China
Take your brand into China with a digital marketing strategyThe opportunity
Valued at CNY45. 5 trillion (2021), China’s digital economy is fast-moving and dynamic with endless opportunities for new entrants. However, the way the digital economy works there is significantly different from our own, and fraught, with traps for newcomers. Having a clear understanding of the key platforms and consumers’ digital preferences is the key step to building an e-commerce business bound for China.
Social Media Platforms in China
In China, unlike in other countries, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are not available. The country’s authoritarian government has banned most of the top international social media platforms and they are not officially allowed to be used in China. So what social media platforms do Chinese citizens use?
The answer is locally developed social media sites and the following are just three of the leading social media platforms used in China:
WeChat is a Chinese app that works a little like Facebook. It has 1.2 billion users worldwide, and a 56% share of the Chinese micro-blogging market. Within the WeChat ecosystem there is not much you cannot do, making it arguably the most popular app for business.
Douyin
Tik Tok in China is known as Douyin, with a focus on user-generated short videos. The Chinese version has far more advanced features than the Tik Tok version, and has made buying products easy, which has helped their eCommerce component flourish.
Little Red Book
Xiaohongshu, or Little Red book, is a popular social media and eCommerce platform in China, and is often described as “China’s answer to Instagram”. It has become one of China’s most trusted social shopping platforms. It’s also well-used by marketers at home in Australia.
Search Engines in China
Just as Facebook and Twitter are not allowed, Google and Bing are also prohibited because of censorship rules, so China has its own search engines.
The top search engines used in China include:
Baidu
Baidu, which is China’s version of Google, has a 75% market share.
Sogou
Sogou (Search Dog) which has a 4.33% market share is the second most popular search engine.
Haousou
Haousou is like the Internet Explorer of China since it comes pre-installed on most computers.
Shenma
Shenma (promoted by Alibaba) is the leader in mobile search.
Our Skills & Expertise
Formulating a global strategy for marketing is a great challenge for marketers, particularly for social media platforms. Business strategies vary widely. What’s relevant for Singapore and Malaysia may not be relevant in China. In fact, China is a very special situation, due to the various governmental restrictions in place.
We have the skill and expertise gained over years of helping businesses expand into the Chinese consumer market, and can advise you on:
China’s e-commerce market, the world’s largest, is expected to register a strong growth of 10.4% in 2022, as consumers are increasingly shifting from offline to online.
Reference: Global Data