Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are influential personalities with a substantial number of followers on their social network. They are familiar with your niche and can project your business to your target customers more easily. Regardless of your niche in the tourism space, there’s often a KOL that can identify with your business and bring it closer to your target market. Before choosing one, though, you need to ask the right questions. For any tourism business, an ideal KOL should understand what your business is all about and be able to influence buyer intent using their huge following. Here’s a handy read on why you need a travel WeChat KOL and how to get started choosing the right one for your business.
KOLS are Key for Chinese Millennials
Chinese Millennials occupy a large percentage of the tourism pie in china. In numbers, millennials and GenZ travellers make up 60% of Chinese outbound tourists, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence survey. Young, vibrant and with plenty of cash to spend, Millennials are the cornerstone of the Chinese tourism industry heading into the future. For businesses targeting the Chinese market, it only makes marketing sense to focus more on this adventurous group of tourists.
The problem, however, is there are so many places to look when pitching your business to prospective Chinese leads. In the past, travel agencies were the go-to places tourists turned to for their travelling needs. Sure, these agencies are not out of the picture, but the growing number of KOLs has expanded the channels now available to echo your business to potential visitors.
Outside securing a safe, comfortable and budget-friendly accommodation, shopping ranks high on the checklists of Millennials. So choosing the right KOL could be all that’s needed to influence their purchase decision to your direction. Here are some things to consider when collaborating with a WeChat KOL:
1. Vibrant online presence
Online is where majority of travellers go for valuable info. More than 70% Chinese tourists turn on their screens for this purpose, according to the China Luxury Advisors and Fung Business Intelligence Centre. Now, this makes KOLs all the more powerful for any business. If a KOL has a large following, and has partnered with similar businesses in the past, chances are they are a good pick for your brand, too.
2. High engagement rates
One of the best ways to measure content performance is by looking up on engagements – in likes, comments, shares etc. With plenty of fake KOL accounts out, this can come in handy, since you ideally want to zero in on a reliable personality. It’s a good indicator if a potential KOL appears to have tens of thousands of followers. Still, if their contents attract little to no engagement, the credibility of the KOL account may be subject to further scrutiny. You want to get the best ROI on your marketing spend, so spending an extra bit of time ensuring you’re dealing with a genuine influencer can only be to your advantage.
3. Use Sogou search
Sougou’s nifty search function is another great way to get started looking for WeChat KOLs. By letting you know the most popular WeChat accounts in your niche, Sogou search enables you to identify who the major players are in your industry and simplifies your journey to successfully collaborating with the right one for your brand.
4. Their content strategy
Is your potential KOL ready to help with content creation, or are they only going to take your draft and share with their followers? More often than not, good KOLs are willing to listen to your needs. And because they understand what works in your industry, they can provide insights you may not have considered when taking your business to your target audience.
5. Conversion rates
It’s also important to know the conversion rates of a KOL before partnering with them. If you don’t know how impactful their contents are on their followers – as seen in conversion rate, or a KOL is unwilling to share this data, then chances are they may not bring the positive result you’re looking to hire them for. Some KOLs may simply not be aware how to monitor their campaigns. In this case, a seeding campaign can help you make first-hand analysis before making any significant financial commitment.
6. Price
As in any other business decision, cost is something to consider when hiring a WeChat KOL. Influencers with a massive following and superior content engagement rates aren’t likely to come cheap. But there are thankfully many smaller KOLs out there. And while the latter may not command as many followers, they can be great options when running on a lean budget. A KOL that comes across with an overly cheap quote may suggest poor quality, and those whose quotes hit close to 100K RMB or more may simply be overpriced. Your ideal KOL may charge anywhere from 10K – 80K RMB, with the final quote determined by a confluence of factors including the KOL’s follower base, content length, time of share, duration of campaign etc.
7. List of clientele
The popularity of a KOL and their experience collaborating with businesses will often reflect in the past and current list of brands they’ve worked with. If a KOL has more one-off campaigns than repeat deals with brands in your niche, then you want to consider your options before making a decision. You essentially want to work with a WeChat KOL that partners with high-quality brands, and especially one that has worked with businesses you’ll be glad to identify with.
To wrap-up
Like Ads, WeChat KOL can be an incredibly effective way to put your business on the spotlight. However, your choice of KOL could make or mar the perception of your brand, so finding the perfect match for your business is important. For businesses targeting Chinese tourists, and especially millennials, WeChat’s KOLs base is where you want to look. If you’re unsure what metrics to look out for when finding the right match for your business, or you need professional help choosing the right match for your brand, feel free to contact us today.