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I took a class on how to get rich on Douyin, the Chinese TikTok, and learnt that originality is overrated

  • Douyin is the hottest short video app in China, and its massive popularity has translated to advertising income for some of its users
  • The Post’s Tracy Qu attended a two-day workshop that promised to teach participants how to get rich by posting videos

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A smartphone shows live streaming of Douyin, also known as TikTok. Photo: Simon Song
Tracy Quin Shanghai

Can virality be taught?

The more than 20 people gathered in a room in Shenzhen one recent weekend certainly think so. Some have forked out as much as 9,800 yuan (US$1,400) for a weekend crash course on how to create short, funny videos that will get lots of views on Douyin, ByteDance’s Chinese version of its short-video app TikTok. Lots of clicks lead to potential advertising endorsements, or so the equation goes.

Zhang Bo, a moon-faced man in his late 30s, is the man who promises to unlock the secrets of creating pandemic videos. Perched on a white table at the front of the class, Zhang regaled us with how one client made 70 million yuan in just three days following his methods, including interacting with influencers every 10 minutes while watching their live streams. Another raked in more than 100,000 yuan in a single day. I could not independently verify those claims, but my classmates seemed impressed, scribbling down notes.

It is no wonder they want to succeed on Douyin – an account with three to 5 million followers can command between 50,000 to 100,000 yuan for a short video advertisement on the app, according to Joey Wang, co-founder and CEO of Beijing-based company Chenjin Culture. “In our company, influencers get thirty to forty per cent [of advertising income],” Wang said.

Douyin is the hottest short video app in China, boasting 400 million daily active users in January. Tencent-backed Kuaishou, the country’s second-largest short video platform, had 200 million daily active users as of May 2019, according to its website. Together, the top two apps account for 54.2 per cent of China’s short video app market, outpacing competitors such as Xigua and Huoshan which have a combined 22 per cent of market share, according to Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.
Market leader Douyin’s popularity has translated to advertising income for some of its content creators. One of China’s top influencers, Li Jiaqi, reportedly earns more than 10 million yuan a year by promoting beauty products on an array of social media platforms including Douyin, on which he has 37.6 million followers.
Li trying out different lipstick colours in a live stream. Photo: Sina
Li trying out different lipstick colours in a live stream. Photo: Sina

But competition to stand out on the app is fierce, so a number of workshops promising to give participants an edge have sprung up.

That weekend in Shenzhen, I was attending one such workshop by Guyizouhong, whose name means “getting famous on purpose” in Chinese.

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