With 2023 fast approaching, now is the perfect time to focus on your existing digital marketing assets and consider what you can do in China. After all, digital marketing success in China relies on having slick, UX-optimised, engaging digital channels that meet the high expectations of Chinese customers.

Why you need to keep optimising your Chinese digital marketing

The Chinese technological landscape is constantly evolving and it’s notably already further ahead than in Western markets, particularly when it comes to social media, streaming and AR / VR. Chinese customers are also highly engaged with their smartphones, often spending hours on them each day to shop, engage, network, learn, and be entertained.

Once your brand has built its digital asset – whether that’s a website, app, or social media presence – it must constantly optimise and invest in it. Algorithms change, underlying technologies update and new features are released all of the time – especially in China. Without regular checks you may also find that some features have broken in your digital ecosystem without you even realising it – so those analytics are essential to see where your bounce rate has changed.

How to conduct an effective year-end optimisation review

Here are some steps to carry out a year-end optimisation review with ease:

1. Review your analytics

All commercial online platforms in China have analytics attached to them in the back end, whether that’s Baidu for your search advertising campaigns or WeChat for your social media engagement. Build reports that give you the data and insights you need to see where your digital channels are working, and where they need attention. 

2. Assess targeted actions

If your analytics have identified possible issues on your website or app, it’s time to take action. Find pages with a high bounce rate and check that everything is working as it should – implementing fixes where you find errors. This is vital because Chinese customers are demanding and will be unlikely to return if they experience a broken customer journey.

3. Upgrade your Baidu SEO

Now is also a great time to review your Baidu SEO and make any necessary additions across your Chinese site. Check that you have a regular content flow with targeted keywords, add your metas, tag your images, localise your services and carry out the back-end tweaks and upgrades needed to place highly on your target SERP pages on Baidu. Run a speed test too to make sure your assets are loading quickly enough. A slow-performing website will immediately turn off your Chinese customers.

4. Review your online advertising

If you are running ongoing PPC advertising campaigns on Baidu and other platforms, now is the time to check that they are still delivering the desired returns. If not, rebalance your campaigns and try something new. The PPC experts at MarketMe China can assist with this process, to get better results from your online advertising budget.

5. Work on your UX

Did you know that Chinese customers flow through websites and apps in a different way than Western audiences? If you haven’t built these digital assets with your audience in mind, now is the time to do your research and check that the overall Chinese user UX is hitting the mark. This can be done through a piece of focused user research, and it could be a good piece of work to plan now for early 2023, especially if you have recently developed a new site or app. Remember too that your Chinese website must be optimised for smartphone usage, as a majority of Chinese customers will access online content on the go, via their phones.

6. Ask, ‘is my localisation’ sufficient?

If you have a Chinese language translation on your Western website, analyse whether it is correct and working as it should. If you have made further attempts to localise your content – are they working for your audience? Do you have the native digital marketing skills needed for a Chinese language speaker to confidently assess your content and confirm that it hits the mark? Localisation is the key to engagement with your new Chinese audience, who will expect sophistication and clear efforts from your brand. Don’t risk a clumsy mistake, whether that’s with your brand or content localisation.

7. Add some seasonal content

Now is a great time to add fresh, seasonal content to your Chinese social media channels, your website, your app and any other marketing campaigns. Use motion graphics, carefully-chosen symbols, icons and colours, and warm messaging to convey your wishes for a fantastic Christmas and a happy new year. If you can personalise these messages then all the better!

8. Throw in an incentive

Once you’ve done the hard work to check that your digital assets are performing as they should be, why not run a seasonal competition or special offer to check that your ecosystem is performing as it should be? A digital shareable such as a festive wallpaper, stickers or selfie filter can work well with Chinese customers, or you could offer promo codes that are unlocked by playing a festive game. Launch the promo through your network and assess the performance results to ensure every platform and channel is working as it should be.

Get the help you need!

Chinese digital marketing success can be tricky because the digital landscape in China is so advanced, ever-evolving and hugely complex. It’s also not made any easier for Western marketers with the language barrier! But Market Me China is here to help you navigate Chinese digital marketing with success, and to build your brand successfully in this lucrative, sophisticated and vast market.

Whether you are looking to review your existing assets, launch a seasonal campaign or plan ahead for 2023, our team of native language speakers and digital marketing professionals are here to help you. We work flexibly, evidence our results and work with businesses from across all industries to achieve measurable returns. Please contact us in the first instance to find out more.