Asia influencer working group shares trends and best practices

Building on Visit California's Global Influencer Advisory Board, the organization launched its first Asia influencer working group. Featuring top creators from China, Korea and Japan, the group shared direct, ground-level insights into regional platforms, emerging social media trends and strategies for deeper collaboration with California’s tourism industry. The group met in Ventura for a day and a half of meetings followed by activities in the destination and beyond.

The influencers included: 

• (Alasu) Sufen/LIU of @旅游约吗 (China) 
• (Anna) Jinlan/LI and (Simon) Xinming/CUI of @西蒙 (China) 
• (Angela) Eunjung Cho of @_goodjung_ (Korea) 
• (Danny) Heewoong Kang of @thizisdan (Korea) 
• (Micchan) Naoko Mitsuoka of @its_micchan (Japan) 
• Haruki Anoku of @hr.8ruki (Japan) 

The total combined reach of the group across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, RED, Douyin, Weibo and Bilibili exceeds 15.7 million.

The meeting agenda included timely conversations around international sentiment, partnership best practices, AI, platform nuances and strengths and more. Insights of note included: 

• Creator freedom leads to the most authentic and resonant content. Influencers from each market shared that the key to successful campaigns is freedom to explore on their own and lead the creative process. 

• Influencers can help us tackle traveler concerns and perceived barriers to travel in California. Barriers can include: Safety; cost concerns and tipping; transportation and more.

• Practicality matters, especially for Asian markets. Using influencers to break down the travel experience as well as cultural nuances and tipping culture are very helpful and sought after. 

• Pair off the beaten path destinations or “hidden gems” with the icons or culturally familiar experiences as an anchor. Asian travelers often look for recognizable places as an anchor, while increasingly looking for fresher local experiences.  

• Chinese platforms and trends set them apart. While Weibo, Douyin, RED and WeChat have similarities to other global platforms – especially in how the algorithm and preferred content formats continuously evolve – they also make the way Chinese influencers capture content unique. 

• A nuanced look at metrics is important. While likes and comments may be relevant for U.S. followers, it’s important to note cultural nuances. Asian consumers are less likely to comment or like on posts, so it’s often more telling to look at saves and shares as success metrics. 

Insights gained will be woven into Visit California’s Influencer Strategy Document and passed along to the industry.