If you are an emerging brand seeking to understand and enter the current Chinese market, and aiming to influence consumers through content marketing, there are several key points you need to be aware of:
1. The logic of “people, goods, and scenes” has undergone a complete transformation.
Nowadays, the synergy between “people, goods, and scenes” has overturned traditional norms, evolving into an entirely new approach to shopping.
In the past, it was a matter of "you finding the goods" – a quest where you personally had to embark on a search for products, like hunting for treasures. For instance, if you wanted to buy a cup, you would enter a supermarket or open a shopping app, locate the categorized shelves, find your target, explore different brands on the shelf, and finally select one that appealed to you.
Presently, it's about "goods finding you" – and this is achieved through contents. Imagine you were scrolling through short videos, suddenly got influenced by a beauty influencer endorsing a cup that she passionately recommends as a favorite. Instantly, you feel that your world is incomplete without this item, prompting you to place an order.
2. The dissemination of content information is highly fragmented and decentralized.
Previously, ensuring that people remembered a slogan, such as "Just Do It", required continuous advertising in a single location, repeated exposure in various mediums like TV and elevators, ensuring that the audience encountered it everywhere, thus enhancing recall.
However, communication has now become fragmented and decentralized.
In Q2 2023, the average number of mobile apps installed per mobile internet user in China reached 67, yet the average daily usage time per user was only 5.3 hours. Users' attention is limited, and they allocate these 5.3 hours to different apps – some may be engrossed in games, others in short videos, and some in social chatting.
Furthermore, even within the same app, different users will encounter entirely different content.
Nowadays, to establish your connections with users, you must engage on various social media platforms, using different languages to communicate with users. This implies showcasing your brand across multiple platforms, allowing users to recognize, understand, and ultimately purchase your product, fostering brand loyalty.
This is a continuous and long-term endeavor that requires tailored resource allocation based on the brand's current status, the core message to be conveyed at the present stage, and the budget.
3. There is a greater emphasis on the integration of brand and efficacy, with a more cautious approach to spending.
In the past, many of my cases were geared towards communication effectiveness – everyone pursued exposure and readership, and some even chased after a "false prosperity." In essence, a single number sufficed to report to the leadership.
Consequently, marketing and public relations departments were sometimes labeled as "spending money without generating revenue."
However, the current landscape is different. People recognize that communication is not just about generating surface-level buzz but requires deep integration with actual business outcomes. Moreover, this type of work is now more efficiently executed in China than overseas.
The various social platforms in China have matured in their commercial ecosystems, allowing users to complete all actions in a "one-stop" manner. There is now a collective understanding that content can not only influence users but also facilitate product sales concurrently during the dissemination of content.
Brands now aspire for content dissemination to achieve user conversion and boost sales, as articulated by Jeff Bezos: "We are not selling products; we are building relationships." Establishing these relationships no longer relies solely on traditional advertising methods but instead thrives through the deep interaction facilitated by content dissemination.