If I discouraged you with my earlier post on setting up a properly localised website in China ^(https://digitalculturesandtranslation.com/goto/http://digitalculturesandtranslation.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/creating-a-website-for-chinese-audiences-cultural-and-copy-aspects/), it wasn’t my intention. Although there is no denying that the language, cultural and bureaucratic barriers in China may seem to outweigh the final benefits for you and your business, the nature of the Chinese audience as it is now and as it is evolving towards the future, could very well be a deal breaker for your online business.
Why?
Because of the power of viral reaction in China.
Similarly to many Asian countries, Chinese online users love highly interactive websites and web 2.0 functionality that allows them to directly participate in the site. As such, blogs, forums, comments, ratings and similar features are very popular. Besides, Chinese audiences tend to be very brand driven and focused viral campaigns seem to work particularly well in this vast country.
This could very well be result of the long term orientation ingrained in Chinese consciousness, also known in this society as 关系 (guānxì). The strength of the community and the past links that bind them together result in relationships where they invest a good deal of effort to ensure they remain harmonious and reciprocal for life. An emphasis on long-term relationships is key to the development of trust, another very important component in the development of a solid network.
Search Engine Optimisation
MKT China estimates that in the last quarter of 2010 there were 4.02 billion search queries in China of which local search engine Baidu ^(https://digitalculturesandtranslation.com/goto/http://www.baidu.com/) had a market share of 56.6%. So, it is very important for your newly arrived business to consistently achieve high rankings in this search engine primarily, as well as in Google.com.hk and Yahoo.cn.
How?
1. Keyword Research
If language limitations prevent you from doing the appropriate research to make sure you use the most effective keywords for your site in China, try to find a reputable Chinese online marketer to help you:
• define those keywords
• submit them to major international and Chinese search engines,
• submit them to relevant Chinese online business directories
• develop an efficient link strategy.
A good translator can also help you integrate your keywords into the copy as part of the translation process.
2. SEO Optimised copy
But remember that your marketing messaging needs to be equally compelling and persuasive and cause the initially intended emotive messaging. This time, however, the message needs to be conveyed in the Chinese language, to Chinese audiences. For this purpose, you would be better off engaging the assistance of a professional SEO copywriter to help you place the right keyword phrases in the right density in the right places. This person should be well informed about search engines guidelines in order to avoid penalties incurred by keyword stuffing and spamming. But equally important, he/she should deliver quality SEO copywriting that entices visitors to respond to the various Calls-to-Action proposed by the company.
Link and pay-per-click
A simple pay-per-click campaign, which works the same way in China as everywhere else, will help you gain an initial stronghold in the Chinese online market while your website is waiting submission in the local search engines. Your traffic will receive an early traffic boost and get important information on the performance and potential profitability of your website. Again, the advice and assistance of local online marketing experts will be invaluable to help you approach the main pay-per-click platforms in china (Baidu, Google, Soso.com, Sogou.com and Bing), because, although the process is fairly similar for English and Chinese pay-per-click campaigns, the language and cultural barriers could be far too overwhelming and slow if not halt your attempt altogether.
Remember that, ideally, your Chinese marketing campaign should not be ‘translated’ from English, but developed from scratch and supervised by linguistic and market experts. Use your successful English online marketing strategy simply as a reference point but try to develop a local presence that make logic to the Chinese audience. Besides, the focus of your website and pay per click campaign, when handled by capable local professional, can be tailored towards the products that will be most profitable in China. A good pay-per-click manager may be able to find less competitive keywords and niches to increase your ROI.
When choosing potential working partners in China, try to find somebody you can rely on, trust and communicate with.
Your share strategy in China
As impenetrable as it seems, the notorious Great Firewall of China, has succeeded at blocking some international high social media profile sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter but it has not managed to keep this vast community from diving into social networking. Today, more than 500 million Chinese citizens are online reviewing, complaining, raving and overall, sharing what’s there to share with whomever is there to share it with. Of all of these users, 30% log into at least one of their favourite social media sites and most of them spend an average of 2.7 hours online per day — second to only the Japanese.
Cleverly enough, Chinese nationals have found a way to imitate the international social networks that are not allowed in China: Renren ^(https://digitalculturesandtranslation.com/goto/http://www.renren.com/) and Kaixin001 ^(https://digitalculturesandtranslation.com/goto/http://www.kaixin001.com/) replace Facebook and Weibo ^(https://digitalculturesandtranslation.com/goto/http://weibo.com/) replaces Twitter.
Youku ^(https://digitalculturesandtranslation.com/goto/http://www.youku.com/) is a video hosting platform, which only vaguely enforces copyright laws, while Jiepang ^(https://digitalculturesandtranslation.com/goto/http://jiepang.com/) is the most popular location-based mobile app, with Foursquare-style checkins.
The much talked about potential for foreign entrepreneurs breaking into the massive Chinese online market is certainly there. But the entry strategy needs to be carefully planned, researched and respectful of local customs, language and culture.
If you have relevant experience and want to share with those who are thinking about entering China but not daring to give the first step, let us know your thoughts.