Social media marketing in China, if done right, can acquaint a vast number of potential consumers with your brand in a relatively short amount of time. Marketing is no longer just about urging people to buy your products, but also about connecting with them, building relationships with them, and engaging with them.
By including social media in your business marketing strategy, you will be able to communicate directly with your customers. Once they get to know you, they will be more willing to listen to your brand story and browse through your products. By explaining why the products are unique or useful, you may be able to convince them to buy them. And if your products are as good as your advertising and you top that with excellent and prompt customer service, you will be able to build a loyal customer base.
Rise in social media marketing in China
Here are some factors that have led to a rise in social media marketing in China (adstochina.westwin.com/Social-Media-Marketing-in-China).
Widespread internet usage
There are over 800 million internet users in China, and the number is only going to go up in the future. Thanks to the internet, you don’t have to limit your marketing efforts to customers in Tier 1 cities. You will also be able to reach out to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Since living expenses in these places are significantly lower than Tier 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai, consumers may have more disposable income and more willingness to purchase your products.
The proliferation of mobile devices
Nearly two out of three Chinese now own a smartphone, a tablet, or some other mobile device. These devices are fast becoming a necessity rather than a luxury as people need them for everyday tasks like paying bills, banking, calling a taxi, ordering food, and so on. Mobile devices have also made it easier for everyone to get on various social media platforms from any location and at any time.
Growth of social media platforms
Over 673.5 million Chinese internet users use social media every day for a variety of purposes. The two leading social media platforms are WeChat and Weibo. WeChat takes the top spot, with around 902 million daily active users, 1.1 billion monthly active users, and over 20 million official accounts. It offers many marketing opportunities for business brands as it has become an essential ecosystem that lets its users do everything from carrying out monetary transactions to playing games.
You can publish informational content, promotional content, brand news, updates, videos, and more to enhance your brand and build relationships with existing and new customers. You can make use of features like Wow, Moments, banner ads, and HTML campaigns and disseminate them widely using location-based marketing and KOL promotions.
Weibo, with around 203 million daily users and 465 active users, is a good platform for building online communities. You can share posts, videos, Yizhibao live streams, Weibo stories, and events with your followers. You can also keep tabs on current news and trends and use them effectively in your advertising campaigns. Additionally, you can link to the Taobao eCommerce stores and your products in your posts and have your followers purchase items with one click and pay with Alipay.
Apart from these, some of the popular social media platforms in China include QQ, Youku, Baidu Tieba, Zhihu, TikTok/Douyin, Toutiao, Little Red Book/Xiao Hong Shu, Dianping, Tencent Video, Maimai, Meitu, Meituan Dianping, Momo, and Kuaishou. You may not have the time to build up your brand presence on all of them, so it will make more sense to check out their features and pick the ones that will bring the most business benefit to your company.
Marketing advantages of social media
The great advantage of social media is the ability to reach out to vast swathes of the population without having to spend an excessive amount of money. You can research consumers that are most likely to be interested in your products and segment them into categories based on their ages, genders, professions, locations, interests, buying habits, and so on. With that data, you can fine-tune your advertising campaigns towards your target audience, save on marketing expenses, and get better ROI.