1) Let's talk about the stealthiest player in the short-video war and the implication on Bilibili, Kuaishou and Bytedance as well as the longer direction of travel for western social media in the future.
I'm talking about WeChat video
I'm talking about WeChat video
2) WeChat Video was launched silently last January and broke through 200m DAU by June 2020 and is estimated by third parties to be at 350m DAU currently.
By comparison Kuaishou took 5 years to reach 300m DAU in June 2020.
By comparison Kuaishou took 5 years to reach 300m DAU in June 2020.
3) WeChat's video feature is a response to other short videos platforms (Douyin / TikTok being the biggest one) and though it had a late start, it has some distinct advantages.
An existing collection of brands and influencers who built their house on WeChat official accounts
An existing collection of brands and influencers who built their house on WeChat official accounts
4) For creators and brands, going to a new platform for the era of video is daunting. They might lose most of their fanbase and have to compete with video native creators.
Staying in the WeChat ecosystem allows them to hold on to their preciously accumulated private traffic.
Staying in the WeChat ecosystem allows them to hold on to their preciously accumulated private traffic.
5) Coupled with the inbuilt social traffic of WeChat (who's also blocked videos from Bytedance and Alibaba), the video feature gets top billing and quick adoption. It's also got livestreaming as another top of funnel for brands
6) So what does this mean?
Even if WeChat Video doesn't become the winner for short videos it can seriously dent the growth activities for Bilibili, Bytedance and Kuaishou by locking up established creators and brands.
It's the Chinese version of introducing Instagram stories.
Even if WeChat Video doesn't become the winner for short videos it can seriously dent the growth activities for Bilibili, Bytedance and Kuaishou by locking up established creators and brands.
It's the Chinese version of introducing Instagram stories.
7) The re-enforces a broader trend of CN creators and brands owning their traffic. Rather than let their products be left in the hands of the suggestion algorithms on broader platforms, they are moving to privatise it and establish 1-1 relationship with users asap.
8) I believe we'll also see this soon in a serious way in the West given the mass reflection around how much power the big platforms have.
Expect all community products and even Substack to introduce videos and livestreaming as traffic becomes privatised.
Expect all community products and even Substack to introduce videos and livestreaming as traffic becomes privatised.
I'll be writing threads like this for the rest of Jan, follow me to get these spams on your TL
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