China has one of the most unique online environments in the world. Think of China as an enclosed and isolated island in the internet world, and this is due to their gradually tightened firewall.
Platforms you will be familiar with such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn are all blocked in China. To succeed in this unique market you will need to adapt to their local equivalents such as Baidu, Weibo, WeChat, Youku, Tencent etc., and build a bespoke digital strategy before entering.
In this blog we’ll be focusing on how you can leverage this unique and fascinating digital landscape to your advantage, as well as the main challenges faced by exporters when growing your business in China.
Watch this video, featuring Sidney & Fiona to learn about 'Launching Your Online Marketing Strategy in China'
To get started, let’s take a look at what makes the Chinese online environment so unique, and what are the online platforms to use that are absolutely essential in order to grow your exports, sales, brand and business in China.
With Google claiming less than 2% of the market share in China and the Great Firewall in Chinese network, the online environment is remarkably different from that in most of the Western world. It is therefore necessary for businesses to consider local alternatives when it comes to running search marketing campaigns in China.
There are different mainstream platforms to choose from, such as Baidu, Sogou, Shenma and more, but without a doubt, Baidu is the main platform that companies should start with. Think of Baidu as your primary advertising platform.
There are several reasons why, but the most important reason is that Baidu Search Engine has the highest market share across desktop and mobile users, now reaching more than 76% of the market shares, with Sogou being the second largest search engine which has 14% of the market shares.
You might have heard that Baidu shares a lot of similar features with Google, and that used to be true but the Chinese giant has quickly differentiated itself – with features aimed at creating a specialized platform for the Chinese market, Baidu now features solely the Chinese language, and is rapidly growing in popularity by delivering quality search results for Chinese users. The real benefit of this search engine however is that Baidu provides flexible advertising options. From standard search and display ads, to several different options of in-feed ads and brand zones to choose from.
Getting Started on Baidu:
Despite limitation for non-Chinese speakers, Baidu has clearly established itself as the key platforms for all business looking to grow their online presence within the Great Chinese Firewall. But are overseas business eligible to set up a Baidu account?
Easy answer, absolutely! But beware of a few caveats you must meet if you want to ensure you are eligible to use the platform. For overseas businesses, the process of setting up a Baidu advertising account can be much more complicated than that on Google Ads – and the keyword here is paperwork! -1.jpg?width=448&height=358&name=Online%20In%20China%2c%20launch%20your%20website%20(1)-1.jpg)
You read that correct, paperwork is what can make or break your success with opening an account. As we discussed in our previous blog “What you need to launch your .CN Website”, things are a lot easier if you already have an established presence in China – whether your own subsidiary or office, or a trusted partner.
Once the account has been opened and all the paperwork (business licence, registration certification, bank statement, passport copy – and even biometric information at times!) is sorted, Baidu will then proceed with the verification of your website.
But you got your ICP licence and all in place, right? Well, to achieve Baidu Verification for advertising, there are a few more details their quality assurance team will check – but if you have a regulated website, you have nothing to fear.
But why do you need to jump through all these hoops?
With the Chinese Great Firewall in place, the online environment is certainly a different one! There are things that businesses should be aware of when advertising on Baidu. The general advertising environment is closely regulated, more so on certain sectors like the health sector, and with ever changing rules and regulations. Anyone running a business out of China, including running a Chinese site, needs to make sure they familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations pertaining to their business and the content they distribute.
Website traffic vs jimuyu Landing Pages
Baidu has recently updated their policy to align with the China internet law. As a result, Baidu has restricted all mobile landing pages to their own platform, banning any external links back any website. This has indeed added a layer of complexity, but the good news is that Chinese consumers have quickly adapted to use the newly developed landing pages called Jimuyu (基木鱼). 
Jimuyu (基木鱼) is a new landing page solution developed by Baidu and represents a valuable asset to your Baidu campaigns. The benefits include:
- Jimuyu offers many customizable templates geared to the Chinese consumer, including HTML5, multi-page, mini-program pages
- Jimuyu also has various call-to-actions available to use, including “click to download”, “Call now”, “Chat now”, contact forms, e-commerce checkout, and “follow on WeChat” all of which are tailored to suit the Chinese customer's needs
- Jimuyu landing pages includes a plugin which offers smart live-chat support. The live chat is highly customizable and leverages AI to determine customer inquiries. Using the live chat support (as opposed to a standard contact form) you can increase your chances of conversion by 3 times
Leveraging the functionalities of Jimuyu landing pages is necessary to speak and nurture your Chinese prospects throughout their buyer's journey. Companies that are able to fully take advantage and adapt their marketing strategy to match the Chinese consumer expectations/behaviours are far more likely to succeed in this market.
How do I get started?
A key part of a successful marketing strategy for any market is to create great quality, localized content that is tailored to the buyer persona you are trying to reach. Remember that Baidu is built specifically for Chinese consumers searching and researching within China. This means that content is in Chinese, and Baidu places a big emphasis on the quality and relevancy of your content. Poor translations of your content will receive a flag notice as 'poor quality' content. Note that Baidu also prefers Simplified Chinese script, so create and localize content to use in order to reach this specific audience.
One word of caution when launching into Baidu marketing – plan for the long term. Depending on your company set up, the processes outlines above can span across weeks or even months, so it’s important to have realistic timelines and start the process early.
The IBT Online team is here to help you get started and design, launch and optimize a ROI-focused Baidu Strategy, get in touch today!