Biofore-Magazine-2021

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FEATURE

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panies, industry stakeholders, and consumers taking action to ward environmental sustainability. More than ever, I noticed a collective consciousness emerging.” However, experts such as Steven Proud , Global Marketing Director at Brandigo, says it will take KOLs a while yet to be able to influencemore sustainable forms of consumption. “Froma consumer point of view, sustainability isn’t a huge con sideration in China. That might change. At the moment, it’s more that you’ll see a lot of electric vehicles – but it’s not consumer-led. It comes from tax breaks and government intervention and be cause it’s not consumer-led, KOLs aren’t in the space,” says Proud. The absence of sustainability discourse among influencers in China today does not preclude the possibility of Chinese con sumers – and therefore KOLs – becomingmore conscious of sus tainability in future. For now, Proud advises consumer-focused brands to lead on consumer benefit rather than sustainability. “If you’re a wellness brand or a lifestyle brand, it’s the positive impact you’ll have on the consumer’s brand or family that will resonate rather than messages about sustainability. Sustainabil ity is a super-niche angle at the moment. In the future, I think it will grow as China’s youth become more globally aware and so cially conscious,” he concludes.

can go to one source of information to help themreduce the time needed to compare and search quality of products – that’s where KOLs come in as a trusted source of information.” In her interviews with KOLs, Leong found that they empha sised their commitments to recommending quality products to their audiences. “The KOLs said, if during a live stream they found that a prod uct didn’t work well – such as if amask doesn’t wipe offwell after 10 minutes – they would have to tell the users honestly, ‘I prob ably won’t recommend this product to you,’ because they can’t hide it and because they want to build a long-term reputation for themselves,” she adds. Heading towards sustainability While the Chinesemarket is well known for a seemingly bottom less appetite for luxury goods, pandemic-induced anxiety and introspection seemto havemade someChinese consumersmore aware of the impact of their personal consumption. The beginnings of this shift were noticeable even pre-pan demic. Writing for Vogue during Shanghai Fashion Week 2019, Yu Holdings founder Wendy Yu observed, “In the space of just a season or two, themomentumhas picked up with fashion com

Influencers are helping create trust in the e-commerce market, which consumers have historically been wary of.

What makes Asian influencers tick? Brands are quickly realising that they need to adopt entirely new influencer-led strategies to tap into Asia. Florence Leung is an influencer and runs a digital marketing agency that helps brands connect with KOLs. With 13 years of experience under her belt, she shares her insights. Why must global brands take note of the rising importance of Asian KOLs? The Asian audience market is vast and growing ever stronger. I think across Asia, and more specifically in China, followers tend to have a stronger connection to KOLs. Tactics used on social media platforms elsewhere in the world don’t work as effectively on regional social media platforms such as RED, WeChat, Bili Bili, YouTube, Douyin, Weibo and more. Influencers know how to work within this system and can help brands both shape and deliver their message directly to the right target audience. It depends on the social platform. For Western brands, my work is on Instagram. For Asian brands, my work is on Little Red Book (aka RED) and WeChat. Communication style and content format really depends on the platform. On RED it’s all about sharing authentic experiences and speaking to your followers like they are your friends. Especially in China, when it comes to the style and tonality of Mandarin used, KOLs use a more casual and approachable tone. You can see examples of this on Douyin, which is the original TikTok, where you see short videos that are snappy, quick and relatable. How are Asian influencers helping promote sustainability among their audiences? Sustainability hasn’t become the biggest trend in markets like China yet. However, influencers and just the general public in China are giving more thought to the brands that they buy and consume – in terms of they care about what the brands stand for. Could China help set the stage for sustainability? Possibly, because of the sheer size of their social media platforms and audience. If Chinese consumers started demanding more environmentally friendly goods and services, I think brands would respond and increase their commitment to sustainability. That said, brands are trying to promote sustainability and are working with KOLs to amplify this message. You are an influencer who works with both Western and Asian markets. How do you effectively communicate with these different audiences?

A s a newgeneration of consumers inChina come of age, they are opening their wallets and exploring different products, services, experiences andbrands. It’s a trend that is expected to have significant implications for the global economy. Data from a McKinsey report on the Chinese luxury market indicates that Chinese born from the late 1980s to the late 1990s are increasingly spendingmore to “demonstrate individualismin theworld’smost populous urban landscape”. Theirwillingness to spend anywhere between RMB 25,000 and 41,000 or EUR 3,300 to 5,400 per person per year on luxury goods is expected to see China cornering 40%of the global luxurymarket by 2025. “People appreciate if they can go to one source of information to help them reduce the time needed to search for products.”

Asbrands scramble toengagewith thispowerful group, whether they’re selling cars, lipstick, household goods, clothing or even professional services, they have come to rely onKOLs to affirmthe qualityof their products andnudge consumers towardspurchases. A trusted source of information Carmen Leong , a University of New South Wales lecturer who has conducted KOL research for leading Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com, says these influencers help “shape the Chinese market, which is always struggling with issues of trust”. In many cases, the country’s top influencers have larger so cial media followings than top brands. For example, Ye Si, better known as Gogoboi, is one of China’s biggest fashion influencers, with over 10million followers on Chinese social media. Compare this to top luxury brands like LV, Dior and Gucci whose follow ers range from 2 million to 4 million on the same platforms. Is it anywonder then shoppers are relying on influencer opinions and recommendations inmaking their purchasing decisions? “Consumers in China are pampered with the variety of choic es they have,” says Leong. “On Taobao and Alibaba, you can find anything. But if you’re looking at 20 or 30 merchants that offer the same product, who do you pick? People appreciate if they

Q & A with Florence Leung, Influencer

What must KOLs do to leverage their enormous influence and selling skills to promote sustainability among their followers?

KOLs must align with brands with whom they share a cause. It has to be authentic. If supporting and empowering women is their cause, they should be leveraging their following to promote this. I’ve done this for women’s causes I support. The same goes for environmental causes and more. You have to walk the talk in order to promote the cause in a way that’s believable to your followers.