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Multi-Channel China Part 2: Digital Options

What Digital channels are available to brands and which ones work best for who?

The China digital landscape is vast and diverse and it’s usually a challenge to find a western equivalent to help international brands figure out how they work and how to maximize the opportunity. But each one can be a valuable tool deployed as part of an effective multi-channel marketing strategy in China.

In our last blog, we broke down the biggest challenge for successful multi-channel marketing campaigns in China, namely, how to figure out the right tools to deploy and at which stage of your customer's journey. In this aspect, China market insight research is invaluable, yet you’d be surprised how many brands seem to skip this part out. In this article, we are going to run through some of the more commonly deployed digital channels available to marketers here. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it does represent some of the more accessible and effective channels for international brands.

Baidu
It’s always a risk attributing a western equivalent to China marketing channels as there isn’t anything that is truly accurate, however for this blog we are going to do just that when we talk about Baidu. The closest western equivalent here is Google and your China marketing strategy will need a blend of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine management (SEM), and performance marketing to maximize the opportunity.

Baidu works similarly to Google but with some key differences. For example, Baidu doesn’t rank JavaScript sites, and the Baidu ‘spiders’ that crawl the web are a lot slower than Google’s so your China website should have a much flatter menu structure. Also, having a presence on as many sites and services within the Baidu ecosystem will boost your performance.


WeChat
You could write books about the significance of WeChat and how to take advantage of it, and to some extent we have!

With over 1 billion users in China alone, WeChat is ubiquitous and so, so much more than a social media platform. There is e-commerce, mini-programs, a video platform, chat, paid advertising, and more, all for international marketers to get to grips with and explore.

The first consideration is which type of account to open, and these days many brands will focus on WeChat as an alternative to a dedicated Chinese website or as a sales enablement tool. The course of action here is to consult with your agency and have a full WeChat strategy in place that includes account setup and a content schedule.

You can review all our other WeChat resources including articles, podcasts, and e-books, to help guide you through it and make informed decisions.

Weibo
Weibo started life as a micro-blogging site in China, used in a similar way to Twitter in the west. However, as with most social media platforms in China, its evolution has been rapid, and you will now find functionality similar to YouTube and Facebook incorporated.

Weibo users are a very active demographic and cover a broad array of target sectors for brands and organizations. The platform allows brands to learn a lot about their target audience which in turn allows for marketing campaigns utilizing the platform to be laser-focused. It can be a great tool for brand awareness in China, and for fostering engagement.

KOLs
KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders), or influencers, dominate the China digital landscape and you can find them across all channels.

They come in different categories depending on the size and response of their fanbase, and they have a place in both consumer and B2B campaigns. There are pitfalls though, and it is unwise to put all your China marketing eggs into the KOL basket. It can be very expensive for one, and the return on investment is not always what many brands expect from their outlay.


Email
Email marketing using well-crafted, targeted content with the wants and needs of your target audience front and center can be enormously effective here in China, just like anywhere else. Good marketing insight research, i.e., really knowing your customer, is key to how successful your email campaigns are.

A significant challenge in China is data management and access. It is illegal to purchase mailing lists for one, so working closely with your sales team and having robust CRM systems and processes in place is hugely important.

Live streaming
What started as a video gaming fad, live streaming in China is now very much mainstream and has recently grown hand-in-hand with KOL marketing.

There are hundreds of live-streaming platforms in China. WeChat includes live streaming functionality and e-commerce retailers can speak directly to their customers through popular presenters via Taobao Live, to name but two.

There is a common misconception though that we find amongst international brands looking to take advantage of live streaming in China. Broadcasting your messaging in real-time is all well and good, but if you don’t have an audience, it is a waste of time and resources. If you don’t have a platform for live streaming that features a decent-sized follower base, no one will be watching. The alternative to hosting a live stream on your own channel is to work with a relevant media partner or KOL and tap directly into their audience. Effective, but it can also be expensive without the ROI to match.

Douyin
Douyin, more commonly known as TikTok outside of China, is now one of the most popular short-video sharing platforms with over 20 billion views per day and an estimated 400 million active users, most of whom are in their early twenties. It’s a massive opportunity for brand awareness and engagement in China with a vital target market.

Again though, this is a very popular digital channel for brands in China but there is a lot of noise and competition. Content has to be high quality and engaging to cut through and it can be a significant commitment in terms of time and resources to make it a success.

That is just 7 of the most commonly employed digital channels by foreign brands in China, and as mentioned at the beginning, there are plenty of others. It all comes back to the point we made in our last blog. There are many options available for international marketers deploying a multi-channel marketing strategy in China and you won’t be able to take advantage of everything. The trick is to use your customer insight to identify the most effective f or your campaigns.

Andy Smith

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By Steven Proud • 11 Apr, 2024
In this episode... Andy chats about his background in retail and sales and the corporate grounding he developed during his early career. His introduction to marketing and advertising sales came from the 12 years he spent at Yellow Pages, the majority of which was working face-to-face with businesses of all sizes. He talks about maintaining a passion for business challenges, a belief in robust business planning and developing marketing strategies and tactics that are directly aligned with the business plan. We discuss leadership in an agency environment and how Andy interprets his role as CEO. We also look at the career progression of his team and the importance of providing opportunities for growth and leadership. Andy highlights the importance of achieving a balance between brand, technology, and customer experience, and how this has influenced how StrategiQ positions itself as a business. Resources mentioned in this episode: Andy Smith on LinkedIn StrategiQ website StrategiQ on LinkedIn Brand igo Chin a Steven Proud on LinkedIn AMIN Worldwide online AMIN Worldwide on LinkedIn Sponsor for this episode... This episode is brought to you by Brandigo China . We are an independent marketing and communications agency based in Shanghai, China with 20 years of on-the-ground experience in China. At Brandigo China , we work with multinational clients to support their marketing and business growth efforts in China. We are experts in insight strategy, content marketing, marketing-led business growth campaigns and all things China-based marketing. Go to www.brandigochina.com to learn more and contact us with questions at hellochina@brandigo.com .
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