2025 Trends in Social Media and KOL Marketing in China

As China’s digital economy continues to evolve, social media and KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing have become central growth engines for brands. Even amidst constrained marketing budgets and a slowdown in overall marketing growth, investment in social media marketing continues to outpace the broader market, underlining its enduring strategic importance for brands operating in China.

In 2024, over 90% of brands actively invested in short video platforms, social media, and online communities. These platforms are expected to remain the top three channels for incremental marketing investment moving forward. Brands increasingly recognize the pivotal role social media plays in enhancing brand awareness, driving product sales, and fostering user engagement.

2025 Key Trends in Mainstream Social Media Marketing in China

1. User Ecosystem Becoming More Defined

• WeChat remains the cornerstone of private traffic management. Its strong social graph and massive user base make it ideal for CRM and community engagement.

• Douyin continues to lead with its diverse short video content. Its powerful algorithm boosts content visibility, making it a key channel for creative campaigns and rapid brand amplification across age groups.

• Kuaishou stands out in lower-tier markets. Its authentic, accessible content and highly engaged users give brands a unique way to reach younger and middle-aged consumers outside top cities.

• Xiaohongshu focuses on lifestyle-driven, curated content. Popular among young women in Tier 2 cities, it’s essential for product seeding, targeted marketing, and word-of-mouth promotion.

• Bilibili connects deeply with Gen Z. Its niche content in anime, gaming, science, and pop culture helps brands build emotional bonds and stay culturally relevant among young digital natives.

2. User Stickiness and Engagement Continue to Rise

Xiaohongshu saw the fastest growth in average daily usage time, up by 12.1%, closely followed by Douyin. WeChat’s Video Channel also demonstrated strong performance, whereas Weibo experienced a 2.1% decline. In terms of user stickiness (as measured by DAU/MAU), Douyin strengthened its lead in 2024 with a remarkable 76.3%, while WeChat Video Channel reached 62.5%, and Xiaohongshu improved from 32.4% to 39.1%.

These figures show that users are spending more time on these platforms and becoming more reliant on them. For brands, this creates a valuable opportunity to engage audiences through high-quality content and targeted marketing. It paves the way for deeper influence and stronger consumer connections.

KOL & Social Media Marketing Trends in China 2025

In 2025, brands are increasingly shifting their influencer budgets away from top-tier KOLs toward mid- and long-tail creators. This change is driven by the higher ROI and precision targeting that smaller influencers offer. These KOLs often have stronger engagement within niche communities, allowing for more effective storytelling, conversion, and resonance with specific audiences. As Chinese social platforms become more fragmented and diversified, brands are prioritizing layered KOL strategies to achieve comprehensive, multi-dimensional marketing coverage.

Industry Spotlight: Tech Surpasses Beauty in Social Investment

According to 2024 data, the IT and internet sector has overtaken beauty and personal care as the top industry in social media and KOL marketing spend. It now accounts for 30.1%, marking a significant 8.9 percentage point increase from 2023.

While beauty and personal care saw a slight decline to 25.4%, it remains a major force—especially on platforms like Xiaohongshu, where influencer-driven product seeding and user reviews are still highly impactful.

Other key sectors such as food & beverage, consumer electronics (3C), and sportswear continue to invest heavily in KOL collaborations. These partnerships help brands effectively reach target audiences, boost visibility, and drive meaningful conversions.

Shifting Consumer Behaviors on Chinese Social Platforms

China’s social media users are evolving rapidly, and these shifts will have profound implications on how brands engage with them:

• A VUCA Consumer Mindset: Amid an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) market, consumers’ needs are becoming more fluid and harder to predict. Beyond functional or price-based attributes, consumers now seek emotional, social, and symbolic value from brands.

• AI Reshaping the Purchase Journey: AI is redefining how consumers discover, evaluate, and interact with brands. Whether it’s via AI-powered chat, search, or recommendation engines, or through AI-generated content and virtual influencers, AI is unlocking new channels and creative formats for brand storytelling.

• Demand for Instant Gratification: Consumers expect fast, seamless, and convenient shopping experiences. The rise of short videos and livestreaming has created real-time marketing opportunities, enabling brands to trigger impulse purchases and shorten the conversion cycle.

• Rise of Interest-Based Micro-Communities: Users are increasingly organizing themselves around shared passions, values, and lifestyles. This makes interest circle marketing and community-based strategies essential for effective targeting and brand affinity building.

• Emotional Compensation through Consumption: In a high-pressure, fast-paced society, consumers are turning to shopping for emotional fulfillment. Brands that can offer comfort, escapism, or a sense of identity through their products or narratives will find greater loyalty and resonance.

An Expansion Project in China? We Can Help You!

How Can Brands Achieve Precision Marketing on Chinese Social Media?

1. Choose the Right Platform by Understanding the Unique Value of Each Social Ecosystem

In the complex landscape of China’s digital marketing ecosystem, selecting the right social media platform is the first and most crucial step toward precision marketing. Each platform offers distinct advantages in terms of user demographics, content formats, and engagement mechanisms. Brands must align their platform strategy with their own positioning and target audience.

• WeChat remains the core platform for private traffic operations, thanks to its powerful social graph and closed-loop ecosystem. It is ideal for building loyalty programs and facilitating in-depth one-on-one communication.

• Douyin excels in viral exposure and fast content diffusion, driven by its algorithmic recommendation engine. It’s particularly suitable for launching viral campaigns and creative product promotions.

• Kuaishou has strong traction in lower-tier cities and rural markets, where users are highly engaged and value authenticity. It’s ideal for brands focused on daily-use products and reputation building in grassroots markets.

• Xiaohongshu targets urban, young female consumers and emphasizes aspirational lifestyles. It’s a go-to platform for influencer seeding and word-of-mouth marketing, especially for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle brands.

• Bilibili focuses on Gen Z and emphasizes deep, original content. It enables brands to build long-term emotional connections with younger audiences through professional, story-driven, or educational content.

• Platforms like WeChat Channels and Zhihu are also gaining traction. Video Accounts deepen content seeding and conversion within the WeChat ecosystem, while Zhihu fosters trust through knowledge-based discussions, making it ideal for industries like finance, healthcare, and education.

2. Content Strategy: Building Brand Mindshare through Video, Seeding, and Community

Content remains the central driver of consumer engagement. Among the various approaches, short/long-form video, influencer seeding, and community-based operations have emerged as the most effective content marketing paths.

• Video content is now the dominant way users consume information.On Douyin, quick-paced and visually impactful content excels in event amplification and product promotion. Kuaishou thrives on authentic, everyday storytelling, which helps brands build credibility in less urbanized areas. Bilibili users seek depth, making it ideal for long-form reviews, tutorials, or educational marketing.

• Influencer seeding relies on authentic reviews and social proof, with Xiaohongshu standing out as the most impactful platform. Brands can tap into influencer reviews and UGC to stimulate interest and purchase intent—particularly effective for beauty, apparel, and home décor. Douyin’s seeding strategy also integrates well with live commerce, enhancing conversion efficiency. Meanwhile, Weibo retains unique value for driving hashtag trends and viral moments.

• After generating awareness through content, community operations help brands retain and convert users. By leveraging the WeChat ecosystem—including Enterprise WeChat for community building, Mini Programs for seamless conversion, and Official Accounts for ongoing content touchpoints—brands can manage the full customer lifecycle, boost repurchase rates, and cultivate loyalty.

3. Advertising Strategy: Platform-Specific Precision for Maximum ROI

Advertising on Chinese social media remains a key lever for efficiency and traffic acquisition, but ad formats and logic vary greatly by platform. Brands must adapt accordingly:

• On Xiaohongshu, in-feed ads should mirror native content and be presented in a lifestyle context. Note-style ad creatives improve trust and drive clicks.

• On Douyin, tools like DOU+ and Ocean Engine utilize algorithmic ad delivery to amplify high-performing content and tightly integrate content with e-commerce conversions.

• Bilibili’s ad strategy emphasizes content co-creation with influencers, with strong alignment between brand values and fan communities. It’s ideal for brands aiming to build emotional resonance through customized storytelling.

• WeChat Moments and WeChat Video Accounts Ads benefit from social graph targeting, making them highly effective for public-to-private traffic transfer—leading consumers from paid media to private WeChat groups or communities.

• Zhihu uses native Q&A promotion and sponsored content to build credibility. It is especially effective in high-consideration industries like finance, education, and healthcare, where trust and expertise are critical to conversion.

Partner with STAiiRS for Effective Social Media Marketing in China

If you’re planning to launch social media campaigns or collaborate with KOLs in China, STAiiRS is your trusted local partner. With years of hands-on experience and deep market insights, we offer end-to-end solutions—from strategic planning to full execution. Let us help you break through with precision, accelerate growth, and stay ahead of the curve in one of the world’s most dynamic digital markets.