PapiJiang,a30-year-oldlivinginBeijing,isaphenomenallypopularonlinecelebrity.BornJiangYilei,PapiJiangbeganuploadingshort,funnyandoriginalvideosinOctober2015andquicklyshottostardom.Jiangplaysavarietyofcharactersinhervideos,whichusesarcasmtocoverawiderangeoftopicsincludingtrends,everydaylife,andsocialrelations.Hersnarkystylehasresonatedstronglywithnetizens.Forexample,justbeforethisyear’sSpringFestivalinlateJanuary,shereleasedavideotitled“ToSomeofMyAnnoyingRelatives.”Inthevideo,PapiJiangmocked“unbearable”Chineserelativeswhoprywithtoomanypersonalquestionsduringtheannualfamilyreunion,whichwentviralonChinesesocialmedia.
Actually,PapiJianghasattractedthepublicspotlightonseveraloccasions.InMarch2016,shesecuredventurecapitalofUS$1.74million.Thenextmonth,abiddingwarbetweenpotentialadvertisersliftedthepricetagfortheadattheendofhervideostoUS$3.2million.PapiJianghasmorethan23millionfollowersonWeibo,theChineseversionofTwitter,andhervideoshavebeenwatchedhundredsofmillionsoftimes.
PapiJiangisjustoneofmanyChineseonlinecelebrities.Inacountrythatishometomorethan1.3billionpeople,popularwebsitesandsocialmediaplatformssuchasSinaWeiboandWeChat,whicheachboasthundredsofmillionsofusers,offerabigstageforthisnewwaveoftalent.
Onlinecelebrities(wanghonginChinese)refertopeoplewhoattractfansprimarilythroughtheinternetandsocialmediaandeventuallybecomeopinionleadersandmediafigures.Generallyspeaking,China’sinternetcelebritiesfallintothreecategories:Thefirstgroupconsistsofmostlyfashionably-dressedyoungwomenwhoearnmoneybypromotingproductstotheirfollowers.ThesewomenareusuallyrelatedtooneofChina’se-commercecompaniessuchasAlibaba’sTaobao.Thesecondgroupconsistsofperformersonlivestreamingsites.Againstarangeofbackgrounds,theperformereithersings,dances,playsgames,tellsjokesoreveneats.Thethirdgroupispeoplewhocreateoriginalonlinecontent,likePapiJiang.
Thethirdgrouphadbeencomparativelysmall,butwhenPapiJiangsecuredherfirstventurecapitalandmonetizedherproductin2016,thedevelopmentdrasticallychangedtheonlinecelebritylandscapeinChina.Thisyear,awaveofonlinecelebritiesoffering“realcontent”hasemerged.Inthepast,whenpeoplethoughtofonlinecelebrities,imagesofporcelainfacedyoungwomenusuallypoppedintotheirheads.“PapiJiangischangingthatimageandtransformingthewaveofonlinecelebritiesintoaculturalandeconomicphenomenon,”opinesDaShan,founderofToday’sOnlineCelebrity,aWeChatpublicaccountdevotedtoanalyzingChina’sonlinecelebrityeconomy.“Today,youcouldcallanyonewithahugefollowingontheinternetanonlinecelebrity.”
Excellinginthisnewtradeisnotaseasyassomemakeitseem.Itisfarfromenoughforonlinecelebritiesjusttobephysicallyattractive.Theyalsoneedtodeliverqualitycontentinordertosurvive.ICARealBusiness
ReachingforfameisnothingnewinChinaortherestoftheplanet.However,inrecentyears,thehugecommercialvalueofonlinecelebritieshasfinallycrystalizedinpublicminds,resultinginmoreprofessionals,investorsandagenciesenteringthelucrativemarket.
ThankstothescaleanddiversityofChineseinternetsitesandusers,Chineseonlinecelebritieshavefoundgreateropportunitiesthantheirforeigncounterparts.Forthemostpart,theyhavediscoveredabundantconduitstomonetizetheirfame.
ZhangDayi,anotherChineseinternetcelebrity,modelsforherownshoponTaobao,thecountry’sleadingonlineshoppingsite.Shesimplypostspicturesofherselfwearingtheclothessheisselling.ShereportedlyearnedUS$30millionin2016,evenmorethanthatoffamousChineseactressFanBingbing,whomadelessthanUS$19millioninthesameyear.
InternetcelebritieslikeZhangDayi,especiallythosecloselytiedtoe-commerce,havedevelopeduniquenewbusinessmodels.Theyusuallymanageatleastoneonlinestore,andtheirstoresneveradvertiseorparticipateinsalesevents.Instead,theyturncustomersintoloyalfansafterinteractingwiththem,offeringanenhancedshoppingexperience.Theysharetheirviews,experiencesandexpertise,whichbuyersbelievesavetimeforthem.
AccordingtoCBNData,acommercialdatacompanyaffiliatedwithChinesee-commercegiantAlibaba,theinternetcelebrityeconomywaswortharoundUS$8.4billionin2016,morethanChina’stotalcinemaboxofficeofUS$6.6billioninthesameyear.
Fewsuccessfulonlinecelebritiesworkalone.Asavvysupportteambackseachofthesebusinesses,helpingthemalignbusinesswithcontent.Thehugepotentialforearningshaseveninspiredinternetcelebrityincubators,whichaimtodiscoverandcultivatethenextZhangDayiorPapiJiang.Theseincubatorsoffertraininginareasincludingphotography,make-upandperformanceforthosehopingtobecomeinternetstars.Likeagents,theycanalsohelppeoplelandjobs—inexchangeforashareoftheirearnings.
FierceCompetition
TheoverallsizeofChina’sinternetcelebrityeconomyisexpandingascyberstarspopupinalmosteverysectorfromfashiontoonlinegaming,travel,babyproducts,astrologyandevenstockmarketanalyses.“Thebusinessopportunitiesarehugeifyoubuildaclearimage,”saysGeWei,vicecontentmarketingmanagerofYoukuTudouInc.,aleadingonlinevideositeinChina.
However,thedesiretousefametoearnpaychecksisalsoareasonmostonlinecelebritiesonlyenjoyalimitedrun.Ac-cordingtoareportreleasedbytheTencentResearchInstitute,about50percentofonlinecelebrities“disappear”frompublicsightwithinsixmonthstothreeyears.Eventhemostvenerablepersonalitiesrarelylastlongerthanfiveyears.
Someindustryinsidersbelievethattheanswertoincreasinglyfiercecompetitionisconsistentqualityofcontent,whichisusuallythedecisivefactorindeterminingacareer’slength.“Actually,notmanycanproduceoutstandingpersonalizedcontent,”saysYangPing,headofaHangzhou-basedincubator.“Asinmanyotherindustries,onlythetop20percentwillmakeit.”
Excellinginthisnewindustryisnotnearlyaseasyassomemakeitseem.“Beingphysicallyattractiveisfarfromenoughtobecomeanonlinecelebrity,”assertsDaShan.“Themostpopulararethosewithuniquepersonalitieswhoarehardworking,innovative,andhighlytalented.Theyalsohavetobegoodatcommunicating.Havingsomethinguniquetoofferisthekeytosurvival.”
EvenPapiJiang,whoalwayssignsoffonhervideoswith“I’mPapiJiang,awomanwhocombinesbeautyandtalent,”isimprovinghercontentandbusinessmodelconstantlytomaintainherpopularity.“Sustainingpopularityremainsthequestofeveryoneinthetrade,”addsDa.