This article takes a deep look at Bilibili’s marketing potential: how the platform works, who uses it, the most effective tools for promoting your business, and how to launch and monetize your own channel.
Introduction
In the 2010s, after China restricted access to Western social networks, a wave of domestic platforms emerged—including several video-hosting services. Only a few can be considered true YouTube counterparts: Bilibili, Xigua, and Baidu Haokan. Among them, Bilibili stands out as the most influential.
Launched in 2009, Bilibili began as a niche hub for anime culture. Today, it has transformed into a mainstream video platform popular among young people across China. Its content spans gaming streams, educational videos, entertainment programs, and more. As of Q2 2023, Bilibili reported 319 million monthly active users (MAU), making it a highly attractive channel for businesses entering the Chinese market.
What Makes Bilibili Unique
One of Bilibili’s signature features is the Danmu 弹幕—or “bullet comments”—system. These are live, time-synced comments that appear directly on the video as it plays, creating a shared, communal viewing experience. Animated and colorful Danmu comments are “premium comments” and require Bcoin, Bilibili’s internal currency, which can also be used to purchase virtual gifts for streamers.
Did You Know?
Common slang in Danmu includes:
66666 — “awesome!” (based on a phonetic pun in Chinese)
23333 — the Chinese equivalent of “LOL”
Bilibili for Businesses: Promoting Products and Services
Bilibili is a powerful tool for promoting consumer goods, services, and educational products in China. Its audience consists primarily of young people living in major and mid-sized cities. If your product targets a younger demographic, your success will depend on creating high-quality, visually appealing content that resonates with a selective and fast-moving generation.
More than 80% of Bilibili users were born between 1990 and 2009. The average current user is 21, and newly registered users are even younger, averaging 19.8. Most come from second-tier cities or smaller. This demographic presents a wide range of opportunities for brands, especially in beauty, fashion, entertainment, advertising, gaming, and digital tech. Live streaming is particularly popular, offering strong potential for influencer collaborations.
Effective Promotion Tools on Bilibili
Huahuo (花火): KOL Collaboration Platform: Huahuo is a built-in marketplace for KOL (Key Opinion Leader) campaigns. Creators with 10,000+ followers can join and partner with advertisers for sponsored videos, integrations, or product links. For businesses, Huahuo makes it easy to find suitable influencers and secure placements directly through the platform.
Qifei (起飞): Targeted Advertising Platform: Qifei is Bilibili’s advertising hub, allowing businesses to run targeted ad campaigns. Companies can:
- Set up a verified advertiser account
- Launch and manage campaigns
- Analyze audience data
- Adjust targeting settings
Reserved Advertising Formats. Bilibili also offers premium reserved placements with fixed pricing and guaranteed impressions. These formats work best for brand awareness rather than lead generation. Options include:
- Large Banner (大视窗) — prominent banner linking to your product
- Full-screen Opening Ad (开屏) — image or video displayed when the app launches
- In-feed Video Recommendations (播放页推荐) — ads placed within recommended or related videos
- Interactive Full-screen Ads (联动霸屏) — short full-screen ads that later minimize into a banner
Reserved Advertisement Formats on Bilibili
Setting these up requires verification, access to Qifei, and a clear advertising strategy.
Bilibili for Creators: Growing and Monetizing Content
If your goal is content monetization rather than direct product promotion, Bilibili is an excellent platform. As one of China’s largest video sites, it offers several revenue streams:
Stream Donations
Viewers can send real-time donations during livestreams. This method works best when creators actively engage with their audience.
View-based Revenue
Earnings per million views vary widely depending on: follower count, total views, content quality and posting frequency.
To enable monetization, creators need at least 500,000 followers and 10,000 video views before applying.
Virtual Gifts
Users can purchase and send virtual gifts during streams, providing an additional income source. Creative, high-energy streams tend to receive more gifts.
Contests
Bilibili regularly runs platform-wide contests. Participation not only boosts exposure but also offers prizes and bonus rewards—and helps attract new viewers.
Common Monetization Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring advertising tools: Choose formats that fit your content and don’t disrupt user experience.
- Choosing the wrong monetization model: Pick methods that align with your content type and audience.
- Weak audience interaction: Active engagement drives loyalty and increases donations.
- Low production quality: Better production = more views = higher revenue.
- Not using premium features: Exclusive, paid-only content can significantly boost income and audience loyalty.
Based on our experience, Bilibili’s analytics tools are highly reliable compared to other platforms. For example clicks from multiple devices within 48 hours count as a single click or swipes do not count as clicks.
Audience engagement also remains consistently high. Reliable data is crucial for creators looking to improve their content and performance.
Platform Rules and Restrictions
Bilibili maintains a strict set of guidelines aimed at ensuring a safe and enjoyable environment. Prohibited categories include:
- Pornographic or vulgar content
- Violence or harmful behavior
- Privacy violations and copyright infringement
- Fraud or deceptive behavior
- Harassment, discrimination, or disrespectful conduct
- Spam or low-quality content
- Content harmful to minors
Violations can lead to penalties, including account suspension or banning.
Conclusion
To succeed on Bilibili, businesses and creators must understand the platform’s culture and audience behavior. With over 80% of users belonging to younger generations, high-quality, engaging, and trend-aware content is key.
Bilibili offers unique opportunities across industries—beauty, fashion, entertainment, tech, gaming, and more. With hundreds of millions of active users, it is a powerful gateway for entering and scaling on the Chinese market.
The opportunities are vast. Approach them strategically and creatively!
FAQ
On the Chinese version, click the 登录 (Log In) button in the top right corner of the site. Registration requires a phone number. On the international version of Bilibili, however, you can sign up using email.
Bilibili.com is the domestic Chinese version, while Bilibili.tv is the international edition. They have different registration processes. Bilibili.com is available exclusively in Chinese and serves not only as a video and streaming site but also as a gaming platform. Bilibili.tv is strictly a video and streaming platform.Chinese social media platforms are known for their strict compliance guidelines and moderation. Even minor violations of platform rules can lead to immediate content removal or a permanent account ban. For this reason, we strongly recommend exercising caution when planning provocative challenges.
Chinese social media platforms are known for their strict compliance guidelines and moderation. Even minor violations of platform rules can lead to immediate content removal or a permanent account ban. For this reason, we strongly recommend exercising caution when planning provocative challenges.