Chinese social media platforms are the best source of information for young Chinese, that use them not only to communicate with their friends but also to check information, learn about brands, follow trends and learn from each other’s experiences. Young parents in China are also one of the groups that get influenced by parenting accounts, offering them information on language learning, tips on best games, motherhood insights, fitness advice, baby product recommendations, and so on.
Parenting influencers have done an amazing job of forming multiple supportive networks. Through various social media channels, they share tried-and-true methods with their audience. They aim to make parenting a bit simpler and more practical for the new generation. In this blog post, we take a look at the trend and see how foreign companies can work with those influencers.
Chinese social media platforms have a new big influential group: parents
With its massive population, the dynamics of markets in China are always changing. The baby and children’s market is no exception. The Chinese mother demographic is completely different from what it was a generation ago. Millennial mothers are nothing like their mothers or grandmothers.
Millennial Chinese Moms: The Trendsetters
Young Millennial mothers in China are a trendsetting bunch. Growing up in an era of abundance and technology, they mastered a multi-dimensional lifestyle. They value individuality as moms. They are mostly working professionals, always very busy and demanding, expecting the best from their children.
It is important to mention that when compared to other consumer groups in China, the new generation of Chinese mothers, the Millennials, have much more purchasing power. A typical Millennial mom spends a significant amount of the day scrolling through posts on parenting sites and blogs about teaching kids languages, fashion for babies, and other mom ideas.
The internet has been a part of their lives since childhood, so it’s no surprise that they love online shopping. They’re busy with work and other commitments, and almost all of them prefer to shop on their mobile phones.
Parenting Influencers: Who are they?
There are two types of parenting influencers in China. The first group is celebrities. While already famous, they become parents later in life. By publishing their children & families on social media, they influence fellow parents. As they are famous, they influence many Chinese men and women, writing about their success and giving parenting tips.
The second group is made up of ordinary people, usually, mothers. These moms manage to make a name and turn out internet famous by sharing their life with the audience.
All these parenting influencers share common features. They are young, modern, bold, and creative. They have admirable lifestyles. They enjoy showing off their stylish baby clothing, high-end mom products, makeup, beauty, foods, services, and so on. Most importantly they are powerful. They can lead mass crowds of fellow mothers toward certain products like magic.
Why do Chinese parents look to influencers for guidance?
China’s history of baby and mother products is full of quality and safety disasters. From contaminated baby formula milk to unsafe dangerously made child beds. Chinese parents no longer favor local products falling apart right after first use.
This is the main reason why Chinese mothers largely turned to parent influencers. The trust they have in these influencers inspires them to purchase items that they suggest. These influencers provide a sense of community. They give beneficial advice. They share their experiences openly, creating an environment full of support and empathy. They provide platform users with real-time updates on new products, events, and other topics that are relevant to parenting in China.
Chinese parents are also attracted by the aspirational lifestyle displayed by these influencers. It gives them a chance to live vicariously through them. It also emulates their style and approach to parenting.
Why working with parenting influencers can benefit your brand?
More and more mothers in China hear about new products from social media influencers. They are very open about purchasing products based on the recommendations of their favorite influencer. They also give importance to the top seller items on e-commerce and social media channels like Taobao, WeChat and Xiaohongshu.
If done correctly, collaborations with parenting influencers can be extremely beneficial for brands to develop a solid trustworthy image and high reputation amongst parents.
How do parenting influencers provide the perfect marketing opportunity for brands?
Parenting influencers begin by creating strong relationships with their followers. Their audience is then interested in the content these parenting experts produce. This engagement eventually leads to purchases. The cycle continues as satisfied customers share their opinion of the product on their Xiaohongshu, Weibo, or WeChat account. As word-of-mouth is the best marketing strategy in China, it’s a winning situation.
Brands teaming up with parenting influencers on Chinese social media
By partnering with parenting influencers and utilizing the tools available on social media platforms, brands can reach a wider audience in a more engaging way. This engagement can happen through mini-programs, live-streaming shows, contests, forums, etc.
Live streaming and short videos work best when teaming up with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders, which are Chinese influencers). Many successful companies have utilized Douyin for hosting live broadcast shows. They usually team up with popular parenting influencers. They are creating this kind of content that makes consumers view the brand as a trustworthy source of product recommendations. And as a result, the audience turns to brand products.
When it comes to offering baby and children products and advice on education and so on, Xiaohongshu is definitely the best platform to go for, as the main audience is Millennial and Gen Z women looking for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle advice.
When it comes to Weibo the audience is always interested in the latest trends. Staying up-to-date on those trending topics together with influencers can attract new followers. This strategy brings attention to the content.
How to work with a parenting influencer
It is essential to create a trusting relationship with parents who will become loyal customers. Millennial parents are more careful about the products they buy. They often look to parenting influencers for suggestions before making a purchase.
For this particular market foreign companies have a chance to succeed in lower-tier cities. The baby and mother products market is still evolving in these areas, there are no clear leaders yet. However, when it comes to big cities like Beijing & Shanghai, even though the market size is bigger, they are highly competitive to break into.
There are many ways for brands to promote themselves. Collaborating with parenting influencers using Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and other platforms brings opportunities. By being active on these platforms, brands can reach out to potential customers and build a connection with them.
Choosing the right influencer for your brand
Depending on the brand size and budget, there are two options for collaborating with influencers. Big, international brands often collaborate with only one big Key Opinion Leader (usually a celebrity), that becomes the ambassador of the brand on his/her Xiaohongshu, Weibo, or WeChat account (can be also all of them), signing an exclusivity contract with the company. This choice is good, as it guarantees big visibility and reaches, but those users are very expensive.
Another option is to collaborate with a few smaller influencers and Key Opinion Consumers, which are ordinary product users, offering those products to small communities (we say small, but they can reach 100.000 followers). Although their reach is smaller, they often have a very engaged community and can bring you great results for a smaller price (sometimes they work for free products only).
Influencers are usually experts in their fields and they differ in the content they promote, so it’s important to select the right KOL that will match your brand’s profile and values.
Are you interested in expanding your baby and mother products to China?
Are you looking for ways to connect with parenting influencers? We can help you. Our team of experts is experienced in influencer marketing and we have a tried-and-true strategy that can help you reach the right people to promote your products. We have worked with many influencers from different industries and we can help you select the most suitable ones for your brand.
We specialize in helping brands create relationships with top Chinese influencers through our comprehensive approach. Our process begins by identifying key topics, audiences, and media outlets for each product.
We then develop a tailored influencer marketing plan that focuses on creating content and engaging with the right parenting influencers. Finally, we track performance to ensure the most effective results for our clients.
One of our kidswear case studies, where parent influencers were involved:
We are your agent in China. Don’t hesitate to leave us a comment or contact us to discuss your project in China. We offer a free discovery consultation, where our expert will learn about your brand and present opportunities to best reach Chinese parents on social media and e-commerce platforms.
1 comment
Kate Bolton
I would like to collaborate with Chinese moms to sell my products