The internet celebrity economy and Internet celebrities have seen a tremendous increase in popularity. They are now the most popular topic in China. China Daily (Sep 2016,) states that the market for the internet celebrity industry was larger than that of the movie box office in 2016.
What is a Chinese Internet Celebrity?
Chinese internet celebrities are known as “Wang Hong” (Wang Hong) and include people who have made a name for themselves on Chinese social media, especially those who can increase their embrace internet traffic to real money. Internet celebrity economy refers to the entire business chain of internet stars, which includes agents and incubators, support teams, platforms and platforms, as well as online marketing strategies and product selling methods.
Internet celebrities are different from actors, pop stars and models. They have strong personalities and can be found on social media. They often share their life, experiences, and opinions via their channel, keeping fans in touch and directing them to brands, shops, or other products and services. Because they are more friend-like and cordial than traditional KOLs and pop stars, internet celebrities become popular and fans will follow their suggestions. Many Internet celebrities are not professionals. They admit to stronger influences and are highly effective in certain areas. Dayi Zhang is a well-known Chinese internet celebrity. She describes herself as a model, fashionista, and has over five million followers on social media. In the 2016 ‘Bachelordom Day,’ she also presented herself on TaoBao’s livestream, where she guided her viewers to the Taobao fashion store and brands. This generated a staggering 100 million sales that day. (Ebrun 2016, BBC News, August 2016) Zhang’s income reached 46 million US Dollars, which is twice the amount earned by Bingbing Fan, the most famous Chinese actress.
The history of internet celebrities from China
It is not easy to understand why internet celebrities in China achieve such powerful results. This is due to the rapidly growing economy, the high-tech childs internet use, and unique pop culture background.
China has seen rapid development in internet technologies over the past 20 years, including mobile apps and social media. According to CNNIC (2015) research, China had 6.49 billion internet users at the end 2015. These figures include at least 5.57 trillion mobile internet marketing users who access the Internet to purchase and engage in social activities.
The Internet has been a main source of entertainment for decades as a large portion of the population of the new generation agrees with the idea of indoor entertainment. Online videos, esports games and community websites have been a major part of China’s youth culture since the 2000s, particularly for students. Instantly, the internet users who have the ability to comment on games, create interesting content or write in web fictions become famous through both video and community websites. They are the Chinese Internet Celebrity prototype, which is still in fashion.
