A pretty woman casually dressed, eating noodles and talking about the makeup she is planning to buy. A handsome man gazing at the webcam in silence. A lady singing a cappella in her living room. What do they have in common? Hundreds of thousand followers.
The Live-Streaming craze is sweeping across China. Millions of regular people are now sharing bits of their lives with the world seeking for fame and expecting to gain cash.
Yizhibo, Xiandanjia, Douyu and Ingkee are some popular apps among the 80 apps for live streaming available in China, and the number is growing all the time.
Why these videos which seem meaningless have so much success?
These apps allow people to peek into the lives of strangers and interact with them to an unprecedented extent. The viewers can send pop-up messages to the streamer and “tip” them with virtual presents they buy from the apps. The streamers can then exchange their presents for cash.
On Ingkee, one yuan (0,10€) buys 10 “diamonds”. Tipping a beer will cost you 1 diamond, a Ferrari 1200 diamonds and a yacht 13140 diamonds.
Competition between streamers is fierce, a raking based on the number of followers and the number of “diamonds” is accessible. Some accounts have reached many millions of diamonds.
It is necessary for brands to conquer the Live-streaming world.
These Internet celebrities are highly influential leaders among the young generation and they receive money from brands for broadcasting their products.
The apps are already used for commercial purposes. Individuals and companies use them for selling makeup and skincare products.
Celebrities also broadcast to interact directly with fans.
L’Oréal has a live-streaming account and offers sessions of live show with the brand’s muses.
Ingkee, is only one year old but has been ranked No. 1 on Apple’s China app store multiple times. Ingkee says over 50 million users have downloaded its app. Douyu claims 120 million active monthly users.
Live-streaming apps are a great opportunity for brands to reach customers beyond geographical limitations and at low costs.
Article written by Thi My Nguyen, Market Research Manager at Ifop Asia.
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