Kuaishou was founded in 2011 as a mobile app for GIF creation and sharing. The app was transformed into a short video sharing platform and then a short video-sharing social media today. Since 2016, the company incorporated live streaming features into its app and launched its e-commerce service in 2018.
In fact, Kuaishou has young active user groups. More than 70% of users were under 30 years old. The gender representation among its active users was balanced due to its broad range of contents available on the platform. The report shows an interesting fact that 41.6% of the followers of makeup content are male, and male makeup related content creators have a similar number of male followers as female ones. Cosmetic companies will be able to market their male-oriented products through Kuaishou effectively.
Its live streaming feature has become an inseparable part of its ecosystem. Most of the content creators also regularly live stream to build more intimate connections with their followers. Short video sharing, live streaming and e-commerce constitute its three primary services of Kuaishou. Similar to TikTok/Douyin, while focusing on short video sharing, Kuaishou has been in the process of diversifying its lineup in other markets such as online education, knowledge sharing, and gaming.
Even though similar to TikTok in many aspects, Kuaishou’s attempt to create the community dimension can be seen in its user interface, algorithm, and other app design features. This differentiation can be seen in its user interface design. While TikTok mainly uses a single-column layout, Kuaishou uses a two-column layout for most of its features. TikTok’s single-column layout allows users to play the video without clicking, so the content is more heavily influenced by the recommendation algorithm. In contrast, although Kuaishou’s users have more autonomy in choosing their preferred content, its algorithm gives more weight to the content posted by the accounts followed by that particular user.
Kuaishou’s users made 1.5 trillion likes, 122 billion comments, and 6 billion shares. This community dimension is unique and valuable, considering the fast path of short videos, and brands can leverage Kuaishou’s content creator’s influence on their followers to reach potential customers.
In 2020, Kuaishou’s approach emphasizes the accumulation of the follower base. Hence, content creators need to put more effort into building and maintaining their follower base. Once the content creators establish the follower base, their posts can reach a stable amount of viewers. Even for those with fewer followers, Kuaishou’s community dimension allows them to gain loyal followers if they create personal engagement experiences with their audiences.
Kuaishou offers brands across the market segments opportunities to advertise their products to Kuaishou’s large active users. According to the company’s prospectus, during the first three quarters of 2020, Kuaishou had an average of 305 million daily active users and 769 million monthly active users. Kuaishou’s daily active users spent more than 86 minutes per day on the app.
After years of competition and acquisitions, the Matthew Effect in China’s short video market is evident. Although TikTok and Kuaishou dominate the short video market in China, many users do not choose to engage exclusively in one. There exists a considerable overlap of an estimated 60% of their active users. However, there still exists a noticeable differentiation between the socioeconomic groups among their users due to Kuaishou’s initial rural orientation. On Kuaishou, one will see a significant amount of content that appeals to rural audiences or is produced by rural content creators.
Kuaishou’s user base can help brands to reach potential consumers. Kuaishou will offer the brands opportunities to read consumers in Northern China, lower-tier cities or rural areas. Many urban viewers also use Kuaishou to experience rural life through the rural content creator’s lens. For example, videos recording farming or fishing life are extremely popular on the platform.
In the sea of Chinese social media apps, Kuaishou stands out! Take advantage of the marketing opportunities on this popular short-video and live-streaming platform. It’s especially suitable for the China marketing trend Xiachen aka lower-tier marketing. YIVA Digital is here to skyrocket your brand on Kuaishou and in China. Start now with your FREE consultation!