Online influencers boost overseas products

Top-tier influencers like Viya host regular promotions that sell a torrent of products, and promise their fans attractive price tags that are normally more competitive than market average.

With the combined power of e-commerce and livestreaming, an individual can set a higher daily sales record than a major retailer, such as a department store or a multinational supermarket chain outlet, said Li Chengdong, an angel investor and e-commerce industry strategy analyst.

Taobao is taking it one step further by bridging Malaysian online influencers with their Chinese peers and seeing how that mix plays out.

Malaysian online influencer Jia Ling, who is known by the avatar "Southeast Asian Darling" on Taobao, debuted in a 100-minute broadcast recently with her Chinese counterpart, "Pink Grandpa", promoting nine Malaysian local products.

"I think it plays out quite well - the Chinese host is so eloquent and knows how to pamper the audience," said the 23-year-old host, who works full-time as an event manager in Malaysia. "As audiences search for more intimacy from brands, live content has an authenticity that can't be duplicated."

"It's not just about selling the products together," said Pink Grandpa, who together with Jia Ling sold thousands of Malaysian wet napkins in a few minutes. "By sharing our respective life stories and experience, we actually learn from each other and improve mutual understanding in a candid way."

She admitted that a great marketing engagement is creating a tutorial, a how-to livestream can be fun and interactive outreach. "Hopefully this will exert a positive influence on the broader relationship between China and Malaysia."

The so-called MCN model, or multi-channel networks, referring to an agency aggregating and grooming KOLs and connecting them with brands, is gaining traction overseas. Jia Ling was recommended to make the Tao bao debut by Yuh Wen Foong, founder of one such influencer marketing firm, who is a participant of Alibaba-sponsored eFounders Fellower ship, an initiative to empower local entrepreneurs who can leverage e-commerce experience in China.

"We need someone who can speak fluent Chinese to promote the products on Taobao," Foong said. "Jia Ling is the most fitting choice - she's smart, extrovert, and very, very hardworking."

She said while livestreaming is still a novelty in Malaysia, a lot of the experiences can be drawn from China, where digital marketing via word-of-mouth has shifted from something that is nice to have to something that you cannot afford to miss.

It also works the other way around: online streaming has become a vital gateway to promote local produce from rural China to urban areas and even a wider international audience.

Taobao Live, Alibaba's dedicated livestreaming channel, has said it will help cultivate 1,000 livestream hosts across poverty-stricken areas in 100 counties, helping them each generate more than 10,000 yuan in monthly income.

Starting in April, the channel has reserved a fixed section for two hours every day to feature agriculture livestreams to uphold the target of selling 3 billion-yuan worth of goods this year.

Taobao has even promoted kumquats from Youxi county, Fujian province, by inviting a Michelin-starred Italian chef and a Chinese internet celebrity to put on a cooking demonstration, which was streamed live online to attract free-spenders who like to tantalize their taste buds.

"People are normally concerned about food safety when they purchase food online. We want to show them the source of the produce," said Wang Xiuli, who oversaw the project for the county's Rural Taobao service center.

Currently KOLs wield tremendous influence over consumer decisions and an endorsement by a celebrity or a community leader can move product off the shelves and out of warehouses - and quickly.

In the face of aspirational figures, KOLs may have the power to quickly generate massive brand awareness, but their interaction with consumers is generally one way.

"With the rising sophistication of Chinese consumers, brands need to take a far more nuanced approach to managing KOLs if they want to engage more effectively with consumers and maximize the impact from their marketing budgets," Bu from McKinsey said.