SHOULD YOU CONSIDER DOUYIN ?

Should you consider Douyin in your China sales and marketing roadmap? Maybe you are thinking that Douyin is just the TikTok of China, but it is much more than this!

WHAT IS DOUYIN ?

Owned by Bytedance, Douyin 抖音 is the Chinese version of  TikTok,

Douyin is only accessible in Mainland China. Users from both platforms are kept completely separate and are not able to interact with each other.

Douyin is the country’s top destination for mobile videos with 600 million daily active users.

While Douyin is the undisputed leader in the short-video field, the platform is also featuring longer and distinctive video formats that engage users on a whole new level, include long videos, livestreams, Pinpoint locations to achieve O2O conversion, e-commerce seamless integration to assist purchase

Not only short videos formats

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOUYIN AND TIKTOK ?

They have different audience: the main users of TikTok are Gen Z but the audience for Douyin is 16-45 years old. Therefore Douyin has a larger audience and more mature.

Douyin has more advanced features and updates compared to TikTok, and has more educational and knowledge-based videos as compared to fun, silly orientated videos on TikTok.

Douyin is widely used for B2C or B2B marketing, even for industry products.

The main difference between the 2 apps is about e-commerce capabilities which are much more advanced on Douyin.

Douyin vs TikTok

SHOULD YOU CONSIDER DOUYIN FOR E-COMMERCE? WHAT ARE THE CAPABILTIES?

Douyin has a native e-commerce system.

You can purchase directly in Douyin. The store could be linked to other applications in the Bytedance ecosystem, such as Toutiao, Huoshan Video, and Xigua Video. The most popular e-commerce categories on Douyin are women’s clothing, men’s clothing, cosmetics, and food products

  • You can directly access shoppable products from different areas. It can be from your profile, from live-streaming, via individual posts, from the search bar…For exemple, brands can add a product tag in their video posts. Once you click on a product tag, you are directed to the individual shoppable product page when you can do your purchase. Also the product page recommends other similar related products that you could like.
  • It has a nearby button where you can switch your location on the app
  • Sponsored hastags which are unique to brands. They are used to drive user generated content.
  • Douyin creates a seamless digital shopping experience through cooperation with traditional e-commerce platforms. It makes easier for brands to sell their goods but also makes shorter the purchasing journey for consumers.
You can access products from different areas
  • Douyin offers countless possibilities for advertisers to raise brand awareness and boost conversions. From in-feed native ads to engaging hashtag challenges, there are countless ways for advertisers to reach their target audiences.

DOUYIN OFFERS LOTS OF POSSIBILITIES FOR MARKETING

To establish the best marketing strategy on Douyin, you need to adapt the videos formats to push the curiosity and interest of consumers.

To succeed in China, you need be very creative.

 In order to get noticed, find the ideal frequency to broadcast your content.

To engage your community, engage with users. Like the hashtag system on Weibo, on Douyin influencers can use a “challenge” to be more visible to targeted users. They are used by users because they increase the popularity of your account. Create a partnership with some influencers.

Douyin offers countless possibilities for advertisers to raise brand awareness and boost conversions. From in-feed native ads to engaging hashtag challenges, there are countless ways for advertisers to reach their target audiences Using influencer marketing on Douyin is an effective way to build awareness of your brand. This social media marketing strategy allows you to quickly increase your visibility and expand quickly your community. Also, you can more easily track your audience engagement rate.

SHOULD YOU CONSIDER DOUYIN IN YOUR CHINA ROADMAP?

Brands cannot ignore Douyin in their marketing and sales strategy in China

Douyin is a marketing tool that companies must take into account in their China roadmap.

Douyin is today at the confluence between entertainment, influence, and e-Commerce.

It is better to open a certified account and to use hashtags, create challenges and make partnerships with KOLs and KOCs.

In addition, many advertisements are available to companies that can unleash their creativity through open-screen ads, feed ads, or even stickers. The most important thing is to stand out and to know your target well and to be as creative as possible.

Emotion Digital has a strong understanding of the Chinese market― we want to help you unleash your business’s potential to one of the largest populations in the world. Schedule your free consultation today

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LOCALIZE B2B MARKETING IN CHINA

After Linkedin is shutting down in China, it is even more true that you need to localize B2B marketing in China.

Western companies should develop further their capabilities to use Chinese digital solutions to succeed in China. Linkedin was used for B2B marketing to generate and nurture leads through content posting, sharing and interactions. B2B marketing can be done using WeChat.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND REPUTATION FOR B2B COMPANIES IN CHINA

When it comes to entering the Chinese market as a B2B company, reputation management must also be a key part of your strategy. As China is a digital market, on-line reputation is the one to develop.

Potential leads want to know they’re getting involved with a trustworthy, reputable company that is going to provide them with an exceptional product and service. One bad review can easily persuade any of those decision-makers to go with your competitor instead.

It’s important to remember that people talk about you online, even if you’re not yet online yourself. That’s why the first step to reputation management is monitoring online activity, so you know what is being said about you and where it’s being said.

Once you know what your brand presence looks like online, you can then communicate your brand message, give news about your company, establish yourself as a thought leader by publishing content on industry portals.

EFFECTIVE LEAD GENERATION AND NURTURING FOR B2B COMPANIES IN CHINA

As there is no Google in China, you need use Baidu for your SEO strategy to generate leads.

Baidu SEO

Then you need nurture your leads during a certain period of time, B2B purchasing cycle is rather longer than in B2C.

Instead of doing it in LinkedIn, you need doing it on WeChat, the most popular social media in China. It is used for daily life but also for business.

A company doing business in China must be visible on WeChat to exist. The first step is to open a WeChat official account (different from personal WeChat account).

Through a WeChat official account, it is the perfect touch point for your company to connect with Chinese businesses.

BASICS OF B2B MARKETING IN CHINA

While a strong online presence is vital, offline events such as conferences or meetings are still very important if it is possible– nothing beats having a conversation face to face.

It’s easy to keep in touch with clients – we recommend posting once a week about things like industry news, company news and company activities, all of which serve to show that you’re a thought leader in your industry, that you’re highly active and that you have a strong company culture.

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You will use also another Chinese platform, Zhihu. It is the largest Q&A platform which aims to provide in depth insights from industry professionals. It is a good place to do content marketing. The audience of this platform is quite educated.

You can develop your brand awareness, demonstrate your authority, and educate your audience.

Zhihu has also great authority on Baidu and Sogou search engines.

LOCALIZE B2B MARKETING IN CHINA: HOW TO DO WECHAT MARKETING?

WeChat is your Website

Do not forget that in China, WeChat is your website

If you are a big company, you can also set up a local Chinese Website, but Chinese people do not check them so much.

Create a comprehensive content to bring you the right audience and encourage sharing

Social media is about content. The right content will bring you the right audience. It has to be appealing, interactive and entertaining.
You need to encourage sharing the content to your audience.

WeChat should not be just company news. It must be also have educational and social features. To educate your audience is an excellent way to get leads in China.

Advanced search function

WeChat users can now search for any content using related keywords. Generally, Chinese people like to research, look at media articles or ask their friends about products or services they are interested in. This means that pushing out high-quality, useful content is essential to successfully market to other businesses. It allows you to showcase your brand

Personalised interactions

WeChat is a great for businesses to leverage if they are looking to build relationships and create stronger business partnerships in China. It is important to note that in with B2B, your target audience is not another business but rather someone who holds a certain position in that business. This means that driving a more personalised interaction is fundamental for WeChat B2B marketing.

Paid campaigns using WeChat Ads

For a new created account, utilizing paid options to give the account an initial boost is very effective, in particular for B to B

Join WeChat groups and Engage with your audience

WeChat groups are where people with the same interests exchange ideas. Find and join WeChat groups related to your industry, and share your best articles, cases studies and create stories to get more leads.

QR codes

Every WeChat official account has a QR code, which works as the “business card” of your WeChat account. The QR code can be used in exhibitions, brochures…

There are just some of the keys to do WeChat marketing for B2B and build-up your business community.

It is really important to localize your B2B marketing in China more than ever to get effective results.

NEED HELP TO LOCALIZE B2B MARKETING IN CHINA?

Emotion Digital has a strong understanding of the Chinese market― we want to help you unleash your business’s potential to one of the largest populations in the world. Schedule your free consultation today.

CONTACT US