KOC a trendy profession for Vietnamese youth

Lam is using his clout as in influential consumer to cash-in on being what social media communities and the online e-commerce industry now call "KOC," or Key Opinion Customer.

In 2020, the 25-year-old Ho Chi Minh City resident decided to quit his office job to pursue a career in reviewing cosmetics because his monthly salary of VND7 million ($283.91) was "not enough to live in the city."

Tran Lam, wearing a black shirt, conducts a live sales session on an e-commerce platform. Photo courtesy of Lam

As a beauty guru, he spends about VND2-3 million every month on cosmetic products to test on camera. But his beginnings were humble and rocky.

"I filmed every day, so I used so many types of cosmetics that I got skin irritation, acne, and ulcers, but I still only received a few likes from my friends," Lam said.

After half a year, his savings were exhausted, so Lam asked brands to sponsor trial products, in exchange for free advertising. And they agreed.

In one short video he recently launched successfully, Lam tests a brand of sunscreen over a 15-20 period, with shots of him trying out the product while walking in the sunny streets, informing his viewers about how well it works.

The video is only one minute long, and it has attracted 100,000 followers. "After 100,000, I started receiving ads," Lam said.

Starting in 2022, Lam began to do livestreams for brands. At first, he was not used to talking continuously for several hours. He’s even on occasion streamed for 24 hours straight, which caused him to nearly collapse a few times.

"I had to learn how to tell jokes, encourage the audience to finalize their orders, and always be cheerful even when scolded," Lam said.

He now earns tens of millions of dong (VND10 million = $405.6 ) per hour livestreaming.

"My livestream’s highest-revenue session was VND200 million in two hours, with some sessions lasting 24 hours up to several billion dong," Lam said.

The high income, flexible working hours, and the fact that no requirements, qualifications or expertise is needed have made KOC jobs like Tran Lam's attractive to young people.

Vu Dieu Thuy, founder of Kolin Academy, a facility specializing in training KOC and KOL (Key Opinion Leaders, another form of influencers), said that her business has been receiving a few hundred new students every month this year, double the amount from last year.

More than 80% of students are in the 18-29 year-old group, mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Each course lasts 4-10 sessions, and tuition fees can range from several million to hundreds of millions of dong.

Thuy said the most difficult thing when training beginners with no experience is helping them discover their strengths and advantages to turn into talents, so they can produce suitable content online.

"Students who are already famous will often take livestream courses to convert personal brands into money and learn how to sell products," she said.

Currently, on social networks, there are hundreds of KOL, KOC, and "influencer recruitment" groups with tens of thousands to several hundred thousand participating members.

Bich Ngoc, a 28-year-old Hanoi resident with more than 6 years of experience in the field, said that in the past year livestream sales on digital platforms became a trend. Thus, the need from brands to recruit KOLs and KOCs for product promotion has doubled or tripled, she added.

"A few dozen to a few hundred people are often needed to promote a single event or product," Ngoc said.

As the person who connects KOLs and KOCs with brands, Le Du, the 25-year-old creative director of a media company in Hanoi, said that KOCs who are not yet famous are often more likely to accept posting videos without paid support just in order to experience the services and products for free.

KOCs, KOLs, and influencers who have a large number of followers, from hundreds of thousands to millions, can receive salaries ranging from tens of millions to several hundred million for a single video posted on social media.

Bich Ha, 23, produces culinary content for a TikTok account boasting over 300,000 followers. Photo courtesy of Ha

Dr. Le Hoanh Su from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Law is a member of the Vietnam E-commerce Association. He said that in the digital age, users need quick, and concise access to trending information. He said consumers now prefer online shopping, a phenomenon that has opened up opportunities for the KOL and KOC professions to develop.

According to Su, in the past, to be famous and have a high income, it took a long process of building a systematic image. But now , he said, young people can easily stand out thanks to their appearance, knowing how to grasp trends and approach their audience. Even farmers, or families with special inspirational stories, can become famous and capable of influencing people, thus earning income from digital platforms.

However, Su also warned that those who chase after fame and money can cause public outrage if they’re not careful about the type of brand that they’re advertising for. Bad reputations can tank their accounts and channels and destroy their careers.

"If you want to develop and survive in such a profession for a long time, you must know how to create sustainable content value that has a positive impact on the community," Su said.

Hoang Anh, 25, from Hanoi, generates tens of millions of dong monthly by producing content focused on photography tutorials and tech product reviews, as of February 2024. Photo by Thanh Nga

According to psychologist Tran Huong Thao (HCMC), the downside of this profession is that it gives many young people the illusion that making money online is easy.

Also, some Gen Z youngsters today feel self-conscious because of peer pressure, and suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out syndrome), leading to anxiety and depression after witnessing some KOCs and KOLs with high income.

Thao said that FOMO syndrome also happens to KOLs and KOCs themselves. They are engrossed in chasing sales revenue, likes, and followers, then feel like failures when they are resting while others are still selling and working day and night. "Young people should know how to balance life, spend time for themselves, and create valuable content with depth to it," Thao advised.

Being an office worker and KOC at the same time, with more than 200,000 followers 25-year-old Hanoian Hoang Anh earned nearly VND100 million reviewing phones, camera equipment, advertising photo apps, and suggesting trendy places around him. However, he has no time to rest and is often exhausted from overwork.

"Maybe I will quit my job to focus on creating more valuable content for the community," Hoang Anh said.