Sinorbis' From the Web includes top articles to help you develop your digital marketing strategy to attract Chinese consumers. This month we include insights from the day in the life of 3 WeChat savvy users, how KOLs increase WeChat ad engagement and their fans are converted into sales and China's online spending and travel habits, plus more!
1. A day in the life of 3 WeChat savvy users
As reported by Jing Daily.
In the West, WeChat is still a new concept for most brands and retailers, many of whom have barely used it. To fully understand the multitude of ways Chinese professionals are using WeChat in their daily lives, Jing Daily interviewed three WeChat users, about how they spend their time on the super-app.
Read more on Jing Daily
Learn more about WeChat marketing
2. How China's online opinion leaders (KOL's) convert fans to sales
As reported by South China Morning Post.
The Kardashians may have been able to create a US entertainment phenomenon by revealing their luxurious lifestyle through a long running reality TV series, but Chinese key opinion leaders (KOLs) have been able to convert fans and generate sales on a level their western peers can only dream of.
While western influencers are mostly video bloggers on Instagram or YouTube, Chinese KOLs can be columnists, socialites, photobloggers, or short video creators – and they have multiple channels through which they can become famous, including social media platforms WeChat and Weibo.
Becky Li, with more than 7.5 million combined followers on WeChat and Weibo, is one of China’s top fashion bloggers in China, able to convert followers to sales through posts on her WeChat public account.
Read more on South China Morning Post
Learn more about marketing to Chinese consumers
3. WeChat uses Chinese celebrity halo effect to increase ad engagement
As reported by Jing Daily.
Singer Jackson Wang invites you to join his car ride; actress Liu Tao wishes you a Happy Chinese New Year; singer and actor Lu Han sends you a red envelope. Since February, many WeChat users have been surprised to discover these personal messages in their Moments updates, as if they had friended the stars on WeChat. But they hadn’t. Turns out that it’s just a new gimmick by WeChat to boost the visibility of Moments ads.
According to Tencent, celebrities drive attention — the click rate for such posts has increased from 6 to 10 times.
Read more on Jing Daily
Learn more about advertising on WeChat
4. China's online spending to hit USD$2 trillion this year
As reported by ECNS Wire.
The number of Internet users in China hit 829 million at the end of December, according to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
The increase brought the country's Internet availability rate to 59.6 percent, with 26.7 percent of Internet users or 222 million living in rural areas, a year-on-year growth of 6.2 percent.
Online shoppers numbered 610 million, up 14.4 percent, and about 592 million shopped with their mobile phones, an increase of 17.1 percent. Online payment users also rose by 13 percent year on year to reached 600 million.
Read more on ECNS Wire
Learn more about marketing to Chinese consumers
5. Hilton-sponsored study examines what Chinese travellers want
As reported by Hotel Management.
Hilton has released results from a study undertaken on its behalf which, examining Chinese consumers’ travel mindset, was conducted as Hilton pushed the growth of its Canopy brand across China and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
As China’s expanding economy shifts from an export- and investment-led model to one of consumption and services, the country’s tourism sector continues to experience a major boom. The number of outbound travellers surged 15 percent over the previous year to hit 71.3 million. Chinese travellers show changing preferences, now valuing experiences over visits to landmarks and they are more willing to spend on local dining and cultural activities.
Read more on Hotel Management
Learn more about marketing to Chinese travellers
