Why Should You Care About DouYin?

What is DouYin?

• China’s TikTok With More Features

• Short Video Sharing Social Media

• Integrated Live Streaming and E-Commerce Marketplace

• 600 Million+ Daily Active Users

What is DouYin?

Chinese social media platform catering to its Chinese audience and goes significantly deeper than its Western counterpart.

You may have heard Chinese social media platform DouYin referred to as China’s equivalent of TikTok. While TikTok and DouYin are both owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, DouYin is focused entirely on catering to its Chinese audience and goes significantly deeper than its Western counterpart. The apps operate on completely different servers, meaning that content uploaded to one is not accessible on the other. 

In addition to differing viral trends and video cultures, the DouYin app itself supports a handful of features absent from TikTok, such as user live streams and business accounts that users can purchase goods from directly within the app. As TikTok becomes increasingly relevant in the global marketing space, let’s take a look at how your brand can utilize the additional features offered by China’s DouYin to maximize influence in one of the world’s largest economies. 

User Demographics

Before we dive into specific DouYin marketing methods, it’s important to understand who exactly you are marketing to. Official reports from ByteDance show that 46% of users are over the age of 30, illustrating the app’s appeal among both younger and older generations. Gender is quite evenly split as well, with males representing 52% of users, and females 48%. From an economic perspective, 33% of users live in Tier 1 cities, 25% in Tier 2, 21% in Tier 3, and the remaining 21% in Tier 4+. DouYin’s rapidly expanding user base is not confined by age, gender, or socioeconomic status. With a refined understanding of the platform and calculated execution of marketing campaigns, brands can reach any target audience they desire.

Traditional Digital Advertisements

DouYin supports two different kinds of paid advertising: app opening screen ads and social feed ads. App opening screen advertisements feature an image or short video that display for only a few seconds upon a user opening the app. Social feed ads appear directly in a user’s social feed, blending in with posts from other followed accounts. Charged by Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPT), brands can utilize both types of advertisements to get their marketing material out. Users can share engaging ad content to other social platforms or send it directly to friends within the app, and brands can seamlessly direct users to their own business profile easily facilitating follower growth. With skillfully crafted advertisement material and a carefully selected target audience, these marketing methods can be quite effective, but they pale in comparison to the potential exposure generated by KOL videos and live streaming.

KOL Marketing

Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are an essential part of DouYin marketing. To get verified within the app as an official influencer, users will need to upload a minimum of one video and have at least 10,000 followers. Just like on Western platforms, brands can partner with leading KOLs to create challenges and hashtags with high potential to go viral, creating mass brand awareness and pushing sales. While this should not be ignored in marketing campaigns, the incentive to work with KOLs on DouYin shines in DouYin’s live streaming and e-commerce section.

Inaccessible on Western version TikTok, DouYin’s live streaming section is used by an astounding 84.5% of total DouYin users. That’s 507 million users daily! Easily accessed via the app’s home screen, the live streaming section features an endless supply of influencers reviewing and promoting a wide variety of products. Top influencers have the ability to push thousands of sales in a matter of minutes. For example, Austin Li the “Lipstick King” sold 15,000 products in under 5 minutes during a live stream to his nearly 44 million followers. In 2018, he competed against Alibaba founder and billionaire Jack Ma in a friendly contest to see who could sell more units. The event was engaged over 2 million times. 

Brands holding a valid Chinese business license can create official business accounts on DouYin, and sell products directly within the app. When KOLs live stream and promote their products, the purchase button is linked and takes users directly to the store page where they can easily pay with WeChat, AliPay, or funds stored in the DouYin wallet. It is the pinnacle of convenience for the consumer. 

Key Takeaways:

• TikTok and DouYin are not the same - DouYin boasts more features

• DouYin’s growing user base is home to all age and socioeconomic groups

• KOL partnerships are crucial to digital marketing in China

• The live stream promotion to purchase pipeline holds massive potential for brands looking to expand into China

We understand that tracking online trends in China and navigating different social media platforms can be quite intimidating, but Waitan/Nordic Friend is here to help. In addition to our own roster of managed influencers on DouYin, we maintain strong relationships with an extensive network of China’s leading online KOLs and can curate impactful marketing campaigns to meet your brand’s growth goals. With an office located in the center of downtown Shanghai, Waitan/Nordic Friend’s local and international staff are experts in digital marketing in China. Feel free to contact us to schedule a consultation, or ask any questions you may have regarding China’s exciting digital landscape!