Chinese video sharing site Bilibili wants to take its platform global as it expands into the global online video market and compete against the expanding global online video market with a global reach. With a huge and devoted audience in China, the platform is looking for new viewers, creators and brands from around the world.
Bilibili also plans to launch an international version of its Android app and launch an English-language website. The company is also looking out for content creators and influencers in big global cities and employees. That’s a more serious attempt to make Bilibili a more international video platform than a service just for China’s online entertainment market.
Bilibili has already established its own identity in China through user-generated videos, animation, gaming, entertainment and other forms of digital content. Its community-based model has given it a particularly strong presence amongst the younger internet users. The company appears to be looking to recreate some aspects of that ecosystem for its audience outside China with local models.
Bilibili’s international strategy is expected to be very much about creators. Rather than relying on Chinese content being distributed overseas, Bilibili’s aim is to find content creators from different countries and regions who can produce material for international audiences. The strategy could create local communities and create content that is more relevant to viewers in individual markets.
The company is reaching out to YouTubers and other online influencers to build a bigger creator base. Bilibili can probably benefit from strong creators who can help in overcoming one of the biggest challenges in any new video site: building a huge library of compelling content that will keep people coming back to this site.
And the creator-centric platform Bilibili also makes the creator economy more important. The company has marketed itself as a Gen Z-oriented platform and is creating a marketplace for creators to connect with brands for sponsored-content opportunities. To create more revenue for influencers and to get advertisers to target younger consumers so that they will be able to build a brand, these kinds of initiatives could help the influencers to make money.
The global push also involves creating local teams. Bilibili is hiring community managers and other employees in Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Istanbul and Tokyo. Building personnel in the major markets will help the company to identify local audiences and to manage communities and to respond to cultural differences better.
Content moderation is also a big concern as Bilibili expands internationally. Rules around online content vary widely from one country to another, so a platform that is present in different countries needs to have systems to manage their regulatory and cultural standards as well. When developing its international operation, Bilibili will utilize artificial intelligence technology to control content.
The company will grow at a time at which the worldwide video market is dominated by the most established platforms, in particular YouTube. YouTube has years of experience, a huge creator ecosystem, worldwide recognition and massive advertising. So, to compete with such an established service will be a big challenge for Bilibili.
However, Bilibili could try to distinguish itself through the community-driven culture and its emphasis on younger audiences. Its anime, gaming, entertainment experience could also provide opportunities to attract niche communities that are very much interested in particular forms of digital content.
International creators may see in the future more growth and monetization opportunities with the arrival of another major platform. If Bilibili can build a global creator ecosystem, influencers will have another channel for sharing their videos and engaging with viewers.
The company’s global ambitions are an attempt to broaden its reach and diversify its business. China is still Bilibili’s core market but the expansion abroad could provide new users, creators, advertising revenues and brand partnerships with the long term to come and eventually new opportunities. But building those markets will require large investment and patience.
Bilibili's new international push therefore is a major test of whether a successful domestic video platform can replicate its community model internationally. With its Android app also back and an English website under development and recruitment efforts on the way in big cities, the company is preparing for a global presence.
Bilibili is in no position to convince creators and audiences to move beyond YouTube and beyond it to other platforms like that of YouTube. But its latest approach shows that the Chinese video company can no longer be content to only be a player in the home market in the Chinese market. It is ready to go international and it wants to be known in the world creator economy and is preparing to battle it out for viewers and influencers.
