In terms of monthly users, Weibo is the second largest Chinese social media platform after WeChat. However, unlike WeChat, it is still primarily PC based. Weibo is one of the most powerful marketing tools in China offering wide range of possibilities for reaching people across various demographics and psychographics.

Weibo offers to marketers a powerful Weibo Index tool to learn more about what platform users are searching for. Compared to previously covered Baidu and Qihoo tools, it is structured in sig
nificantly different way allowing generating other types of data.

It is important to note that social media platforms like Weibo could be quite similar to search engines in many ways. Platform users search for terms in a similar way as they do using Baidu or Qihoo. This allows Weibo to generate wealth of information that could be indispensable for marketers looking to customize their message for this particular audience.

Weibo Index into four main tabs: historic keyword trends, real time trends, geographical interpretation and user attributes analysis.

Let’s examine what Weibo Index shows for the same keyword we used for Baidu and Qihoo tools covered earlier.

The first graph shows search volumes for a keyword on PC and mobile. It is quite clear that there is a certain correlation with the search results we have seen with the search engines: both types of data show a sharp peak in the second half of March:

Looking at both PC based and mobile searches reveals the fact that most searches have been done from mobile Weibo app rather than PC based website:

Next tab displays search volumes in the past 24 hours. Here, peaks occur in different times compared to results from the search engines. Apparently, Weibo searches for iPhone 8 have peaked at around noon and then again at 23:00:

Such information can be particularly useful for social media marketing. It can allow marketers to figure out optimal timing for posts to receive maximum exposure on the network. In fact, the data can even be reduced down to an hour level in order to identify search volumes of every single minute within a particular hour!

The location tab shows geographic distribution of the searches:

Here the situation is also a bit different from the results we have seen with Baidu and Qihoo. It seems that people in Hebei and Zhejiang provinces were the ones most interested in iPhone 8.

Last tab, audience attributes, shows even less correlation with the search engines data for this particular term. This time, women represented the vast majority of the audience (80%) vs. only 20% of men. Also, the audience is significantly much younger on Weibo: most people searching for iPhone 8 were between ages 19-24.

This information could lead to a different approach for marketing this specific product. On Weibo, marketers could be tailoring the ad to a largely young female audience while Baidu and Qihoo ads should cater to older male crowd. Optimizing marketing approach across different platforms would be much more difficult without having such data.

Last section of the audience attributes tab relates to user persona that seems quite irrelevant for this particular keyword. Also, Weibo shows the data on zodiac signs of the users searching for a particular term:

Apparently, Libra born users were more active in their search for iPhone 8. Why was that the case? I guess we will never know.

In any case, Weibo seems to be the only network out there that enables marketers to incorporate astrology into their marketing…

Continue to WeChat Index tutorial >>>

Here are our tutorials on China keyword research tools:

Keyword research on Baidu: Baidu Index

Keyword research on Qihoo: Qihoo Index

Keyword research on Weibo: Weibo Index

Keyword research on WeChat: WeChat Index

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Weibo Index first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Weibo Index appeared first on Sampi.co.

Qihoo, also known as 360Search and So.com, is the second largest Chinese search engine. By various estimates, it holds between 15 to 25% of the search market share and is fairly popular among younger users.

It is also often noted that Qihoo search results tend to be more accurate than Baidu’s and advertising with Qihoo is also a bit cheaper. Despite once posing a real threat to Baidu’s dominance, Qihoo is still trailing Baidu in terms of overall popularity.

Qihoo Index is the keyword research tool that can be used to complement Baidu’s. Also, it doesn’t require registering an account which makes it a bit easier. Other than that, the functionality and the type of data Qihoo Index generates is quite similar to Baidu Index which was covered earlier.

Here we are using the same keyword “iPhone8” to see the results. The first panel presents the total number of searches and the trends overtime. Just like with Baidu Index, the data can be displayed for the last 7, 30 or 90 days as well as for custom date ranges.

The top panel shows 5,340 searches for iPhone 8 over the last 30 days which is about 5 times less searches on Baidu for the same period.

Similar to Baidu, Qihoo index indicates various kinks, peaks and valleys of the curve with a letter corresponding to a specific media mention. Hovering over those letters opens a pop-up with more details on the source linked to an article:

Another Qihoo Index graph specifically focuses on media mentions. Just like with Baidu, each change in the curve can be further examined for more details related to a specific news source.

The graph above displays search activity in the last 24 hours. Quite predictably, the search reaches two of its peaks in the morning and afternoon with a dip in between (a lunch break?) before flattening out during the night hours.

Next diagram shows related keywords in key phrase surrounding the main keyword. Analogous to Baidu, the keywords are grouped based on search volumes and relevant position:

Related searches data displays the keywords searched by users before or after that specific search term. In this case, “iPhone 8 price” was the strongest related key phrase. Also, users seem to be often searching for iPhone 8 pictures:

Also like Baidu, Qihoo Index also shows geographic distribution of searches. It seems that most iPhone 8 related searches were coming from the richest Chinese provinces and cities which reflects traditional popularity of Apple products in those areas.

Insights into audience are largely similar to the results we have seen with Baidu for the same term: men represent the majority (70% vs. 30%). The age brackets used by Qihoo are a bit different with Baidu: almost half of the people interested in iPhone 8 were aged between 25 and 34.

Another dimension that is available only with Qihoo Index is classification of the users by attributes. Apparently, Qihoo uses other search terms attributed to the same user in order to build what is called “persona” in marketing. Learning more about customer profiles through this method can provide further useful insights for a marketer.

Continue to Weibo Index tutorial >>>

Here are our tutorials on China keyword research tools:

Keyword research on Baidu: Baidu Index

Keyword research on Qihoo: Qihoo Index

Keyword research on Weibo: Weibo Index

Keyword research on WeChat: WeChat Index

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Qihoo Index first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Qihoo Index appeared first on Sampi.co.

Being the largest search engine in China, Baidu keyword research should be the one to start with. Currently, Baidu offers Baidu Index tool that is free for Baidu advertising accounts, offering some basic information to users.

Here is an example of searching for keyword “iPhone8” (most Chinese users would typically type in “iPhone8” without space between the two words).

First, Baidu Index would match it with a keyword in the database before displaying the data. This means that for some rare keywords or those with low search volumes, this tool may not show any results. For those cases, a more powerful keyword research tool within Baidu advertising account must be used.

The top section shows the numbers for search volumes on PC (25,999) and mobile (20,070). It is remarkable to note that the overall search volume for this particular term is only 20% larger on PC vs. mobile.

Some points on the graph are also marked with letters: A, B, C, D etc. Those can be linked to a particular events such as mentions in media. Viewing the relevant content can give a researcher further insight on what was behind peaks and valleys of the chart.

Next, Baidu Index shows some more data on related keywords and how they are related to the original one in a key phrase (sometimes called long tail keyword). The size of the bubble illustrates the search volume and the color – the relative position.

Manipulating the slider allows viewing snapshots of the related keywords at different time periods. It can also help getting an idea on how the searches were changing over time.

The data is further detailed in the list of top related keywords that come before or after this specific keyword. This panel also lists the sites that have received most hits as a result of this keyword search:

Unsurprisingly, the most common key phrase was about the timing of iPhone 8 release.

Next graph specifically focuses on media mentions of the keyword. From here, user can view the actual article. This helps figuring out which type of news helped driving more searches and which had little to no effect.

The following series of data focuses on the audience. The map below illustrates search volume distribution by province. From here, the data can be further drilled down to the levels of area and city.

Finally, the audience is broken down by age distribution and gender. According to Baidu, iPhone 8 was mostly searched by males between ages of 20 and 39.

Continue to Qihoo Index tutorial >>>

Here are our tutorials on China keyword research tools:

Keyword research on Baidu: Baidu Index

Keyword research on Qihoo: Qihoo Index

Keyword research on Weibo: Weibo Index

Keyword research on WeChat: WeChat Index

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Baidu Index first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Baidu Index appeared first on Sampi.co.

All of the major Chinese search engines, as well social media platforms, offer some type of basic tools for China keyword research and trends measurement. The latest launch of WeChat Index feature holds a lot of promise. With nearly 890 million monthly active users, it has the potential to offer the most accurate picture of online searches. Unfortunately, it is still severely limited compared to the tools from Baidu, Qihoo and Weibo.

Another missing component in the overall China digital landscape is the absence of shopping trends measuring tool from Taobao, the largest ecommerce platform in China. After launching the beta of Taobao Index at the end of 2011, it was discontinued last year. Alibaba promises to relaunch a better tool in the future but it has already been a year since the original Taobao index went offline.

The first tool we are going to look at is Baidu Index.

Continue to Baidu Index tutorial >>>

Here are our tutorials on China keyword research tools:

Keyword research on Baidu: Baidu Index

Keyword research on Qihoo: Qihoo Index

Keyword research on Weibo: Weibo Index

Keyword research on WeChat: WeChat Index

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Measuring Search Trends first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: Measuring Search Trends appeared first on Sampi.co.

Up until the middle of 2016, Chinese PPC, especially with Baidu, was, on average, delivering better returns than SEO. This was due to several factors:

• First, the search results, especially for popular terms, were dominated by paid ads. In some cases, hardly any organic results would be displayed in the first page;
• Second, there was little visual distinction in Baidu between paid and organic results and most people couldn’t even tell the difference.

Things have changed significantly since the most recent scandal involving fraudulent Baidu medical ads that led to the death of young cancer sufferer. Following public outcry and negative publicity, Chinese government published new rules concerning Baidu advertising that, among other things, recommended limiting paid results to no more than 30% of SERP (search engine results pages).

Also, the new rules require ads to be more easily distinguishable from organic results in order to minimize the confusion between them.

Baidu, as well as other Chinese search engines, have announced their commitment to comply with the new rules (not that they had any choice in the matter anyway). Less advertising space has inevitably led to increased cost of PPC advertising which has made such campaigns more expensive than they could have been in the past.

On the positive side, the quality of ads is supposed to improve which may, at least in theory, increase trustworthiness of paid ads from a user standpoint.

How to choose between PPC vs. SEO for Chinese market

When it comes to SEO, organic results are now guaranteed to feature prominently in Chinese SERPs which makes SEO a more worthwhile investment than it would have been before the new rules were implemented.

On the other hand, you still need to consider different pros and cons of each strategy.

One of the most important consideration is the time frame. Getting results from PPC is almost instant while building SEO traffic takes time. Typically, it would take somewhere between 3 to 6 months to start seeing some benefits from SEO and 9-12 months of consistent efforts to build a stable organic ranking to show up high enough in SERPs. If you can’t wait that long than PPC is probably the best route to choose.

In addition, since the feedback is fast and measurable, PPC is best at testing different keywords to see which ones work better. Tweaking SEO keywords takes much longer feedback loop.

Calculating which strategy would be more profitable also requires knowing LTV (life time value) of a customer. This figure can then be compared to the cost of acquiring that customer with either SEO or PPC. As a general rule, SEO tends to be a better fit for high volume, low LTV cases.

Another disadvantage of SEO for Chinese market compared to PPC that is worth mentioning is its sensitivity to Baidu algorithms changes. When that happens, an optimized site can lose ranking practically overnight which makes SEO an ongoing, hence expensive, effort.

Obviously PPC doesn’t have this weakness since you are paying Baidu for getting visitors bypassing their ranking algorithms.
On the other hand, organic results are generally considered to be more trustworthy and therefore are more likely to be clicked than the ads. Since now Chinese engines are required to implement more visual distinction between paid and organic results, visitors are becoming more aware of which is which and tend to favor organic ones.

Considering the above point, SEO for Chinese market seems to offer the better value in search marketing than PPC as a long term strategy. There is an exception however: if your niche is dominated by established players or authority sites that have been building their reputation for years, it is highly unlikely that you would be able to unseat them. However, if you employ PPC you still may be able to outbid them.
In conclusion, choosing between SEO and PPC requires answering three basic questions:

• Can you afford waiting a few months for the results or time is of the essence?
• How LTV of your customer stacks against the cost of their acquisition with either strategy?
• How competitive is your space and whether you have a realistic chance to achieve high organic ranking vs. existing sites?

The post Choosing Between PPC vs. SEO for Chinese Market first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Choosing Between PPC vs. SEO for Chinese Market appeared first on Sampi.co.

Moreover, Baidu is also the leading choice for searches on mobile devices, the increasingly important Chinese search engines market. In June 2016, it was reported that Baidu had 667 million monthly active users (MAU) just for that month alone.

Baidu is still the leader of Chinese search engines market

The entire Chinese search engines market has been growing at fairly steady rate since 2010, adding each year somewhere between 50 and 70 million new users. This year, it is estimated to have reached about 600 million regular users, about 3 quarters of which go to Baidu as their service of choice.

In many ways, Baidu has been following, if not copying, Google’s business strategy. It has diversified its business into areas that are identical to Google’s: from navigation and self-driving cars to AI (artificial intelligence) and VR (virtual reality).

Although, it did hit a few bumps on the road, such as recent scandals with its medical ads and illegal promotions of gambling sites, it is hard to imagine Baidu being knocked off its primary position among Chinese search engines any time soon.

The other Chinese search engines that are worth mentioning are Qihoo (aka Search360) and Sogou. Qihoo in particular has been growing relatively fast in recent years and was the only one that was ever in a position to somewhat threaten Baidu’s dominance in Chinese search engines market, although it is no longer the case.

When it comes to advertising, Baidu should always be considered as the first choice, mainly because of its largest reach. On average, Baidu CPC (cost per click) tends to be higher than Google across almost all industries. Most likely, it will continue to increase as Baidu has been experiencing fall in profits and will probably increase prices as time goes by.

Another reason to focus on Baidu is the fact that its technology is the most advanced. This ultimately affects advertisement CTR (click through rate) through higher relevancy with the search terms.

Baidu has also been active in the video market and currently owns one of the largest online video hosting platforms called iQiYi. As videos are quickly becoming one of the most popular types of content consumed online, Baidu is in a good position to take advantage of that market as well.

In addition, Baidu, like Google, is very good at remarketing which is built into its display network with over 600,000 partner websites in China. Managing both search ads and display ads is done within the same Baidu advertising account where user can simply split the budget between the two channels.

One of the biggest hustles associated with Baidu PPC is opening the advertising account. Unless your company has Chinese business registration, applying for Baidu account involves quite a bit of paperwork and a long verification process. Baidu would typically request translated version of your foreign business license and may require additional proof of incorporation. Companies in financial and medical fields would most certainly be scrutinized more carefully and multiple requests for additional licenses are quite common.

Verification of a website (which must be in Chinese) often leads to more requests to change certain sections (most commonly “about us” part). All this is aimed at making sure that the advertiser is not misrepresenting its business nature and is a legitimate company which will not become involved in promoting anything illegal.

This process is in sharp contrast with Google’s where anyone with a Gmail and a credit card can open an account and start running campaigns almost immediately.

The situation is not that much different with the other Chinese search engines such as Qihoo and Sogou. They also require business registration and licenses from foreign applicants and must follow similar verification process. Once approved, running PPC campaign with those engines is quite similar to Baidu. On the positive side, for businesses that are not in very competitive niches, CPC on Qihoo and Sogou can be substantially lower compared to Baidu. Therefore, it is a good idea to try those engines as well in parallel, although not instead of, Baidu.

The post Overview of Advertising with Chinese Search Engines first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Overview of Advertising with Chinese Search Engines appeared first on Sampi.co.

In our earlier article, we have introduced six most innovative services that have developed around various concepts of Chinese sharing economy. Some of those companies, like DiDi, have grown enormous within record time, swallowing rivals and winning new markets. Others have  recently achieved infamous “unicorn” status (Tujia, Huochebang) while more startups are still small but full of potential.

5 distinctive features of Chinese sharing economy

#1: Smartphone proliferation

Perhaps the strongest driver behind wide adoption of shared services in new Chinese sharing economy is proliferation of smartphones, particularly in the cities.

Virtually every shared service “lives” on a smartphone is some shape or form. A smartphone enables users connecting with location based services while its camera serves as a scanning device which is essential for many such apps.

Moreover, many apps are either completely integrated with popular apps like WeChat or Alipay or are dependent on them for payment and authentication.

#2: Popularity of QR codes

While QR codes are much less common elsewhere, in China they are unambiguous and can be found practically everywhere. Moreover, virtually everyone knows what they are and what to do with them. In fact, WeChat, is single-handedly responsible for popularizing QR codes in China.

Alternative technologies like NFC have never achieved the same degree of recognition and popularity, mainly due to cost. Since printing QR code or generating it online is either extremely cheap or practically free, as long as security is not a concern, they always win over NFC or other technologies.

Many of the services of Chinese shared economy we discussed earlier rely on QR codes to connect users with a particular product such as in the case of unlocking shared bikes or shared umbrella locks.

#3: Convenient payment systems

Most of the shared services rely on a payment system for both payment and placing deposits. Two of the most common payment systems in China, Alipay and WeChat Pay, facilitate the process in the easiest and most secure way.

Since almost every Chinese city dweller is already a user of at least one or, more often, both of those systems, integrating them into the shared service apps is a natural fit. Essentially, those payment platforms have become the primary enablers of Chinese sharing economy.

Moreover, unlike Western equivalent PayPal (which is practically unheard of in China), both Alipay and WeChat Pay are transaction free services – they don’t charge users a single penny for payments as long as they are below a certain limit and are processed within China.

#4: Real name registration

The common misconception about sharing economy is that it is largely based on trust. If that was true – the concept would be a no starter in China. Luckily, with Chinese sharing economy trust is not an issue, or at least not to the same degree as it could be otherwise.

Why is that the case? The reason is that as long as people use one of the payment systems (Alipay or WeChat Pay) for transactions, they are automatically identified by their real name. In fact, WeChat and Alipay require real name registration that is connected to users’ Chinese ID or a passport for foreigners.

This arrangement minimized chances of service abuse (although it does happen, especially with bike sharing apps) or, at least, makes it easier to identify, track and punish bad behavior.

#5: Backing of internet giants

While being on good terms with the government officials is a pre-requisite for doing business in China in general, having the back of one of the BATs (Baidu-Alibaba-Tencent triumvirate) is a guarantee of success inChinese sharing economy.

Apparently, those internet giants are seeing great potential in many of shared services startups and have been generously financing them. In a rare display of cooperation within BAT, some of the services have been backed by more than one of them. Tencent and Baidu have been particularly enthusiastic in financing many such startups propelling some of them to unicorn status all within a couple of years.

The post 5 Reasons Why Chinese Sharing Economy Future Is Looking Promising first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post 5 Reasons Why Chinese Sharing Economy Future Is Looking Promising appeared first on Sampi.co.

According to the most recent data, WeChat has passed a milestone of a billion users which puts it far ahead of any other Chinese social media platform. Measuring trends on such an enormous network could potentially bring the most statistically accurate data to marketers.

Up until a few weeks ago, it was not possible to get a hold of such metrics on WeChat. Fortunately, the platform has just released a new WeChat Index tool that allows viewing some basic trends on keywords.

The good news is that, from marketers’ perspective, WeChat is finally moving in the right direction. However, the bad news is that the data that is generated by WeChat Index is very limited. There are no any equivalents to options available from the previously reviewed tools: Baidu Index, Qihoo Index and Weibo Index.

In order to access the tool, user has to enter Chinese words “微信指数”into the search bar and tap on the first result. This opens up the prompt as shown above.

If one is planning to use WeChat Index frequently, it easier to simply pin this page to the top of the chat sessions by choosing option “Sticky on Top”.

Typing the keyword “iPhone8” returns the search trend graph:

Just like with the other index tools, the data can be viewed for 7, 30 or 90 days but there is no option to customize the date range:

It is still not clear what the total number (350,016 in this example) actually represents. In fact, it remains the same no matter what date range is chosen (a bug?):

Although, WeChat Index is a good start, in its present form, it can hardly offer any useful information. Also, it seems that only popular keywords, probably those with high enough search volumes, can be viewed.

Despite the fact that WeChat could record all the search and user related data, WeChat Index doesn’t display any geographical distribution, audience analysis or related keywords. So, essentially, it is only good for getting an idea on general search trends within the network for certain popular keywords.

Release of WeChat Index to the public is still a very good start and points to the possible course correction by Tencent. It has started to move, albeit slowly, from a private communication network to discovery platform.

Also, WeChat search function now has more options and is increasingly used for searches on wide range of topics. In order to read the articles from the search results, one has to follow the account it was posted on which opens another route for official WeChat accounts to acquire new followers.

Here are our tutorials on China keyword research tools:

Keyword research on Baidu: Baidu Index

Keyword research on Qihoo: Qihoo Index

Keyword research on Weibo: Weibo Index

Keyword research on WeChat: WeChat Index

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: WeChat Index first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Basics of China Keyword Research: WeChat Index appeared first on Sampi.co.

Just one year after its launch in China in 2013, Evernote was already claiming 4 million users. Last year, China has become its second largest market with reported 20 million users. Yinxiang Biji, it’s Chinese company, has recently announced its plans to go public in China.

In fact, Evernote has succeeded where many famous Western tech giants, such as Google or Facebook, have failed miserably. So, what was it that they were doing right? Let us break down main factors of Evernote’s remarkable success in China.

Navigating around Chinese censorship

Evernote has always stressed its main functionality as a private data storage for individuals, not a social platform and broadcasting service. Although, the original version does include some social functions such as note sharing, they have been either removed or played down in the Chinese product. This enabled Evernote to stay away from troubles with China’s powerful internet censors.

Speed and functionality

The company has realized that the key to good usability in China is the speed of synchronization and access – the core of its functionality. Keeping data centers in US would severely impact connection speed and turn away potential users, making it impossible to acquire critical mass of local early adopters. Hence the decision to setup local data center, which was also its first one outside of US.

Privacy assurance

Company’s CEO, Phil Libin, has published a letter assuring subscribers that Evernote takes securing the privacy of user data in China very seriously. The letter emphasized Evernote’s adherence to its three laws of handling user data by making it personal, protected, and portable.

Employing social media

Evernote quickly embraced Weibo and WeChat, two most popular Chinese social media platforms. The company has also been publishing its own blog filled with useful tips about efficient usage of its services while tailoring the message for the local audience. The blog was encouraging users to write about their personal travel experience with connection to Evernote apps – another good example of user engagement.

Localized customer service

When it comes to Chinese users, Evernote quickly understood the importance of speedy and high quality customer service . The company has been recognized for its efficient response to issues and complaints, both through social media, like WeChat channel, as well via chat on their website.

Successful choice of brand name

Evernote has made a smart choice in picking its Chinese brand name that proved to be an excellent fit on many levels. Evernote’s Chinese name is Yinxiang Biji (印象笔记) and can be translated as “memory notes”. Incidentally, the name also incorporates character 象, an elephant, that is used as Evernote’s logo. The name is both memorable and descriptive of the core functionality of the service.

Integration with local services

Part of Evernote’s China localization strategy was releasing API for integration with local apps. As a result, along with its support for traditional services like IFTTT and Pocket, its Chinese product integrates local services such as WeChat, Weibo, Duoguo (a restaurant guide website) UC browsers and others.

Localized Evernote Market

Most recently, Yinxiang Biji has launched its local version of Evernote Market store with products specifically selected and marketed for Chinese customers. Evernote’s fully functional web-based outlet was noted for its good user experience and original offers. It also itegrates Alipay as its online payment solution.

The post Successful China Marketing Strategies: Lessons from Evernote first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Successful China Marketing Strategies: Lessons from Evernote appeared first on Sampi.co.

Here are some of the examples of the most common questions:

• When it comes to China B2B marketing, what tools are the most effective?
• Is it critical to establish B2B company’s presence on Chinese social media and if so, which platforms are the must have?
• How can companies re-purpose their existing campaigns on traditional Western platforms for Chinese market?

In this post we have attempted to consolidate our answers to those questions in an easily digestible Q&A format.

China B2B Marketing Q&A

Q1: What is the significance of digital marketing in the China B2B (Business-to-Business) market?

Chinese workforce is very well connected digitally, hence reaching it via those channels is an effective way to engage with the decision makers at all company levels. A lot of communication is taking place within WeChat, both on one-to-one basis as well as in the groups. Taping into that space can prove extremely beneficial for brands selling products to other companies.

Q2: Are there any differences between B2B and B2C?

Yes, some digital platforms are less suitable for B2B, however that would also depend on the type of business you are in. B2B sales process is generally longer and involves more than a single decision maker while this is usually not the case for B2C. Since there is practically no impulse buying in B2B, the marketing should focus on stressing product’s benefits and establish trust rather than relying on the emotional appeal.

Q3: Should companies manufacturing and distributing industrial goods invest in digital marketing activities – in general and especially in the Chinese market?

Yes but, perhaps, not to the same extend as B2C companies. Depending on the niche, B2B companies should invest in quality content that can be distributed to the target audience via WeChat or company blog.

On the other hand, digital marketing helps to establish brand reputation which goes a long way in developing trust, a critical component in B2B sales.

Q4: What are the most important instruments of digital marketing in China in relation to industrial goods?

In our experience, the most effective tools for such companies are WeChat official accounts, search engine marketing and email marketing. They can target potential buyers at different levels of the sales funnel and, if done correctly, will complement and leverage each other.

Q5: Should all these instruments be used in parallel or does their use depend on product group and target group?

Depending on the niche, some channels can be more of less effective. It also depends on where the potential customer is in the sales funnel: SEM is best for finding new business while WeChat and EDM are best for getting repeated business and strengthening brand image and reputation.

Q6: What hurdles do B2B companies have to overcome if they want to start digital marketing activities in China to reach their target group?

It is unrealistic to only rely on digital tools to grow business in China B2B marketing context. Direct marketing and trade shows should be used in the combination with online platforms.

Both digital and offline methods should ideally complement each other and be a part of coordinated strategy. For example, a sales person meeting with a client should have that client’s email recorded in the email database that will be later used for targeted email marketing campaign (with their permission of course). At the same time, that same sales person should also encourage a client to follow company’s official WeChat account, so he or she will be included in a more extensive long term WeChat based marketing effort in the future.

Q7: What is your opinion on data protection with regard to the collection of personal data using digital marketing tools?

Chinese are generally less concerned with privacy compared to Westerners but there are relevant laws and regulations that must be followed. Cybersecurity law that was adopted about 1.5 years ago is very detailed and fairly complex. Companies who collect and store personal data must make sure to stay in compliance with the law or face heavy penalties.

Q8: Which digital marketing instruments should be part of a strategy for the Chinese market and why?

The big ones are WeChat, Weibo and search engines like Baidu and 360Search. WeChat presence is a must for most brands, but Weibo is more suitable for brands that have a social element in their marketing approach. Baidu and 360Search are used to target potential customers early on in their search or discovery stages.

Q9: Is there a need for a different digital marketing strategy for the Chinese market than, for example, for the European or American market?

There is no direct equivalent to WeChat in the Western markets, and there are no direct parallels with Twitter or Facebook in China. Each Chinese platform is a combination of some of those features. Therefore, copy and paste of Facebook/Twitter marketing to those channels would probably not work.

Brands should familiarize themselves with pros and cons of each platform and adjust their strategies accordingly. For example, the requirements for content size, style and formatting are different among those services and may be suitable for different purposes.

Q10: What approach do you recommend to newcomers to creating a digital marketing strategy in B2B for the Chinese market?

Newcomers should start off investing in SEM and WeChat marketing in combination with traditional direct marketing which is aimed at building networks of business contacts at traditional offline events such as trade shows.

If a foreign company is at the beginning of their journey in Chinese market, they will be better advised to outsource such efforts to professionals.

Q11: How important are defining the target group, analysis and selection of suitable measures and instruments for the creation of a suitable digital marketing strategy?

B2B companies usually have a good idea of who their customers are and what they are interested in. Therefore, detailed definition of target audience like it is common in B2C (psychographics, behaviors, interests etc.) is often less relevant when applied to China B2B marketing context.

Q12: Where do you see opportunities but also risks here?

Prevalence of digital tools in China presents a unique opportunity to have a direct access to customers and engage them on a constant and intimate basis as long as the company can offer good value with their content.

The risk is mainly over-reliance on digital tools neglecting traditional “offline” methods that are still the most effective in building business networks and develop brand trust in China B2B marketing environment.

The post China B2B Marketing Success: 12 Most Common Questions first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post China B2B Marketing Success: 12 Most Common Questions appeared first on Sampi.co.