In the post-COVID 19 era where buying behaviour relies heavily on e-commerce, retailers need to, more than ever, reinvent their model and instore shopper experience, in order to attract traffic back in store.

LITTLE B, from The Beast group, has partnered with the digital agency Next Ren and the design agency centdegrés to create the “Little B Box”, a unique experience including a digital interactive game.

Feel free to come visit us at SCBE on booth 2N09 in Hall 2. Discover a playful retail experience mixing online and offline features tailor-made to the beauty industry. Visitors will also be able to win a gift matching their personality. 

Stay tuned, more details on the game to come in the next days.

The exhibition will be held in Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Centre from July 30 to August 1.

This experience is made possible thanks to the collaboration of partners presented below.

Next Ren - Building your digital presence in China

Next 人 is a digital marketing agency that challenges the status quo to unleash your brand full potential in China.

Our Services:

- Digital Marketing Strategy

- Social Media (WeChat, Sina Weibo...)

- Content Creation (Copy, Photo, Videos)

- Web Development & Design (Websites, WeChat Mini-programs, Native APP, Interactive games...)

Founded in Paris in 1988 by David Nitlich and Elie Papiernik, centdegrés is an independent international brand intelligence and design firm. The agency aims to build strategically unique, valuable, durable, desirable brands for local clients. In China since 2008, centdegrés has acquired a good understanding of the Chinese culture and heritage. Chinese background combined with the French creative expertise allows the agency to answer accurately its clients demand.

LITTLE B is a bold attempt made by The Beast in the field of beauty. As a lucid, lively and fashionable concept store, it offers not only a place for shopping, but also a site for exhibitions, intentionally fuzzes up the boundary between life and art, and advocates the life aesthetics of “LIVE A LITTLE, LIKE A BEAST”.

The new expo positions centrally in "Creating a New Era of Beauty Industry in Greater Bay Area" and targets at the development needs of new generations of consumer groups, high-tech new retail channels and manufacturing enterprises. The three magnates of major beauty exhibitions, i.e., Bologna Fiere, Informa Markets and Shanghai Baiwen Exhibition Co Ltd will jointly host the South China Beauty Expo in Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Centre from July 30 to August 1, 2020.

The post Next Ren creates a unique digital experience for South China Beauty Expo 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.

In this article, we will review:

• Why influence and KOL should be part of your digital marketing in China  ?
• How to define the right influence marketing strategy ?
• Where to find the key opinion leaders ?
• How to reach out and negotiate with KOL ?

Digital marketing in China: Why your brand need the influence of KOL ?

The first question you may ask yourself is why do I need to work with influencers in China ? 

In China, netizens have highly rely on the opinion of their peers to make decisions. Those social recommendations have grown in popularity and are often perceived as more reliable than media or advertising.

Building brand credibility in China with influencer marketing

As such working with influencers is first a way to gain credibility and trust among your Chinese audience. So, it’s important to select influencers you feel comfortable working with. You need to see them as trustworthy people yourself as they are endorsing your brand.

Bad endorsements is also a risk for brands. And, there are multiple examples of brands having faced backlash in China because of their ambassadors. For example, NARS, the cosmetic company was badly hit in 2018. The backlash happened after working with a KOL, who was detained for using marijuana back in 2014. As such you need to make sure your collaboration with a KOL do not turn into a PR nightmare.

Creating brand awareness in China with influencer (KOL) marketing

The second key reason to collaborate with influencers is to increase brand awareness in China. With large community on social media platforms like WeChat, Sina Weibo or XiaHongShu, KOL can give visibility to your product instantly.

However, you need to keep in mind that visibility is only a short term gain, and that your investment will be negative if your collaboration does not have a long term impact and make your brand memorable. 

A short term campaign with a KOL can have significant cost for a brand when you add up the influencer fee, the discounted pricing on product, the campaign production… If this is not done with a long term approach, the impact on the brand visibility will not be optimal.

In interview with Next Ren Shanghai, an influencer reminded brands that they need to have a long term approach of their relationship they develop with KOL to maximise the impact on the audience.

Read the interview of a French Food Influencer in China

How to make influencer part of your digital marketing strategy in China ?

Digital Marketing Campaigns in China

When you launch a new product, or want to celebrate a special occasion like Chinese New Year or 11.11, your brand will need to create a special campaign including digital content and interactive web experiences like games.

Working with KOL can give a genuine twist to your campaign and you should leverage KOL to create content like videos that will engage their audience with more impact. You might even decide to make the collaboration with this KOL the centerpiece of your digital marketing  with a co-creation.

Social Media Marketing in China

Social media platforms are the playground of influencer. They know the platforms inside out and might even give your brand visibility outside your brand social media presence in China. As such you need to integrate influencer in your social media strategy and leverage KOL support to:

• Gain visibility on your brand accounts, for example by reposting or commenting on your brand post on Sina Weibo
• Recruit followers and build your community on WeChat
• Explore new territories on platforms your brand might not be on yet like XiaoHongShu or Douyin

Keep in mind social media is about interacting with different communities, especially on public platforms like Sina Weibo. As such, social media listening is key in China to identify who is already talking about your brand including KOL as well as KOC (Key Opinion Consumers). As a brand you should have genuine interaction with their content, it will help you get some exposure and a positive image in those communities.

E-commerce Marketing in China

E-commerce is a key area of KOL collaboration as they can maximise sale and have a direct impact on your revenue online. KOL can help you demonstrate the value of your product to your Chinese customers with live streaming videos directly on e-commerce platforms like TMall or JD.

In the meantime, it is common for KOL and KOC to sell product directly to their audience on WeChat. As such WeChat has demonstrated over the year its capabilities to become a online e-commerce platform.

A successful way, brands have been collaborating with KOL on e-commerce in China is through flash sales on a limited amount of unique and exclusive product. For example, thanks to the promotion of a limited edition of 80 bags with a KOL, Givenchy manage to sell 1.2 million worth of products in less than 12 minutes.

Discover the best plaforms for e-commerce in China

How to identify, reach out and negotiate with KOL for your digital marketing in China ?

Work with a digital marketing agency in China

Part of the job of your digital marketing or social media agency like Next Ren in China is to help identify KOL and KOC for brands. They value added of an agency is to provide the client with an integrated comprehensive digital marketing strategy and planning.

As discussed in the previous points, KOL should not be approached ex nihilo and must be part of your digital campaigns, social media, and e-commerce effort. As such a digital marketing agency in China will make sure all the pieces fit together.

Use existing Chinese KOL platforms to recruit influencers

Today, multiple platforms will let you browse through KOL profiles for free or with a subscription model, like KOLStore.com.

If those platforms can be useful to reach out easily to KOL, collaboration will mostly be money oriented and evaluating the performance of each KOL can be a challenge.

Reach out to KOL and KOC directly on social media

This genuine research and reach out is our favorite method. As mentioned above, KOL research should be part of your pro-active social listening effort in China. If you are truly serious about being successful you need to know and keep identifying who is talking about your industry on social media; follow them and interact with them.

This methodology will give you the opportunity to build stronger and more long term relationships with KOL in China.

Negotiating and compensating influencer (KOL) for digital marketing support in China

Most influencers (KOL) in China collaborate with brands as a business. As such financial compensation is more and more standard. In this situation, many KOL will work with an agent that will directly bill you for the influencer service.

However, financially compensating influencers is not the only option. Providing product or experience for KOL to share and give away to their community can be beneficial for both. You must never underestimate the value of your brand and the positive impact you can have on them. This is especially true with smaller KOL or KOC who can gain legitimacy by collaborating with international or local brands.

Collaborating with influencers is a two way street. For example, giving access to professional resources can be highly valued (video production).

Like in all aspect of digital marketing in China, keep in mind you must be creative. Always think outside the box to find the best win-win deals for your brand and influencers. 

Pricing - How much does influencer (KOL) marketing cost in China ?

In China, KOL pricing will mostly be a function of the size of the community; and the number of fans they can reach . However, you should definitely factor the level of engagement; or the creative implication of the KOL to get the right price.

Here some references for brand to use in future KOL negociation:

For Sina Weibo, an influencer with a reach of 1-2 million people will cost around 30,000 CNY for one post. On another hand, on WeChat, for a reach of 50,000 people, the cost can rise up to 40,000 CNY.

As such, to build your network of KOL in China; you can reach to a digital marketing agency like Next Ren Shanghai !

Next Ren is a digital marketing agency in Shanghai.

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

The post How to work with influencers (KOL) in China for your digital marketing ? 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.

So, what are the best digital platforms to sell in China ?

1. Alibaba: TMall & Taobao 
2. Jingdong (JD.com)
3. Specialized platforms (Pingduoduo, Suning, Mia.com)
4. Social Media platforms (Xiahongshu -Red, WeChat)

Alibaba, the leader. TMall or Taobao ?

Today, Alibaba eco-system is dominating the Chinese e-commerce and represents a market share of more than 55%. The two key platforms of Alibaba are TMall and Taobao. 

First, Taobao is a generalist platform and you can find almost anything you can imagine. As such, it is the most popular online e-commerce platform in China. However, you need to have a Chinese company business licence to operate on the platform, so if you are outside of China, Taobao would not be a good match. 

Second, TMall is a more premium version of Taobao. Even if the 2 platforms can look very similar, TMall made an effort to have a more modern design and interface. It highlights the genuity of the products on the platform by being more welcoming to international brands, including cross border selling option.

As such TMall has quickly became the place to be for international brands who want to sell online in China. TMall is the favorite platform for brands across all industries. Today, important brands have their own shop on the platform like Adidas, Burberry, or Samsung.

Jingdong: The No. 2 by Tencent (WeChat Owner)

Jingdong, owned by Alibaba, is the fierce competitor of TMall and Taobao, owned by Tencent. Also known as JD.com, Jingdong has a market share of 16% of the online shopping in China.  Those two internet giants are fighting hard to gain market share using the resources of their other holdings.

As TMall, JD is selling all types of products and is very welcoming to international brands : the platform even has an English version and allows cross borders sellings without having a company in China.

Today, JD positions himself has a technology leader and innovates with high techs solutions including AI or autonomous delivery systems (Drones).

TMall vs. JD.com: which e-commerce to choose for your brand?

The selection of your e-commerce platform is key for the online future of your brand. It should be integrated in your global digital marketing strategy and be adapted on how you want to promote your product and build your community.

For example, TMall and the Alibaba ecosystem are more powerful to give visibility to your product through a SEO strategy. On the other hand, the Alibaba ecosystem is blocked by Tencent so it’s impossible to promote your TMall shop on WeChat. As such, if WeChat is a key element of your digital marketing strategy, JD.com will be a better fit.

Specialized platforms, the best for niche products or specific target audience

If your company plans to sell a specific category of products or targets a niche target audience, some e-commerce platforms can be the perfect fit and will definitely be the one to choose to launch your brand in China.

Pinduoduo - Affordable e-commerce

Pinduoduo is a fast growing e-commerce platform with 7% market share in China ! If your company is selling affordable or cheap products, this is the platform to use. With low cost deals, coupons and grouped purchases, Pinduoduo is a price-driven platform and is the place to be to target smaller cities in China (Tier 3 & 4 cities)

Suning - Electronics e-commerce

Suning is a Chinese e-commerce platform specialized in electronics and home appliances. Even if it can only be used by brand’s official retailers with a presence in China, it is a good example on how finding a platform that perfectly fits your product category can help you meet the right Chinese consumers.

Mia.com: Maternity & Baby product e-commerce

Mia is a Chinese ecommerce platform specialized in maternity and baby products. With more than 30 millions users and 1,300 brand collaborations, the platform is a key player for this industry. Also this platform is very welcoming to foreign brands as over 70% of the product are imported.

Social Media: the e-commerce expansion

Over the years, in China, social media platforms like WeChat have had the ambition to become a one stop all-in-one solution for the users, including e-commerce.

WeChat: Mini-programs for e-commerce

For example, WeChat build Mini-program to facilitate e-commerce. In the meantime, e-commerce third parties solution like Youzan (Example of WeChat e-Shop), allows brand to sell directly on WeChat. Now, brands can sell directly to their community on WeChat without having to be on a dedicated e-commerce website.

XiaoHongShu

Another example of a social media and e-commerce mix is XiaHongShu (Red) where the user can directly buy the product displayed in the post on the platform.

If you want to build your e-commerce in China, reach out to Next Ren team to define your digital marketing strategy.

Next Ren is a digital marketing agency in Shanghai with a strong e-commerce experience.

Follow us on LinkedIn and WeChat to stay updated on China Digital Marketing trends. 

The post What are the best E-commerce websites in China ? TMall, JD, PingDuoDuo… 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.