Nowadays, according to a fast pace of life, people need brief and short information. Instead of a long and detailed written format, people prefer to watch a short and animated format. 

Did you know that Chinese users spent more than 25% of their phone time on short video mobile apps ? Consequently, 38.28% of leisure time was spent on mobile entertainment according to the China Good Life Survey.

In China, Douyin 抖音 (Chinese version of Tik Tok only usable in mainland China) is the leader of short videos mobile applications, followed by Kuaishou 快手.

Apart from Douyin and Kuaishou, short videos are on the rise on Wechat Channels as well. The super mobile application developed all formats of videos : short, long, live streaming sessions… 

Music, dance, lifestyle, humor, short story or advice videos are plenty for users to spend time on short videos apps. But how do brands manage to take short videos for selling ? 

Short videos are fun, creative and time-spending

Mobile applications such as Douyin and Kuaishou are based on browsing short videos endlessly. Users don’t expect to see advertising but creative content made by other users.

Some of the good ingredients to create a good video that will make people watch it to the end : Visual + Trendy music + Plot twist + People’s face.  

Brands have understood the importance of short videos and are now engaging with creators who have a large audience on Douyin to promote their products. 

Test and try products by Li Jiaqi : Mac Cosmetics

Video from Douyin @李佳琦 Austin Li

Short videos are recommended according to users’ interests

Douyin’s algorithm is made for entertaining users, consequently all of the content will be shown if the user has shown preferences to some of the categories of videos.

Douyin’s algorithm will highlight these user’s call-to-actions :

⚫ Active (likes, comments, shares, sending tips during live streaming…)

⚫ Watch-time (from the beginning to the end of the video, replay, swipe…)

⚫ Search methods (recommendation page, hashtags, music search tab…)

If a user has shown interest in a video showing shopping places, then Douyin’s algorithm would also suggest lookbook videos that could inspire the user to buy some new clothes or accessories.

Lookbook video on Douyin

Video from @曲岑兮 yitingyou

Brands are pushing ideas for collaboration with creators on Douyin : unboxing, test and try products, showing off clothes or luxury bags collection…

Watching several videos in a row with the same brand’s products will create the viewer’s desire and attract curiosity. On Douyin’s videos, users can directly shop products by clicking on the shop logo, which is usually just above the username. After arriving on the creator’s store, users could buy clothes, cosmetics products, DIY objects and other categories of products.

Short videos are great format for Millenials and + 30 years old people

Compared to mobile gaming and digital reading, short video have higher mobile user penetrations of 75.2% and the majority of China’s short-video users (which is over 70%) is between 18 and 35 years old and the majority are located in third-tier and fourth-tier cities than the top tier cities, according to China Internet Watch. 

Users of Douyin have a longer duration of the engagement. Around 30 million users opened Douyin early in the morning and browsed it late at night. 

Yet, the behavior of the users’ purchasing power is different. Chinese Z Generation people are more likely to buy instantly and are more quickly convinced of a trendy product, while those over 30 years old have a more thoughtful consumption and will take the time to learn more about the product’s details. 

But in both cases, it is profitable for the brand which is gaining notoriety. The more visible it is, the more users have the potential to turn into consumers or advise people around them about the products and brands they have seen, consequently creating word of mouth effect.

       Unboxing : Converse

Video from Douyin : @帕尔哈迪迪