Opinion / From KOLs to LOLs: size does count with Chinese social media influencers
It’s recognised guidance to work with various smaller influencers rather than one big expensive KOL
By Lee Folland, head of research at Reuter Communications (commentary first included on Campaign Asia)
Key opinion leaders (KOLs) in China still present an amazing opportunity, even if the tactic has suffered from a recent bubble effect.
Finding, vetting, authenticating and working successfully with KOLs has become a challenge for brands to overcome – yet with social selling more developed in China than in other markets, it’s a challenge that has to be tackled.
Do your full research on the key opinion leaders, find out about them and what they like
What are some fresh ways to find the rewards that KOL marketing can win?
KOLs to LOLs
Don’t laugh out loud – switch from looking for KOLs to local opinion leaders (LOLs). It’s already recognised guidance to work with a variety of smaller influencers rather than one big (expensive) KOL in China.
Yet it’s not only about selecting those with a certain kind of WeChat, Weibo or Xiaohongshu following. LOLs means figures in culture – and subculture.
Graffiti artists may not post an “eyes look down to the right” KOL pose on Weibo every day, but some have cultivated a strong following that really resonates with a younger audience.
Peking Opera figures might not seem like the recognised version of a KOL, but as proven with Swire Hotels’ The House Collective campaign, My Story My House, cultural icons, such as fashion designer Masha Ma, relate and communicate with luxury Chinese consumers in a genuine way with obvious cultural linkage. They are people who have really “achieved something” other than “being famous for being famous”.
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