Chinese influencer platforms: Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu

Each of the biggest influencer community platforms, including Weibo, Douyin (TikTok's Chinese version), Kuaishou(Kwai's Chinese version), and Xiaohongshu (RedNote), has its own characteristics and features, which also come from the differences in terms of KOL follower bases.

Top 10,000 KOLs by Total Followers

Weibo: after years of operation and user retention, all of the Top 10,000 KOL accounts have over one million followers, among which 91% have between 1 million and 10 million followers according to data from Top Kout.

TikTok: though it’s only been live for a bit over 3 years, KOLs on TikTok are acquiring new followers at a very fast rate, thanks to the platform’s algorithm. There are over 6,000 KOLs with over 1 million followers.

Kuaishou: KOLs need to build good relationships with their followers, and followers tend to interact with KOLs who have closer relationships with them. It takes time to acquire new followers so the growth rate is relatively steady.

59% of the total KOLs on the platform have between 100 thousand to 1 million followers.

Xiaohongshu: there are relatively more KOCs on the platform, therefore 71% of KOLs have between 10 to 100 thousand followers.

Top 10 Vertical KOLs by Total Followers

Weibo: Celebrities have over 30% of the total number of followers on the entire platform, much higher than all other vertical categories. It is the most viewed and interacted category. Weibo Top Searches is also a focus among users on the platform.

TikTok: TikTok is mainly for leisure and entertainment activities.

Celebrities and KOLs under Humor and Music categories are the most popular; the percentage of followers is higher than that of KOLs.

For Hot Girls & Hot Guys category, the percentage of KOLs is the highest, but the percentage of followers is much lower than the percentage of KOLs, indicating that users generally prefer “face value” on TikTok.

Kuaishou: Users on Kuaishou concentrates on entertainment-oriented categories such as comedy, music, and gaming (top 3 categories). The percentage of KOLs in the Hot Girls & Hot Guys category is significantly higher than the percentage of followers.

Xiaohongshu: KOLs on Xiaohongshu concentrates in the two major categories of Cosmetics & Makeup and Fashion, accounting for over 50% of the total KOLs on the platform, leading to a high level of competition.

The coverage of followers in the Celebrity category is significantly higher than the percentage of celebrities, indicating that celebrities have capabilities to attract followers.

Content quantity and engagement

If we look at the number of posts on these platforms, we can see that overall Weibo KOLs publish the highest number of posts.

This is mainly because of the rich forms of content such as short and long text posts as well as image posts, permitted by the platform. The platform also does not limit the time and frequency of posting, allowing shorter turnaround for content creators.

TikTok and Kuaishou, on the other hand, see a relatively higher interaction rate per post, thanks to the fact that the recommendation algorithm leads to a higher percentage of public traffic. This allows more non-followers to see and interact with new content.

Xiaohongshu has a relatively lower DAU compared to other major platforms. It is much more community and endorsement/review oriented. KOLs post content in a more scheduled manner, allowing users to bookmark posts and consume the content later.

From a like-to-comment ratio point of view, Weibo and Xiaohongshu have more similar like-to-comment ratios.

Users tend to create content themselves on these two platforms, and comments are the way they interact with their followers. Comments are more encouraged on these platforms. On the other hand, TikTok and Kuaishou are by their nature more "like"-oriented. KOLs on these two platforms can obtain likes more easily.

Weibo is an open platform and is the go-to choice for celebrities. Celebrities can interact with their massive number of followers very frequently.

Comedy related content enjoys the highest level of interaction on TikTok and Kuaishou.