Australia’s Leading Chinese Marketing & Advertising Agency

Effective Chinese/China Marketing Is Way More Than Just WeChat

Chinese marketing primarily means marketing to people located in China. It can also be extended to reach Chinese-speaking people in Asia and around the world.

Why Enter This Market? The Potential Reach Is Massive. And Still Growing. 

• High domestic consumption contributed 63.4% to economic growth in 1Q 2021.
• There are several popular festivals throughout the year which can result in a 7x to 20x increase in online purchases of both domestic and imported goods.
• In China (based on actual 2020 figures reported in Statista), the potential reach is a total population of 1.4 billion people, with 70% already on the Internet (988.99 million). 
• Between 2020 and 2021, 85 million or 10% more people in China gained access to the Internet. 
• Actual figures for Internet users in China who are on social media was 96% in 2019 and estimated to be 100% by 2020. 
• Worldwide, the estimated reach is 1.3 billion Chinese-speaking people. 

6 Ways To Get Great Results From Chinese Marketing

Successful Chinese marketing requires an understanding of the unique Chinese market. Its politics, economics, culture, sociology, psychology, and language shape intent, perceptions, and digital behaviour differently from the English-speaking world.

Key approaches are:

1. Chinese digital marketing and branding strategy
2. Chinese-language websites
3. Chinese mobile marketing
4. Chinese social media marketing
5. Marketing on Chinese e-Commerce platforms
6. Other Chinese marketing platforms

#1 – Chinese Digital Marketing And Branding Strategy

We start by understanding a client’s business intent and challenges., then:

• discuss plans to close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. 
• customising strategies that help businesses navigate the unfamiliar Chinese market and enter uniquely Chinese niches.

Examples of customised strategies are:

• Establish a Chinese branding strategy with Artificial intelligence (AI) enhancements;
• Launch a Chinese social media strategy with account setup and verification, design, implementation, monitoring and management.
• Plan, execute, monitor and evolve Chinese native digital advertising on key social media and e-commerce sites.
• Chinese luxury marketing taps into an interest in consumption upgrades.

#2 – Chinese Websites

Websites are a core digital marketing asset in any language. Our Chinese digital marketing crew helps you contextualise local intent, wants and needs.

• Web hosting, design and development This is not language-based, yet there are some visual and user experience (UX) elements that Chinese markets prefer. Technology includes WordPress, Bootstrap, CSS3, and HTML5.
• Content translation: helping Chinese and English-speaking people understand each other. Bridging cultural and linguistic gaps to connect with better rapport.
• Content creation: This goes beyond Chinese text. We also create images, audio, video, interactive content, and more that appeal to Chinese audiences.

Chinese copywriting is writing to persuade Chinese audiences and leveraging the unique subtleties of a language rich in imagery and homophones (where many words sound alike).

#3 – Chinese Mobile Marketing

Mobile transactions are a way of life in China. 97% of Internet users in China use mobile devices. In first-tier urban cities, mobile phone usage is increasing in second-tier and lower-tier cities in more remote regions. This brings new market segments that businesses can appeal to.

We can also draw inspiration from China’s most rapidly growing mobile app, the social e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, which went viral for discounted group buys targeted at seniors from lower-tier cities.

• Mobile-first app development: adapted to Chinese behaviour, including WeChat or Weibo linkage, mobile SEO on Chinese search engines, QR codes, mobile payments and more.
• Mobile mini sites and promotional pages: We can implement a range of strategy-led mobile marketing initiatives through a single promotional page or a collection of pages through mini sites that showcase your business offerings in detail.
• WeChat apps and mini-sites Users in China can’t get enough of WeChat mini-programmes. WeChat virtually has its own app store. These are deep and interactive ways your business can add value to mobile-first users in China.

#4 – Chinese Social Media Marketing

Do not think of Chinese social media as equivalent to western ones, because they are not. For example, some think of Xiaohongshu as a Chinese Instagram, but its functionalities are a blend of what’s on Pinterest, TripAdvisor, and Amazon.

The percentage of Internet users on social media in China increased from 89% to 96% between 2017 and 2019. This will only continue as Chinese social media keeps providing more value to Chinese audiences.We are experienced in setting up, managing, reviewing analytics and reporting on Weibo, WeChat, Baidu performance, and more. There is a long list of Chinese social media platforms to suit each marketing purpose.

#5 – Marketing On Chinese e-Commerce Platforms

China has the largest online shopping market after the US. It was worth about 10.9 trillion yuan (about AUD$2.3 trillion) in 2020, when there were more than 782 million shoppers online. And it is still growing.

Snapshot of key players and marketing channels in Chinese e-commerce:

• Mobile payment solution: Alipay
• e-Commerce platforms (Taobao, Alibaba, and more)
• Native advertising, in-app ads and SEO

#6 – Other Chinese Marketing Platforms

Depending on your business intent, we could also evaluate the relevance of other Chinese e-commerce platforms (e.g., Taobao, JD.com, Tmall, Alibaba), Youtube (Youku), TikTok (Duoyin), Instagram (Xiaohongshu) and so on.

LinkedIn is not blocked in China, but its principal, Microsoft, announced plans in October 2021 to replace it with a China-specific version for job searching only, without social media features. Statistics from 2016 suggest its membership size is only a third of Dajie (30 million users) and half of Tianji (20 million users).