The Most Essential China Digital Marketing Strategies to Enter Chinese Markets in 2022

 20 May 2022 |  Janie Z & Eirini Z  | 6 min read

As the Chinese economy continues to grow, more and more businesses are looking to break into the market. However, doing business in China can be tricky, especially if you don’t understand the cultural nuances. This blog post will discuss some of the best ways to use digital marketing to enter the Chinese market in 2022. We’ll also highlight some of the challenges you may face and provide tips on overcoming them. So, if you’re interested in expanding your business into China, keep reading!

What is the Digital Marketing Process?

One of the reasons digital marketing has changed the way businesses promote and market their products and services is the ease with which they can be accessed at nearly any time. Digital marketing has four major advantages over traditional marketing methods: measurability, cost, speed, and engagement.

A Digital Marketing process can help any business succeed and achieve its objectives by following these five simple steps:

Step 1: Research

At this step, you will gather all of the information needed to make decisions in the next stages. The information gathered throughout the research will be used to develop and create your digital marketing campaign. This is also known as Digital Marketing Research. At this point, you will conduct different types of research about your target customers, the product or service you wish to market, and finally the online competition.

Step 2: Create

After gathering information throughout the research step, you can now begin creating:

1 – Objectives / Goals: These are the ultimate objectives you hope to attain with your Digital Marketing Campaign. Every organization is unique; thus, your goals will be as well.

2 – A Digital Marketing Strategy: After you’ve established your objectives, you must develop a strategy to attain them. Positioning, Branding, Content, and Digital Marketing Channels will all be part of your Digital Marketing Strategy. Whatever plan should be created will be determined by the data gathered during the Digital Marketing Research stage.

3 – A Digital Marketing Plan: At this point, you will create a documented plan that includes all of your detailed Digital Marketing tasks as well as dates.

4 – Designing Primary Digital Identities: Website, Blog, and App are a firm’s three key Digital Identities.

Step 3: Promote

You will begin promoting your digital identities once they are complete- that is, you want relevant traffic visiting your primary digital identities. This is also known as generating relevant traffic.

The more relevant traffic you drive to your website, the higher the conversion rate you may expect. For example, you can promote your website/blog/app through Social Media, Email, and/or Search Engines.

Step 4: Analyse

Once you’ve established your primary digital identities and started advertising them through different digital marketing channels, it’s important to start tracking your progress and evaluate the results of your digital marketing efforts using analytics. 

Step 5: Optimise

At this point, you begin to make modifications depending on your analysis and observations. Optimisation can reduce costs and increase sales but also ensures that your results are as consistent and positive as possible.

Why is it important to enter the Chinese market in 2022?

Digital marketing is more popular than ever in China, and companies are coming up with interesting strategies to take advantage of. The Covid-19 outbreak has affected everything, including how individuals seek information, communicate, and even shop. As a result, brands must reconsider how they market to customers and develop new approaches to build loyalty.

China continues to provide enormous market growth potential and investing in China is not always simple, but no other country can replace it. China has over 1.4 billion people, making it the world’s most populous country. This means that approximately one out of every five people on the planet lives in this robust economy.

In ten years, Chinese consumer spending is expected to almost double, with a focus on services rather than products.

What are some of the challenges associated with doing this, and how can they be overcome?

China remains one of the world’s largest marketers with huge potential. However, it is also a challenging market to do business in without the Know-How. Many of the issues that Companies from countries outside China face involve regulatory compliance concerns such as insufficient time to comply with new regulations and fragmented implementation of local regulatory requirements. Firms seeking to export in China also face favoritism against local competitors, and last but not the least cultural barriers and the need to localise products or services, and communication strategies to meet the expectations and requirements of Chinese consumers.

Check out The Most Comprehensive Chinese Localisation Marketing Strategy Guide from our blog.

What is different about the Chinese market?

China is not one homogenous market but a diverse place with many different cultures. You can almost see China as the whole European continent.

For example, there are seven major dialects spoken throughout the country, which affect how people communicate. So, the strategies you use to get ahead in one region may not work elsewhere, even if it has similar circumstances or demographics!

Many markets in China are changing fast. Some of these changes may be difficult to predict because they are so new, which means it is important that you stay on top of your game!

In the past, stores in China had to focus on mass-produced products. That is not necessary anymore because consumers want niche brands with individualised attention now more than ever. Smaller local businesses can meet this demand by catering specifically to their desires.

Chinese consumers love digital and social media. Online shopping is huge in China, with many people using it to share their experiences or seek reviews from others before making a purchase decision. That is why it is important to carry out digital marketing campaigns to leverage these channels wisely.

What tactics can be used to reach potential customers in China digitally?

1. Use Chinese Search Engines like Baidu or PPC/SEM campaigns to get visibility

When the Chinese need to look something up, they go to Baidu; Baidu has already surpassed Google as the leading search engine, with almost 86% market share. Understanding that Baidu is China’s version of Google will be important to your success in marketing in China.

Watch this video to learn more about the different search engines available.

2. Follow trends and gain the trust of Chinese consumers

The thirst for luxury products among Chinese consumers is predicted to grow at a rate of 13% in 2022, making them the world’s highest-spending customers. Generations Y and Z will make up more than two-thirds of the market by 2025. Customers that are loyal to a brand can benefit from customised services delivered through social media. At the same time, brand management and private traffic operations will have a significant impact on repurchase rates and consumer loyalty. Check out our blog on the top 10 social media platforms in China and identify the most suitable channels for your target customers.

3. Collaborate with influencers

Content can quickly go viral in China due to netizens’ tendency to comment on and share what they see online. They value expert opinions and seek them out, therefore influencers are the way to go if you want your material to be seen by a large number of people. Speak to our team if you need help.

Marketing with Chinese influencers can be used by both small and large businesses. Smaller brands can use it to create awareness and get attention from their target audience. E-commerce businesses especially benefit from collaborating with influencers as platforms such as WeChat shop often get little traffic. Having influencers direct customers to your page can greatly increase the visibility and sales of your products.

Consumers are more receptive to this type of marketing as influencers are more approachable and relatable; this is especially true given influencers provide content that users have deemed valuable.

4. Culture and Chinese consumers

Chinese consumers are sensitive to signs of brand adaptation. Traditional and cultural values are incredibly important to the Chinese, and it is wise for businesses to refer to Chinese customs. Understanding cultural communication is as important as localising your material; while tradition is extremely important, Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly interested in Western culture, as seen by their purchasing habits.

5. Online and Offline Commerce in China

The latest trend in Chinese online marketing is the online-to-offline business model (O2O), which takes the business strategy to a next level by combining the strength of online business with physical stores.

In 2016, market leader Alibaba launched the actual O2O online-to-offline shopping revolution. Alibaba’s Jack Ma announced the launch of “New Retail” at a conference in Hangzhou, demonstrating his dedication to transforming the e-commerce online retailer into a new business model by adding a physical shop location. The concept combined offline, internet, and logistical elements into a unified data chain.

Conclusion:

Taking the first step to entering the Chinese market is a difficult challenge for most businesses, but thankfully, as China’s economy grows and becomes more open to foreign companies, the benefits of doing business in China outweigh the effort.

Creating a successful digital marketing campaign requires much more than meeting KPIs and engagement figures; it involves strategy and creativity to turn business objectives into actions that will deliver results. An understanding of project management and a clear vision of the overall plan with a focus on the buyer’s journey, your brand story, and engagement is key to success.  Speak to our team and let us develop your best digital marketing strategies for the China market. Schedule a call now.