Linfen officials ranked on livestreaming sales work

Officials in a city in Shanxi province are working hard to become internet influencers so they can boost tourism and the consumption of local specialties.

During the Labor Day holiday, which ended on May 5, Linfen's city government tracked and ranked the performance of local officials in livestreaming sales promotions, including audience numbers, orders and revenue.

Officials in the city, in the southwest of the province, participated in 61 livestreaming sales promotions over the holiday, reaping combined revenue of 14.2 million yuan ($2 million), including 10 million yuan earned by key counties involved in poverty relief, Linfen Daily reported on Friday.

Livestreaming locally made products or tourist spots has become something of a competition for officials in the city, which governs one urban district, two county-level cities and 14 rural counties.

"I was nervous making my livestreaming debut," said Lu Jianying, deputy mayor of Xiangfen county. "As I didn't have any such experience before, I only kept smiling at the beginning. Gradually I got used to interacting with the audience."

This month, Yang Xiaozhou, the head of Puxian county, has livestreamed twice, most recently on May 6, with combined sales revenue of more than 2 million yuan.

"I learned that livestreaming emphasizes interacting with the audience more than merely giving an introduction to the products, so it is also a chance to communicate with the people," said Yang, who promoted local specialties including walnuts and millet.

Song Jianping, vice-president of the Shanxi Institute of Social Sciences, said the popularity of livestreaming had attracted officials' attention and made them willing to join in online sales promotions.

"It will make them think and learn more about the new trends of economic and social development,", Song said.

Zhou Jianmin, vice-mayor of the city's Xixian county, said: "As officials, our activities have mainly been offline. But with new technological developments, we have to get used to more online activities in the future."