China, the new and challenging market for digital advertising, has seen an uptick in user numbers on the Chinese internet as of late. On Baidu, the Chinese equivalent of Google, more than seven-hundred million users regularly make search queries, about 80% of the nation’s search traffic. All of these users can be harnessed in advertising, with millions of people viewing your brand or product every day. These three simple tips will help you get started with Baidu Advertising (https://adstochina.westwin.com/Baidu-Advertising).
1. The numbers can be staggeringly large
China, of course, has the largest population in the world, and of that population, there are 700+ million internet users, making them the largest online population in the world too. While the prospect of advertising directly to this large userbase might seem lucrative, it is essential that you know what kind of audience you wish to attract and interact with. Your Baidu advertising campaign must have a definitive objective and targeted audience, and it can entice customers to discover and enjoy your product on a long-term basis. Keep in mind, however, that it is useful to have a realistic budget in place when you’re attempting to fish in the huge market network that is Baidu.
2. Keep the cultural and social differences in mind
What works in the West may not work in China at all. You must take this into account and tailor your advertising campaign specifically towards a Chinese audience. Do your research beforehand and speak to people who have experience in advertising in this market. Inside knowledge could be useful in the early stages of the campaign, as trends and the requirements of customers constantly fluctuate.
In order to achieve this targeted marketing campaign, having Mandarin landing pages is strongly recommended. The user, having conducted their Baidu search in Mandarin, will expect the landing page he/she lands on to be in Mandarin as well, naturally. While it is possible to have an English landing page with Mandarin keywords, Mandarin landing pages simply perform far better. English landing pages also have very low retention of users who have reached the page after performing a search in Mandarin. This would mean that your landing page would have a high bounce rate, which would lead to an unsuccessful campaign.
3. Be prepared to tackle some heavy bureaucracy
Like all other platforms operating on the Chinese internet, Baidu is heavily regulated by the government of China. This effectively means that if a Western company wants to advertise on Baidu, a ton of paperwork and contracts can be involved. For instance, to advertise on Baidu, the company will have to scan a company registration document and a finance document before an advertising account can be created. Any other documents if required, especially for highly restricted industries, like finance, healthcare, airlines, will have to be produced too. Without the right documentation in place, it’s not possible to advertise on Baidu. This is fairly common while advertising on any Chinese platform, and though the process may seem alien and labyrinthine to you, with the right help it can be hassle-free and simple.