Key things to know about WeChat

WeChat is truly dominant in China, with over 1.26 billion users in this country of sophisticated netizens. For brands, WeChat marketing can attract customers, build brand awareness, convert sales and create loyal customers over time.

WeChat offers different types of official accounts to brands. Western brands can choose the service account, which enhances visibility with four posts maximum a month.

How to use WeChat for Marketing

Firstly, it’s important to know that WedChat is delivered and managed entirely in Chinese, so you will need access to native language skills as well as Chinese digital marketing expertise. But once you have gained access to these skills and resources, your brand will discover an incredible amount of scope for its WeChat marketing. For example:

• Content – typical articles, Little Red Book-style posts, and short-form video content.
• Paid advertising – including banner advertisements, and ads on WeChat Moments.
• KOL partnerships – for paid sponsorship partnerships
• WeChat Mini-Programs, to create mini websites within the platform for an immersive brand experience.
• VIP and Membership coupons – to engage followers and convert them into members,
• WeChat Channels – to create and share video content to reach your target audience.
• WeChat CRM – for customer engagement and communication tools that go far beyond traditional email marketing.

As you can see, there is a huge amount of scope for using WeChat as part of your Chinese digital marketing strategy! In fact, the platform can feel overwhelming when you begin to use it for your brand. The key to success lies in starting with the basics and then building up your presence and confidence with WeChat over time.

WeChat Marketing: 10 Steps to Success

These are the focus areas to begin with as you get to grips with this powerful super-app for your Chinese digital marketing:

1. Register your WeChat Official Account

Register your brand with a WeChat Official account to attract potential customers, build brand awareness and loyalty over time, send push notifications to followers and redirect users to your website and broader Chinese digital assets.

The official account gives you credibility and visibility, and it is also your platform for creating advertising campaigns. Many Western brands focus on WeChat for their online advertising strategies, so it’s vital to get this step right.

2. Create your Content

Consider these elements for your content:

• Tone of voice, considering your target Chinese audience, their values and needs and key factors such as cultural context, translation and localisation.
• Layout and design, remembering that Chinese users love videos and images, rather than text-heavy posts.
• Graphics, which need to be aesthetically pleasing, on-brand and carefully curated for consistency.
• A ‘bonus’! The best WeChat marketing posts tend to include bonuses, such as VIP visual cards, e-coupons or promotional offers of some kind.

3. Engage

WeChat lets you engage individually with followers, so you can set up your account with pre-defined responses that link to defined keywords. You can also automate video and audio content to begin onboarding your followers with your brand and building awareness, engagement and loyalty.

4. Use KOLs

Key Opinion Leader (KOL) relationships are hugely powerful for brands building effective Chinese digital marketing strategies. Remember that bigger isn’t necessarily better with KOLs; what you need is an influencer with an audience that maps closely to your own for follower relevance.

There are thousands of KOLs and each offer their own unique personality and ability to share branded content in a way that can bring you new followers and potential customers.

5. Use QR codes

QR codes are more popular in China than they are in the West. They are great for getting new followers on WeChat, and you can associate one with your WeChat accounts, plus other off-platform assets. When a user scans the QR code, they join your WeChat branded community and begin to receive your content.

You can invite users to scan your code by using discounts, promotions, and competitions, and by sharing them on your other social media accounts. For products with physical delivery and any offline marketing assets, print the QR code in a visible place.

6. Create a WeChat Group

WeChat groups are great as a forum and they allow you to quickly and easily share content with your followers to build engagement. You can create a group to build and nurture over time.

7. Set up your in-app WeChat CRM

This is a fantastic tool for communicating with followers and customers, and for creating newsletters. People in China don’t read emails, so this is your alternative! Set up the CRM to deliver automated replies to common questions for a positive brand experience.

8. Look at WeChat Mini Programs

These mini apps are used by 95% of brands on the platform and they allow you to create a full mini branded program. Your mini program needs to be beautiful, social, multi-channel and completely integrated with your branded digital ecosystem.

9. Use WeChat Advertising

You can choose banner adverts, Moment Ads and KOL promotions and they each offer their own particular benefits and features. Traditional banner-type ads are based on the PPC or CPC model, and KOL promotions are delivered as part of a sponsorship arrangement and typically delivered via video or graphic content.

It’s important to be creative with your WeChat advertising, as there is so much competition. Do quizzes, games and competitions in this country that loves gamification and ask people to vote. Digital shareables are also very popular such as filters, stickers or games.

10. Make the most of WeChat channels

This new system focuses on short video content, in a style similar to Douyin (TikTok). Brands can create their own video content and distribute them through the scrolling feed, to followers and browsers.

Get the help you need

Of course, once you begin these activities on WeChat, it’s vital to measure your progress so that you can continue to refine your approaches and build success.

Market Me China is here to help your brand build a successful WeChat marketing presence as part of a broader Chinese digital marketing strategy. Our Chinese digital marketing experts have the native language skills and professional know-how to deliver measurable results, and we work with brands across all industries, and at all stages of their journey into this exciting, lucrative market. Please contact us today to find out more!

The post WeChat Marketing Strategies for a new brand entering China appeared first on Market Me China®.

WeChat is the largest messaging app in China with more than a billion users. But it goes far beyond basic messaging, with a huge raft of functionalities including shopping, gaming, services booking, payments, and integrated mini-programs.

Brands tend to use mini-programs to integrate their commercial offer seamlessly for WeChat users and combine this with online advertising and other forms of digital marketing to drive traffic to their landing pages. So what can you do to create a successful WeChat marketing campaign on an app with such a huge audience – and equally intense competition from 2.5 million other brands?

1. Start from the beginning

WeChat is vast and its eco-system is so technologically-advanced that it can be easy to get lost down a rabbit hole of quirky features or gimmicks and find that your messaging – and precious marketing budget – gets lost in the process! Begin by really learning about the system (a Chinese marketing agency can help you to acquire this knowledge fast), and then spend time carefully pinpointing your target audience for your WeChat marketing campaign. This may mean creating several different target audiences for different elements of your campaign, and developing user personas for each so that you can create meaningful content, engagement strategies and tactics that will appeal to them.

2. Be innovative

Start with the mantra ‘anything is possible’ when it comes to WeChat! For Western brands, the scope of this vast app is often quite mind-blowing, especially as it’s possible to cooperate with platform owners, Tencent, to develop custom solutions that stand ahead of the crowd. Look at Smarthotel, for example, which was developed in a partnership arrangement with Tencent for WeChat, for instant in-app booking and priority promotion.

3. Think strategically

Knowledge of WeChat and its vast scope will greatly help you to target your efforts in the best possible way. For example, brands might automatically assume that they need to invest in online advertising on WeChat Moments – when they could potentially get greater returns for their objective by syndicating quality content across WeChat groups to build awareness and feedback amongst relevant users.

4. Make your content great

Start by creating a verified official account and then fill it with the best possible quality content. Your content must be creative, engaging, fun and targeted tightly to your end-user. Use a mix of videos, audio messages, text and photos – using Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to bring your messaging to life and to instantly enhance your reputation and sense of trust with their own networks.

5. Choose your KOLs carefully

On the subject of KOLs, choose yours carefully for a WeChat marketing campaign, considering the right link with your brand and objectives, and the crossover with their own follower base. The right KOL can be a fantastic advocate for your brand – but they don’t necessarily need to be the biggest. In fact, ‘niche audience’ KOLs with smaller but highly engaged follower bases may actually deliver a higher return for your brand. Think smart – not always big.

6. Use QR codes for referrals

Chinese customers are more responsive to QR codes than Western audiences, and brands place these codes across their marketing mix for referral traffic and to entice new followers on their WeChat branded and verified accounts. Place a QR code on your physical products, your websites, and your other Chinese social media accounts.

7. Consider creating a loyalty programme

WeChat offers the chance for brands to create members from their follower base. Brands can use geolocation services, for example, to identify customers in a certain region and to offer targeted promotions that are close by, or by offering personalised coupons, promotions or in-app ‘VIP cards’. A digital marketing agency such as Market Me China can help you to create this kind of more advanced WeChat marketing strategy and really monetize your followers.

8. Consider building a website within WeChat

We meant it when we said ‘anything is possible’ with WeChat! You can even build a small website within the app to offer an even better and more engaging brand experience. For example, Burberry used this to bring the experience of London Fashion Week to its followers with video and audio content, sending personalised digital appreciation plaques to customers engaged with the Chinese celebrities who featured on the content.

9. Think about your broader campaign

It’s tempting to plan a WeChat campaign as a standalone piece of work, but you’ll gain greater results if you have an overarching Chinese marketing digital plan that touches on various platforms and which works together holistically for a desired outcome. For example, before launching your WeChat campaign, are your other digital assets optimised for Chinese customers? Is your Chinese official website ready? Consider your entire Chinese digital ecosystem in a holistic way so that everything links seamlessly. That includes doing plenty of user-testing before you go live – check those CTAs and links carefully!

10. Prepare to resource your campaign

There is little use in creating a high-tech, expensive and complex WeChat marketing campaign if you don’t have dedicated digital marketers on hand to manage it, to engage with Chinese customers, to answer questions and to bring your content to life. These hands-on marketers and customer services professionals need to be active on your WeChat account and ready to provide the best possible experience. Be sure to consider these resourcing aspects before you hit ‘go’ on your campaign!

Get the help that you need

Whatever your level of WeChat marketing experience, Market Me China is here to ensure you create a campaign that really works. Our team of Chinese native digital marketing professionals has the skills, know-how and experience to achieve the return you desire – and we evidence our results. We work with businesses across all industries in the West to help them achieve Chinese digital marketing success, working flexibly around your needs. Please contact us in the first instance and we will be delighted to assist.

The post How to create a successful WeChat marketing campaign – 10 steps to success appeared first on Market Me China®.

Why Chinese social media marketing matters

For Western brands marketing in China, it is essential to master Chinese social media marketing for success. The Chinese absolutely love social media and their platforms are hugely sophisticated (arguably more so than Western equivalents in some cases) – and equally varied.

We may have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest in the West, but in China, these aren’t accessible. However, there are dozens of dazzling and incredibly high-tech Chinese social media platforms; often with millions of users. Remember that the scale of digital adoption in this vast nation is staggering in its own right, with around 800 million internet users in China, the vast majority of which will access their preferred social platforms via their smartphones.

As well as having access to a broader range of local Chinese media social platforms, Chinese users will often use them in more varied ways, making the most of the greater range of functionalities on offer to do anything from posting their own edited videos, to shopping within the app, sharing product recommendations within a private group, swapping branded stickers for a competition or finding out which products their favourite KOL is showcasing.

So which are the best Chinese social media platforms for your brand?

The answer to this question lies in the nature of your brand, your target audience and your own marketing objectives and budget. At Market Me China we always recommend developing your Chinese social media strategy as part of your broader Chinese marketing strategy. This will ensure that everything you do online is integrated and well-managed for the best possible ROI. For example, if you launch an advertising campaign or a KOL sponsorship arrangement on a Chinese social media platform, then you will want to ensure that your website is optimised for referral traffic.

So let’s take a closer look at some of the main Chinese social media sites and consider which are the best Chinese social media platforms for your brand.

The main Chinese social media platforms

The platforms you may already have heard of are WeChat, Weibo and DouYin (or TikTok.) There tends to be a ‘Big Five’ that most Western brands should consider:

WeChat

WeChat, owned by Tencent, is a powerful and integrated app that combines an impressive array of functionality onto the one platform – including social media, taxi, food and services bookings, banking, shopping, bill payments, step tracking, videos, networking, gaming and more. With over a billion users and over 92% of the base checking in daily, WeChat is a social media network that Western brands can’t ignore. In fact, it’s already used by 92% of the biggest global brands for marketing purposes, and smaller Western brands are getting involved too.

As a brand, you can use WeChat in various ways. You can create a follower base, advertise and create mini-apps for example. A HE institution might use WeChat for student recruitment and for virtual orientation experiences. Travel companies might use the QR coding for translation services or to share travel schedules. ECommerce providers might host mini-apps for direct sales, using the WeChat Pay system.

Weibo

Sina Weibo is similar to Twitter and a hugely powerful microblogging platform. Again, Western brands can market with it through KOL influencer campaigns and targeted advertising. It’s a great platform for news sharing, entertainment content and for trend-spotting and its users love the 24-hour stories (similar to Instagram), short videos and live-streaming. It’s great if you want to build awareness of your brand and to build a follower base – especially if you are newer to the Chinese market. You can also sell directly on the platform and use the resource area to create campaigns, launch PPC campaigns and to invite KOLs to express interest in paid partnerships.

YouKu

YouKu is a video sharing platform like a super-amped version of YouTube, with over 800 million daily views. Again, brands can share rich, targeted and engaging content to build awareness, and run highly targeted advertising campaigns. The latter is ideal for driving qualified traffic to your landing pages and to increase sales, whilst building a pool of engaged leads and customers through a steady programme of interesting content. YouKu is already used quite widely by Western travel, education and e-commerce brands, as it’s particularly good for reaching second and third-tier cities.

Little Red Book

The platform Little Red Book has ‘just’ 200 million Chinese users, but it is growing fast and has two powerful stats for marketers; a 6% share of cross-border e-commerce and an 8% conversion rate. The platform naturally links social media with eCommerce for a rich, engaging and immersive online shopping experience. Users learn about products that they are interested in, swap reviews and comments, and can buy there and then within the app. For this reason, it’s great for all types of e-Commerce brand. Little Red Book has a real sense of quality and trust, with a strong community. Its main user group are highly-connected fashionable and urban females with their own incomes and money to spend. Quality content is key here, and it needs to be beautifully made, and carefully curated to stand out from the crowd. The site is perfect for KOL arrangements, particularly with the low barriers to entry and the high rate of conversion.

Douyin / TikTok

Now also famous in the West, Douyin is a short-video app with a ton of fantastic in-app features, such as stickers, emojis, filters, games, competition and more. It’s integrated seamlessly to both WeChat and Weibo and already has traction across China, including the harder to reach Tier 4 cities. Again, young and educated users love it, and Western brands can see real results with the right campaigns. Half of the content on this platform tends to be branded once you factor in KOLs and there are options to run advertising campaigns, hashtag campaigns, sponsored content and to integrate eCommerce for immediate conversions.

Find out more

Of course, there are dozens of Chinese social media platforms which Western brands can use to target their Chinese audience and to build their brand for conversions. Market Me China is here to help you at every stage – whether you are keen to begin your Chinese social media marketing journey, or need help managing your existing Chinese social media presence. Our team of expert digital marketing professionals work on a flexible basis with your business to achieve measurable results – and we can work virtually too, as required. Please contact us to find out more about how we can help your brand to succeed in China.

The post How to choose the best Chinese social media platforms for your Western brand appeared first on Market Me China®.

The attractiveness of this market to Western brands is obvious, and already many businesses are stepping up their marketing efforts to accommodate the unique needs of this sophisticated audience. Today we’ll look at WeChat, one of China’s most popular social media platforms, and establish how western brands can leverage it for marketing success.

Why create a WeChat marketing strategy?

With over one billion users every month, WeChat is China’s biggest social media app, and it’s owned by Tencent. Akin in popularity and usage to Facebook and Whatsapp, the platform offers a wide range of functions to marketers – from mini program apps through to flight bookings and mobile payments.

Steps to creating a successful travel-based WeChat marketing strategy

The Chinese market is dynamic and complex, and this vast audience of netizens expect tailored, engaging and unique online experiences which offer them real value, entertainment and a seamless user experience.

Key points to know about Chinese outbound marketing:

– 60% of Chinese outbound tourism is now made up of Millennials and Gen Z travellers and 72% of this audience use social media, blogs, user-generated peer-content and travel websites to create their own tailor-made itineraries.

1. Use the right KOLs

Travel Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are particularly important for attracting the millennial market, who use their smartphones extensively and value recommendations of trusted Chinese influencers. KOLs are seen as providing inspiration and being trustworthy. By engaging with the right KOL, your business can begin to engage with Chinese travellers as they plan their journeys. A good WeChat strategy is to agree a sponsorship or partnership arrangement where your KOL will provide reviews, soft-sell advice that positions your brand, live experiences at your destination and so forth. Research intensively to find the right influencer, with the audience that is right for your product / service. Remember too to provide your KOL with giveaway items – such as a free hotel stay, discount code or high-end product – so that they can launch a viral competition.

2. Time your campaigns

Travel in China peaks at Chinese New Year, through summer and in October Golden Week. Ensure your WeChat marketing strategy is designed to kick in during the planning period beforehand – typically 3-4 months beforehand, with tailored WeChat marketing campaigns that generate travel inspiration to your destination.

2. Create superb content

WeChat articles are a key source of inspiration to Chinese outbound travellers, so ensure your content is carefully curated to be visually appealing, beautifully designed, on-brand and engaging – Chinese customers love witty, entertaining and informative content. They also love the nature theme when it comes to travel. For example, a natural attraction can use scenery based imagery and messaging that reinforces the ‘clean, unspoilt, beautiful and natural’ image – generating high engagement amongst users who live in Chinese cities. Restaurants find that food-based imagery is popular and incredibly share-able, especially with competitions attached.

Create a variety of content styles using all tools available – such as the Moments feature – and have Chinese language speakers on hand to answer questions online and engage with followers. Competitions and quirky campaigns are key to success – and remember that your content can also be used to cross-fertilise your other branded social media sites and repurposed or repackaged to refresh your engaged audience and to inspire new visitors to your branded account.

3. Get your website and app ready

Consider using the WeChat mini program feature to create an in-site app that allows Chinese users to carry out their desired outbound travel function with your brand – whether that’s booking a flight or a room, making a reservation or ordering a product that they plan to see at your physical premises (where they will be lavished with attention; with Chinese speaking customer services staff, themed product variations targeted to Chinese needs and extras such as gift wrapping etc.) Ensure your website and its WeChat landing pages are optimised for Chinese visitors, with Chinese localisation that ensures language, tone, user journeys, content and images are mobile-friendly and ready to meet the unique needs of your Chinese users.

3. Integrate the right mobile payments

China is becoming an increasingly cashless society, so make sure you have WeChat Pay and AliPay integrated into your website and app. When your WeChat marketing strategy sends leads to your digital assets, they will expect to make any bookings or online payments using a platform that they trust and recognise. (Many shops, hotels and service providers in the West now offer mobile payments and Chinese payment platforms in their premises too, helping to boost sales.) WeChat Pay also offers the benefit of a tax refund mode which is attractive to Chinese customers.

4. Use WeChat advertising

WeChat advertising can be highly targeted, so do the necessary research to accurately pinpoint your target audience using tight demographics, and then set up an advertising campaign that matches these carefully planned criteria. This will maximise your returns whilst managing your budget. A Chinese marketing agency can assist with this and manage the process from end-to-end.

Find out more

Ready to leverage the power of WeChat to bring your brand to the attention of China’s vast and growing outbound travel market? Whether you are new to digital marketing in China or an experienced player, our team of experts work on a partnership basis with your brand to provide the service that you need. We evidence all results and help your budget – and conversions – go further with native Chinese speakers and highly skilled Chinese digital marketing experts ready to work on a flexible basis with your brand. Contact us to find out more.

The post Tips to create a successful WeChat marketing strategy for Chinese outbound tourism appeared first on Market Me China®.

WeChat is one of China’s biggest social media, messaging and mobile payment apps in China with over one billion active users logging on every month. The WeChat Mini-Program is offered as an application within WeChat, and it gives brands a powerful platform to engage with their target Chinese audience in an engaging and flexible way.

With a WeChat Mini-program, a brand can offer advanced user features such as coupons, tasks and e-commerce functionality – even offering a series of standalone Mini-Programs for each, thanks to the feature’s fast and featherlight design.

For example, Mobike, the bike-sharing company, uses Mini-Programs to allow its users to geolocate bikes to hire, to unlock them and to make payments. Tesla uses them to show its users the locations of electric charging stations, to share reviews of Tesla cars and to arrange a test drive with a local dealership.

How popular are WeChat Mini-Programs?

The figures speak for themselves! There are already over a million WeChat Mini-Programs in existence which span more than 200 topic categories. Every day, they are accessed by over 200 million Chinese users who use them to shop, book, reserve, play games, review, chat and more!

What are the benefits of WeChat Mini-programs?

As well as being owned by one of China’s biggest and most powerful social media platform, this integrated app feature is:

– Extremely fast and smooth for users – offering superb UX
– Light and easy to use, requiring no data-heavy mobile download (users simply swipe to delete, as they would with a message.)
– Designed to integrate naturally with other WeChat features and navigation (and ideal for linking e-commerce with the WeChat payment platform for a seamless transaction.)
– A great tool for boosting e-commerce conversions
– A powerful additional sales channel
– Particularly useful for fashion, beauty, family and lifestyle brands
– Offline friendly; as the tool also be used for offline payments or functions (such as geolocating, accessing a locker pin or paying for a service, for example.)
– Great for marketing, thanks to its captive audience and ability to work across every OS in China that supports WeChat
– Growing fast, with time spent on Mini-Programs growing to around 10 minutes from 1.6 minutes per day in the space of just a year

Targeting Chinese customers via Mini Programs

It’s interesting to note that Mini Programs are currently most popular in tier 3 and 4 cities, and tend to be used by Chinese customers spending under 1,000 RMB (higher spend items tend to be sold via Mobile Apps, which we will cover in a separate blog.) Chinese digital marketing agencies use these types of insights to help Western brands most effectively target their marketing budgets for the highest possible return on investment.

How can I design a WeChat Mini-Program

So, as a Western brand looking to expand into China, how can you make use of the WeChat Mini-Program facility for your brand?

7 Top tips for a successful WeChat Mini-Program build

1. Use a Chinese developer

Tencent opened up the Mini Program API to developers last year, so they can be customised more easily. Although mini-programs are very user-friendly, they must still be coded by a developer – rather than built using a template-builder, for example. This means that local knowledge, technical expertise, Chinese native language skills and cultural awareness are all key to success.

2. Plan the concept

If you have a native WeChat app, don’t simply copy it into a Mini-Program. Take a core functionality and focus the Mini-Program around it. If you offer more than one type of functionality, consider building a Mini-Program for each. For example, one for gifting, one for purchasing, one for access code unlocking, one for sharing tips and so forth. (MacDonalds uses five Mini-Programs in this way to deliver different functionalities from in-store ordering through to delivery and its birthday club.)

3. Perfect the UX

Ensure that the WeChat mini-program is simple, user-friendly and designed with your target audience and their needs in mind. In particular, make the navigation as intuitive as possible, so that the user instantly knows what to do and where to go.

4. Pay attention to detail

Customise all relevant elements such as the menu, fonts, colours and buttons etc in line with your brand and campaign. Link this with your WeChat account for a smooth and integrated user experience.

5. Use native insight

Use knowledge of Chinese culture, socio-economics, trends and internet user habits to provide a solution that genuinely delights your target audience – and drives conversions. Slick technical features will be irrelevant if your content and concept don’t hit the mark.

6. Test

A well-designed Mini-Program should run extremely fast and without glitches, so check the code carefully before launch and ensure your Mini-Program is visible on all popular mobile phone screen sizes in China.

7. Consider the rollout

Unlike Google Play or Apple iStore apps, WeChat Mini-Programs can’t be downloaded from an app store. Chinese users must scan a QR code, receive a link from a friend or a WeChat group, spot a link from a WeChat official account or search for it on WeChat. This is something for Western marketers to bear in mind for accessibility and reach. A Chinese marketing agency can assist with the creation of a WeChat Mini-Program launch or a share campaign as part of a wider Chinese digital marketing strategy.

Find out more

Market Me China works with Western business brands of all sizes and across all industries. We work on a partnership basis to get to know our clients and understand their goals and objectives. By doing so, we can leverage our expertise to deliver Chinese digital marketing solutions that generate measurable results – and which meet every client objective. Please contact us for a no-obligation chat about how we can help your business to launch its brand in China, or further extend its reach and success in this sophisticated, growing and lucrative market of savvy consumers.

(Image source: Baidu Baike)

The post How to get started with WeChat Mini-Programs appeared first on Market Me China®.

The knowledge and skill required to successfully market a Western e-commerce business in China mean that many Western brands choose the use the services of a specialist Chinese marketing agency, particularly to navigate the complex and localised requirements of Chinese social media marketing.

For those who are considering how to progress with their China online shopping strategy, here are some tips for success:

1. Understand your customers in China

China’s population of over 1.37 billion represents a huge challenge for understanding, segmenting and targeting markets without expert knowledge. Western e-commerce brands must develop a deep understanding of diverse buyer groups and their wants, needs and values. Successful marketers will strive to understand the impacts of regionalism, language differences and dialects, cultural and social differences, Chinese values, political and economic impacts and the interplay of other contextual elements. These elements must be understood to create workable buyer personas and to successfully identify and segment potential target audiences for an e-commerce launch. This research phase must not be underplayed; getting it right will greatly increase your chances of success in the Chinese online shopping marketplace.

2. Master Chinese social media marketing platforms

Chinese social media is dominated by WeChat and Weibo. WeChat, comparable to WhatsApp, has a billion registered accounts. Weibo – the microblogging site – has 400+ million users. The former is particularly useful for established brands and a powerful marketing channel for engaging with customers, growing brand loyalty and delivering customer service. Weibo is ideal for market entrants and a strong channel for creating brand awareness. Don’t forget the video sharing channel, YouKu either, which also has 300 million users. For e-commerce success in China, it makes sense to employ a multi-channel strategy that maximises your message sharing and visibility. This cross-channel promotion also increases your chance of converting prospects to leads. For example, a prospect who engages favourably with your YouKu content may decide to investigate your brand offer on WeChat or Weibo, learning more about your brand values and product offer in the process and engaging with your sales messages to move towards an online purchase.

3. Set up your Chinese social media marketing accounts

Create your official WeChat and Weibo official accounts via an overseas business licence. This will help to build trust with your target audience and show your legitimacy as a business. This can be a complex process as Chinese regulations require a number of administrative processes, including registrations and payments before Western official accounts can be registered. A Chinese marketing agency can overcome the administrative hurdles and the language barrier to speed up the process.

4. Define your content strategy

Chinese audiences are highly sophisticated when it comes to digital content, and they want to see branded content that is useful, valuable, engaging, entertaining and moving. Targeted brand stories and experiences are key and Chinese audiences particularly enjoy short videos and the use of Key Opinion Leaders (see below). The right content strategy will include a mix of blogs, videos, images and KOL content, designed to elicit different responses and to move potential customers along their brand experience journey. This content should also be shared across platforms to increase visibility and support offline marketing, PR activity and Baidu PPC for a fully integrated brand experience.

5. Clarify your editorial personality

One leading current tactic in Chinese social media marketing is to create a brand identity that is distinctive and persona led, with a clear gender, age and background and a unique voice which is represented in writing style, word choices and phraseology. These editorial personalities help to create individualised perspectives and allow digital readers to relate in a more meaningful way to the brand and its content. As an example, DHL combines the use of a nickname “小D” (Little D) and an informal tone to position the expertise of their brand amongst B2B and B2C audiences on WeChat. As a Western e-commerce brand, it is well worth investing in this brand identity to bring your offer and brand to life.

6. Consider the use of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs)

Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs, are used by many Chinese and overseas brands to successfully engage with Chinese customers and to generate sales. They are essentially social media influencers and wield a significant amount of influence in their home country. For example, it has been reported that Fan Bingbing has helped to generate US e-commerce revenue worth $74 million (source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joeescobedo/2017/05/22/key-opinion-leaders-in-china/#33545b9272ee). KOLs are generally media celebrities, web celebrities, bloggers or industry experts and their fees and influence vary widely. The right KOL can help your brand by sharing sponsored content with their fans and visibly engaging with your product to help build trust amongst your target audience and to encourage early-adopters to buy and share their positive experiences with their networks. A Chinese marketing agency can help you to identify the right KOL for your brand and to liaise with their agency booker to progress a formalised sponsorship arrangement.

Find out more

If you are keen to extend your brand into China and sell successfully online to Chinese customers, Market Me China can help you to get your marketing strategy right from the start. From the research and planning stage through to conceptualisation, delivery and post-delivery analytics, we ensure that your marketing budget goes further and that your objectives are achieved. We support Western brands and e-commerce businesses across a wide range of industries and sectors and have an excellent track record in achieving excellent conversions for our valued clients; working as trusted, flexible and expert partners to your business. Contact us to find out more.

The post How to use Chinese social media marketing for China online shopping success appeared first on Market Me China®.

Following our previous blog post Overseas WeChat Official Accounts are available for 100+ countries in May this year, we have another great news to share with you. WeChat recently updated their policy in July 2018 which allows the companies in the UK and European countries like France, Germany, Poland etc, to set up a WeChat Official Account by using their overseas business licence. Again, there is no need for an advertising investment to open an Overseas WeChat Official Account. The WeChat Official Account will be visible in China, which means you can build China-based followers, engage with them and market your business via WeChat, the top social media platform in China.

It is time to build and engage your Chinese followers on WeChat

Why WeChat?

• 1 Billion Monthly Active Users
• 90 mins 50% Users use WeChat for at least 90 mins a Day
• 84% of users that go through WeChat Moments each day
• 65% of all Monthly Active Users born in 80s or 90s

(source: Tencent 2017)

It is time to set up your own WeChat Official Account and start building Chinese followers. Would you like to build your online presence on WeChat? Contact us today to find out how we can help you with WeCha tOfficial Account setup, Chinese follower building, and achieving your business goals in China.

The post UK and European Companies can now open WeChat Official Accounts appeared first on Market Me China®.

Mastering marketing to Chinese students on WeChat

WeChat is called Weixin in China and it is the No.1 social media platform in the country with a billion monthly users. This makes it a hugely powerful potential marketing platform for Western HE institutions wishing to engage with both Chinese students and their parents. Social media in China is already particularly sophisticated and popular and WeChat offers far more functionality now than it did upon launch in 2011 where it was largely akin to WhatsApp in the West. Key things for Western HE institutions to know about the platform are:

1. WeChat is the biggest social media platform in China and the biggest mobile content provider.
2. WeChat is more than ‘just’ a social platform. For example, it allows its users to shop online and even to make restaurant reservations and book taxis through its WeChat Pay system – and new, rich functionalities are being added all of the time.
3. Although WeChat is the fifth largest social media platform in the world after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, its users spend the most time on WeChat – more time, in fact, than on Facebook, Twitter Instagram and Snapchat combined. A third of WeChat users spend four hours a day on the platform.
4. With access to the necessary knowledge, Western brands can now set up their own WeChat official account in order to make use of WeChat to market to Chinese students.

Top tips to engage Chinese students & their parents on WeChat

1. Arrange your WeChat official account setup

Until recently it was extremely challenging for a Western brand to set up a WeChat official account. Happily, in July this year, WeChat updated its policy to allow over 100 non-Chinese countries (including the UK, the US, European countries, Canada etc.) to open branded WeChat official accounts via an overseas business licensing scheme. The administration involved in the process is still more complex than many Western organisations are used to and more onerous than with Western social media equivalents, but a specialist Chinese marketing agency can make the process far easy by applying their local knowledge and expertise to facilitate the set-up. After all, for most Western HE institutions wanting to recruit Chinese students around their application calendar, time is of the essence and time must not be wasted on administrative delays!

2. Craft your WeChat marketing strategy

WeChat is valuable for brand building, campaign delivery, advertising, PR and engagement – but it can be complex for Western HE institutions to immediately understand the diverse needs, wants and aspirations of a vast potential Chinese audience with varied customer segments. Sensitivity towards local customs is vital, with consideration made towards factors such as language, localised customs and values, social norms and so forth. Professional Chinese marketing expertise from a specialist agency can be a wise investment in this regard, firstly in order to navigate complex requirements for Western brands to market on Chinese social media (often acting as barriers), and secondly to ensure that subsequent marketing campaigns are well-received, appropriate and effective.

3. Devise your WeChat content plan

Content is key to social media in China, and a successful HE marketing campaign to Chinese students and their parents will require a carefully crafted WeChat content plan with a schedule of weekly posts. Different types of media should be used – such as video, podcasts and text, in order to build followers, engage your audience and to generate quality application leads. All content must be optimised for mobile and content types must be well thought out and have specific purposes. For example, universities will want to promote the rankings, quality and calibre of their institution, the employment outcomes, exam results and prestige of having their institution’s name on the student’s CV. They will want to include content that talks about the rankings,  learner experience, the pastoral care and the support for onward career paths. Remember that Chinese students and their parents are interested in courses at prestigious, highly-reputable institutes which lead to excellent employment outcomes.

4. Set up WeChat advertising campaigns

Three types of advertising are available on WeChat – WeChat banner advertising, Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) promotion and WeChat moments advertising. Banner ads are displayed at the bottom of article pages and they are performance-based, allowing for mid-campaign adjustment for optimum results. HE bands can direct users to follow their page, sign up to a customised recruitment page, download an app or request a brochure, for example. Moments are video or display based and like the Facebook newsfeed, blend with user content. These can work well for showing off beautiful campuses! KOLs use celebrities or influencers to provide trusted endorsements and they can be utilised by HE institutions if a well-known Chinese personality is a former alumnus or working to support the brand. Remember that regardless of the advertising approach you use, your institution will need a strong Chinese language website that is built around Chinese student and parent user personas. In all circumstances, a Chinese marketing agency can offer expert guidance and advice to optimise your campaign results and conversions in a timely, results-driven fashion.

Master marketing on WeChat with the experts

To find out more about how marketing on WeChat and other types of social media in China can help you to effectively recruit Chinese students to your higher education institution, contact the experts at MarketMe China. Our expert team have a rich pool of local knowledge and experience in the field and can help you to effectively optimise your marketing recruitment strategy for desired conversions and an attractive ROI.

The post How to use social media in China to recruit Chinese students: Marketing on WeChat appeared first on Market Me China®.

Overseas WeChat Official Accounts are available for 100+ countries

Great news! WeChat recently updated their policy in May 2018 which allows 100+ countries to open a WeChat Official Account by using their overseas business licence. There is no need for an advertising investment to open an Overseas WeChat Official Account. The WeChat Official Account will be visible in China, which means you can build China-based followers, engage with them and market your business via WeChat, #1 social media platform in China.

The countries include the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Maldives, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and non-European countries, however, exclude European countries like the UK, France, Germany. Hopefully, WeChat will bring another good news for European countries in the near future.

Are you in the list of those countries? Please click here to view the full list (only available in Chinese).

Get ready to build your Chinese followers on WeChat

Ready to set up your own WeChat Official Account and start building Chinese followers? Why not contact us today to find out how we can help you reach your business goals and effectively communicate with Chinese audience on WeChat?

Latest news on WeChat Official Accounts:

UK and European Companies can now open WeChat Official Accounts published 25 July 2018

The post Overseas WeChat Official Accounts are available for 100+ countries appeared first on Market Me China®.

Either way you should examine the possibilities presented by the WeChat advertising service operated by Market Me China. Contact us today or read on to find out more about the size and scope of WeChat and how you can access millions of prospects with targeted ads.

Why WeChat?

WeChat is roughly equivalent to WhatApp and is now one of the world’s largest standalone mobile apps, if measured by the number of active monthly users – over a billion. Of those, more than 90% use it daily and more than half use it for over 90 minutes per day (all figures from March 2018, Tencent).

It has wider functionality than WhatApp. As well as the usual messaging and posting it can be used to play games, order food, pay bills, read news, book appointments and many more day-to-day functions. Its reach and influence are way above that of any other online platform in China.

The demographic also matches international products and services. WeChat user penetration rates are greatest in the cities, with 93% in the Tier 1 cities (the Chinese have a five tier system for grading the size and economic value of towns and cities). You are therefore putting your message in front of a sophisticated, prosperous audience that consumes international products and influences other to do so.

WeChat official account setup

Businesses are able to open official accounts. This has been very difficult for companies outside China until recently, but even now a WeChat account setup outside China will only be visible to users outside China – no good if you want to access the Chinese market.

Fortunately we can help you set up an account that will be visible to all WeChat users, both inside and outside China. It’s a complicated process and one that changes frequently. But because of our close links with WeChat we can stay on top of these changes. You can find out more in one of our previous blog posts: Overseas Companies can now open WeChat Official Accounts

WeChat might change their policies all the time. We encourage you to visit our latest blog posts to keep yourself informed.

WeChat Official Account Banner Ads

WeChat Banner ads from your new WeChat official account can target every touch point in the conversion funnel to maximise reach and engagement among your target audience.WeChat Banner ads can be placed within articles posted by other official accounts, with an on-click pop-up following the ad with a CTA.

Larger image-based ads can also be posted on a CPM basis with the cost varying by the city ‘tier’ you select, although WeChat segregates the biggest into three groups rather than the five tiers.

WeChat Moments Ads

WeChat also offers Moments ads which are particularly popular with international luxury brands. Integral with WeChat, Moments is the most popular social feed in China and ads flow with other user-generated content so as to be non-disruptive.

Moments ads are highly customisable and are spread virally through the ability of users to like and comment on them.

KOL Mutual Publisher Ads on WeChat

A third option is to partner with a publisher and key opinion leader (KOL) to get your ad in front of the right people. The placement method is either to show your ad in existing recommended publisher articles or custom created advertorial specific to the brand placing the campaign.

Pricing is fluid and set by the publisher, but you have the option to accept or reject that price, depending on your expected ROI from ads placed by that publisher.

Market segregation

Like Facebook, fantastic advert ROI is delivered by extremely high targeting. As well as general demographic information you can target ads by the user’s physical and technical environment, interests, behaviour and market segment.

Get in touch today

To find out how you can access this exciting market with our WeChat advertising service, in ways you may not have realised were possible, get in touch today.

The post How to get huge growth potential from WeChat advertising? appeared first on Market Me China®.

Many people in the West haven’t even heard of WeChat, but it’s one of the largest social media networks in the world, recently passing over a billion users. Considering WeChat only started seven years ago, with Facebook taking eight years to reach the same milestone, there’s no doubting what a significant indication of the app’s reach that is.

When it comes to WeChat advertising, the platform isn’t just a Twitter or Facebook clone – it’s an entirely different beast, and it requires an in-depth knowledge to understand how users engage with the content posted on there. Here’s a brief guide to how it works – and how it could be key to marketing in China.

WeChat does what it says on the tin – it’s a chat app

The days of chatrooms might seem like aeons ago, but WeChat found much of its early success by operating on similar principles, updated for mass smartphone use. Users could find both random and nearby people with ease, striking up all sorts of conversations in the process. WeChat users are more curious than those on Facebook or Twitter – they’re looking for new content, not just to see the same old faces all the time.

WeChat adverts do work similarly to Facebook and Twitter

With WeChat now opened up to advertising, the ads work in a similar way to social media apps more common in the West. Moments Ads, which are Feed Ads, will allow a few images/a video and a short description of any service or product being advertised. These can also be targeted to various specified demographics, allowing for greater customisation.

WeChat also allows mini-apps

While the potential of this for marketing has not yet been fully explored, it’s certainly an interesting option. WeChat allows for mini-apps which exist within the existing framework of the app, meaning that users on smartphones with less storage space don’t need to make any extra downloads to run them. One of the most unique features of WeChat, it’s potentially a massive development that is likely to be copied around the world.

WeChat users are used to spending money via WeChat Pay

Mobile payments are well-integrated into WeChat, allowing for in-app purchases and even users sending monetary gifts to one another – something that has become something of a tradition on some holidays. While Twitter and Facebook users rarely spend money within the app, this certainly isn’t the case with WeChat – so you can expect whoever sees your ads to have their wallet close by.

Market Me China has extensive experience in marketing on WeChat and can give you a bespoke strategy for any product or service that you need help with breaking into the Chinese market with. Contact our team today to find out how we can help you get the exposure your brand deserves.

The post WeChat – why China’s largest social media network is ripe for advertising appeared first on Market Me China®.

In the past, it has been very difficult for Western companies to set up an official account on WeChat. Even now, it can be complicated and stressful with many language barriers in place. Therefore, to make the process a lot easier, many customers choose to find a third-party Chinese company to set up their WeChat account for them. This means the WeChat account is owned by the Chinese company. The risk for using a Chinese company is that you cannot control your account anymore if the Chinese company closes down.

It is no longer the case that you will need a Chinese business licence when it comes to WeChat official account setup for overseas companies. Now, WeChat allows overseas companies to set up an account and get it verified by using an overseas business licence.

How to set up a ‘special’ WeChat official account which is visible in China?

You don’t have to be a Chinese business in order to reach into this community, although being able to understand the Chinese language can put you at an advantage in being able to make the most of the service. The process of registering for an account isn’t hugely straightforward, but if you do want to set up an account, then you can head to apply.wechat.com. The only problem with doing this, however, is that the account won’t be visible in China – only outside of China. This isn’t good if you want to reach out to the large audience based within China.

Here is how we can help you to set up a ‘special’ WeChat official account that will be visible in China:

If you want a fully functional commercial WeChat account, you need to submit all required documents, and a one-off initial investment in WeChat advertising will be required by WeChat. The advertising investment can help you to target the huge amount of WeChat users by using WeChat advanced advertising technology, which can benefit your business. An annual verification fee is chargeable for overseas entities. WeChat changes their policies all the time, and the fee will be confirmed before you set up an account. It sounds a bit complicated, that is why we are here to help you go through all the process.

There is a lot to be said for having a verified account; the greatest being the trust it can help you build trust with Chinese users.

Service Account VS. Subscription Account

As part of your application, you’ll need to show how you plan on using your account. However, only service account is available for the ‘special’ overseas WeChat official account.

What is the difference between service account and subscription account? The difference in the two is that, with a service account, you have access to advanced public platform features, can have four broadcasts per month, get a 48-hour window in which your business can reply to user messages, push notifications, and have custom menus, plus API payments are supported.

On the other hand, a subscription account is better for businesses who are looking to publish content more regularly. It doesn’t offer push notifications and has no support for payments; however, it does still allow for a 48-hour window to reply to user messages. A subscription account doesn’t allow for customisation, and businesses must be verified and able to use WeChat API. It’s important to establish early on if you want to have access to WeChat’s developer tools and advanced features. You will also need to send off documents that show your credentials and validity as a business.

A WeChat verified account fully-owned by you can be a valuable marketing asset for any business, but as with all social media platforms, the proof of its success is in how effectively it is setup, established and run post-launch. At Market Me China, we can not only help you with setting up your WeChat official account, which will be visible globally (including in China), but we can also assist you with your Chinese social marketing activities. This will help you reach your goals and effectively communicate with Chinese audience. You can contact us to find out more here.

Latest news on WeChat Official Accounts:

Overseas WeChat Official Accounts are available for 100+ countries published 10 May 2018

UK and European Companies can now open WeChat Official Accounts published 25 July 2018

The post How to Set Up WeChat Official Account for Overseas Companies appeared first on Market Me China®.