Numbers to dream about - 84% of your target market in one place
How to market to Chinese in Australia (and the world!) – Some Tricks to Help You It sounds too good to be true! Well yes and no. If you are targeting the Chinese market in Australia, 84% of them are on WeChat. Extrapolate that to China and WeChat is a super tool that you can’t ignore – used correctly, it may supercharge your sales.
But your competitors won’t ignore it either! So you have to be strategic.
Why WeChat is a Must
The Lowy Institute undertook a survey in 2021 in Australia and ascertained that 84% of Chinese in Australia get their news and information from WeChat marketing. The numbers stack up whether you are selling something to local Chinese in Australia or wanting to get in front of their mainland friends.
Described as the “one app to rule them all” by Harvard Business Review, WeChat impacts every facet of life for most Chinese: work, health, travel, food, entertainment, education, arts, finance/investment, purchasing, pets, government, even politics (if you are in Australia that is).
Many people make purchases directly in WeChat – you need to make it easy for them to find you and buy.People in WeChat circles will check out your brand or service and pay attention to influencer or friend recommendations too. If they can find you! Overall you need to develop a strategy.
Get me on WeChat!
If you are a business, retailer, tourism site, beauty or health service, financial or advisory services provider, real estate business, educator, arts entity, or organisation with interests or market in China (or want one), you should consider WeChat. We’d like to share a few tricks to help you get onto WeChat and to make the most of it.
You should immediately set up a personal account so you can delve into the WeChat marketing world (it’s free).
How to market on WeChat
Once you’ve chosen your ideal account type (and seek our help if you’re still not sure), you need to get the word out there! The account will have a QR code (example below) You can scan it and follow – put it on all your marketing materials (especially Chinese facing ones) so your target audience can follow too.
Example: QR code for Chinsight
It is especially important if you are a brand aiming to get into China that you build up awareness at home first. If the local Chinese find and like your offering, they’ll promote and even send the product to China.
Make sure the content is relevant and interesting to your audience and use attractive layouts, readable fonts and appropriate images to capture their eyeballs.
Allocate some budget for promotion and influencers to drive traffic. For example, run some collaborations with other official accounts. Make sure to reach out to all your contacts, stakeholders, clients, etc. and get them to follow and repost content.Beware of censorship; content that is controversial or perceived to be sensitive to China will be deleted.
Make a special offer (especially before and during festivals) and track purchases or queries with a code or coupon). Monitor data and respond to messages and comments.
Don’t leave it too long, the competition is hotting up and if the Chinese are on your radar, WeChat shouldn’t be ignored.
Glossary to help
Post – What is published - each post can contain multiple articles.
Personal account – or personal contact account, similar to your WhatsApp and Messenger accounts.
KOL (Key Opinion Leaders) – Professional accounts with large numbers of followers and specialising in one market.
QR code – we are all familiar with this device now used when we register to dine out – a QR code can also link to a website or WeChat account.
Mini program – sub-applications that include tools to use in daily life where you don’t have to leave the WeChat app, e.g. ordering food deliveries.
Moments – similar to Instagram, individuals can post content to generate the feed for their followers, including text, images, videos, and re-posts of other articles.
WeChat Groups – you can create your WeChat group or join other WeChat groups. If you are running your own business, creating a personal account and setting up some WeChat groups may be the fastest way to know your customers and let them know you!
Tencent – one of the behemoths ruling China’s media. Its products include WeChat, QQ, Tencent Video, QQ music, plus a variety of mobile games, etc.
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Written by Rebecca Song
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