The social media landscape in China is a foreign frontier to the uninitiated. As we know, there is a largely separate Chinese internet behind the great-firewall which has favored and protected local startups and social media ecosystems. Financial protection of local products and services is not even the priority of fire-wall. By all accounts, this is separation of the internet is to protect the regime in power from any kind of politically-incorrect (in the Chinese context) information from being propagated online.
Over my long relationship of living in China and marrying into this fascinating culture, it is clear to me and anyone else that this push for clean and politically correct content on the Chinese internet is only getting stricter, and even hyper-paranoid.
The social media landscape for video content is dominated by two platforms:
Doyin (with its TikTok product, which is itself banned in China) and KuaiShou.
We had developed our Kauishou channel: “美国爸爸很有爱” because of its more intuitive interface for in-broadcast sales. Think of Kauishou as a cross between YouTube and QVC.
Our Product Range
Over the years, we've curated an extensive range of products for our 1.04 million followers:
- Luxury Bags and Watches
- Imported Skincare and Cosmetics
- Trendy Clothing and Shoes
- Designer Perfumes and Colognes
- Premium Vitamin Supplements
- High-end Cosmetics
- Fine Jewelry
- OTC Medications (e.g., Tylenol and Advil)
My Journey as a Kuaishou Influencer to Exporter
During my time as an influencer on Kuaishou, I honed my skills in sales, marketing, and customer engagement. Our channel became a powerhouse of product promotion and sales.
A few years ago, due to our sales volume, we had to register in China as an export business. The dynamic Chinese social media landscape presented unique challenges:
Key Challenges
- Limited API access as a foreigner, resulting in complex spreadsheet-based order management
- Acquiring a private warehouse in Hunan province to improve inventory management
- Consistently achieved 6-figure monthly revenue through strategic product selection and compelling live-broadcasts
Initially, we bought products in the US and shipped directly to Chinese customers. Over time, the platform pushed influencers towards their dedicated dropshipping service, leading to a homogenization of product offerings across influencers.
Developer Interface
Here is the developer interface for the Kauishou Platform, and the name of our channel "美国爸爸很有爱" shown right under the image.
To the right of our channel image - you'll find our number of fans: 104.2万
万 = 10,000. This indicates the number of 'fans' or subscribers is
1,042,000 Subscibers
Financial Portal
Here is the financial portal of our account, this is the screen that shows the total revenue for our own products that we ourselves are responsible for marketing, customer service, shipping, and returns.
The 1,925,074.97 figure is the total cumalitve revenue in Chinese Yuan (also called RMB) - As of September 2024 exchange rate this equates to $274,552 US dollars
The smaller 45,848.40 is the amount that is availeble -at the time of this screenshot- to withdraw back to our bank account, after the customers have received the product and the platform has released our funds.
Platform Products
This screen has the same information but is related to the products that we sell that are dropshipped from the platform. Although the profit is less on these items and we are selling the same products as all the other Kuaishou influencers, we do not have to worry about shipping or any aftermarket customer service.
One-Million Subscribers
This is our Trophy and accompaning certificate awarding us for achieving One-Million Followers
Below is a Translation of the decorated document:
Certificate of Achievement
Congratulations, your number of fans on Kuaishou platform has exceeded 1 million!
From the time you registered your Kuaishou account to the time you released your first video, we have witnessed your growth step by step and witnessed you delivering high-quality creative content to Kuaishou users. We are extremely proud of you!
Since 2011, Kuaishou has made unremitting efforts for ten years to make the video expression method accepted and loved by more people. For ten years, we have been firmly together with creators and users, hoping to build the warmest and most trustworthy community. We look forward to growing with you, embracing every kind of life and every bit of love together. Let more interesting, useful and valuable works grow vigorously like mushrooms after rain.
This small token of our appreciation for your efforts. We hope you can stick to your original aspirations, take a step further in Kuaishou, a warm and trustworthy family, and reach the next milestone soon!
Cheng Yixiao
Founder and CEO of Kuaishou