Kuaishou is introducing new knowledge-sharing content verticals as the growth of entertainment content plateaus for the short-video giant. The company has launched a campaign that has attracted thousands of hosts and broadcasters in the past three months. So far, they have produced tens of thousands of informational live broadcasts.
The new content topics include specific experience-based knowledge, like how to avoid scams when buying a secondhand vehicle. Others offer advice on subjects like childcare, personal health, financial literacy, and legal matters.
Users have demanded content that can be referenced in their processes of self-improvement. This motivated Kauishou to launch the campaign, operations director Han Xu said. The entertainment content category has hit a ceiling, he added. Kuaishou counted just over 295 million daily active users on its app as of the end of Q1 2021, up 16.6% year-on-year.
The company is banking on the authentic and trustworthy nature of its livestreams to foster a robust knowledge-sharing community. Kuaishou opted to broadcast this type of content via livestreams as opposed to short videos for a more engaging user experience. Ultimately, knowledge content is stickier than entertainment, and may advance Kuaishou’s monetization objectives in the long run.
On one Kuaishou broadcast, Li Tianhua, a host that was previously an executive at Baidu Mobile, said all platforms are now expanding into the knowledge content space. In 2020, Douyin poured RMB 10 billion into a knowledge creator fund, while Bilibili and Zhihu have launched similar initiatives.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content published by 36Kr. This article was originally written by Lian Ran for 36Kr.