Case Study - Storytelling & Photography

Photography and hand painting are both arts, and artists always recognize each other. When Julien Moreau, Next Ren Creative Director met with Grace Liu, Managing Director of Asianera, there was an instant connection. 

Julien Moreau was amazed by the incredible quality of the porcelain and the fresh uniqueness of the design. He immediately knew that his camera could capture the beauty already achieved by the porcelain artists. So, he put his creative mind to work, to bring the branding and marketing of Asianera to the level that their high-end high-quality porcelains deserve. 

Providing Asianera with photography and digital branding was a beautiful opportunity to show how storytelling can serve marketing; especially in a digital world where visuals are key aspects of the user experience.

As previously mentioned, authentic photography is a must-have for digital marketing and the Asianera case study is here to demonstrate this fact.

Creative collaboration

Julien Moreau, Creative Director of Next Ren:

"This is a project where storytelling again was the key. The real challenge was to create the perfect environment to highlight those fine porcelains in a distinctive way, and it was wonderful to imagine these environments with Grace. Together we aimed at finding the perfect balance to stay true to Asianera’s art pieces as well as build unique stories where the viewer’s mind can escape."

Grace Liu, Managing Director:

"Working with Julien and Next Ren was a real pleasure. Julien's creative mind really helped us, and in the end, the pictures speak for themselves. It is very difficult to find a photographer who is technically skilled in the craft of photography but also has a keen creative mind.  This is the beginning of a productive collaboration and we have found a great partner!"

Discover Asianera’s pictures behind the scenes below. 

Reach out to our team at Next 人 to help you; with photo and video shooting to build authentic marketing content that represents your company’s values. 

The post Next Ren amazing photos of hand-painted fine china by Asianera appeared first on Next 人.

Let’s explore how the COVID-19 has impacted Chinese expectations in terms of travel, how they are preparing their future trip online, and finally why tourism professionals (Airlines, Hospitality, Entertainment...) should reach out to them now.

Chinese Revenge Traveling has already started

The COVID-19 has created a significant amount of frustration on Chinese consumers, especially on those with the highest income brackets. As such, wealthy Chinese plans to spend more after the crisis. Where do they plan to spend the most? On experiences and travel for a vast majority. Around 80% of affluent Chinese millennials said they will travel more after the crisis!

During the crisis, Chinese consumers have spent hours online day-dreaming about their future trips. They had plenty of time to explore in detail and on multiple platforms different destinations. Here are the key digital trends we observe regarding travel:

Which destinations are the Chinese travelers considering the most?

According to a study conducted by CTrip, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Dubai are the 5 most desirable destinations. Also, Oceania, Korea, and Northern Europe are also part of the most considered destinations.

What are the expectations of Chinese travelers post-COVID-19?

According to a study by China Luxury Advisors, 43% of the respondents expect to relax during their next travel. Among the activities considered, sightseeing remains the most popular (32%), but a fast-growing segment is interested in nature activities (25%).

Also, Chinese travelers will favor independent experiences rather than groups traveling. For example, over 80% did not want to travel in groups to visit a destination like Vietnam!

When the Chinese will start traveling again? 

Because of international traveling restrictions, Chinese travelers are focusing on domestic travel destinations for now. However, the massive numbers of travelers are showing their eagerness to travel and confidence in the “New Normal”.

During May Holidays, over 115 million Chinese traveled in China. 

For international travelers, more than 30% of Chinese people are confident and willing to travel outside of China this year. August and October are the period they believe will be the most favorable to do so.

Digital Traveler Journey: how Chinese prepare for their future trip online?

Discovery & Inspiration - Social Media and short videos platforms (Sina Weibo, XiaoHongShu, Douyin)

Before considering a future destination, the Chinese seek ideas and inspiration online. This discovery step in the Chinese tourist journey is key and rely mainly on Chinese social media platforms like XiaoHongShu (RED) and short videos shared on APP like Douyin (TikTok).

On XiaoHongShu (A Pinterest-like APP), Chinese travelers can explore pictures with reviews and comments posted by other users. XiaoHongShu is very popular among Independent Chinese travelers, especially young women tourists. Beyond travel, the APP is also used to prepare for shopping, especially luxury items that are bought outside China (Duty-free shopping).

Consideration & Exploration - Travel Forums (Qyer, Mafengo)

Once they start considering a destination to travel to, Chinese tourists will explore forums, like Qyer or Mafengo to prepare their trip and select activities and places recommended by their peers.

Chinese travelers prepare their trip in advance and with the COVID-19 crisis this habit is getting stronger. 

Mafengo is helping over 120 million users to prepare their trip every month and is a reference for young Chinese travelers. With Mafengo, they can read and share travel guides, read reviews, and tips about their destination (Hotels, restaurants, place of interest, museum…)

Qyer is a direct competitor of Mafengo, with a strong community who posted multiple articles and discussions about the places they have visited. The platform also includes trip planning tools and e-commerce features.

Purchase and after-sales - Online Travel Agent (CTrip, Fliggy, Qunar)

To book their trips, Chinese tourists will favor online travel agents. They will browse through different digital APP to find the best prices and discounts. OTA will be used from booking airplane tickets, hotels, and activities.

The OTA will be used before the trip but also during the trip to book some last-minute activities like museum tickets. This is especially useful for independent travelers who like to keep flexibility in the way they travel. After the travel, OTA can also be used to review and rate their experience online.

WeChat - The Chinese Traveler Companion - One APP for everything 

As the most popular APP in China, WeChat is widely used by Chinese travelers, before, during, and after their travel.

First, Chinese travelers will use WeChat to stay in touch with their friends and family during their trip. They will share their journey with Moments.

Beyond the social activities, WeChat will be leverage to prepare their trips. WeChat Official accounts and mini-programs are a very rich eco-system. It is ideal to find inspiration and explore potential destinations.

Furthermore, with WeChat Pay, Chinese travelers can now pay easily online and offline during their trips.

Digital marketing strategies to attract Chinese travelers post-COVID-19

The tourism industry is one of the most impacted sectors by the COVID-19 crisis. However, recovery is on its way and Chinese are a key target audience to reach out. Let’s discuss some digital marketing strategies, you can implement to gain visibility in China.

Target young independent Chinese travelers 

Chinese will favor independent traveling to groups travels. It’s a long-lasting trend that is strengthened by the COVID-19 crisis. In January, China put a ban on outbound group travel, but not on independent travel. Also, independent travelers are more flexible in their decision process, and will be the ones to start traveling first.

Grow your visibility on Chinese social media and travel forums

Create content about your activity and offers on the platforms use the most to find inspiration and do research like Xiahongshu, Sina Weibo, Mafengo, and of course WeChat. In the meantime, make sure to be active and use social media to listen and engage in social discussions about your destination.

You must be an expert about your destination and be capable to help and advise Chinese netizen directly on the platform they use.

Simplify Chinese customer journey from online to offline

Make sure to simplify the customer journey of your Chinese client. First, start leveraging WeChat official account to answer their questions online before their travel. Also, make sure to provide all relevant information easily accessible in Chinese. Finally, encourage Chinese visitors to review your activity online.

Build partnerships with travel and lifestyle influencers & KOL (Key Opinion leaders)

Give more visibility to your business by building partnerships with Chinese influencers who specialize in travel. First, you can follow them on platforms like Sina Weibo and engage with their content. Then, you can invite them to experience your activity and place when they travel to your destination. Finally, you can build cooperation with them to create some special content about your destination.

Work with a digital marketing agency to build campaigns and content in China

Use the support and expertise of a Chinese digital marketing agency like Next Ren Shanghai to create content in Chinese. First, Next Ren, a digital marketing agency, will establish your online presence on the relevant platforms. Then, we will promote your destination with the creative social media content, KOL collaboration, and campaigns. Finally to help you simplify your customer journey, we can create dedicated digital experiences like WeChat mini-programs and e-shop.

Reach out to Next Ren Shanghai team, your digital marketing expert to engage with Chinese travelers.

Next Ren is a digital marketing agency in Shanghai. We are experts in social media marketing (WeChat, Sina Weibo, RED, Douyin...). Every day, our team builds digital content and campaigns for international and local brands.

Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on WeChat trends.

The post Digital journey of Chinese travelers post-COVID19 appeared first on Next 人.

Introducing Sina Weibo for digital and social media marketing 

In a nutshell, Sina Weibo is a social media platform with over 500 million monthly active users. Today, Chinese use Sina Weibo to stay informed about the latest news, follow celebrities and key opinion leaders, and share public content through short public posts called “weibos”.

In fact, the platform is mainly used by young people with 80% of users being under 35. Up to date, Weibo users are very active on the platform with an average time spent of 35 minutes per day and around 150 million publications every day! 

Sina Weibo for social listening, benchmarking & competitors analysis

First, Sina Weibo is a great tool to measure the pulse of China and understand what the Chinese are discussing and which topics are trending. You can compare it with Twitter on that aspect.

So, Sina Weibo is a great digital marketing tool to understand the Chinese market and which topics are relevant.

Even before launching your brand on Sina Weibo, research the trending topics of your industry. Then, review your competitors, and analyze how your brand is perceived on the platform.

As such, market research and competitors analysis on Weibo is a must for every brand with ambition in China.

Social media marketing: sharing content and engaging with the Chinese audience

As a company or brand, you can create a Sina Weibo Official account. 

How to create a Sina Weibo Official company account?

First to create an official Sina Weibo account for your company, you have to click on the following link (https://e.weibo.com/register/register). Fill out the information about your company and admin. Then you will be able to upload and share your Chinese company documents to verify you are a business. It includes your company business license. Finally, it will take around 5 days until your account is officially set up.

How to create a Sina Weibo Official company account without a business in China and a business license?

Even if you do not have an official business in China; you can still use Sina Weibo for digital marketing and attract Chinese customers. However, the process will have to be done through a Sina Weibo Official agent. The cost for the process is around 1,000 USD. To help you, Next Ren Shanghai can refer you to an official agent depending on where your business is located.

Once your Sina Weibo company account is established you can start recruiting fans on your page. Then, start sharing content, and engaging with your community.

In terms of format, Sina Weibo offers a wide range of options to create content, including images, videos, articles, polls, etc.

How to recruit fans on Sina Weibo?

To start building your community and recruit fans on Sina Weibo, here are some key tactics to implement:

1. First, use hashtags and mentions to give visibility to your post beyond your current audience.
2. Second, engage on with key opinion leaders (KOL) and key opinion consumers (KOC) to give visibility to your account
3. Third, use Sina Weibo ads to target your Chinese audience 
4. Fourth, build collaboration and partnership with influencers in your industry. Then, your content can be repost and see from those experts’ fans 

How to recruit fans on WeChat ?

Sina Weibo Advertising - Building awareness and traffic with Sina Weibo ads

As such, Sina Weibo ads are a cost-effective way to give visibility to your brand and products rapidly in China.

Which digital marketing goals can you achieve with Sina Weibo?

Before using Sina Weibo ads for your digital marketing, you must define your goals to use the right format efficiently. Here are some of the goals you can achieve with Sina Weibo ads:

1. Gain awareness and visibility - Sina Weibo ads can achieve very large impressions for your brand. Leverage ads on the Opening Screen and in the Newsfeed.
2. Recruit fans and increase your community - You can recruit fans and drive traffic to your account. Leverage the Discover Section and dedicated call to action button “Follow the brand”
3. Increase engagement - Give more visibility to your post and boost discussion with ads in Hot Topics section
4. Generate sales - Drive traffic to your e-commerce website or your Weibo shops; with dedicated call to action button like “Add to cart”

What are the different Sina Weibo ads placements and formats?

Sina Weibo advertisement environment quite mature and reliable. The cost will vary depending on the ads place.

1. Open Screen Full Page Ad - When you open the Sina Weibo mobile APP; a full-screen ad is displayed to all users accessing the app.
2. News Feed Ad - Sponsored posts - The ad is displayed as a post in the user Feeds.
3. Hot Search - Promote a dedicated hot topic in this section to drive conversation
4. Video Ad - Promote a video in the dedicated to video stream 
5. Search Ad - Create a banner ad in the search section of Sina Weibo

Over the different ads placement and format, the Newsfeed ads are the most effective with good money for value; and the capability to fully customized the target audience and the call to action of the ad.

How to prepare, launch, and monitor your first ad on Sina Weibo?

Now, it’s time to launch your first advertising campaign on Sina Weibo!

Here is the process and the different steps to prepare for:

1. Select your content - What is your message? Prepare multiple formats for your content; including different copywriting and visuals to proceed with an A/B testing approach and invest in the most performant format.
2. Select an objective depending on your message and the call to action you expect from the user
3. Chose your ad placement
4. Define your target audience based on multiple criteria like fans or existing customers, competitors audience, users behaviors, demographics…
5.  Upload your content
6. Sina Weibo Verification
7. Monitor your campaign and review the performance

Looking for help you on Sina Weibo and with your social media marketing in China? Reach out to Next Ren Shanghai.

Next Ren is a digital marketing agency in Shanghai. We are experts in social media marketing (WeChat, Sina Weibo, RED, Douyin...). Every day, our team builds digital content and campaigns for international and local brands.

Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on WeChat trends.

The post How to promote your brand in China with Sina Weibo marketing? appeared first on Next 人.

Read about the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese consumption and habits

What does this means for brands and digital marketers around the world ? How will they deal with this “New Normal” ? 

First, we will define what is going to be the “New Normal” based on consumers new habits and trends we see developing in China and around the world. Second, we will see what are the challenges of this situation from a marketing and communication perspective. Last, we will discuss and suggest best practices.

What is the “New Normal” following the COVID-19 crisis ?

First, as we can see in China and some countries in Europe, quarantine and lock down is only a temporary situation and on a relatively short period of time (around 1-2 months). However, the COVID-19 will have long lasting effects that will continue beyond lock downs this year and until we get an effective vaccine. This situation will create a “new normal” and here are some of the key characteristics.

Review how brands communicate during the COVID-19 crisis

Wearing masks - A new habit even outside Asia

In Asia, wearing masks was already common when sick or as a protection from pollution. However, the Covid-19 has made it a new norm especially in China where it’s mandatory. In Europe and America, despite some initial resistance, the value of wearing mask is now recognize and will become a norm. Consumers will make masks part of their daily accessories.

No or little travel outside home country

Outside governmental restrictions, people will fear getting sick abroad. The stress of a medical environment they are not familiar with, and the risk of getting “stuck”, will discourage people to travel far from home during the new normal. However, consumers will crave for travel and will escape by day dreaming their future trip online.

Focus on family and intimate friends

During lockdown, people have missed their family and friends. In reality, they might have spent more time talking with them than in usual, but the distanciation will push people to focus on their most meaningful relationships. Also, in the “New Normal” you will be more likely to “trust” your close ones to spend time physically close too.

Social and environmental responsibility mindset 

The crisis has shown some of the weaknesses of our actual global liberal system. Topics like “Local Consumption and production”, “Wild Habitat Protection”, or “Essential Workers and duties” became more relevant with the crisis. Also, during the crisis, a willingness to make a positive impact and “help” society has risen. This trend will remain lively. And it will probably increase the social and environmental responsibility of consumers after the crisis.

More time spend online 

The crisis and lockdown push us to spend more time online. First, to get information, then to settle new in-house routines (cooking, entertainment, fitness) and finally to prepare the next steps (future travels, shopping). These online habits and new usage will remain post crisis and will push companies to accelerate their digital transformation.

What are the digital marketing challenges of the Post-COVID 19 “New Normal” ?

Communicating and pushing digital marketing campaigns to consumers who are leaving and adjusting to new life is a real challenge. Let’s discuss the key aspects digital marketers have to keep in mind.

Manage optimistic tone

After the rain comes the sun, right ? Well, not always true. In this situation, it will be cloudy at best. So, avoid adopting a “super positive” tone that would be out of touch with the reality and might even backfire. By being too positive, you might end up being irresponsible.

Be creative to contextualize the “New Normal” 

How your products or services fits in the new normal ? Are there new ways people are using ? During the crisis, people have shown an incredible amount of creativity to adapt. 

Use creativity to rethink your digital marketing communication and make sure to match the new context.

Keep reassuring people and help with crisis outcomes

Health will remain a key concern for people for a while. Illustrating how you keep the consumers but also your staff safe and healthy should be part of your digital marketing discussion.

Furthermore, showing how your company keeps helping and having a positive impact both socially and responsibly will make your client part the fight.

Be humble and respectful 

After the crisis, tensions and challenges will remains. Working, moving with public transportation, or dealing with kids and schedules will be more difficult than usual. Even as a company, fulfilling your client expectations might be more difficult.

Be genuine and humble with those challenges and in the way you approach your digital marketing communication. 

Accept a delayed impact of marketing efforts

Across all industries, digital marketing efforts will have strong impacts (more time spent online by consumers and less competition as some marketing budgets have been cut). However, the impact of those efforts will be delayed. For example, for travel, people will be more likely to be interested in your digital marketing content, but they will act on it later on.

Digital Marketing: Best Practices Post COVID-19 New Normal

KFC - Using brand elements to make fun of the “New Normal”

As mentioned before, giving context and being relatable will be the key challenge of your digital marketing communications post covid. Social distancing and spending more at home will become a new norm, how can you build your content around it ?

BrewDog Beer - Keep helping 

Like LVMH or Pernod Ricard, smaller companies like BrewDog Beer made efforts to participate in the fight against COVID-19. Those initiatives will remain critical in the new normal and should be included in your digital marketing strategy.

AirBnb - Adapt and stay humble

AirBnb management of the crisis might not have been perfect, but they have shown their clients and partners their consideration. First, they adapt to the situation by providing apartments to first line responders and when their cancellation policy was criticized by hosts, they apologized saying:

“However, while I believe we did the right thing in prioritizing health and safety, I am sorry we communicated this decision to guests without consulting you — like partners should,” Chesky wrote. “We have heard from you and we know we could have been better partners.”

To discuss your "New Normal" digital marketing strategy and content in or outside China, reach out to Next Ren Digital Marketing Agency.

Next Ren is a digital marketing agency in Shanghai.

Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on WeChat trends.

The post COVID-19: Impacts of the “New Normal” on digital marketing appeared first on Next 人.

Let’s review:

• What measures and policies WeChat implemented to protect users data ?
• Is it a defensive strategy against WeChat competitors during Covid-19 crisis in China ?
• How does it impact your digital marketing on WeChat as a brand ?

WeChat new measures and policies regarding privacy and users data

In March, WeChat has restricted access to its platform to third-party developers who were collecting sensitive data. 

Even if the category of data was not clearly specified, WeChat reminded that only need-to-know data should be collected by mini-programs. Under the new policy, WeChat Mini-programs developers now have to precise to WeChat which type of data they are collecting and how they are collecting it. 

This new measures and policies are not unique to WeChat and are consequential of China government directives and regulations for internet companies in 2019. The new Chinese regulations urged digital companies to meet new standards in terms of security and privacy.

However, these new WeChat policies can also be perceived as a lasting defensive strategy from WeChat against its competitors like Alibaba and ByteDance. 

WeChat new data policies to fight competitors during the COVID-19 crisis 

WeChat new policies havemainly impacted applications from their large competitors that are now blocked from WeChat.

For example, long lasting rival Alibaba and its workplace APP DingTalk; has seen the miniprogram “Health Code”  blocked on the platform as it could access user contacts list. Health Code was used during the COVID-19 crisis to share users health status. 

In the meantime, Feishu, an APP from ByteDance, a rising competitor of WeChat, was also blocked from the platform. Feishu was widely used in China as a work productivity tool; comparable to Lark outside of China, and a direct competitor of WeChat Work in China.

However, WeChat highlighted these new policies were a genuine decision to protect users privacy. They banned links from Tencent as well, including social media APP Friends or Tencent News.

Discover which Digital Marketing Platforms To Choose For Advertising In China ?

WeChat new user privacy: which impacts on your digital marketing in China ?

As a brand in China, you are probably using WeChat on a daily basis to connect with your consumers and mini-programs to better serve them. So, what are the impacts for your digital marketing on WeChat ?

The main impact is on the way you create, develop and update your WeChat mini-programs.

The first consequence is being extra cautious about the data you collect on your Mini-program and making sure you are not leveraging data beyond your business needs.

Second, when creating, launching or updating a mini-program you must rely on local chinese digital experts to make sure you apply the right processes and rules. This expertise will avoid your mini-program from being ban. Developing a mini-program without abiding by WeChat rules would be a waste of your time and money.

Last but not least, user data and privacy is a long lasting conversation in the digital marketing world. Since Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal, platforms have become more and more defensive on the data access they provide to third parties. 

Keep in mind that this social and legal trend is actually serving digital giants like Facebook. Now they can impose advertising spending on advertisers for whom direct access to user through data collection will become harder and harder.

Discover how to build a WeChat Mini Program for digital marketing

Next Ren Shanghai is a WeChat partner with a strong digital marketing expertise in China.

Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on WeChat trends.

The post How WeChat new privacy rules is impacting users and digital marketing ? appeared first on Next 人.

So, in this article we will review which Chinese digital platforms are getting the most attention and spending from marketers. 

• Which platforms are hot and get the most attention ?
• How does it reflect Chinese consumers behaviors online ?
• Which digital marketing strategy you should adopt for advertising in China ?

Digital Marketing Spending in China: The Trends 

Before diving into the details, let’s have a look at the overall digital advertising spending in China.

In 2019, digital advertising spendings value will grow over 90 billions of USD with a growth rate of 18%. Today, digital represents almost 70% of the total media spendings in China.

Even if the market speed of growth will decrease in the coming years, we can see the large domination of digital marketing over traditional media in China.

E-commerce in China - A key focus of digital advertising spending.

Today, promotion and media buying in China are directed more and more to e-commerce platforms. The focus on e-commerce is a lasting trend in term of digital marketing. Over the last years, brands have been focusing their marketing spending on e-commerce platforms to impact online sales directly and efficiently. 

As a matter of fact, Alibaba has seen its market share of digital spending growing over the last five years from 21% in 2015 to 29% in 2019. Today, Alibaba is generating 50 RMB by quarter for each daily active user.

Discover the best e-commerce to sale your product in China

Digital marketing video platforms on the rise - Douyin, Kuaishou and Bilibili 

Short video platforms have captured more and more time from Chinese internet users.

As so, Douyin (also known as TikTok outside of China) is on the rise and is attracting more and more money from digital marketing agencies. 

In fact, Bytedance, the owner of Douyin and the news related platform Toutiao, is now the second largest ads platform in China with 18% of the Digital Spending. It quickly rose from only 2% back in 2016.

The popularity of video platforms among advertisers is directly related to the time spent by internet users. Everyday, Douyin users spend 88 minutes on the APP. With 83 minutes, Bilibili is not far behind and even beats the time spent on WeChat (82 minutes).

Chinese Social Media marketing: still an easy way to reach massive audiences

While Tencent (WeChat owner) has seen a slight decrease of 1% of its market share, Sina Weibo remains stable.

Most marketers consider those two platforms to be mature now and will maintain their level of spending as social media allow them to reach very easily massive audiences.

With 765 millions of daily users (DAU) for WeChat and 188 millions DAU for Sina Weibo, both platforms are still very performant to reach audiences from multiple demographics and profiles very easily. Also, the cost of digital advertising can be attractive, especially on Sina Weibo.

Learn how to buy media on WeChat

How to define your advertising strategy for digital marketing in China ?

Deciding where, when and how you should invest your advertising budget is not an easy task. This is especially true in China where the platforms are diverse, versatile with advertising systems not always easy to understand.

As a digital marketing agency in China, Next Ren Shanghai will be looking at those key aspects to help your decision:

• Brand Maturity in China. If you are new to the market, your investment will be strongly different from a more mature brand. As a matter of fact, you should focus your advertising budget on one or two platforms to maximize your impact and build an audience in China.

• Target audience in China. Who are you targeting ? The location and profile of your target audience will have a strong impact on the platforms you will select. Platform will have different targeting system and tools that will impact your advertising campaign. If you are targeting a very narrow audience, you will favor multiple platforms and collaboration with specialized KOL to make sure to reach out this specific target.

How to find KOL in China to promote your brand ?

• Industry specificities in China. Your industry and business will of course be another determining factor. If you are in the travel/ tourism industry, you will need to consider some specific platforms like Fliggy or Qunar.

As you can see, they are a wide range of aspects to consider and discuss. Our digital marketing agency will help you make well informed decisions to grow your digital presence in China. 

Next Ren is a digital marketing agency in Shanghai.

Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on WeChat trends.

The post Which digital marketing platforms to choose for advertising in China ? appeared first on Next 人.

How the WeChat “Buy Now, Pay Later” features works ?

“Buy Now, Pay Later” works as a micro loan, with added unfixed interest rates. The loan can be reimburse at any time. The accessibility and flexibility of this feature is very attractive compared to classic credit bank offering.

This micro loans can only be used on WeChat platform which make WeChat even more attractive for e-commerce.

A surge of consumption in premium and luxury products on WeChat can be expected as this features will ease access to those product to a larger population.

Also, this feature can help mitigating the negative effects of Covid-19 and keep boosting online sales.

A positive impact for e-commerce and marketing on WeChat

We can anticipate the “Buy Now, Pay Later” feature to have a positive impact on e-commerce on WeChat and facilitate payment. Chinese will have an easier access to credit thanks to the platform and it will probably boost spendings on WeChat. This is a great news for the 50 million merchants on WeChat.

Today, e-commerce on WeChat is largely done through WeChat Miniprograms. The transaction on Miniprograms have more than double since last year !

Create you WeChat Mini-program for e-commerce and marketing

What is WeChat ?

WeChat is the number one messaging APP in China. Like WhatsApp, it is massively used by Chinese to send messages to their friends and family, both directly and through group chats. However, WeChat offer much larger features and services to the user than WhatsApp. For example, you can actually pay online and offline with WeChat very easily. The payment service of WeChat is called WeChat Pay.

Today over 1.1 billion people are using actively WeChat with over 1 billion CNY in transaction every day.

Review the latest WeChat numbers and data from 2020

Social Media marketing in China: Build your presence and sell on WeChat

To attract and sale to Chinese consumers, WeChat is a great option to consider for your company.

First, your company will need to set up an official account on WeChat. You can open two different types of accounts: Subscription or Service account depending on how you want to use WeChat for your business.

Learn how to open an account on WeChat.

With this account you will be able to build your community and recruit fans. Recruitment is a critical part of your WeChat marketing effort as you can only reach your fans (unless you spend money on advertising). WeChat is a private platform so you can not see and interact with all the user freely like with a public platform like Sina Weibo.

Discover how to recruit fan on WeChat

Once you have start building your community on WeChat, you can now push content to your audience, create marketing campaigns and sale your products !

Get advice on how to do marketing on WeChat from a digital marketing agency like Next Ren Shanghai.

Next Ren is a WeChat digital marketing agency in Shanghai.Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on WeChat trends.

The post WeChat launches “Buy Now, Pay Later” marketing feature appeared first on Next 人.

• The size and the growth of the WeChat community
• The performance of the WeChat Miniprograms and Pay
• How the APP help during the recent Covid-19 crisis

Discover more Chinese Digital Marketing Trends for 2020

WeChat Monthly Active User - 1.164 Billion

In 2019, the size of the WeChat community has kept growing to reach 1.164 billion monthly active user. Even, if the growth of the WeChat users has slowed down over the last months, the number of active users prove that WeChat is still the center of the Chinese digital environment.

Chinese people use the APP more and more, as the numbers of messages sent have increased of 15% in Q4 2019 YoY

Today, almost every Chinese citizen is actively using WeChat making it the place to be for digital marketing. If you want to reach out to the Chinese market, it must be done first through WeiXin. Furthermore the platform is ideal for client management and customer service.

WeChat Mini Programs - A popular solution for e-commerce

 As discussed previously, WeChat Miniprograms are now over 3 years old and have known a growing popularity among the WeChat users.

Today, Miniprograms are largely used for e-commerce and sell products and services directly to the Chinese market.

In the report, Tencent highlighted that the number of transactions on WeChat mini-programs have grown by more than 100% in one year.

As such, the value of the transactions on this “WeChat APP” have exceed 800 billion CNY in  2019;

Discover the best websites to sell online in China

WeChat Pay - Over 1 billion CNY in transaction every day !

One of the daily usage of WeiXin in China is payment. Every day, Chinese people are using the APP to pay everything online and offline, from their 7-Eleven shopping, taxi or medical expenses.

Because of this mobile payment habit, WeChat Pay now handle over 1 billion CNY of transaction every day. In the meantime, WeChat pay is actively used by more than 800 million consumers and 50 million merchants !

A daily support during the Covid-19 outbreak

As China was severely by the Covid-19 early this year, WeChat has provided an incredible amount of support to the Chinese people. 

First, the APP has allowed millions of people to connect smoothly as they were separated from each other during a main family celebration: Chinese New Year.

In the meantime, thanks to WeChat Work, millions of companies have leverage the platform to facilitate business. They use it to allow remote work from home of thousands of employees. Of course, WeChat Work provide support to keep servicing clients efficiently.

As such, WeiXin has been a vital daily tool of the Chinese society during the Covid-19 outbreak.

More advertisement and spending by advertisers

WeChat has demonstrated how relevant it can be for brands and companies to reach out to Chinese consumers. As such, the Wechat figures for advertising revenue has strongly increased in 2019 by more than 30%.

Find below all the numbers and insight from WeChat annual report:

Get advice on how to do marketing on WeChat from a digital marketing agency like Next Ren Shanghai.

Next Ren is a WeChat digital marketing agency in Shanghai.

Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on WeChat trends. 

The post WeChat – Key Figures, Insights and Trends of the No.1 Chinese APP appeared first on Next 人.

Faced with such a global crisis, brands had to rethink and turn around their communication very quickly to not sounds out of touched with their audience concerns.

What are the best practices for your communications and your social media during a crisis?

1. Listen and be reactive
2. Be reassuring
3. Help and support 
4. Be responsible 

Listen and be reactive 

The coronavirus is a sad illustration of why brands should actively listen to the market and be reactive to adjust their communication plan very quickly. 

Posting festive promotional content, encouraging people to visit public places or try a new recipe with raw meat, will go against your audience mood and best interest. Being out of touch can be a source of public outrage than can damage your brand in China.

In an analysis of the last 10 years controversies and brand crisis in China, publishing content with an negative impact on society account for 11% of all controversies.

Not only brands, but also KOL (Key Opinion Leaders) can be negatively impacted by content that is out of touch with a situation, even if it was years before the crisis. This is what realized Wang Mengyun, a travel influencer who filmed herself eating a bat as part of her online show. Because of this video, she received backlash on social media platforms like Sina Weibo. And she had to apologies to her followers and admit she did not know wild animals like bats can be carriers of virus.

Be reassuring

Brands must show their customers you care about their well being. First, they need to be transparent with the issue they are facing and explain transparently the steps you are taking to fight the crisis.

A great illustration of this best practice is the communication of Starbucks during coronavirus crisis on WeChat. 

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On their WeChat post, Starbucks detailed the measures to fight the virus. They include disinfection, take and record temperature of staff, deployment of masks and closures of shops in Wuhan.

Help and support

In time of crisis, helping and supporting the local authorities and stakeholders is always welcome. For the coronavirus crisis, local and international brands, as well as celebrities, have already donated millions of yuans and send masks to assist the relief efforts.

Outside of donations, they are other way to help and support your audience during challenging time. For example, in the case of the coronavirus, one of the challenge people are facing is having to stay home to avoid the virus spreading. And you can get really bored, staying inside for days…

Here is a best practice came from UnderArmour. During the coronavirus crisis, they created a workout challenge that can be done inside. A great way to stay occupied and healthy !

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Be responsible

Being responsible is a must in time of crisis. Obviously, do not take advantage of the crisis to sell your product or lie about their benefits. Also, help debunk and fight fake news that are proliferating.

Here are examples of a post from the World Health Organization. They are reminding that you can not catch the coronavirus from a package or protect yourself with some oil. A great valuable content to be share by online retailers, logistic companies or cosmetics brands !

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Last, take care of your staff ! They are the one closest to you and on which you can have most impact. In the case of the coronavirus, encouraging remote work is definitely a best practice and it should be pushed as much as possible in the coming weeks.

The post Coronavirus: 4 must-do for your communication and social media marketing during a crisis appeared first on Next 人.

As a matter of fact, Chinese New Year  is the most active marketing period for brands on WeChat ! This year, marketers have been very creative, and WeChat was a key platform to share CNY campaigns.  Let’s see how brands have build their WeChat marketing to celebrate the year of the rat.

Click here to discover the best Chinese New Year campaigns videos of 2020.

WeChat customized stickers

Nike-  WeChat Chinese New Year  Campaign - Case Study

Nike has collaborated with WeChat to create a “rain” of customized new year stickers displaying Nike logo, as soon as you type "Nike" in a chat. 

The animation is launched every time a user send the keyword “Nike” to a friend or in a group chat. When the stickers are raining, WeChat user can tap a pulsating bag to access a dedicated WeChat Mini-program with a lucky draw to obtain coupons for Nike !

Click here to watch Nike Chinese New Year video

WeChat tailor-made hongbaos (Red packets)

WeChat has created a dedicated open platform, The Red Packet Cover Open Platform. There, brands with WeChat official accounts can create customized WeChat hongbaos.

Users received a tailor made hong baos when they make a purchase or are part of the brand loyalty program on WeChat. User can then collect the red envelopes to receive discounts and coupons from the brands.

Disney X Gucci - WeChat Chinese New Year 2020 Campaign - Case Study

To celebrate the year of the rat, Gucci has collaborate with Disney and the most famous mouses in the world, Mickey and Minnie !

Gucci and Disney have created a special collection of products including clothes and handbags !

To activate this CNY campaign on WeChat, Gucci and Disney have created a WeChat customized hongbaos. 

When the user open the red packet he access the video of the campaign and join a lucky draw including WeChat coupons and discounts.

WeChat Marketing Games

Burberry - WeChat Chinese New Year Campaign - Case Study

To celebrate the year of the rat, Burberry has created a dedicated mascot, called Ratberry. The mascot appears in a dedicated Chinese New Year collection including clothes or scarfs.

On WeChat, Burberry has launched a special game who aims to connect more closely with millenials. User can also find special stickers and a customized red packet.

To create a WeChat on campaign for your brand, reach out to Next Ren, your WeChat agency in Shanghai and globally !

The post WeChat Marketing | Branded hongbaos, stickers and games for CNY appeared first on Next 人.