Navigating Your Way through the Chinese Digital Market [Part 1]

With a population of 1.42 billion and a fast-imploding economy, it’s no wonder digital marketers have been expanding their business in China. However, in order for your business to succeed in the digital landscape, there are certain things you need to be mindful of.

This two-part blog series will look at a few useful tips and trends to adopt.

Make Use of Mobile Internet Trends

In 2018, CNNIC reported 802 million internet users in China, comprising more than half the country’s population. Out of these, up to 98% were mobile internet users. That’s a whopping 788 million people using mobile internet services!

With the rise of e-commerce services and social media, mobile technology has become an invaluable source of information and communication. Through several bike sharing and taxi booking apps, online shopping businesses, chat forums, and news sharing platforms, it’s no surprise that the majority of Chinese internet users prefer using mobile services for their everyday activities. Not only does this make things more convenient for them, but it also boosts their online mobility.   

When entering the digital scope in China, you want to make sure you’re going mobile as well! With more and more internet users signing up for mobile services and making use of apps over websites, it’s expected that the mobile internet scene will expand tremendously in the coming years.  Don’t miss out on this business opportunity!

Understand Local Apps & Online Platforms

When working in a region-specific digital market, it’s important to not only be familiar with the local online platforms but also view them as an entity of their own. Marketers often make the mistake of comparing local apps and search engines with the ones they’re used to using back in their own countries. Now while this can give you a rough idea of the basic function of a particular platform, you need to remember to view it as a separate unit that may be vastly different from what you’re used to.

For instance, don’t label Baidu and WeChat as the Chinese versions of Google and Whatsapp. They may have some similar features, but as a digital marketer, you need to be extremely cautious of the aspects that set them apart and give them their own unique attributes.

There’s a reason why Baidu did better than Google in China when the latter still operated there.  Baidu took into account several local factors that made it the preferred option among Chinese audiences, which Google could not compete with. Moreover, Baidu also has a different layout than Google and makes use of its own specific SEO ranking strategies that you need to be well-versed with.

Similarly, the messaging app WeChat is programmed differently than, say, Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp. It’s the biggest mode of communication in China, with distinct features that make it a favorable option. When stepping into the Chinese digital market, it’s imperative that you understand how the platform works.

LIMPID provides businesses with Chinese mobile marketing and translation services to help them prosper in the digital market.

Contact us at +1-877-574-2407 for further details about our work!