc.)08:19 Kuaishou and the competition between Tencent (WeChat) and Bytedance10:49 Difference in content and users on Douyin and TikTok14:13 User motivations (‘Uses Gratification Theory’) and clever ‘undercover’ adverts 16:34 Seamless E-commerce on Douyin: ‘see now buy now’19:02 The future of social media: combining the best part of social media and the best part of e-commerce19:46 Influencers / ’content creators’ on Douyin and how to work with them21:49 Meritocracy and the global influencer movement from lifestyle and commentators to talent and creators (led by Douyin)25:26 The importance of Douyin search, trends and rankings 27:37 Paid media and monetization of platforms in the West vs China29:11 Brand accounts and stores on Douyin (low barrier to entry)31:02 Myths and huge missed opportunities: You needn’t focus on WeChat and Weibo and pay to play - Douyin is a good platform to gain organic traction 34:09 What’s the future?! Influencer fraud and click farms, platform competition and innovationIf you like this episode, follow us/subscribe for more. You can also watch the full video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QNcRZIJvFTc Feel free to contact us on [email protected] with comments, thoughts and suggestions. The next episode will be on wealthy Chinese consumers!