Year-end: Wechat demographics, KOL businesses

As the year came to a close, we came across lots of round-ups giving us the low down on digital users in China. This one told us more about Wechat demographics, and that most of the 768 MILLION daily users are young and use the platform at least 90 minutes per day. It also told us that 1st tier city users were most likely to travel to USA, while people from other cities like visiting Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

Then there was this one that told us more about livestreaming audiences and how content creators are monetising primarily off virtual gifts and advertising. Livestreaming was also a big topic in Technode's roundup of their best stories in 2016. Those interested in KOLs and online celebrities might particularly like their story on top 10 Chinese internet sensations based on Baidu's search data of the past decade.

With their large followings, KOLs are natural starting points for brand promotions and micro businesses (selling through Wechat). This article highlights a beauty and cosmetics company who has taken it to a new level by hiring 100 KOLs to promote beauty products through Wechat.

Here's a timeline of the most important developments that happened in China for digital marketing last year.