How can brands generate top ROI via KOL Marketing? 4 Steps!

Key OpinionLeader (KOL) marketing has become a must-have for most fashion, luxury, and beauty brands. Though their formats might be different, the goal is the same: to generate agood return on investment (ROI), and the higher the rate, the better.

It is often hard to measure the conversion rate or the ROI, as some brands would prefer to promote themselves through KOL campaigns, while some aim to drive sales. Brands may have different needs, yet the tactics to improve the performance of KOL marketing, through ROI or conversion rate, can be applied on most occasions.

Brands should pay attention to KOL generated content. Some KOLs present products in heavily PSed images andend up looking like sophisticated posters. They seem nice, but they are lowering the possibilities for the post to get more exposure. Also, they maynot be that convincing. Brands need to also mind KOLs’ word choices when describing products as we enter the age of everyone-can-be-a-KOL, whether sponsored or not. People are already getting tired of phrases such as: definitely, must, be sureto, and TOP 1, etc.

These aspects are just a glimpse into the misunderstandings of KOL marketing, and if brands want to generate higher ROI, there are severalsteps that they can follow. In this article you’ll learn:

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Step 1: Choose the right KOLs

The right KOL canbe chosen by two main factors: the first is that brands select the best suited platform(s) to implement the campaign. If seeking more promotion for your brand, Weibo and Bilibili are better to address that need. And if brands wantto drive sales, WeChat subscription accounts, RED, Douyin, and Kuaishou are better for this.

The second factor is the KOLs themselves. After choosing the right platform that KOLs are based on, you will have to consider who to work with. Which can be determined with the answer to a key question: what consumer group(s) do you want to target in this campaign? After figuring out who you want to target, brands need to assess whether the KOL’s followers match with their target consumers. Spend time thinking about whether KOLs will help you reach your target audience, do their followers shave high engagement with KOLs? Read comments that followers have left for KOLs. Do those comments sound like real interactions or they are sent by robots? You can also dig furtherby looking at whether the KOL has mentioned your products or your competitors’ products before.What did s/he say about it? How did his/her followers react to the post? If you have more timefor KOL research, you can have a look at the profile pages of KOL’s followers. Are they real people? Is there any similarity or repetition in their personal descriptions? All these steps are to check whether the KOL’s followers are authentic or not. 

3 more stepts are comming up. Stay with us for more China KOL marketing strategies.

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