Online Marketing and Digital Media in China

The power of the internet in China is limitless (though in some instances, censored). Dissimilar to other forms of media, a website has the potential to reach anyone with online access, which is an estimated 950 million, or 15% of the world's population. The internet transcends counties, countries and continents, meaning market restriction is not the problem it is in other forms of publicity.

In most cases, the internet is the first place people will look to find information about a business, and everything from its design to its content will have an impact on potential clients and customers. It is, ultimately, the initial impression your company gives to the world.

Web-Design

The power of a good website in China is unbeatable. It can raise your businesss profile, making it look more prestigious, competent and successful. Conversely, it can also give your company a tawdry, unwelcoming, even laughable appearance.

When setting up a business in China, it is recommended you have a dual-language website, making it available in both English and the indigenous tongue. This will maximise your companys potential, ensuring you do not ostracise any otherwise lucrative markets.

It may even be necessary to give your site a complete aesthetic and navigational make-over for your new market. Tailoring a website to an audience is imperative, and just as you will be reconsidering your marketing and advertising strategies to accommodate a new market, your website should naturally follow suit.

Online Marketing

There's much to contemplate about online marketing in China. The problem is, if you dont know much about the internet or websites, its hard to find your way around the subject. Generally speaking, online marketing is a dark art; an esoteric language known only by the inner-circle who practice it.

However, once you know the basics, you can at least decide what you want, how to get it, and see if it works for your business. So lets not waste anymore time, here are the basics.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is a subject shrouded in mystery, but the fundamental objective is getting your website at the top of internet searches. For instance, if someone was to type insurance in France into Google, you would ideally want your insurance website to be either top of the results page, or at the very least on page-one.

There are many different types of website design options, all varying in price from as little as a few hundred pounds to as much as hundreds of thousands. Obviously if you go to a website design company, as opposed to a freelance designer, you can expect to pay a lot more. It also all depends on how complex you want the site to be, and the impression you want your product or service to generate.

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising and Google AdWords allows you to place an advert on the right-hand-side of a search engine result pages, and you only pay when a user clicks on your advert, opening your website. The advantages are vast. You can track how many people click on your advert, what they are searching for and when they do it. It is an easy way to measure and track how much you spend too.

Pay Per Click is also an advantageous way of advertising directly to your audience. You can target local, regional or national audiences in any language.

For more information on optimisation and enhancement of your online media, you can speak to a PPC agency, among the best of which can be found right here.

Logos & Digital Branding

Behind every successful product or service is a good brand. Something recognisable and trustworthy. Something which keeps customers both satisfied and returning. Brand-building is more than just an eye-catching logo; it encompasses everything from customer service to company values. It should connote and reflect everything exemplary and idiosyncratic about your business and customers, capturing that inimitable essence which separates you from the rest.

"But wait!" we hear you shout. "I've already got a great brand! So successful, in fact, that I'm expanding overseas! What could you possibly want to tell me about branding!?"

Good question. But if you haven't realised by now, cultural sensitivity in China is a pretty major factor. And it's not just words and etiquette that have a profound impact on your business's success. Indeed, the very symbols and logos you choose to employ can also increase or negate the profitability of your operations too.

And it always comes back to research. Unlike in the UK, where pretty much anything goes, and symbols and images rarely connote things like misfortune or propitiousness, the same cannot be said for foreign countries. Here in the UK, we dont take symbols of luck and adversity too literally: its all horse-shoes, rabbit feet and walking under ladders.

People more prevalently steeped in the historicism and traditions of their country, however, generally perpetuate the superstition and iconicity of the generations that preceded them. This often includes such simple things as colours, shapes and numbers. For instance, using the colour red in China is a sign of virtuousness; use white, however, and youre symbolising death.

So, before you start blindly brand-building in your country of expansion, remember to always juxtapose any logos and motifs with the culture you are entering.