Yesterday we attended an Influencer Marketing seminar hosted by TikTok…
昨天我们参加了由 TikTok 举办的网红营销研讨会...
We were invited by a friend, who is a known as a “TikTok KOL”. TikTok is the foreign version of Douyin.OEM brands are heavily investing in creating brand awareness and a mass following on TikTok , YouTubeand other social influencer platforms to sell to foreign customers directly, known as Direct To Consumer (D2C) sales. A KOL is a Key Opinion Leader that typically is hired by OEM brands to promote their product line through these social media channels.
我们是被一个朋友邀请的，他是 TikTok 上的 KOL。TikTok 是抖音的国外版本。OEM 品牌正大力投资于打造品牌知名度，并在 TikTok、YouTube 和其他社交网红平台上吸引大量粉丝，以直接向外国客户销售，即所谓的直接面向消费者（D2C）销售。KOL 是关键意见领袖，OEM 品牌雇佣这些KOL 以通过社交媒体渠道推广其产品系列。
At the event, our friend presented to a many curious brand merchants, factory product manufacturers,service providers , traders, consultants and other promoters…. all trying to learn strategies about howbrands could use KOL and viral marketing strategies for their own products, how to create brandawareness and how to drive consumer traffic to their brand Shopify websites or on buying through TikTok directly. As I learn more about how this “Chuhai” ·出海 e-commerce industry in China is considering the Direct To Consumer movement, let me try to explain a high level overview of the strategy and challenges involved with making this movement, analyzed from the perspective of smaller and larger Chinese product factories..
在这次活动中，我们的朋友向许多好奇的品牌商、工厂产品制造商、服务提供商、贸易商、顾问和其他推广人员等进行了分享，他们都想了解品牌如何为自己的产品使用 KOL 和病毒式营销策略、如何打造品牌知名度以及如何推动消费者访问他们的品牌 Shopify 网站或直接通过 TikTok 购买。随着我对中国的 "出海"（出海电商行业正在考虑直接面向消费者）运动有了更多的了解，我想试着从中国小型和大型产品工厂的角度来分析，对开展这一运动所涉及的战略和挑战做一个高度概括。
Smaller factories can struggle to find OEM brands or B2B sourcing buyers to represent them andtypically end up listing their factory - on Ali Express (an AliBaba foreign platform) or Global Sources,showcasing their product line as a directory listing. These listing services may be expensive and risk providing provide-low quality leads to these unknown brands. There are two reasons for this:
较小的工厂可能很难找到 OEM 品牌或代表他们的 B2B 采购商，通常最终会把他们的工厂挂在阿里 Express（阿里巴巴的一个国外平台）或 Global Sources 上，并以目录列表形式展示他们的产品线。 展示服务可能很昂贵，还有可能为这些不知名的品牌提供低质量的潜在客户。有以下两个原因：
1. The two platforms mentioned above are not mainstream overseas platforms for consumers, asa result may have limited growth potential2. Businesses or individuals who go to those platforms may not look for high quality brands butrather good deals, which could lead to lower bargaining power and lower margin for factories.1.
上述两个平台不是消费者的主流海外平台，因此可能增长潜力有限。2. 进入这些平台的企业或个人可能不会寻找高质量的品牌，而是寻找更划算的交易，这可能导致工厂的议价能力降低，利润率下降。
A few of these small factories are interested in Direct To Consumer to avoid the hefty fees on themarketplace platforms mentioned above. , Unfortunately, most are still product heavy and face stiff competition as they struggle with cross border sales.
其中有一些小工厂对直接面向消费者很感兴趣，因为可以避免上述市场平台的高额费用。 但不幸的是，大多数工厂仍然把关注点放在产品本身，在跨境销售方面面临激烈的竞争。
In my opinion, in order to transition to Direct To Consumer, these smaller factories will need to shift their mindset from product focus to marketing focus, and find ways to invest in D2C marketing tactics like LiveStreaming, KOL Influencer marketing, flash site sales, Chatbot, and more.
在我看来，为了转型到直接面向消费者，这些小工厂需要将他们的思维方式从关注产品转向关注营销，并找到投资 D2C 营销策略的方法，如直播、KOL 网红营销、快闪店销售、聊天机器人等。
Larger or more brand- focused product factories either also searching for an “OEM” brand to represent them, or making their own branded productsThose brands sell the products by creating storefronts on large ecommerce and marketplace platforms like Amazon, and others (e.g. Lazada for SouthEast Asia, etc.). They can eventually create multiple storefronts and have very successful businesses on these platforms. Anker is an example of one such behemoth Chinese brand selling consumer electronics, that has been very successful for Amazon. It’s been a win/ win.
规模较大或更注重品牌的产品工厂要么也寻找一个 "OEM "品牌来代表他们，要么制造自己的品牌产品。这些品牌通过在亚马逊和其他平台（如东南亚的 Lazada）等大型电商和市场平台创建店面来销售产品。 他们可以在这些平台上创建多个店面，最终拥有非常成功的业务。 Anker 就是这样一个向消费者销售电子产品的中国巨头品牌的例子，它在亚马逊上非常成功。 达到了双赢的结果。
Lets now move to a recent policy change by Amazon that is leading cause of this D2C trend.g. Amazon is starting to ban some Chinese merchants to creating storefronts. This has been largely due to unethical activities called Black Hat Tactics. These are techniques used by merchants with a goal of often damaging a competitor’s ranking on Amazon, or even get them kicked off the site altogether.
现在让我们来看看亚马逊最近的政策变化，正是这些变化导致了 D2C 的趋势。政策变化的主要原因是不道德的黑帽战术活动。商家使用黑帽战术技术破坏竞争对手在亚马逊上的排名，甚至使得竞争对手完全被踢出网站。
The top black hat tactics include:1. Fake Reviews2. False Tradmark Infringement Claims3. Draining Ad Spend4. False Product Claims
使用最多的黑帽战术包括：1. 虚假评论2. 虚假商标侵权索赔3. 消耗广告费用4. 虚假产品声明
Unfortunately while these tactics are unethical and a problem for Amazon that is causing them toconduct this ban, there is another impact. Mass bans are typically difficult to conduct as merchants that are conducting honest business with Amazon are also impacted from this policy shift.
不幸的是，虽然亚马逊为解决不道德的黑帽战术才实施了这一禁令，但也有另一个影响。由于与亚马逊开展业务的诚信商家也会受到这一政策转变的影响，因此大规模的禁令通常很难执行。
From the perspective of the Chinese merchant, here is a direct quote from one merchant, whodescribed their dependence on Amazon quite well:
从中国商户的角度来看，这里直接引用了一位商户的话，这句话很好地描述了他们对亚马逊的依赖性。
“如果平台政策让我们必须要求变，我们必须应变求变。”
If the Amazon platform policy makes us do changes, we must change.
“如果亚马逊不改变他的 review（好评）政策，那这个问题是无法根治的。”
If Amazon does not change its review policy, this problem can not be cured.
“导致亚马逊平台对这些商家的打压，让我们这些亚马逊卖家就一样的很难做，亚马逊规则严了，我们一样都很难做。”
This has led to the suppression of these by Amazon platform, which makes us, Amazon sellers equally difficult to move. Amazon rules are strict, and we find it equally difficult to move.
As a result of all this some of these brand merchants are considering the “Direct To Consumer, or D2C”model. These merchants are increasingly realizing that it will not only be difficult to continue onAmazon, but they also see profit opportunities if they can crack the challenge of selling directly to overseas consumers and establishing trust. Shein and Cider (https://m.shopcider.com/ ) are billion dollar + Chinese brands that have done this successfully, some arguing that they are beating Amazon at their own game (see my previous blog).
因此，其中一些品牌商家正在考虑 "直接面向消费者，或 D2C "模式。 这些商家逐渐意识到很难在亚马逊经营下去，但如果他们能够破解直接向海外消费者销售的难题并建立信任，就能看到盈利机会。 Shein 和 Cider（https://m.shopcider.com/ ）是价值 10 亿+美元的中国品牌，他们已经成功地做到了这一点，有些人认为他们在自己的游戏中打败了亚马逊（见我之前的博客）。
These brand merchants are willing to invest in creating brand awareness of their own products throughmarketing initiatives such as flash website sales, Chatbot commerce on their own Shopify type websites,Instagram promotion, TikTok influencer marketing videos, live-streaming, Facebook & Google Ads, etc.
这些品牌商家愿意通过营销活动，如快闪网站销售、Shopify 类型网站上的聊天机器人、Instagram推广、TikTok 网红营销视频、直播、Facebook 和谷歌广告等，投资打造自己产品的品牌知名度。
I would argue that this entire D2C movement is growing, partly catalyzed by the Amazon policy changes mentioned above, but more so due to growing confidence that brands in China can do it themselves, verses paying hefty fees to traditional marketplace platforms like Amazon or Ali Express storefronts….
我认为整个 D2C 运动发展的部分原因是受到上述亚马逊政策变化的催化，但更重要的是，人们越来越相信中国的品牌可以自己做到这一点，而不需要向亚马逊或阿里 Express 等传统市场平台支付巨额费用。
Anyhow, back to this TikTok seminar and learning about what it takes for a brand to be the next Shein this growing trend of D2C and influencer marketing!
总之，回到这次 TikTok 研讨会，了解一个品牌如何成为下一个 Shein，以及 D2C 和网红营销的发展趋势！
Referenced:
参考：
The New Black Hat Tactics Amazon Sellers ar Using to Take Out Their Competition, by KiriMasters, Forbes - https://www.forbes.com/sites/kirimasters/2019/02/19/the-new-black-hattactics-amazon-sellers-are-using-to-take-out-their-competition/amp/
亚马逊卖家用来消灭竞争对手的新黑帽战术，作者 Kiri Masters，福布斯https://www.forbes.com/sites/kirimasters/2019/02/19/the-new-black-hat-tactics-amazon-sellersare-using-to-take-out-their-competition/amp/
What do you guys think? Feel free to comment.
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International freelancing for me, though I can face uncertainty, provides balance, adventure and exciting new possibilities. The opportunity to work on new projects is consistently stimulating and is a lifestyle I would have a tough time changing, especially for the corporate employee life. 国际自由职业对我来说，尽管我要面对不确定性，但它提供了平衡、冒险和令人兴奋的新的可能性. 在新项目上工作的机会总是令人兴奋的，这是一种我很难改变的生活方式. 尤其是对于在企 业员工的生活.