Advertising on RED/XiaoHongshu

Xiaohongshu, also simply called RED, is one of the fastest-growing smart social commerce apps on the market, with over 100 million monthly active users. RED provides multinational brands with enormous opportunities to maximize their potential and establish a strong presence in China. It’s for this reason that famous brands like Louis Vuitton and YSL are clamoring to advertise on the site. If you are not convinced yet check our previous post 5 Reasons to Leverage RED/Xiaohongshu and How to Set Up an Account

In the ever-changing digital landscape, it’s a must-have Chinese marketing channel for beauty, lifestyle, and fashion brands. 

RED helps marketers to engage and sell to their target market by utilizing a filtering algorithm that tailors material to users’ likes, which is one of the most significant advantages.

The most effective strategy to reach users is to advertise in the app’s newsfeed. User-friendly and authentic material with clear reasons to interact is preferable. We recommend to use a mix of multimedia with enticing descriptions with hashtags to cover a variety of views depending on the objectives and industry subjects. 

One of the key ways to gather popularity on RED is of course collaboration with KOLs and KOC ​​which we will cover in our next posts.  

Who are Chinese influencers: KOL and KOCs? 

Today, we will focus on how you can advertise using RED’s native media buy system.

While advertising on the platform is certainly beneficial to your business, navigating XiaoHongshu’s merchant setup can be tricky. There’s a lot to consider, and there’s not a lot of help available. Here’s all you need to know about selling on XiaoHongshu without the hassle!

Step 1: Create an account on RED / XiaoHongshu

To begin, you must first create an account on XiaoHongshu’s enterprise system. If you’re an incorporated business with your own email account, this should be pretty simple.

Step 2: Provide information about your business

After you’ve created an account, you’ll need to fill out the following information:

  • Company information and qualification: like your contact information, location, the origin of your goods, trading model (cross-border or general commerce), and business type. Also, include a Chinese business license or letter verifying your right to sell in China and proof of incorporation.
  • Financial information: your bank details, account number, billing currency, and sort code
  • Brand information and qualification: adding your brand name, description, and photos, as well as whether you’re a single or a multi-brand company. Also, I Include trademark certificates, permission to resell other brands (if applicable), and authorization to sell under your own brand.

Step 3: Review of qualifications on RED

After you submit the above information, XiaoHongshu will review your application and determine whether you are eligible to sell on their site. If all of the information you supplied is correct, you can complete it as soon as one week after your submission.

Step 4: Fill out the contract

When RED approves your application, you’ll receive both a digital contract to sign through email and a physical contract to return by mail. Read these over with a lawyer and sign them as soon as possible if you wish to move further.

Step 5: Take up the XiaoHongshu training

The completion of XiaoHongshu’s online training program is the final stage in the application procedure.

This section contains all you need to know about selling on the platform, and you won’t be able to start your store until you finish it. Set aside some time to concentrate on this – it will benefit you greatly in the long run.

Time taken to register: The length of time it takes to register is mostly determined by how quickly you can complete all of the paperwork, complete your company introduction, submit photographs, and so on.

If you do everything correctly from the start, you can administer the application in one week.

Costs included: Deposits and operating fees are included in the cost of selling on the platform. Deposits vary depending on your company’s “characteristics,” your qualifications, and the type of store you intend to open.

The deposit is usually RMB 20,000 and is returned three months after the store is closed.

Conclusion

Xiaohongshu’s unique stance as a trustworthy, celebrity-approved distributor of international products is an ideal route for businesses. Especially for ones looking to leverage the social commerce trend as part of the e-commerce revolution for purchasing superior products.

However, marketing in China is never simple. There are language barriers to overcome, rules to follow, and high costs to consider. All of that makes starting all too risky.  

That is why at KRDS, we commit to assisting businesses to achieve marketing success in China. If you require further support with setting up your account, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

5 Reasons to Leverage RED/Xiaohongshu and How to Set Up an Account?

China is one of the world’s largest e-commerce markets, with a myriad of marketplaces to choose from. Taobao, Tmall, JD, and Pinduoduo have drawn millions of shoppers to become frequent buyers over the last decade. 

Social media has substantially impacted the way Chinese consumers shop online, in tandem with a tremendous increase in mobile phone usage. Especially those born in the mid-to-late-nineties, Chinese Gen Z also called the post-90s generation, are pioneering new trends.

That’s where XiaoHongshu comes in: a well-known “lifestyle” UGC and review app that’s taken the e-commerce world by storm. You can find the introduction to RED we covered before here – A Quick Guide to Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) Marketing

XiaoHongshu, or RED, is a combination of beauty, lifestyle, and fashion app in one that allows users to share their personal style while also discovering new goods from around the world. It is the Chinese equivalent of Instagram on steroids, and it’s a great way to read product reviews, share daily outfits, get fashion advice, and find high-quality businesses and all of this with just one click to buy the products mentioned in the article. This is especially relevant for relatively unknown, small luxury brands since beauty enthusiasts in China love to search for new labels and one of the industries that enjoyed this trend are niche perfumes – The Accelerating Growth of Niche Perfume Brands in China.

Why Should International Brands Leverage the Platform?

XiaoHongshu provides a variety of free and paid ways for businesses to advertise their brand to their user base. Some of them include:

Reason 1: Brand accounts

On XiaoHongshu, brand accounts are one of the most effective ways to interact with the community. They can send ‘notes’ to fans, add photographs and videos, sell their own items, and answer fan reviews and comments.

A brand account on XiaoHongshu with the correct strategy and content in place might quickly build attention on the platform, especially if your notes are added to the ‘boards’ of popular influencers.

Reason 2: 100 Monthly Active Users

XiaoHongshu has over 100 million monthly active users with 70% female and almost 40% users being between 25 and 34 years old. If you are a beauty, fashion, or lifestyle brand targeting Chinese gen Z that’s the platform to be. 

Content Promotion Model

Reason 3: ‘Key Opinion Leaders,’ or influencers

Xiaohongshu developed as a review platform and grassroots content is still dominating. Influencers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) are critical to establishing traction on XiaoHongshu and are perhaps the most powerful type of advertising available.

The XiaoHongshu ‘Influencer Platform,’ a database with roughly 6,000 influencers, is designed to match you with individuals who are most relevant to your speciality and budget.

Who are Chinese influencers: KOL and KOCs?

Reason 4: XiaoHongshu advertising 

XiaoHongshu also offers traditional advertising in the form of ‘pop-up’ ads that display when the app is used and promotional messages that are organically incorporated inside the platform’s ‘explore’ feed, in addition to organic opportunities and influencer marketing.

Develop content for the most important Chinese e-commerce festivals to catch the attention of Chinese users. Check out how to advertise on the platform in our article – Advertising on RED.

Overseas Shopping

Reason 5: Crossborder e-commerce

Xiaohongshu offers cross-border e-commerce business for brands based outside of China and wishes to target and sell to the Chinese market. Because of its business model, RED takes care of the warehouse and logistics within China making it easier for foreign brands to operate.

Find out more about cross-border e-commerce in China

 

How to Set Up an Account on RED/Xiaohongshu?

Setting up accounts on WeChat and XiaoHongshu is frequently done in conjunction and is substantially less expensive than selling on Tmall.

Step 1: On RED, there are over 20,000 brand community accounts. Nearly 10,000 third-party e-commerce merchants use the network, which offers over 100,000 distinct products. As a result, the most vital initial step is to create an account.

Step 2: After you’ve created an account on RED with a Chinese phone number (you can also create an account with an international phone number, but your app’s functionality would be limited), the next step is to see if you can use their in-app e-commerce option. 

Requirements for setting up an account

Your company must have a business registration in China in order to use this function. One of RED’s biggest advantages as a social commerce platform is that it has its own store where users can make purchases directly from the app. Many brands benefit from this closed-circuit integration since it allows them to sell their products more easily.

The main documents required to open a XiaoHongshu account are:

  • Papers for registering a business
  • Incorporation certificate
  • Form for customs registration

You’ll also need to submit the following supporting papers.

  • Information about the company 
  • Logistics commitment letter 
  • Authorization letter for store operations 
  • Brand information Application form 
  • Authorization form Trademark authorization

Conclusion

Xiaohongshu is an amazing platform where lifestyle brands can advertise things such as fashion, cosmetics, nutrition meals, accessories, and brands that are popular with young female shoppers. Hence, If you want to reach Chinese young female consumers, XiaoHongshu should be a big component of your strategy.

More than just another e-commerce marketplace; it’s a lifestyle community where users and influencers share photos, videos, and information about things they’ve used.

That is why at KRDS, we are committed to assisting businesses to achieve marketing success in China. If you require further support with setting up your account, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

Top 5 alternatives for LinkedIn in China you need to know now

Linkedin, the world’s most popular professional social networking site, recently announced that it will cease operations in China due to a “significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China,” according to Mohak Shroff, LinkedIn’s senior vice president of engineering. LinkedIn has been the only major Western social networking platform operating in China for nearly seven years.

China was LinkedIn’s second-largest market behind the United States, with over 54 million users. They would lose access to a platform for networking with professionals from other nations as a result of its departure. There are none with a similar global reach in China.

However, there are a few Linkedin alternatives to consider for users in the world’s most populous country, and here is a list of a few of them.

⚠️ August 2023 UPDATE: WeChat as a LinkedIn Alternative in China – Navigating Professional Networking Beyond Borders

Alternatives for Linkedin

Maimai

Maimai is a China-based career and social networking platform with over 80 million users. Lin Fan established the platform in 2013, and it is now China’s most popular professional social networking site, surpassing LinkedIn. 

You may acquire access to relevant firms, clients, and investors by using MaiMai instead of wasting time on other random and foreign platforms looking for the right partners. And since China’s corporate structure is so complex, such platforms make it easier to communicate directly with the company’s decision-makers.

 

Angelist

Unlike LinkedIn, Angelist focuses on entrepreneurs and industry newcomers interested in pursuing a new career path.

If you’re wanting to invest in a startup, raise capital for your own startup, or recruit professionals for your firm, AngelList is the place to go.

 

Xing

Xing is a European-Asian version of Linkedin, with over 200 countries represented and a multi-language (over 16 languages) interface to aid networking in a culturally varied world. 

Another appealing feature is the opportunity to attend events organised by Xing’s “Ambassadors,” where professionals may network, share ideas, and seek business guidance.

 

Hired

Hired is a great place to look for a job if you’re looking for one. They’re a two-sided marketplace that connects cool companies with tech talent while also providing free professional profile hosting.

 

Meetup

Meetup is the most preferred LinkedIn alternative because of its corporate features, social features, easy registration procedures, and new “virtual interview” tool for speeding up recruitment processes. 

Meetup will keep you up to date on any events that may be of interest to you and are strongly recommended when applying for jobs at startups. It is used by 16 million people in 196 countries throughout the world.

 

Conclusion

Overall, it is critical to emphasise the significance of networking in China. Many contracts and economic ventures are agreed upon based on people’s contacts. So, if you want to flourish in the very competitive Chinese market, you’ll need to make some “good friends” who can assist you and your company.

So, regardless of which platform you choose to join, social business networking is important and may assist you in developing these contacts, which can help you grow your business in China.

If you require further support with setting up your account please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

What is Zhihu? And 4 key benefits of using it.

WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin are almost certainly the first platforms that come to mind when it comes to social media marketing in China. While Zhihu may not be as well-known on a global scale, its reputation is unmatched. As one of China’s most reliable, expert-led social media platforms, it is worthwhile to investigate further.

Zhihu, which was founded in 2011, distinguishes itself from its competitors by offering high-quality questions and reliable responses. 

Its name is derived from the classical Chinese phrase 

“Do you know?”. 

The platform’s main feature is that users can ask and answer questions on a variety of topics, from software development to postnatal care

People can rate, bookmark, share, and comment on responses, as well as invite individual users to respond to their queries. Experts and professionals from a variety of industries utilise this platform to offer high-quality thoughts. 

According to the platform’s SEC registration statement, Zhihu is one of China’s “top five comprehensive online content communities.” It has 76 million monthly active users and 43.1 million cumulative content creators who have published 315.3 million questions and answers since it began as an invite-only service (as of 31 December 2020). 

Zhihu Marketing and its Benefits

Any company that wants to reach educated professionals in China with more disposable income should advertise on Zhihu.

However, certain brands will gain more than others from Zhihu marketing. Those in the B2B, IT, or professional services industries, for example, would be in the best position to boost brand awareness by providing true value to platform users. Whereas, fashion and beauty brands, on the other hand, are unlikely to succeed unless they’re expressly targeting the professional market.

 

Key Benefits 

 

  • Raise brand awareness by organising a Q&A session
    Zhihu is popular among the well-educated. According to studies, 80% of registered users have a bachelor’s degree or more, and 20% have had international educational experience. Zhihu’s user base is made up of people who have a lot of money, a lot of spending power, and a lot of knowledge, and who can talk about more high-level, technical, and premium issues.
  • 3rd-Party Mentions Can Help You Build Trust
    Being mentioned on the platform can help your company create credibility and go viral through word-of-mouth within the community because the majority of the users are well-educated. Many people come to Zhihu for in-depth evaluations and research when they need to make a purchasing decision, making it an immensely strong tool for soft-selling and influencing long-term buying decisions.
  • A well-educated user base
    Zhihu receives around 26 million daily visits on a typical day. This indicates that it is commonly used by Chinese internet users. As a result, Zhihu is an excellent platform for showcasing your brand to a big number of educated and well-off people. Given a large number of users and the platform’s “Q&A” character, this is a great platform for increasing brand visibility or marketing a new product.
  • High search engine authority
    Many popular search engines, such as Baidu, Sogou, and 360.com, rank Zhihu extremely high. It has a Baidu domain authority of 8/10 and a 360 search domain authority of 9/10. This demonstrates that major search engines trust Zhihu material, making it simpler for the platform’s content to rank high in search results.

 

Conclusion

Asking and answering questions, particularly ones that connect directly to your brand’s expertise is the simplest method to engage with the community. Users don’t respond well to overt promotion, so content should be meaningful and informative rather than brand-focused. 

Additionally, some of the platform’s newer features, such as Zhihu Live, can be used by firms to demonstrate their competence; for example, a cosmetics brand could live stream basic beauty demonstrations.

The company is preparing to develop a national knowledge-based content platform, thanks to some recent investments. It intends to expand spending on content, knowledge services, and marketing, as well as artificial intelligence technology for better content personalization. Therefore, with a large number of high-level intellectual users, Zhihu provides lucrative marketing opportunities for brands and organizations.

If you require further support with setting up your account please contact our team.   We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop a digital marketing strategy that better targets and engages Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

What is Bilbili and Why Brands Must Consider it When targeting Gen Z

When it comes to establishing a business and grabbing the Gen-Z audience through Chinese video-sharing platforms, forums such as Douyin and Kuaishou that create short-form videos take up the majority of air. Hence, one of the fastest-growing social platforms among China’s Generation Z called the Bilibili is often overlooked.

 

What is Bibili?

Bilibili, often known as B site, is a Chinese video-sharing website where users can contribute and read “bullet” chats, which are real-time comments sent while users watch videos. Bilibili is, without a doubt, an ACG (anime, comics, and games) platform at its core and its homepage looks like any other video-sharing site on the surface, but the aesthetics are dominated by anime characters and screenshots from video games. It is because of this content that the daily active user rate has exceeded 65 million, surpassing Youku to become China’s third-largest long-video platform.

Unlike other Chinese video-sharing services such as Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent Video, Bilibili emphasises professional, user-generated material, hence earning recognition as the Chinese version of YouTube.

Users spend over 80 minutes every day on the platform, resulting in 4.7 billion monthly interactions. It also appeals to one out of every two young people in China. The platform has a highly balanced user base of 49% female and 51% male users, making it one of the most popular video platforms in the country.


Why must brands consider Bilbili?

Bilibili’s new e-commerce mini-programs debuted on the platform in April 2019. After Alibaba invested in Bilibili, it changed its online marketing strategy, focusing on e-commerce rather than user acquisition. Because of the evolving Gen-Z lifestyle, which includes online shopping as one of their most popular pleasures, it has recently become a more profitable enterprise due to which many brands are seeking to register an official Bilibili account as a means of tapping into China’s youth market.

Brands can use this platform for branding by using the “Splash Screen Ads”, which usually appear when users first open the App. Such ads were used by brands such as Swaroski to promote themselves among young Chinese audiences. Brands can also use the service to host virtual presentations and live streams.


How can brands leverage the platform?

Businesses can also use Bilibili to promote their products through its marketing platform, “Sparkle” (Huahuo), which can help with monetization by offering features like smart price recommendations, exhibiting sample work, and access to data on followers and user interaction. Another way to promote their business on Bilibili is by partnering with well-known key opinion leaders (KOLs) or key opinion consumers (KOCs) who engage with Gen Z consumers. 


How to engage with the audience on the platform?

Two of the most popular ways for brands to engage with customers on Bilibili include partnering with influencers or opening a personal account.  In both cases, it’s critical to have a good understanding of the platform and the target audience. As we all know, the majority of Bilibili users are Gen Z, who are very engaged and on the lookout for authenticity. They are savvy consumers who are well-versed in e-commerce and thus have a lot of options. To win this group, brands should work on creating their brand image and connecting it to a lifestyle, a community, a passion, or an attitude, rather than just hawking their products based on numbers.


Conclusion

Therefore, it is without a doubt that Bilibili has effectively positioned itself as a unique social video platform, with a loyal user community that is deeply involved with the creators and companies that they see as supporting the community. That’s something you won’t find on most other Chinese social media and video platforms, which is why companies should consider Bilibili as a way to reach China’s Gen-Z.

 

Your Weekly China Roundup

Growing Significance of Private Traffic

In China, a growing number of industries are incorporating private traffic into their digital strategy. Meituan, a food delivery app similar to Uber that has 450 MAUs, is one of them. Bonus fandom groups, where businesses may communicate directly with customers, are the newest additions to Meituan. Customers can find group access directly from the shop’s main page & u users are encouraged to join such organisations by CTAs implying that they will receive further coupons and offers.

At the same time, groups give users a place to express their comments and merchants a place to change their products. Meituan just implemented a new social feature: customers can now share their restaurant orders with their friends to enhance company awareness.

 

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/btw5G7GQvwOyNqgQQGbn3w 

 

Bilibili and Luxury Brands?

Bilibili, which began as an anime and comics platform, has evolved into a crucial platform for Chinese Gen Z, focused primarily on mid and long videos, and is currently China’s third largest video platform.

Beauty brands such as Shiseido and Lancome have already begun to experiment with Bilibli in order to reach Gen Z, but will luxury brands follow suit?

Bilibili is still relatively unproven in the luxury market, having only attracted a few early adopters such as Dior, Fendi, and Gucci to yet. The major disadvantage is the average age of a Bilbili user, which is still quite young. Bilibili has been actively pushing its e-commerce capabilities to its more than 62.7 million DAUs over the last two years.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/will-a-red-hot-bilibili-become-irresistible-to-luxury-brands-in-2022/?utm_source=CCI&utm_campaign=bca9179477-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_12_06_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f85454f2c4-bca9179477-408382229 

 

Why Chinese Brands’ Strategies are Important to Brands Everywhere


Chinese businesses differ structurally from those in other countries in that they place a greater emphasis on revenue growth and customer acquisition rather than profit, as most western brands do. As a result, they devote a considerably higher portion of their revenue to marketing and concentrate on hot platforms and key opinion leaders.

Since China has become the world’s factory, Chinese brands can swiftly imitate and improve what is being produced. Because most Chinese businesses do not have heritage brands to protect, they are less risk-averse than established western companies and are willing to attempt a lot more things. This lean startup, come-as-you-are strategy has now been embedded in the DNA of many Chinese brands. Everyone who has grown up in China has only experienced constant change, which has made them extremely adaptive and quick-thinking, especially in business.

Understanding how Chinese competitors operate is critical for brands in China. However, with Chinese businesses like SHEIN becoming more likely to compete in western markets, marketers and strategists working in other nations, including their own local markets, must understand how they operate.

 

Link: https://www.chinaskinny.com/blog/chinese-brand-strategies-to-watch/

 

AMX X Ayayi – the first Metahuman in China

AMX, a yogurt company, teamed up with Ayayi, the first Chinese Metahuman, to produce a digital yogurt based on user data. This digital yogurt is comparable to NFT, a one-of-a-kind cryptocurrency token that serves as a digital asset representation.

AMX gained more scientific and technological features as a result of this collaboration, which set it apart from the competition. AMX will use Xiaohongshu and Weibo to promote the idea that “Yogurt brands may also be popular and fashionable” in order to raise the brand’s visibility. AMX wishes to usher the company into the digital era.

On September 8th, Ayayi started working for Alibaba as the proprietor of Tmall Super Brand. She had her own ID card and launched the first NFT digital mooncake for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

 

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TuX2Tv6d8sgReFQw2bRIfQ 

Your China Digital Weekly Update

Why Bilibili Is the New Beauty Battlefield for Chinese Gen Zers

Bilibili is favoured by millennials and Gen Zers, who together account for 81% of the platform’s user base. The volume of beauty-related content increased by 120% in 2020, according to Bilibili’s annual performance report, while vlogger fanbases in that area expanded by 120%.

Bilibili.com, which features vloggers’ makeup instructions, cosmetics testing, unboxing videos, daily makeup advice, popular makeup copy, and more, has turned into one of the most prominent mainstream beauty marketing platforms in recent years. By June 2021, the number of beauty companies on the site had surpassed all other official account categories on Bilibili.com, with a year-over-year increase of 2,050%.

Brands like Estée Lauder, Chanel Beauty, and Shiseido are already using this platform to promote their campaigns. Shiseido boosted its profile by hosting a live streaming session with celebrities and routinely invites Gen-Z influencers and celebrities to generate product-related content to boost web traffic. Lancôme, a French cosmetics company, collaborated with Bilibili KOLs to create content to promote its renowned products through campaigns and online engagement.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/bilibili-beauty-battlefield-gen-z/?utm_source=Jing+Daily+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=f3d8479f5b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_12_06_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8dec01cd8d-f3d8479f5b-408268421

 

5 Reasons ‘New Luxury’ Is the ‘New Normal’ in China

‘New Luxury’ = the refined democratization of luxury. Premium products usually have a high price tag. They can, however, reassure customers that New Luxury is frequently still affordable. 

Chinese consumers are attracted to brands that feel unique and special. This uniqueness is at the heart of New Luxury, and customers want stores like these to embody innovation.

Consumers seeking aspirational lifestyles are more inclined to reject New Luxury brands that appear to be designed for the public.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/new-luxury-china-starbucks-apple/?utm_source=Jing+Daily+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=32135e7ef3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_12_06_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8dec01cd8d-32135e7ef3-408272405

 

China Bans Effeminate Men and Abnormal Esthetics From TV


What Happened?
It’s the final curtain for China’s “Little Fresh Meat.”  On September 2, Chinese officials announced that “sissy men and other abnormal esthetics” would no longer be broadcast on television, encouraging broadcasters to “promote excellent Chinese traditional culture” instead.

Why should global brands care?
For a long time, luxury brands entering China have relied on these effeminate faces and their massive fan bases for publicity and sales. With no clear definition of what falls under the Party’s definition of “sissy” (Is it clothes and makeup? Is it certain types of behaviour?), ambassadorial appointments will become more tricky.

Link: https://jingdaily.com/little-fresh-meat-sissy-men-china/?utm_source=Jing+Daily+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=32135e7ef3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_12_06_39_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8dec01cd8d-32135e7ef3-408272405

 

WeChat new feature for iPad

When iPad users upgrade to WeChat 8.0.13, they will gain a new feature: the ability to split the screen in half. When iPad users upgrade to WeChat 8.0.13, they will gain a new feature: the ability to split the screen in half.  With this update, they can also browse files, web pages and other content while chatting.

To easily “split-screen” and turn one into two while exploring files, web pages, video numbers, and other information on the iPad, simply touch the split screen icon in the upper right corner of the page.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/RUU3r00BIX-pWGoB2i-aYQ

 

Nespresso interactive layout

It’s very impressive when opening the article and slide to discover more hidden interesting messages.

The article introduces their various coffee drinks; viewers can view the entire message by clicking on the centre.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ncjOR17GAZhvNiqSs_8GHw

 

Chocapic Nutri-Game

Nestle developed the H5 to market its Chocapic product. The H5’s general design is reminiscent of an old game console and is quite similar to the pixel look of Super Mario Bros., and playing the H5 brings back many memories. The game screen’s protagonist is Chocapic’s product mascot, and there are numerous wheat ears in the scene.

Link: https://www.chocapic-nutri-game.fr/

 

Layout for recruitment

To guide the recruitment of many enterprises, a lifelike simulation of personal moments of friends page was created, where the picture can be clicked to enlarge, the music can be clicked to play, and the link can be clicked to enter without a pop-up window.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/EPHvdAiuu0gLyK4Rwkqe_Q

How Douyin is Different From TikTok?

Context: In October 2017, ByteDance bought Musical.ly for around $1 billion. After the gigantic acquisition, the mother company merged Douyin (International version) with Musical.ly and, thus, TikTok was born.

So while they are essentially the same platform, there are still some differences between Douyin and TikTok.

Let’s discover some of those now!

 

(more…)

How To Setup A Toutiao Business Account

Launched in 2012, Toutiao is a news aggregation app by Bytedance. It has an average of 120 million daily users who spend an average of 73 minutes a day on the app, even surpassing WeChat.

 

It’s sophisticated targeting AI offers personalized content, making it a great platform for advertising where the ads can appear in the users’ feed. Content creators get a certain percentage of Toutiao’s ad revenue along with rewards for hitting certain targets. Over 200,000 articles and videos are published on a daily basis on the app.

 

It’s a very lucrative market for brands to tap into. But first, you have to setup your official Toutiao Business Account to do so.

 

A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS TO CREATE A TOUTIAO OFFICIAL ACCOUNT

Unlike WeChat, this app is focused on content creators and there are no functions in the app that can get your readers’ attention apart from the content. The content is ultra-targeted, allowing you to reach an audience that actually cares for your content. There are a massive amount of publishers and clickbait on the platform, but you can still work on publishing great content to set yourself apart.

 

Let’s check step-by-step on how to create a publisher account by yourself:

 

  1. On the top-left, click on 头条产品 (Toutiao Product). Select 头条号 from the drop-down menu and click on it.
  2. Then click on 注册 (Register).
  3. Enter and confirm your Chinese phone number. To register with an email address click on 邮件注册.
  4. Next, you’ll have to fill in your personal information – account type, account name, etc.
  5. Write a short intro. It needs to be 10 to 30 characters. Emoji and special punctuation are not allowed. 
  6. Add contact information or your website link.
  7. Upload a profile picture and keep in mind that QR codes are not allowed
  8. After completing your profile, you will get the option to upload more documents about your business. Mandatory documents are a Business license in .jpg or .png format.
  9. The app requires you to download, fill in, and reupload a business information form. Click on ”download the file” and fill in: company name, website, account name, ID for person-in-charge of managing account, date, signature, and seal. You then need to upload the document.
  10. On the same page, fill in the URL (optional), location, and email ID to receive notifications. Click on agree 请同意. You will receive another verification ID in order to complete the registration.
  11. Once you are done on the desktop, finish your ID verification via the mobile app. In order to download the app, look for 今日头条.
  12. Enter the same phone number that was previously used for the desktop. Wait for the verification code or log in with your phone and password.
  13. Once in the app, click on 我的 (mine). Upload a picture of your ID card and confirm through face recognition. You’ll be shown 4 digits that you’ll have to read in Chinese mandarin in a 3 to 6-second video.
  14. In the next 5 minutes, you will get a notification if your application is successful or not. Once your account is validated you can start publishing.

 

After getting set up, you can start publishing amazing content immediately. Also, you will need someone to manage your Toutiao account the same way someone manages your Wechat account.

Digital marketing is very dynamic. It’s not always easy to keep up with the changes, but if you are looking into new opportunities for your digital marketing strategy in China, then Toutiao will definitely set you for success.

Toutiao Marketing Basics

Toutiao is an information and news aggregator where users can search for interesting and news-worthy content and subscribe to their favorite channels. It can also analyze and suggest a user’s interests based on their past enquiries, similar to what Google does.

 

Toutiao had 260 million monthly active users and 120 million daily active users in June 2019, with over 70% of its users aged at 19-35. Users posted 450 million posts on Toutiao with 9 billion likes for content creation.

 

The difference between Toutiao and other platforms is its huge traffic. Their AI assesses individual preferences based on interests and hobbies and accurately targets relevant content to its users, tailoring a user’s feed to include topics related to their likes.

 

The stats, tech and traffic on the platform makes Toutiao one of the best platforms to market on.

MARKETING ON TOUTIAO

1. Advertising

Based on big data and AI, Toutiao ads can accurately reach target customers. Toutiao can also support multiple advertising formats and purposes.

 

 

  • Open Screen Ads

 

Offers premium exposure and placement with a full-screen ad, providing a strong visual impact. It can also display advertising materials or landing pages in designated time slots.

 

  • Information Flow Ads

 

The most common ad format on Toutiao, information flow ads are native ads that appear interspersed in the user’s information stream on their feed. They can be text, image, GIF or video format. Also available in multiple sales models, such as CPM, CPT, GD and CPC. 

 

  • Detail Page Ads

 

Ads displayed on the article or video details page that appears when people finish the content. They also support multiple formats.

 

For more information on Toutiao’s advertising potential, check out this blog on Toutiao Advertising.

2. Content Marketing

  • Toutiao creators and KOLs

Brands can collaborate with Toutiao creators to attract target consumers through trustworthy content. Cooperating with creators who create content that is recognized as relevant and high quality by the users and the platform is good for brand awareness and exposure.

  • A Toutiao Brand Account

Brands can set up and manage their own Toutiao brand account and use it to publish high-quality content and engage with users directly.