Social Medias are a must-have for Brands in China

Why Social Media is a Non-Negotiable for Fashion Brands in China

(Researched from GMA expert, with Case Studies, and Market Data)

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1. China’s Social Media Landscape: The Digital Lifeline

China’s 1.05 billion social media users spend 7+ hours daily on platforms like WeChat, Douyin (TikTok), Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), and Weibo. Unlike Western markets, social media in China is not just for networking—it’s a closed-loop ecosystem where users discover, research, discuss, and purchase products without ever leaving the app. For fashion brands, this means:

• Discovery: 80% of Chinese consumers find new brands via social media.
• Trust: 72% trust KOL (Key Opinion Leader) recommendations over traditional ads.
• Sales: Social commerce drives 30% of all e-commerce in China, totaling $500 billion in 2023.

Key Insight: No social media presence = No visibility in China’s hyper-competitive market.

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2. Why Brands Without Social Media Fail: The Bottega Veneta Case Study

In 2021, Bottega Veneta made headlines by deleting all social media accounts, claiming a focus on “quiet luxury.” The result?

• Sales Decline: Lost relevance among Gen Z and millennials, who drive 70% of luxury spending in China.
• Brand Amnesia: Younger consumers forgot the brand, as rival labels like Loewe and Prada dominated feeds.
• Reluctant U-Turn: By 2023, Bottega Veneta quietly returned to Xiaohongshu and WeChat, launching campaigns with KOLs like @包先生 (Mr. Bags).

Lesson: Even luxury brands cannot survive without social media in China.

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3. Why Top-Selling Brands Dominate Social Media

A. The Super Power of KOLs and KOCs

Chinese KOLs are sales engines, not just influencers:

• Mega-KOLs: Li Jiaqi (“Lipstick King”) sold 1.9Bin2022vialivestreams;luxurybrandslikeDiorpayhim¥1M(1.9Bin2022vialivestreams;luxurybrandslikeDiorpayhim¥1M(140K) per minute for endorsements.
• Micro-KOCs: Accounts like @阿宁是小个子 (Petite Fashion Tips) build trust through relatable, niche content.

Case Study:

• Canada Goose: Partnered with outdoor KOLs like @雪山来客 (Mountain Explorer) to promote winter wear, driving a 45% revenue jump in China.

B. Unique Style + Cultural Relevance

Chinese consumers crave Guochao (国潮): Brands blending modern design with Chinese cultural elements.

• Examples:
  • Li-Ning: Revived its brand by incorporating traditional ink painting motifs into sportswear.
  • Shushu/Tong: A Shanghai-based label fusing qipao silhouettes with punk aesthetics, viral on Xiaohongshu.

Key: Unique style must resonate with Chinese pride and identity.

C. Community Selling

Chinese social media thrives on “quanzi” (圈子), or niche communities:

• Xiaohongshu Groups: Luxury moms share Hermès unboxings; students trade tips on affordable streetwear.
• Douyin Hashtags: #CleanFit (简约风) and #Vibe风 (aesthetic vibes) create trends that brands monetize.

Example:

• Lululemon: Built a cult following via yoga enthusiast groups on WeChat and Xiaohongshu, driving 60% of its China sales from community-driven campaigns.

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4. What Makes a Brand Popular in China? The 4-Pillar Formula

1. Social Media Saturation:
   • Post daily on Douyin/Xiaohongshu; run weekly livestreams.
   • Example: Uniqlo’s “UT” collection trends monthly via Douyin challenges.
2. KOL/KOC Synergy:
   • Tiered partnerships: Mega-KOLs for launches, micro-KOCs for authenticity.
   • Example: Jacquemus partnered with @Savi (2M fans) to promote its “Le Bambino” bag, selling out in China within hours.
3. Unique Style + Storytelling:
   • Highlight craftsmanship (e.g., “hand-stitched by artisans in Suzhou”).
   • Example: Chloé’s “Made in China” collection emphasized local silk, praised on Weibo.
4. Platform-Specific Strategies:
   • Douyin: Short, addictive videos with discounts.
   • Xiaohongshu: Long-form “notes” with SEO keywords.
   • WeChat: VIP member exclusives and Mini Program stores.

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5. Trends Redefining 2024–2025

1. AI-Driven Personalization:
   • Douyin’s algorithm predicts user tastes; brands like Zara use AI to recommend outfits.
2. Virtual Fashion Shows:
   • Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton host metaverse events on QQ Music and Bilibili.
3. Social Responsibility:
   • Brands like ICICLE gain favor by promoting sustainability (e.g., “1 tree planted per purchase”).
4. Cross-Border Livestreams:
   • Foreign brands like & Other Stories use Mandarin-speaking hosts to sell directly via Tmall Global.

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6. Consequences of Ignoring Social Media

• Irrelevance: Younger consumers (Gen Z) equate social media absence with being “outdated.”
• Lost Sales: 90% of luxury purchases in China start with online research.
• Copycat Competition: Without brand-controlled content, counterfeiters flood platforms with fake products.

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Conclusion: The Social Media Imperative

In China, social media is not a marketing channel—it’s the entire marketplace. Brands like Bottega Veneta learned this the hard way, while pioneers like Gucci and SHEIN dominate by mastering:

• KOL partnerships,
• Cultural storytelling,
• Community-driven commerce.

Action Steps for Brands:

1. Hire a local Chinese social media team.
2. Allocate 30%+ of marketing budgets to KOLs.
3. Adapt content to platform DNA (e.g., playful on Douyin, aspirational on Xiaohongshu).

In the words of Alibaba’s Ex CEO : “In China, if you’re not on social media, you don’t exist.”

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Need help crafting a China-specific strategy? Let’s dive deeper! 😊

Fashion Brands in China as for Cosmetics require a great reputation, and this even way before starting to sell an amount of products, big enough to ensure a profitability in China, with or without distributors.

3 Fashion leaders will be featured here

Fashion.sohu, is the Chinese’ Fashion rendezvous, par excellence! It allows users to comment on new fashion tendencies or on how celebrities dress, for example. But Fashion.sohu is above all, a community where buying isn’t direct. Indeed when you are interested in a product, you will be redirected to other selling platforms like Alibaba.

Top Marketing Strategy for  fashion brands in China

What makes Fashion.sohu that interesting?

The greatest interest is for sure, the existence of the Sohu Fashion Award which features the greatest celebrities for the occasion. Members of K-pop group like Big Bang can be present for the occasion, they are highly successful Boys Band in China.

Thus, managers can easily take temperature on the latest fashion trends in China thanks to this social network.

Vogue

 

Vogue meets a huge success in China and is now recognized as a reference among fashion magazines in China.

By featuring on Vogue, any company aiming to conquer the Chinese market is sure to gain a fantastic reputation thanks to Vogue’s renown and exposure.

Taobao&Tmall

Taobao and Tmall operates a partnership with Mogujie concerning Fashion, allowing fashion brands to be present on the biggest e-commerce platforms in China, registering the highest number of buyers.

 What is the interest for managers?

A Tmall or Taobao store needs promotion, it also needs to broadcast a positive message of the brand. Thus, it will help to promote the brand’s e-shop, increase the number of good comments and user reviews which allows to have a store judged reliable by the platform users.

 

On Tmall, users can know the number of purchases made for a particular item and the number of reviews that have been made about the product. As in China the reputation and IWOM (Internet Word of Mouth) matters a lot, the more an item will be sold the more other purchasers will want to buy it. In addition to this, Tmall showcase the bestselling items, which helps the product to sell even more.

Case Study: Burberry’s Strategy.

 

Burberry has been one of the first luxury brands to venture on the Online Chinese market, and particularly in E-Commerce. Other brands were afraid to lose their prestige by mixing themselves with other brands on these gigantic platforms. This is an obstacle that Burberry easily passed by, they managed to focus on the user experience, that is to say: A Chinese website with high quality photos.

Here is Burberry China’s Home page title: Burberry – 成立于1856年的标志性英国奢侈品牌, which can be translated by: The iconic English brand since 1856. It gives the Chinese users a reassuring feeling thanks to the iconic and 1856 both symbolising the reputation and the expertise of the brand!

An active Weibo account

Burberry’s Weibo account is close to reach 1 million followers with video content posted on Weibo and shared on Weibo. A high end visual to keep the high end image cherished by luxury brands. Burberry proved it was totally possible to maintain relevant brand image on the market. The brand was the first luxury brand to venture into the online jungle and succesfully preserve its luxury positioning, opening the way for others.

A well-established WeChat Account

 

The brand’s WeChat account is certified as shown by the orange icon in the ‘Type’ section with the brand name underneath. In the account history of the brand and every time the brand posts something, you can see the news related to it. Whenever new information arise, subscribers will receive an alert pushing them to go and check the updates.

 

A presence on prestigious magazines’ cover like Vogue China

Here, the Chines model Du Juan is representing the luxury brand on the February issue. Burberry is counting on the name of a huge fashion magazine to expose its reputation as luxury experts of the highest standard. Burberry chose to base its campaign on its history and seniority to give confidence to its customers.

Community Management is much much more important for fashion brands in China than in the West. That is why it is highly important to pair up with professionals that perfectly know this constantly changing domain.

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