If we had to compare, Bilibili is the closest thing China has to YouTube.
Although the video-sharing site started as a hub for ACG (anime, comics, and gaming) content, it has grown to hold all sorts of content.
We use it to promote our clients in multiple industries—education, gaming, E-commerce, tech, and education, to name just a few.
Bilibili can be used to
- promote a company or product,
- run video ads,
- become an influencer, with long or short-form videos; and,
- embed videos that are visible on your website in China (your YouTube embeds will be blocked in China).
If you have any long-form video content for a Chinese audience, Bilibili should be your first port of call.
Who Uses Bilibili?
As of Q2 2024, Bilibili’s daily active users reached 102.3 million, a year-over-year increase of 6%.
Monthly active users reached 336 million, with the average daily usage time per user in the second quarter at 99 minutes, up from 94 minutes in the same period last year.
In terms of gender and age, 51% are female with an average age of 24, and 65% of all users are under 35.
What Do People Watch on Bilibili?
Among the diverse content on Bilibili, technology has emerged as one of the most popular categories, with AI being the fastest-growing segment.
According to Bilibili’s CEO Chen Rui, in the past year, over 200 million users watched tech-related videos on Bilibili, and the viewership of science and technology content increased by 200%.
Additionally, more than one million AI-related articles were produced on the platform, with 60% of the audience for AI content being from the post-2000 generation.
Tech is just one example of a growing category. As Bilibili has grown, various niches such as sports, TV shows, games, comedy, fashion, science, cooking, and art have become popular (with plenty of English videos copied from YouTube).
On Bilibili, a video’s educational and/or entertainment value is more important than the category.
So, how do you get on Bilibili?
Bilibili Account Types
All users need to register.
Whether you are a regular user just watching videos, a business, or a big-time influencer, you should start with registration.
Then, to be able to post comments, you need to do the test (more on this in a moment).
Verification is optional, but businesses, influencers, or media entities should verify as it will help users know you are who you say you are and also give you access to new features.
To sum up, you will become one of these user types:
- Registered – you can watch videos.
- Registered and completed the test – interact with others.\Registered, passed the test, and real-name verified – live stream, and move on to one of the final verifications below:
- Verified business
- Verified influencer
- Verified media or other organization
How to Register an Account on Bilibili
Whether you are a business, individual, or organization, setting up a personal account is the first step. Similar to other Chinese platforms, Bilibili accounts are set up with a phone number.
You will need a mobile phone number to accept a text message during the registration process, and later on, to log in.
Phone numbers from outside mainland China are accepted, and you can also log in using your QQ, WeChat, or Weibo account and skip the registration process.
Also, another disclaimer: There are two Bilibilis: Bilibili.com and Bilibili.tv.
The one in mainland China where you can share your great Chinese content and check out lots of great Chinese content is Bilibili.com. The other one is Bilibili.tv, which is a foreign one, and it’s not the one we’ll be using today.
You can read/watch a detailed explanation of the account setup here.
In the video, I mistakenly said a personal and a business account differ; when in fact, they are the same for the setup phase. Rather, it’s the verification stage where the differentiation occurs.
Bilibili’s Test
The membership test (only in Chinese) is an interesting feature unique to Bilibili.
To have your account running, you must go through a series of 40 questions covering various topics, which you can take as soon as you finish your registration.
Without passing the test, you won’t be able to do things such as add comments, interact with other users, or collect user experience points.
This vigorous process of testing and vetting means the community consists of credible members—setting a high standard and a level of expectation.
There’s no way around the test either.
Well, unless you enter a special invitation code, which you probably don’t have.
This part will be hard for you if you don’t read Chinese (you might need a Chinese-speaking friend or colleague to assist you).
The questions are about Bilibili culture. The example question above reads: “What is a full English name for ‘UP主’: A) uploader; B) download?”
Some questions are more about politeness to ensure users commit to being civil and nice to others on the site.
Anyways, you don’t need to do the pass test as you can access all the videos, and publish videos without it.
Account Verification on Bilibili
First, you need to log in to your account here.
Bilibili, unlike other platforms, allows everyone (not just Chinese nationals) to verify their accounts.
Similar to Douyin, Bilibili’s verification starts with Real Name Verification (实名认证), which means you must upload a photo of your ID to the platform.
Here’s what you can use:
- Mainland China ID card.
- Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents.
- Taiwan Resident Pass.
- Passport (issued in China).
- Permanent residence permit for foreigners.
- Identification issued by other countries or regions.
(For one of our projects, we verified an account with a Norwegian driving license.)
But that’s not all.
And to prove you’re the person in the photo, you must submit a picture of yourself holding your ID in front of you.
The identity verification process will also require your phone number (the one you used for registration). Hopefully, within 24 hours after submission, the process will be completed.
However, real name verification will not give you the verified user “V” badge.
It is your first step to get the “V”, but more importantly, it protects the platform and other users from fraud, and it also gives you a couple of other benefits:
Live-streaming enabled.
Collecting experience points that lead to account upgrades.
Opening of a “Shell (贝壳)” account (more on Bilibili currencies below).
Joining Bilibili’s Discipline Management Committee—That’s another name for community moderators, where you can gain up to 20 B coins/month and other rewards.
There are additional steps for influencers, companies, and organizations who want to increase their credibility and ensure they are distinguishable from possible copycats.
Either way, verification is required for everyone.
Influencer Verification on Bilibili
Once you hit 100K followers on Bilibili (easier said than done!), you’ll want to make your account more official and searchable. Why else would you need the verification badge?
Some of the benefits:
- Your content appears higher on the search result page, which means better exposure.
- You’re given priority for cooperation with partners.
- You gain access to Zhuanche (专车号), a kind of advertising account.
- The platform will recommend your videos to other users.
If Bilibili is your primary platform, here is what you need to obtain the “UP” influencer badge (UP主认证):
- Real Name Verification.
- Verified phone number.
- At least one published video.
- At least 100K followers on Bilibili.
- Passing your verification test (转正会员).
However, there’s one more way to go about it.
If you are an influencer with at least 500K followers on another Chinese platform, you can apply for “Influencer Verification”(身份认证) on Bilibili after you set up your account.
Here’s what you need:
- A link to the external account.
- Access to the phone number used to verify the account.
- Real name verification (explained above).
- Pass your verification test (转正会员).
And last but not least, there’s also a separate verification type for “Recognized Content Creators” (专栏大V).
You need to fulfill two of the following four requirements:
- Have published at least 20 pieces of content within one zone (e.g., game, education, culture) that received more than 100,000 views within six months.
- Be highly influential and popular within one zone.
- One of your articles won a Bilibili content event (Bilibili has written articles as well as videos).
- Consistently produce high-quality content (assessed by Bilibili). Assessment criteria include content popularity, user interaction, and more.
Business/Organization Verification on Bilibili
Bilibili also offers a separate verification badge for organizations, businesses, media, and schools.
It also gives similar advantages to the influencer account:
- Your content appears higher on the search results page, which means better exposure.
- You’re given priority for cooperation with partners.
- You gain access to Zhuanche (专车号), a type of advertising account where you can do things like advertise your trending topic on a search results page.
For now, businesses from the following regions are allowed: mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the US. (All requirements are listed here in Chinese.)
Here’s the required information for business verification:
- Account’s name, which must be the company’s full name or shortened name within a ten-character limit.
- Full company name+”官方账号” (e.g., NMG官方账号)
- Optional: explanation (i.e., Nanjing Marketing group’s official account).
Account moderator’s name, phone number, and email.
- Optional: explanation (i.e., Nanjing Marketing group’s official account).
- Colored scan of your business license.
- Sealed and signed authorization letter (downloaded from Bilibili).
- “Unified social credit code” (统一社会信用代码) for mainland Chinese businesses, and business registration number for non-mainland businesses.
There is also optional information you can submit to improve your chances of having the business account verified:
- Tax number.
- Trademark registration.
- Screenshots of the backend management of your business’ other accounts, such as YouTube, Weibo, and WeChat.
- Business license verification from your country’s embassy in China.
- Any permits related to food safety, cosmetics safety, software admission, Mainland’s ICP license, etc.
However, if you cannot get through the document submission stage on Bilibili then this is most likely because you’re outside of China or the mobile phone number is not accepted.
In this case, you can email the documents to [email protected].
The verification has to be renewed yearly, and the following items have to be ready for the renewal:
- Business license (to check it hasn’t expired).
- The main content published throughout the year has to be related to the company’s business scope.
- New content published at least three months before renewal.
- All the related admissions and permits are in order.
Media and Other Organizations
Another type of verification is reserved for both new and traditional media outlets and their representatives.
The application takes 15 days and requires:
- Full name+”官方账号” (e.g., NMG官方账号).
- Moderator’s name, phone number, and email address.
- Business license or institution certification.
- “Unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码)” for mainland Chinese businesses, and business registration number for non-mainland businesses.
- Media’s name.
- Nominal capital.
- Sealed and signed authorization letter (downloaded from Bilibili).
Bilibili’s Currencies: Coins, B Coins and Shells
Bilibili has a somewhat confusing digital currency system.
Users receive a certain number of coins (硬币) when they log in to the platform, and they can then give coins to specific videos. A creator’s earnings are influenced by multiple factors including
- comments,
- bullet comments,
- views,
- and coins.
B Coins (b币) must be purchased by users with real money and can be used to buy various services and products on the platform. These cannot be passed between users, and cannot be converted back into Chinese yuan.
Shells (贝壳) are earned by creators for their content and can be cashed out for Chinese yuan. 泰特能说, an account with 21,000 followers and 207,000 likes, has earned 660 Shells so far, which can be converted to one Chinese yuan. This short video with 457,000 views earned 163 yuan, while this longer video with 107,000 views earned 176 yuan.
Experience Points
The coins can only be accumulated once you reach the first experience level, and to do that, you will need to pass the verification test.
Additionally, you can gain experience points and B Coins for actions such as
- daily logins,
- daily broadcasting of videos,
- daily sharing of videos,
- connecting your phone number and/or email address,
- setting up a secure password, and
- account verification.
Contact Us
Whether you’re an influencer, a business owner, or a causal peruser of video content, I hope you’ve found this post helpful and that you’re on your way to enjoying all the perks and features of your chosen Bilibili account.
If you’re setting up multiple accounts or accounts for advertising and you need help with that, that’s something that my marketing agency can also do for you.
Arrange a free consultation with us here to discuss the options available to you and your business.
For more information on Chinese marketing in general, check out our China Digital Marketing 101 page.