China has only 55% internet penetration, but almost every person online is using a smartphone, therefore a lot of phone-optimized content (video, news, silly applications to make your selfies look beautiful) is created every day. As of this month of recording, October 2018, Bytedance, the Chinese company owning news aggregator Toutiao and short video app Douyin/Tik-tok, is now THE most valuable startup in the world, more than Uber or Baidu.
虽然中国只有55％的互联网普及率，但几乎每个网民都使用智能手机，因此每天都产生大量内容（视频，新闻，很傻但让你看起来很漂亮手机APP)。截至本期节目录制时(2018年10月)，“字节跳动”这家中国公司公司——旗下有新闻聚合器APP“今日头条”和短视频应用“抖音”/“Tik-tok”(抖音视频国际版)——现在已经是世界上最有价值的创业公司，超过了优步或者百度。
So, as I work on a television project I wanted to talk to those who just create articles, funny videos, and news on the Chinese internet. How do they make a living by creating online content? How do they find followers? And how big is the competition?
鉴于我正从事电视行业，我很想与那些在中国互联网上写文章、创作有趣的视频和新闻的人聊一聊。他们是如何通过创作线上内容谋生的？是如何吸引受众的？这个行业的竞争有多大？
This episode will be a two-part series on how the internet is changing content creation in China. Next month we will look at how today’s advertisements are light years away from what was done just 5 years ago. 这一集是关于互联网如何改变中国内容创作的第二部分，下个月我们将关注现在的广告作品与5年前的巨大差异。
With Erman : Weibo & Wechat influencer | 微博和微信( 就是曼仔 )影响者
Ben Jonhson : Douyin celebrity at the 和歪果仁说英语 channel | ‘和歪果仁说英语’抖音红人
Tang Yiqing | 唐宜青 : – Founder & CEO of media app “Juzi Yule” | 社交软件‘橘子娱乐’创始人兼CEO
Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project like shooting your next documentary or look for a specific talent, please get in touch!
From this interview, we have found three takeaways
1) Whatever you do, do it with heart, and glory awaits – 无论你做什么，精诚所至，金石为开
As you will create content solely in Mandarin, there are so many people in China waiting for quality content that fans will soon flock your account and be your die-hard fans. No need to overthink a strategy or work on something you don’t like just because it is today’s fashion. Content is king and you should first focus on what you like and what you are good at to share with the world.
如果你用普通话来创作，你的潜在受众将有很多，大家都在期待高质量的内容，粉丝很快就会涌入你的帐户并成为你的铁粉。因此没必要过度考虑策略，或者做一些你并不喜欢、但是现在很火的内容。内容为王，你应该首先关注自己喜欢以及擅长的内容，把它分享出去。
2) When do you start running ads? – 什么时候开始投放广告?
As your brand will need time to develop, don’t start too soon to partner up with commercial clients. The question is not really if your followers will dislike it or not, but more that you need first to reach a good level of content creation that will allow you to get a lot of followers. When you have created enough videos and articles, then you can move on to phase two: Partner up with a brand and sell their product. Some people might hate it, especially when you do a “soft ad” which looks like real content, but the common people will understand you need to make a living and will forgive you.
3) Don’t try to cheat to become famous – 绝对不要试图靠撒谎来走红
There is a huge temptation to buy “zombie fans” or fake comments. First of all having a million fans for only a few likes and comments will definitely make your account look shady. Also, from time to time the platforms will purge fake accounts and might even punish you for it, so don’t accept weird propositions from strangers to sell you fans. Also you should rest assured that if you start working with a brand to help sell their product and...
With thanks to Brenden Gonsalves for graphic design & Sean Calvo for music support.