The ByteDance rival has relied heavily on exclusive clans of video streamers to drive traffic. Experts say grooming smaller individual streamers is essential to diversifying Kuaishou’s reach. — SCMP
Online celebrities come in many forms, but for Kuaishou – the video livestreaming company debuting on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday – its earliest success can be traced to a unique breed of Internet stars: tight-knit clans of powerful streamers with outsized influence. But while the model once allowed these streamers to thrive on Kuaishou, there are signs that their popularity is waning.
Jiazu, a Chinese term meaning family or clan, is a distinctive culture that sets Kuaishou apart from rival Douyin, operated by TikTok owner ByteDance. Like masters of Chinese martial arts, top influencers – or key opinion leaders (KOLs) – often support smaller streamers as “apprentices” by introducing them to a wider audience. Aspiring content creators can get a huge lift in views just by banking on the popularity of their masters.
