China is now the world's second-largest consumer market. But the rapid urbanisation of a population of 1.4bn customers means that the Chinese economy is moving from an investment to a consumption-driven one at a rate that its hard compute for most people outside of the country.
Getting to grips with the unique nature of China as a marketing opportunity then, is not something that western companies can ignore for much longer.
This starts with understand the unique Chinese digital landscape. Here's my rough guide for the uninitiated
Baidu is similar to Google
Baidu is the top search engine in China. However, unlike Google, Baidu is strictly focused on the local Chinese market (Google is not available at the time of writing in China). Baidu and Google are similar in that they both offer a suite of tools in addition to their core offering of Search. Baidu’s suite includes social products, knowledge products, music, games, translation and an ad platform.
Douyin is similar to TikTok
Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok. They’re both made by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing. In fact, they’re so similar that they could easily be mistaken for the same app — but that’s actually not the case. Both apps feature an interactive short-video platform and popular influencers. However, Douyin is much more advanced as an e-commerce platform. In a few clicks, the 400 million users of Douyin can buy a product they see featured in a video, or make a reservation at a nearby establishment and receive a discount. This particular function, makes Douyin an incredibly attractive and effective advertising platform.
WeChat is similar to, though much more powerful than WhatsApp
While both WeChat and WhatsApp are chat apps — connecting you to other people in your contacts list — that’s just about where the similarity ends. WeChat has a much higher level of functionality than WhatsApp.
WeChat includes what could be labelled as ‘sub-apps’ within the platform for shopping, gaming, banking, sending money, and more. On top of this, WeChat currently has around 1 billion users, which makes it the most used app for Chinese consumers. This high rate of use, engagement, and functionality makes it an amazing option for advertising.
Weibo is similar to Twitter
Weibo is a microblogging platform that allows users to send short, concise posts out to followers and the world — much like Twitter. But there are a few key differences. Weibo has a more sophisticated in-app video streaming platform, allowing users to watch entire clips without leaving the app. It also features an ‘event’ function that allows users to join live virtual events, as well as an arguably more organized ‘trending’ feature. Again, the advanced functionality of Weibo makes it an attractive option for marketers.
Toutiao is similar to Facebook News Feed or Flipboard
Toutiao is difficult to compare to any other global app. It’s a news aggregator that analyzes its user’s interaction with content, and then generates a tailored feed list for each user. It could be compared to the Facebook news feed (without the rest of the Facebook platform) or possibly Flipboard, as a frame of reference. Toutiao boasts more than 700 million users with more than 200,000 articles and videos added to the platform each day.
Xiaohongshu is similar to Instagram Shopping
Xiaohongshu is similar to Instagram’s shopping feature, but much more advanced. In Xiaohongshu, users can explore and discover predominantly luxury goods — such as beauty products or clothing from influencers — and view reviews left by other users. Similar to Instagram Shopping, Xiaohongshu has become an incredibly popular immersive ecommerce experience for its 300 million users, as well as both foreign and domestic advertisers.
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