Someone asked me: "Teacher Zhong, can I build a personal brand on TikTok?"
Yes, you can-and right now, it's a prime opportunity to leverage "Chinese culture" to create content and sell products.
01
Why Lean into "Chinese Culture"?
We often say, "The more ethnic, the more universal"-a saying that's being proven true on TikTok.
The Chinese accounts that truly go viral aren't those mindlessly mimicking Western creators. Instead, they unapologetically showcase Eastern faces and Chinese culture. Take Baduanjin (Eight Brocades, a traditional Chinese exercise) or traditional Chinese wellness tea, for example. These content pieces resonate with overseas users precisely because they inherently carry a sense of cultural difference and mystique, making them stand out more easily.
02
Why Does "Chinese Aesthetic" Content Sell So Well Overseas?
This might sound counterintuitive, but there doesexist a niche of Western users who already believe in Eastern wellness or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-just as some Chinese people swear by Western medicine. This audience segment remains largely untapped.
You don't need to convince everyone. Targeting just this subset of users-who are already interested in TCM, tea ceremonies, or natural therapies-is enough to build a highly engaged consumer community.
Take one of our clients, for instance: a seller of wellness tea. By packaging his product with Chinese cultural elements, he once topped the wellness tea sales chart in the U.S. at No. 2.
03
How to Create Such Content?
The logic here is straightforward:
Visually emphasize Chinese elements: Think tea leaves, teapots, traditional Chinese workout attire, or other props and settings that exude Chinese culture.
Diversify content formats: Some focus on practical benefits (e.g., "If you often… try this wellness tea"), while others highlight cultural stories (e.g., showcasing tea-planting or brewing processes). Many of these videos are unpolished yet charming-if you're curious, you can check them out yourself, though I won't delve into specifics here.
Language tips: Use English if possible. If your spoken English isn't strong, post-production dubbing or subtitles work too.
In short, building a Chinese personal brand for global audiences isn't about mimicking Westerners. It's about confidently embracing your Eastern cultural identity. From Baduanjin to wellness tea, the more distinctively Chinese your content, the more likely it is to thrive overseas.
