Tesla China Taps into TikTok Influencers For Multi-City Information Campaign

Tesla China tapped into prolific TikTok influencers for a multi-city information campaign. This will be one of Tesla China’s first attempts at spreading awareness for the EV company in the country using a grassroots social media campaign. It shows how serious the Shanghai team sees its social media presence and engagement.

Based on Tesla China's promotion of the TikTok live shows, multiple influencers will be live streaming a video in several different cities in the country. The cities include Tianjin, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Qingdao, Shenyang, Xi'an, Shanghai, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, and more.

In some cities, there were multiple social media influencers streaming about Tesla China’s products and services at the same time. All the livestreams took place inside a Tesla experience center in China. Big cities, like Shanghai, have lots of Tesla experience centers and in each one influencers were live-streaming on January 31.

Each influencer talked about different topics related to Tesla. It was a smart way for Tesla China to dispense accurate information about the company’s all-electric vehicles. While some focuses on the MIC Model 3, majority of the topics centered on other Tesla-related subjects. For instance in Beijing, one of the influencers talked about Autopilot.

Others topic examples include:

• The new entertainment features from the latest OTA update
• MIC Model 3 vs BMW 3 series
• A live demonstration of Smart Summon
• An explanation of Tesla’s safety features
• Driving in Chengdu with a Model X 
• The differences between the MIC and imported Model 3

Tesla China’s efforts to develop a strong social media presence in the country may have been influenced by the company’s main branch. The primary Tesla HQ in America has a very strong social media presence.

A study by BrandTotal found that Tesla spends $0 on paid campaigns in social media platforms and it still garnered much attention on the internet. In contrast, Tesla’s competitors, like BMW and Toyota, spend so much money on campaigns for big online media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

Alon Leibovich, the co-founder & CEO, BrandTotal, had this to say about Tesla’s social media prowess: "Strong brands are able to command high engagement even without a robust digital ad spend,” Leibovich explained.

Tesla China announced to recruit superior social media teams to form a strong "Creative CP" in China 🇨🇳 $TSLA #Tesla #China #TeslaChina pic.twitter.com/LwHmSUnc7M

— Vincent (@vincent13031925) September 24, 2019

“In Tesla’s case, we see their engagement numbers are high compared to other auto brands allocating spend in their digital campaigns. This may be a result of Tesla’s fans already being engaged and active users on Twitter and other platforms. The brand doesn’t feel the need to spend on paid social media marketing when their organic reach is so strong,” he added. 

Tesla China may be trying to gain the same social media influence as the main branch in America. The multiple TikTok livestreams could be one of its first significant attempts with many more to come in the future. In September 2019, Tesla China announced that it was recruiting “superior social media team” for a Creative CP in the country. The influencers seen in today’s TikTok livestreams may very well be the result of such a team's efforts.