How Much Do Influencers on China’s Zhihu Charge for Promotion?
If you’re venturing into marketing in China, it’s crucial to understand that the influencer dynamics differ significantly from that in your home turf, India. Various platforms lead the influencer space in China, but if you wish to focus your influencer marketing efforts on the most intellectual and professional platform in the country, you should emphasize Zhihu influencers.
In this article, we’ll equip you with the knowledge needed regarding the pricing charged by influencers on Zhihu, enabling you to plan your marketing budget appropriately.
🔍 What Is Zhihu?
Zhihu, which means “Did you know?” in English, is a Chinese question-and-answer platform. Launched in 2011, it has grown immensely and currently boasts over 300 million users.
Zhihu has been compared to Quora, but it’s essential to note that it operates very differently. While Quora is primarily a Western platform and mainly caters to the Western audience, Zhihu has extensive features that cater to its native Chinese audience.
Quora has been left in the dust in terms of core characteristics, usage, and even revenue, as Chinese users tend to prefer Zhihu over any of its competition.
Some of the key differences between Zhihu and Quora are:
All content on Zhihu is in Mandarin: This means that your marketing agency needs to have native Chinese-speakers on its team to operate properly in this space.
Advanced features: Zhihu has an array of advanced features compared to Quora. For instance, Zhihu utilizes a credit system to train and encourage users to participate effectively.
The audience is more professional: Quora has a more casual audience, while Zhihu boasts a significant number of its users as professionals seeking to increase their knowledge. This makes it an excellent platform for B2B marketing, as well.
Zhihu users remain on the platform: In Qingyun’s 2022 report, they cited that 73% of users say that they don’t use other apps besides Zhihu to acquire knowledge. Contrarily, only 43% of Quora users rely solely on Quora for their inquiries.
Zhihu generates more revenue: In 2021, Quora generated $510 million in revenue, while Zhihu generated $742 million, despite the fact that China has a smaller user base.
It’s worth noting that a core aspect of Zhihu and similar Chinese social media platforms is that influencers enjoy a level of professional respect that is largely absent from most Western platforms. This often makes influencers more effective among users.
🏷️ How Do Influencers on Zhihu Charge for Promotion?
Zhihu allows influencers to charge for their promotions using various metrics.
The most common method utilizes the number of followers the influencer has. Much like Instagram or YouTube, influencers tend to increase their rates based on their following count. This metric is straightforward and easily understood by anyone looking to engage in influencer marketing.
The second method is based on the total amount of content that the influencer has published on the platform. This includes any knowledge articles, answers, and even a simple text post to share a thought.
This method is beneficial because it can help showcase an influencer’s expertise. The more content an influencer has published, the more knowledgeable they appear to be. An influencer can charge a higher fee based on this metric simply because they have proven themselves to be a prolific expert in their industry and are worthy of the premium.
Finally, the third metric that Zhihu influencers use to charge for promotion is the total amount of views they have received across all their posts. This method rewards influencers for their work, as they usually have to combine all metrics when charging clients.
An influencer that has a lower following count can charge the same rate as an influencer with a higher following count based simply on the total amount of views they have attracted and the potential reach their posts can achieve through the eyes of engaged readers.
📊 What Are the Current Rates?
Influencers on Zhihu generally charge between $280 to $700 per post.
This price range seems quite appealing, particularly considering how Zhihu influencers often have a professional edge over their Western counterparts. However, it’s worth noting that the platform operates within a pay-per-performance model. This means that you should be prepared to pay for each engagement your post receives, rather than just paying a set fee upfront.
This pricing structure can be beneficial for brands, as they will only pay for the performance their post garners. However, this also means that brands need to have realistic expectations and a clear understanding of how performance metrics are calculated on Zhihu to prevent any disputes or surprises regarding their final payment.
While these prices reflect the typical costs associated with influencer marketing on Zhihu, they can increase even further if an influencer is associated with a major company or well-known personality.
For example, in July 2022, top influencer Wang Yibo posted a sponsored video on Zhihu to promote the brand Bvlgari. The actor had previously announced other sponsorships for Bvlgari on other platforms, with his Zhihu post generating the most impressive results.
The video alone received 23 million views, and the following post shared over 200,000 likes and 57,000 comments. Yibo earned an estimated $1.28 million from this single campaign, which highlights the potential for high returns on investment that influencers on Zhihu can deliver.
Brands need to ensure that they select influencers that align with their target audience and objectives. They also need to develop clear goals for their influencer marketing campaigns to effectively measure performance and optimize results.
🏦 What Are the Payment Methods?
Zhihu has its own internal payment system for users that wish to pay influencers through the application. However, the majority of influencer marketing is done through external agencies, such as BaoLiba.
These agencies tend to prefer conventional payment methods, which in China’s case would be a bank transfer or through an Alipay account.
Alipay is similar to Paytm or Google Pay’s wallet. It functions as an e-wallet, which allows for online purchases, online banking services, and money transfers.
In 2021, Alipay accounted for 54.5% of the market share in the digital payment industry in China. This share is expected to decrease as competitors such as WeChat Pay pick up market share, but Alipay is set to remain the leading method of digital payment into the future.
Even still, conventional bank transfers are still the preferred payment method among businesses. They account for 38% of the China’s digital payment market, with WeChat Pay and Alipay accounting for 54% combined.
Because influencer marketing on Zhihu still operates largely outside of the Zhihu ecosystem, your marketing agency should have the capability to process payments through other conventional means.
This is crucial since most influencers on Zhihu usually have their own bank account and Alipay account. Your influencer marketing agency should be able to coordinate payments through either method seamlessly.
📚 What Are the Legal Considerations for Influencer Marketing in China?
China has stringent laws and regulations governing influencer marketing, especially in sectors such as healthcare and finance. Brands considering influencer marketing in China must ensure compliance with national laws and guidelines, including the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Here are some of the key legal considerations for influencer marketing in China:
Truthfulness: Influencers must convey truthful information in their posts. They cannot fabricate facts or misuse influential status to distort truth, which violates advertising laws.
Transparency: Influencers must disclose their partnerships clearly to safeguard consumer rights and enable informed decision-making. Failure to disclose can result in fines up to RMB 30,000.
No Misleading Statements: Influencers cannot make misleading claims about their expertise, especially in regulated sectors like healthcare or finance. Misrepresentation can lead to fines up to RMB 10 million.
Product Liability: Brands can be held liable if promoted products cause damage. Influencers may also bear liability if they knowingly misrepresent products, leading to consumer harm.
Strict Regulations in Specific Industries: For example, financial influencers must register with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and carry appropriate certifications.
Legal Recourse for Damaged Reputation: Brands can sue influencers for misrepresentation that harms reputation or market share. Influencers may also incur personal legal liability.
To navigate this complex landscape, brands should work with marketing agencies that understand and adhere to China’s influencer marketing regulations.
✍️ Conclusion
Influencers on Zhihu charge between $280 to $700 per post, depending on factors such as follower count, content quality, and engagement rates.
They offer a cost-effective way to reach millions of professionals across China. For the best results, engage with an influencer marketing agency like BaoLiba that can connect you with the right influencers and manage your campaigns effectively.
We will continue to update influencer marketing trends in China. Be sure to follow us for more!