Meet the clout chaser

In 2020, amid a pandemic, staying at home became the norm, and recreational entertainment through short video platforms set the trend. This also directly led to an explosive growth in sales by live broadcast.

A more prominent group lured into this new business landscape are celebrities like Qi Wei, Huang Shengyi and Jia Nailiang, all of whom have achieved outstanding results through endorsements on the short-video platform. Actor Jia Nailiang, who joined Douyin last year, has sold more than 100 million yuan worth of products in two consecutive live broadcasts.

"If celebrities want to stand out, they need to gradually move toward a professional development path, ensure a stable and continuous live broadcast frequency, and have a strong supply chain level. At this point, we are here to support them," says Mu Qing, vice president of Douyin E-commerce.

However, there is another key reason why celebrities choose to stay on Mu's platform. "The unique short-video content ecology created by us allows celebrities to not only become e-commerce presenters, but also to present themselves to their fans through diversified content forms. By removing the celebrity filter, they can show their real personality here, which is very appealing to celebrities who want to attract more fans," Mu says.

The visible change is that with the improvement of the platform, the presenters have begun to obtain stable income. As such many have even moved into the top rank by shifting their focus to platforms like Douyin.

Interest is instrumental in helping discover potential needs. Short-video platforms are positioning their product content with personality attributes to stimulate consumption needs.

A former host at Hubei Satellite TV, Dali started from scratch in livestreaming last May, and the 30-year-old had a clear goal: "I will get to the top of the industry."

It took three months working in a bonded warehouse where, on at least one occasion, the outdoor temperature exceeded 40 C and there was only a small broken electric fan. According to the data recorded by her team, one live broadcast lasted for 14 hours with 10 million viewers.

Never underestimate the potential of a girl who is serious about her career. When Dali left her stable job at a TV station to become an online presenter, her parents disapproved so much that, even now that she has found some success, her mother feels distressed that her daughter is so busy. She still tries to persuade her to give up and shift her focus to family, based on the idea that "a girl should do what is proper at her age and get married".

But Dali is willing to fight the stereotype. "There are so many people who want to be presenters and so many teams who want to do live broadcasts, but I made it. So I won't give up," she says. She wants to do a lot more, and a woman can do a lot more after her 30s. Dali says she has always felt that girls can do very well in many industries. According to Cicada's Mom, a digital marketing service provider, in January this year, 17 presenters on Douyin had sales of over 100 million yuan, and the proportion of female talent is eye-catching.

"As long as you find a direction and realize your self-worth, it is never too late to start at any age," she says.