1.1. Cross-Posting as a Growing Trend

While Bilibili is the main video platform in China, content creators producing videos (professionally) for YouTube, called YouTubers, have recently also started to post their content on Bilibili. This practice of distributing (user-generated) content is called cross-posting, e.g., the same videos can be separately uploaded on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts (Abidin, 2020; Thomas et al., 2022). Cross-posting has become frequent, and professional users such as major companies, politicians, celebrities, or public institutions apply these practices for varying purposes, e.g., on Facebook and Twitter (Farahbakhsh et al., 2016). One of the goals of cross-posting is to significantly increase audience engagement. For instance, audience feedback varies widely depending on the platform, indicating that even identical content from the same brand will receive different reactions based on the platform used, which was discovered in studies involving YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter (Roma & Aloini, 2019; Smith et al., 2012). Smith et al. (2012) noted that the audience of a popular brand’s YouTube account generally exhibits a more positive sentiment than compared to its respective Facebook and Twitter accounts. This difference may be attributed to the distinct features of the platforms, where Facebook and Twitter encourage conversation and link-sharing more than YouTube.

1.2. Creator Ecology and Platform Adaptation

Cross-posting on several platforms is an important aspect of the “creator ecology.” Posting user-generated content, prioritizing platforms, synchronizing content across various platforms, and managing the audience are crucial practices of this ecology (Ma et al., 2023). However, producing content for several platforms can be time intensive, where the content needs to be adapted to various features, also keeping in mind creator tools, recommendations, and monetization algorithms. Ma et al. (2023)’s findings indicate that adapting strategies for the right platform is important in order to find a balance between selective labor and excessive labor. Levina and Arriaga (2014)’s argument supports the idea that different social media platforms offer various forms of capital, influencing creators’ behaviors when cross-posting.

Considering this for our study, given the disparities between YouTube and Bilibili in terms of user base and interface elements, it is conceivable that YouTubers adapt their content and strategies for cross-posting on Bilibili. For example, Zhang and Scheibe (2023) noted that YouTubers often edit textual elements and video outros to suit the Bilibili audience, though their study was limited to two creators.

1.3. Regional Differences in Platform Features

Not only might the behavior of users differ between the platforms, but the functionalities of the platforms vary as well. The literature indicates that even social media platforms within the same category may be implemented very differently depending on the region of the world. For example, live streaming services illustrate this regional divergence well. In Western markets, live streaming services generally employ fewer gamification elements, such as leaderboards and virtual gifts, compared to their counterparts in China. In China, live streaming services widely utilize a broad array of gamification features to cater to the diverse tastes of their cultural market (Zimmer et al., 2020). Even though the content disparity between the two markets of live streaming services was not analyzed, it is striking that different cultures might prefer distinct aspects within specific services.

However, the literature does not investigate cross-cultural cross-posting activities in greater detail yet, which our study aims to do. Where the content is posted to platforms accessible in the West, such as from Facebook to Twitter, cross-posting content from YouTube to platforms such as Bilibili in China remains mainly unexplored. The first research approaches note adjustments made by Chinese creators when cross-posting from Chinese to Western platforms to enhance visibility (Meng & Nansen, 2022), but the specifics of these adjustments were not identified.

1.4. Research Objectives and Contributions

Given this research gap, the current study builds on Zhang and Scheibe (2023)’s work by examining a broader range of YouTubers. Zhang and Scheibe (2023) found that YouTubers adapted their content for Bilibili, including editing textual elements and the video “outro.” However, the research only drew results from two YouTubers, which resulted in narrow outcomes. Therefore, building upon Zhang and Scheibe (2023), this new research aims to investigate a wider range of YouTubers, paying special attention to the content that has been cross-posted as well as the uploading schedules of the creators, keeping in mind the creators’ workload (Ma et al., 2023).

Considering the significant differences between Bilibili and YouTube in platform features and primary viewer bases, this study seeks to deepen our understanding of the interplay between culture and platforms. Specifically, it focuses on the challenges and dynamics of distributing content across multiple platforms, with an emphasis on the Chinese-Western perspective. This study adheres to the categorization of “Western” similar to Rieder et al. (2023), focusing on the creator economy in regions including North America, Europe, and Oceania.

Owing to these observations and considerations, the research question (RQ) is:

RQ: What differences can be observed between the content cross-posted by YouTubers from YouTube on Bilibili?

This study makes multiple original and significant contributions to knowledge and practices. First, the study contributes to the existing literature on multi-platform content creation and a new understanding of online content creators’ evolving practices to adapt to platforms of multiple ecosystems. Second, the findings can be developed into new practical guides for Western YouTubers or other content creators who wish to cross-post their content to BiliBili as a platform in a different social media system domain to reach Chinese audiences and broaden their viewer bases. Third, the findings could also provide significant and valuable insight for Bilibili, with the potential to develop guidance and support for content creators outside China to build their channels or cross-post their content on the platform.

In the following section, the methods for the analysis of comparing YouTubers’ cross-posting behaviors are explained in detail. This is followed by the qualitative results and finishes with a discussion of the results.

3.1. On-Screen Texts

On-screen texts refer to text incorporated into the video by YouTubers as part of their video content (Table 3). We observed that when cross-posting YouTube content to Bilibili, some YouTubers tend to add Chinese on-screen texts to their videos. There are two forms of Chinese on-screen texts. The first type is Chinese text used as a translation of the original English text. For example, in Pamela Reif’s workout videos, she replaced the workout movement names with Chinese translations from the original English text (Fig. 1). Instead of replacing English with Chinese, Life of Boris directly adds Chinese translation alongside the English on-screen text. Apart from translation, there are also additional Chinese on-screen texts added to the video; these texts are normally added by Chinese subtitler groups. They partner with YouTubers to translate their videos, add subtitles, and include their group members’ usernames on the video as a form of promotion and credit for their work, separate from the main video.

Fig. 1

Screenshot of one analyzed Pamela Reif video from (A) Bilibili vs. (B) YouTube.

There are also cases where YouTubers did not translate or add additional on-screen texts to their videos. Some are due to the original videos not having on-screen texts in the first place, while others may do so based on the nature of their video. For example, Rachel’s English tends to show various English words on-screen for the English learners in her original video, but there is no Chinese translation added to these words in the BiliBili version of the video since there are already Chinese subtitles added to it. Some videos do not initially have on-screen text, like Alan Becker’s animation videos. Overall, a variety of practices regarding on-screen text when cross-posting to Bilibili were found, but adding Chinese texts is among them when YouTubers cross-post their content to Bilibili.

3.2. Subtitles

There is a common pattern across the practices of YouTubers in which they added Chinese subtitles (Table 3) to the cross-posted videos on Bilibili. Some of these subtitles are Chinese-only, but others are a combination of Chinese and English subtitles on top of each other to make the videos more accessible to Chinese viewers. Although some YouTubers include Chinese and other languages as YouTube captions, on Bilibili these subtitles are embedded into the video content and cannot be turned off through the platform’s interface. Not only subtitles are added, but YouTubers also change their video titles from English to Chinese or add Chinese titles in addition to English titles. Only a few YouTubers in our analysis did not add Chinese subtitles. For example, the latest video by CaptainSparklez does not have Chinese subtitles, but has Chinese captions generated by the artificial intelligence (AI) function on Bilibili. However, this video has significantly fewer views on Bilibili (over 1,000 views) compared to the original YouTube version (over 80,000 views). Some videos do not have subtitles in their original format, such as animation videos by Alan Becker. However, overwhelmingly in our analysis, when YouTubers cross-post their video to Bilibili, if there are dialogs in the originals, Chinese subtitles are added to the cross-posted content.

3.3. Thumbnail Design

Two types of differences were spotted in the thumbnail design (Table 3) between the original YouTube videos and the ones cross-posted to Bilibili. The first difference involves changes to the text on the thumbnails. If the original YouTube thumbnail is a combination of a premade image and English text, the thumbnail for the cross-posted video on Bilibili consists of the same image but replaces the English text with Chinese text. The second difference is the alternation of the image design and sometimes the text, meaning that in addition to changing English texts to Chinese, the image used for the thumbnail is also changed. For example, Pattycake simplified one of their original YouTube music video thumbnails when posting it on Bilibili. Viva La Dirt League, while switching their thumbnail texts from English to Chinese, also changed the thumbnail image. Rachel’s English also followed a similar practice, with a different design and color scheme used for her Bilibili cross-posted video in comparison to the YouTube original. YouTubers who do not make any changes to the thumbnail design were also spotted.

3.4. Intro Design

Most of the videos that were analyzed either do not have an intro or have no changes in the intro (Table 3) between Bilibili and YouTube. However, a few YouTubers did alter their intro design for their Bilibili versions. These changes fall into three categories. The first is cutting out part of the original video intro in the Bilibili version. This has happened on two occasions. One is when there is information about the sponsors added to the intro, which may not be available for Chinese viewers. For example, the videos from Rob Landes and Linus Tech Tips both have sponsor messages cut out from the original video when posted to Bilibili. Another alteration is a shortened version of the intro, which happens in some of the Bright Side videos. The second kind of change is similar to subtitling and on-screen texts, which is replacing English texts in the YouTube intro with Chinese text for accessibility, which is specifically present in Pamela Reif’s workout videos. The final kind of change is usually made by the subtitlers when translating the cross-posted videos for YouTubers, who add the group members’ names to the intro as a form of credit.

3.5. Outro Design

Similar to the intro design, changes made to the outro design (Table 3) were also detected. Some YouTubers replace the YouTube-style outro with a more Bilibili-oriented one. YouTube-style outros are designed to accommodate the interface of YouTube and its engagement metrics. For example, creators use graphics and text at the end of the video to encourage viewers to subscribe to the YouTube channel or like the video. When cross-posting the videos, YouTubers tend to replace the ending with one that accommodates more to the Bilibili platform design. For instance, instead of asking viewers to subscribe to their YouTube channel like in the original video, Viva La Dirt League asks viewers to “give coins,” “add the video to favorites,” and “give thumbs up” to the video, which are all part of the engagement metrics design on Bilibili. Similarly, GaryVee shared his Chinese social media site logos at the end of his video on Bilibili, instead of asking for YouTube subscribers as shown in his original YouTube video. As with the intro design, some YouTubers also cut out sponsorship information or promotional content from the outro in the Bilibili version if it does not apply to Chinese viewers. For example, the YouTube channel Donut cut out the part where they are promoting merchandise in the outro of the Bilibili video version. The final difference made is the addition of the subtitlers’ information. Sometimes on Bilibili, the subtitler groups who are responsible for translating YouTubers’ content on Bilibili will add their name to the video outro as a form of credit and recognition. In addition, just like with the intro, there are also YouTubers who made no changes to the outro.

3.6. Advertisements

There are two types of advertisements (ads) (Table 3) that were found in this analysis: Those added by the platform and the ads incorporated by the YouTubers. When it comes to ads included by the platforms, all of the YouTubers’ original videos on YouTube have ads (unless with Premium subscription), which interrupt the video during video consumption, except for “YouTube Shorts.” However, in the videos cross-posted on Bilibili, there are no interruptive ads. This may be due to the design differences between the two platforms. The ads added by YouTubers as part of their videos are mainly sponsorship and merchandise promotion. In this analysis, YouTubers tend to cut out the sponsorship and self-branding content from the original video when they cross-post it on Bilibili, e.g., if the promotion is not available in China. At the end of Pamela Reif’s YouTube workout videos, she usually promotes her workout music playlist available on the music streaming service “Spotify.” However, in the Bilibili video versions, such a promotion is removed, perhaps because Spotify is not available in China, along with some other social media sites.

3.7. Video Content

Video content refers to the main content delivered to the audience (Table 3). The results show that when cross-posting the original videos to Bilibili, sometimes a few minutes of the content in the original YouTube video will be adjusted for the Bilibili version. The first kind of adjustment is cutting out original content, especially the related promotions and sponsorship content that may not be meant to target Chinese audiences. YouTuber Veritasium also goes further by replacing the original sponsorship part of the video with a promotional video filmed by one of the Chinese subtitler group members, in which she recommends different YouTubers that they are collaborating with on Bilibili. As for other promotions, NikkieTutorials removed the giveaway and rewards promotion about her self-branded makeup palette, Donut has cut out their merchandise content, and Pamela Reif removed her Spotify playlist promotion from the original YouTube video. The second kind of content change is a larger-scale revamp of the cross-posted version, which is specifically done by Bright Side and GaryVee. All the Bright Side videos uploaded on Bilibili are fully converted to Chinese, which includes audio voice-over and Chinese text, different from their original YouTube videos, which are all in English. As for GaryVee, one of his short videos was turned into an animation on Bilibili with the original audio from the YouTube version. While the practice of removing content may be more related to avoiding confusion and misunderstanding, the revamped practice seems to be more tailored towards Chinese viewers. However, there are videos with no content changes at all.

3.8. Watermarking

Watermarking is a feature on Bilibili as a form of copyright protection that creators can add directly when uploading videos (Table 3). The watermark usually consists of the Bilibili logo and the Bilibili channel name (Fig. 1). Only a few YouTubers’ videos on Bilibili do not have this kind of watermarking. In terms of the original video, the practice varies. Some YouTubers have their own watermark on their YouTube videos while others do not, although YouTube also offers the watermark feature. The consistent use of watermarks on Bilibili may be because Bilibili users tend to pirate and re-upload YouTubers’ videos on Bilibili without consent and permission. This has been mentioned by Linus Tech Tips in one of their streams (Linus Tech Tips, 2019). Overall, watermarking on Bilibili is a common practice for most YouTubers in comparison to their content on YouTube.

3.9. Video Descriptions

As for video descriptions (Table 3), there are prominent differences between the descriptions under the original video and the ones on Bilibili. The first difference is related to language, where the YouTube video descriptions are in English (with some appearing to be in other languages based on the YouTube region), and the Bilibili descriptions are in Chinese (Fig. 1) or both, English and Chinese combined. When it comes to the content of the description, YouTube descriptions are usually longer, with not only descriptions of the main content of the video but also with more promotion added, such as the YouTubers’ social media links, other streaming platforms, and merchandise shops. The descriptions on Bilibili, however, are generally short. This sometimes may be because Chinese sentences and paragraphs may appear shorter than English texts, due to the nature of the language, but the analysis showed that those descriptions usually only contain information about the video content, with occasional inclusion of some credits such as production teams and subtitle groups.

Some YouTubers on Bilibili also have unique interactions with Bilibili viewers which YouTube descriptions do not have. For example, Pamela Reif indicates she hopes her Chinese is okay for the Bilibili viewers. Rachel’s English especially addresses viewers in Chinese in one of her video descriptions on Bilibili, indicating how she is pleased that so many Chinese students like her English learning videos. Some YouTubers, such as Life of Boris, also include a link to the original YouTube video in the Bilibili description, possibly as copyright protection. The subtitler group that helped to translate some YouTubers’ videos also included their information in some descriptions as well, either as credits or for promotion. In addition, some of the videos on Bilibili do not have any descriptions, which is specifically observable in, for example, Viva La Dirt League’s newer videos.

3.10. Exclusive Content

As shown in Table 2, out of 14 YouTubers, 11 of them offer exclusive content that is only available on Bilibili. One common format is introduction videos in which YouTubers introduce themselves to the Bilibili viewers and welcome the viewers to their Bilibili channels. These videos can be purely introductory, such as the one produced by Viva La Dirt League and NikkieTutorials, with the sole purpose of introducing themselves to viewers (Fig. 2). Alternatively, the videos can combine introductions with cross-posted YouTube content. For example, Alan Becker’s introduction video starts with him saying “hello” to the viewers in Chinese, with a few self-introductions in English, followed by an animation he uploaded on YouTube before. Another form of exclusive content is videos specifically made for Chinese viewers. Rachel’s English uploaded videos of her reacting to Chinese celebrities speaking English. Donut made a video for “520” day, which is a day that is similar to Valentine’s Day in China due to the Chinese pronunciation of “520” being similar to “I love you” in Chinese. NikkieTutorials created question-and-answer (Q&A) videos for Bilibili viewers to answer fan questions, along with her Chinese New Year video. Rob Landes created an AI-generated Chinese voice-over video, along with some newly created videos made from old YouTube videos for the Bilibili channel. He also shared videos from the official Bilibili channel in which he performed at Bilibili music festivals.

Fig. 2

Screenshot of the exclusive Viva La Dirt League video about them joining Bilibili.

However, among all the YouTubers, Pamela Reif has the largest number of exclusive videos on Bilibili (12 videos). These videos are tied to her visit to China in 2023 and her various partnerships with Chinese brands. For example, she has videos collaborating with Chinese celebrities; workout videos integrating Chinese music, martial arts, and workout therapy concepts; videos sponsored by Chinese brands “Huawei” and “Jingdone”; and her food and beauty brand promotions. In comparison to other YouTubers, it seems Pamela Reif’s exclusive practice on Bilibili is beyond cross-posting, but forms a deeper integration within the Chinese streaming and online influencer economy (“wanghong” 网红 economy) and ecosystem. Another exception is Linus Tech Tips. While they do not have content that is only available on Bilibili, several of their technology reviews involve Chinese products. On YouTube, they also live streamed their opening of the Bilibili “play button,” a reward like the YouTube “play button,” acknowledging the accumulation of a certain number of subscribers or fan base on YouTube and Bilibili. The recording of the stream is also available on their Bilibili channel. Overall, the results showed that most of the analyzed YouTubers create exclusive content on Bilibili.

3.11. Uploading Schedule

Finally, when it comes to uploading schedules, a general pattern emerged in which the uploading schedule of the Bilibili video version is usually behind the original YouTube video. This may be due to the amount of post-production and editing that needs to be done before the content is cross-posted to Bilibili. Two videos from Alan Becker are on the same schedule as the Bilibili upload, maybe because they are animation videos, only having moving images and sound without dialog, therefore not needing further post-production for Bilibili.