Bilibili – Chinese social network to attracting a young audience

Bilibili – what is it? This question is asked by many companies that have decided to master the Chinese market. And this is not surprising, because this video sharing platform is often considered as one of the best for business promotion. Registering on the Chinese platform ensures effective brand promotion and successful e-commerce, so if you want to achieve success on the Chinese market, you must use the opportunities Bilibili provides.

Content

• What is Bilibili?

  • Bilibili – brief description

  • Bilibili’s MAU

  • Bilibili’s directions of operating activity

  • Bilibili’s financial state

• Platform Features

  • Main specialties of the Bilibili platform

  • How is Bilibili different from other Chinese social networks?

  • How to use Bilibili to attract a new audience?

• Business promotion on Bilibili

  • Promotion methods and chips

  • Advertising functions on Bilibili

    • Advertising formats for desktops

    • Advertising formats for mobile devices

• How to watch Bilibili videos in USA in 2022

  • What is the problem with using Bilibili outside China?

  • Using VPN service to watch Bilibili

    • How does VPN work?

    • Algorithm for getting access to Bilibili

    • Free VPN vs. reliable VPN service

  What is Bilibili?

  Bilibili – brief description

  Chinese video platform Bilibili - introduction

  Bilibili is one of most famous Chinese video sharing platforms that offers various entertainment content: you can watch videos of different formats such as licensed videos, live streams, professional videos, short videos, you can also find many blogs, pictures, Azur Lane and Fate/Grand Order mobile games, etc. It was founded in 2009 and was a usual social network designed for ACG fans (anime, comics, games), but now Bilibili is one of the most popular video sharing platforms, that includes PC website, mobile app, Bilibili Comic, Smart TV, Maoer and many other additional features, tools and services.

  Bilibili’s MAU

  In August 2021, Bilibili published a financial report showing impressive results. The number of visitors in one month amounted to 172 million users, which is 50% more than in the same period last year. By the end of Q4, the number of MAU reached 272 million users.

  Bilibili's average MAU in Q4 (million users)

  

  Bilibili’s directions of operating activity

  With this video streaming platform, you can upload videos and attract new users, create and share various stream content, video commentary, publications, add channels and subchannels. In addition, it is ideal for classifying, ranking and quickly finding materials. The content offerings of the social network cover a huge number of topics. The most popular in terms of views are anime, gaming and entertainment, lifestyle, technology and popular science.

  Hosting has a clear interface and a simplified registration procedure, and the number of active users has almost tripled over the past two years. Often referred to as the Chinese version of Youtube, the main sources of income for the company are diversified and include live streaming, advertising services, mobile games, e-commerce, etc.

  Structure of Bilibili's Net Revenue in 2021

  

  Bilibili’s financial state

  The video streaming platform currently holds a unique position in the Chinese market, backed by well-known corporations such as Tencent, Sony and Alibaba (13.3%, 7.2% and 4.98% in the company’s stocks respectively). Despite the fact that the company's net income continues to be negative, operating activity and revenue are growing significantly. The total annual net revenue reached more than 19 million RMB. At the same time the Bilibili company confidently increases the number of paying users, the average number of whom was about 24,5 million users, that depicts the great prospects for increasing the commercial potential of Bilibili.

  Net Revenue of Bilibili in 2019-2021 (millions RMB)

  Net Revenue of Bilibili in 2019-2021 (millions RMB)

  Bilibili’s average monthly paying users in Q4 (million users)

  

  Platform Features

  Main specialties of the Bilibili platform

  Comparing Bilibili with other streaming platforms, it is possible to note several distinctive features:

  • Targeting user-created content, being more attractive and interesting for target audience

  • Lots of innovative features including floating comments that are overlaid directly on the video

  • A loyal target audience is the main reason for the huge investments made by well-known brands

  • High engagement – ensured by real-time streaming (Bilibili users can chat in KOC and KOL)

  • Availability of internal e-mail – allows you to send a personal message to any registered account;

  • High quality content and interesting storytelling are the company's biggest competitive advantage.

  Nowadays Bilibili combines several popular services such as YouTube (demonstration of advertising), Twitch (streaming service for gamers), etc.

  How is Bilibili different from other Chinese social networks?

  Among other social networks, the Chinese YouTube Bilibili has always stood apart. And it is not only related to a set of unique features, but also is connected with a special target audience of the video streaming platform.

  The audience of the platform is the youngest, but at the same time it has the largest purchasing power in the country. In 2021 about 40% of users were 0-24 years old, 33% - 25-30? 21% - 33-35, and only 5% of active users were 36+ years old. Thus, the structure of the target audience is based on the strongest purchasing power in China – representatives of generation Z.

  Users related to this category are people born from 1995 to 2010, more than 80% of all network users belong to this age category. The majority of them live in Tier 1 and Tier 2 Chinese cities. For example, there are about 39% of Bilibili young users who live in Tier 2 cities. In 2021, the ratio of men and women is 59% versus 41%.

  Unlike iQIYI, Youku and Tencent Video, which buy rental licenses and create shows, the Bilibili platform is based on user generated content and has a special monetization system that encourages users to upload their own videos to the network.

  How to use Bilibili to attract a new audience?

  When you decide to promote your brand on Bilibili, remember that regular advertising methods will not bring effective results. In this regard, this service is completely unsuitable for those brands that use only the traditional marketing model. The best examples of this are the failed advertising campaigns of KFC and McDonalds.

  This is primarily due to the fact that Bilibili is changing not only the way content is displayed, but also the attitude of Internet users towards it. Thus, entertainment accounts are in the greatest demand on the Chinese platform. Successful promotional strategies include Xiaomi's "Are You OK!" video with 27.35 million views and Tencent's collection of videos with more than 200,000 subscribers. Equally warmly, fans of the Bilibili platform are greeted with short videos adapted for anime, Chinese TV series and classic films.

  Business promotion on Bilibili

  Promotion methods and chips

  Many people ask: "How to create a Bilibili account and use it to promote the brand?". To register, you only need a phone number and a couple of free minutes. As for promotion, it is performed in several ways:

  • Creating an official page – but first, analyze the target audience and its preferences;

  • Opening a store – allows you to make purchases without switching to third-party resources. The main products are cosmetics and care products;

  • Adding links to your products in or below the video – there is also a comment and message box on the checkout page;

  • Collaboration with popular key opinion leaders and consumers – ensures the placement of native advertising and the launch of traditional display ads, allows you to attract the attention of the target audience;

  • Using e-commerce mini-programs – the most effective way to sell on the platform;

  • Live streaming and real-time interactions – an essential element of promotion on Bilibili, allowing you to get more information about customers;

  • Monetization of a personal blog – bloggers with 1000 subscribers can earn income from views. Approximate figures – 3 yuan per 1000 impressions.

  Advertising functions on Bilibili

  Separately, it is worth talking about the purchase of advertising traffic – it can be bought both from bloggers and directly from the platform itself. There are quite a few formats, there are different options.

  Advertising formats for desktops

  1. The banner on the main page is a static image, complete with links to the landing page. There are 4 sizes depending on the location.

  2. The video page banner is another static view to the right of the video.

  Advertising formats for mobile devices

  1. Banner in the news feed – it can be small, large and in the form of a gallery (3 images).

  2. Banner on the page with the video – located under the video.

  Bilibili also sells advertisements at auctions.

  As you can see, this platform opens up unlimited opportunities for promoting relevant products and applications – photo and video editors, educational programs, lifestyle services and products, etc. However, non-Chinese users trying to use the platform outside of China may encounter some issues – this problem is explained below.

  How to watch Bilibili videos in USA in 2022

  What is the problem with using Bilibili outside China?

  Even though Bilibili is a hugely popular platform today, known far beyond China in other countries, international users face problems trying to use Bilibili outside China. The main one is related to security features and geo restricted content problems. Despite being possible to stream Bilibili abroad, Bilibili like some other Chinese streaming services is under geo restrictions, therefore as for your access, Bilibili overseas can be easily blocked. Bilibili is supported on major operating systems, not only an Android user can download the Bilibili app from Google Play Store on Android devices, it is also possible through Apple App Store on iPhone. However, trying to watch Bilibili outside China can be a difficult task that sometimes needs to unblock Bilibili website or Bilibili app.

  Using VPN service to watch Bilibili

  How does VPN work?

  How to easily unblock Bilibili overseas and watch Bilibili app without troubles? If you do not obtain access to Chinese servers and get an error message trying to watch Bilibili, this problem related to watching Bilibili videos can be resolved by using a reliable VPN service. The principle of such applications is quite simple: a VPN server changes your IP address giving you access to a Chinese IP address. Thus, allows you to remove geographic restrictions on the ability to use necessary applications, such as Bilibili.

  Algorithm for getting access to Bilibili

  In this case, the algorithm for getting access to Bilibili is very simple and includes the following main steps:

  1. You need to obtain a subscription to a high-grade VPN service. It is crucially important to use reliable service to avoid blocking

  2. Then, download and install a VPN app

  3. Sign in according to your account data

  4. Via Chinese server obtain another IP address (it is possible to get access to Hong Kong one)

  5. If you want to watch Bilibili on your Android device, or iPhone, download it and check that VPN helped you to unblock Bilibili and get access to it

  Free VPN vs. reliable VPN service

  Undoubtedly, finding an appropriate VPN app is a crucial point that lets you avoid potential troubles related to using Bilibili abroad. A VPN server should be reliable and give you access to Chinese or Hong Kong servers with advanced security features. Of course, you can try to find and check a free VPN, but the best way is using premium VPNs and premium VPN service. For example, you can use popular services like ExpressVPN, that offers about 3000 services in more than 90 countries and over high upload speeds. Another popular service is Surfshark, which is a budget friendly VPN offering users competitive subscription conditions and the ability to connect to a Hong Kong server like ExpressVPN does.