Lofter is a mobile blogging platform launched by Netease in 2011, designed for user-generated content and targeted at design interest groups, with a current user base exceeding 10 million. The platform has carved out a niche for high-quality content amid competition and is actively exploring e-commerce opportunities. Lofter facilitates collaborations with brands and hosts photography contests to engage its affluent, young user demographic, primarily consisting of creatives and professionals.

1. new Chinese social media
lofter
An introduction by Totem Media.

2. what is lofter

3. what’s lofter
A light blog launched by NetEase in
2011, lofter provides audiences with a
user-friendly UI and high-quality
user-generated contents. its built
around interest groups.
with instagram and other foreign apps
blocked in china, lofter has enjoyed
rapid growth recently. it currently
has 10m users ...and is growing quickly,
especially among early adopters.
lofter, nice and a number of other
light/mobile blogs are in tight
competition. despite this competition,
lofter has defined itself as the
choice for design interests groups
(where nice is more fashion driven).

4. is a mobile, Social
app with
Lofter
10m+
users
NetEase Internal Report
2015

5. Source: Nice Internal Report, 2014
Nice
Oct, 2013Launch
12m
users
Dec. 2014
Source: NetEase Internal Report, 2015
Overview Of The Market
10m
users
Early, 2015
Aug, 2011Launch
Lofter Dian Dian
April, 2011Launch
6m
users
April, 2012
Source: http://www.diandian.com/story

6. Account
Recommendations
Based on Interest
Newsfeed
My ProfileHomepage
Discover
Chat/Notifications/Likes
Take a Picture
Homepage

7. Homepage
Brand & personal accounts
will show up here for you to
discover and explore!
Recommendation on who you
may like, and updated likes of
those who you are following.
36 interest groups are waiting for
you to join in and share with the
groups your best moments.

8. Discover Page
Topic Labels
Label/Topic Page
Feed
Recommendation
Theme/Topic/Talents
Search Box

9. Lofter - A Post
Account Name
Text Description
Have a Chat!
Image
Labels & Tags
Comments, Reposts,
Likes and Favourites
Follow
Popularity Score
Calculated by total
number of likes and
favourites

10. 1 2 3 4 5
5 steps to shoot, edit and share
Choose to share to more
social media platforms.
Stickers & Filters are shown
together on the editing step.
Every sticker has a limited
quantity.
You can also upload
from your album
You can tag anything, and
add your location.

11. Homepage
Lofter Art
Product Page
Lofter Art is an e-commerce
platform for selling framed
pictures and postcards
produced by Lofter artists.
The platform is open to any
Lofter artists that upload HD
photos, get authorised, and
provide original works.
Lofter Art is still in its initial
stage. In the near future,
high quality notebooks,
phone cases and even
photography services will
be offered for sale.

12. user analysis

13. 10m+ registered users: affluent, young and have strong interest in
design. Most of all, they enjoy and love to share About their Lives.
Source: Lofter Internal Report, 2014
Who Uses It

14. He is a 26 year old
advertising professional
working in Beijing, who likes
cartoons, plants, design, and
writing.
By attentively managing his
social media, he stands out and
is quite well-known in his
circle with unique writing style
and design works.
He’s got a unique personal
image and can be easily found…
Lofter accumulates numerous
talented users like him.
User Profile

15. 10m
Registered
users:
Source: Net Ease Internal Report, 2015
Who Uses It
0
10
20
30
40
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65~
27.5%
33.5%
15.5%
12.5%
5.5% 5.5%
46 : 54male female
30m
Daily PV Daily UV
2.7m

16. Source: NetEase Internal Report, 2015
Who Uses It
Sun Jun
Photographer
Cai Lan
Gourmet
Writer
Ronald
Singer/Actor
Photographer
Ji Di
Cartoonist
Ci Heshang
Fashion
Blogger
Cai Zhizhong
Cartoonist
Hundreds of Professionals/celebrities from various
industries are using Lofter.

17. how brands use it

18. 1. open a verified brand account

19. Brand Homepage
Have A Chat
Follow Me
A Post

20. 2. Interact with audiences

21. Case Studies

22. Lofter X Photography Contest
Taking advantage of its focus on HD photography, Lofter often cooperates with brands and celebrities
for photography contests
Almost every week, Lofter will share at least one contest on their official account, and call on users to
participate in it by giving them some incentives, like smartphones and travel vouchers

23. Xiaomi X CAPA
From 13 Aug to 15 Nov in 2014, fashion magazine CAPA cooperated with Xiaomi and Lofter for a
photography contest
Competitors uploaded their original photos with any topic and device to Lofter, adding the tag
4
Winners participated to win prizes from Xiaomi. Throughout the campaign, 44,793 photos were
uploaded to the contest page

24. Lofter X 2015 “Power To Go”
“Power To Go” is a publicity campaign started by celebrity Chen Kun in 2011
In 8 June 2015, Lofter built a campaign page to recruit volunteers for the best talents in Lofter for a
trek to Shangri-La in Yunnan, together with Chen Kun in Sept for 7 days
Lofter also promoted the topic “2015 Power to Go”, encouraging users to share their pictures about
their own journey

25. Lofter X Fleet of Time
The movie Fleet of Time cooperated with Lofter for an official page
A customized sticker was also created with limited release, which triggered a large number users to
share their photos of youth together with the sticker
Within just 2 days, more than 10k Lofter users shared their photos with the sticker

26. Cadillac • Van Gogh
As the sponsor of “2015 Van Gogh Alive”, Cadillac created an artistic Lofter campaign from 15 to 31
July, and called on users to enjoy the master work and find the beauty of art
The sticker named # # (#encountering Van Gogh) was created during the campaign. Lofter
users needed to upload original photos with the sticker “Cadillac • Van Gogh”. Winners were selected
according to the popularity of their works. After the 2-week campaign, 39,393 pieces of works were
gathered

27. 1. Paradise for Artists
As a light blog, social platform, focused on interest groups (design specifically), Lofter has
gathered large groups of professionals - who are skillful with words and images. In some interest
groups, the percentage of professional artists may be as high as 50%. This strong artistic
environment provides a lot of encouragement for brands to co-create content with audiences.
2. Create Great Content Like a Pro
With gossip and ‘copy-cat’ content filling up most social steams on Weibo and WeChat, Lofter
defines itself as a place for original, high quality content, inspired by true creators and innovators.
While there are a lot of professional creatives in Lofter, the amateur “Lofters” are also highly skilled
at creating quality, original ideas ...and driving strong engagement with followers/fans.
3. Light E-commerce Platform
Lofter is exploring e-commerce - similar to Mogujie & Dui Tang - with a unique “social first”
approach to ecommerce. Creatives on Lofter with strong follower numbers and deep engagement
are finding success with linking through to ecommerce. Lofter users, focused on fashion, “celebrity
chasing” and cartoon categories are enjoying the highest demand for purchases. Some users are
boasting up-to 30% conversion rates.
key insights on lofter

28. Chris Baker, Managing Director
Email: chris@totemmedia.net
Twitter/WeChat: Talktototem