WHAT IS BILIBILI?

Founded by Xu Yi in 2009, Bilibili is a Chinese video-sharing website based in Shanghai that focuses on gaming culture and anime-related content and is based on the real-time (live) interactive (bullet chatting) video concept.

In 2009, it was initially launched as a prototype website named Mikufans.cn. As the website improved traction, it included the video-sharing feature and was relaunched under the name Bilibili, the nickname of the protagonist in the anime ‘A Certain Scientific Railgun’.

With the growth in popularity, it included a plethora of features including advertising, mobile gaming, and e-commerce and live streaming service where audiences can interact with streamers. Apart from the main themes i.e. anime and gaming, Bilibili also offers videos from various other fields such as science and technology, entertainment, fashion and daily life.

FUTILITY OF THE TRADITIONAL MARKETING METHODS

Because of its unique features and interactive model, traditional marketing models don’t usually work on Bilibili.

User preferences are an essential part of the platform which not a lot of mainstream marketers and brands fail to understand. McDonald’s and KFC both were unable to find success on the platform but Alibaba, Xiaomi and Tencent quickly captured a lot of followers.

BILIBILI AS A MARKETING CHANNEL

Here are 3 ways for marketing your brand on Bilibili:

• Feed your audience

Study your audience and user preferences thoroughly. It is important to your viewers that the content they are watching is a balance between what they would expect from the platform as well as the brand. Keep provided relevant content as and when possible, mostly in the form of live streams.

• KOL Marketing

With the increase in video marketing over the years, the shift from text content to photo/video content has been quick, mostly because of vloggers or influencers (KOLs). Partnership and cooperation with KOLs is a very wise choice for new brands since KOLs already have a trusted group of followers and they know how to produce user-friendly content.

• Live Streaming

The key differentiating point Bilibili has is its loyal and active viewer base. The types of unique content that can be used while live streaming is:

1. Bullet screen – live commenting that enhances active engagement
2. Animated content – most animations are available to the users free to use
3. Autotune – This is the type of content that has the potential to go viral if used correctly
4. Gaming – Mostly for mobile. Gaming brands (or any brand) can easily launch their game or mini-game and receive a high number of views.