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Introduction
As short-video content continues to dominate China’s digital landscape, it presents a significant opportunity for overseas brands to build deeper connections with local consumers. Whether it’s leveraging short-form platforms like Douyin or integrating videos within e-commerce, a well-executed short-video ad campaign can boost brand recognition and drive conversions. This article explores essential strategies that overseas brands can adopt to maximize their short-video advertising efforts in China.
1. Tailoring Content for Local Preferences
1.1 Understanding the Chinese Consumer’s Digital Behavior
- Mobile-First Culture: The majority of Chinese consumers engage with short-video content on mobile devices. Brands must design their ads to be optimized for mobile, ensuring easy navigation and quick load times.
- Preference for Entertainment: Chinese audiences favor light, entertaining content over hard-selling ads. To increase viewer retention, overseas brands should integrate humor, cultural references, and interactive elements into their videos.
1.2 Adapting to Local Trends and Challenges
- Leveraging Popular Hashtags and Challenges: Staying on top of trending topics, challenges, and hashtags can amplify the reach of short-video ads. Participating in challenges not only boosts visibility but also aligns your brand with local cultural moments.
- Localization of Themes: Ensuring that ad content reflects local festivities, holidays, and values is critical to making the message resonate with Chinese consumers. For instance, adapting your brand’s messaging to align with Chinese New Year traditions can increase the relevance of your ads.
2. Integrating E-Commerce Features for Seamless Purchases
2.1 Shoppable Ads on Short-Video Platforms
- Instant Purchase Features: Platforms like Douyin offer integrated e-commerce functionalities that allow users to purchase products directly from the video. Overseas brands should use these features to streamline the customer journey and drive immediate conversions.
- Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): A strong CTA in your short-video ad can encourage consumers to take the next step. Whether it’s “swipe up to shop” or “click here to buy,” a well-placed CTA ensures that your ad doesn’t just attract views, but also drives action.
2.2 Time-Limited Offers and Discounts
- Creating Urgency: Short-video ads are perfect for promoting limited-time offers or flash sales, which generate a sense of urgency among consumers. Brands can increase sales by offering exclusive discounts for viewers who make a purchase directly from the ad.
- Bundling Products: Using short-video ads to promote product bundles with special pricing can encourage larger purchases, which is an effective strategy for increasing average order value (AOV).
3. Collaborating with Influencers to Amplify Reach
3.1 Selecting the Right Influencer for Your Brand
- Aligning with Niche Influencers: While celebrities may offer wide reach, niche influencers often foster more authentic engagement. Overseas brands should partner with influencers whose content style, voice, and values align with their brand to build trust with local consumers.
- Micro-Influencers for Cost-Effective Campaigns: Micro-influencers with highly engaged audiences offer a cost-effective way to promote short-video ads. These influencers often generate better engagement and conversions, especially when targeting specific demographics.
3.2 Setting Clear Objectives for Influencer Campaigns
- Performance Metrics: When working with influencers, it’s important to define KPIs, such as the number of clicks, conversions, or brand mentions. Clear performance metrics help evaluate the success of your campaign and fine-tune future efforts.
- Cross-Platform Campaigns: Encouraging influencers to cross-promote your short-video ads on platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu ensures that your content reaches a wider audience beyond just Douyin.
4. Data-Driven Optimization for Continuous Improvement
4.1 Leveraging Analytics for Video Performance
- Engagement Metrics: Overseas brands should monitor critical metrics like view duration, click-through rate (CTR), and shares to determine how well their short-video ads are performing. Analyzing these metrics helps brands understand audience preferences and optimize future campaigns.
- Heatmap Analysis: Heatmaps can reveal which parts of the video attract the most attention, enabling brands to adjust their video content to keep viewers engaged from start to finish.
4.2 A/B Testing for Better Results
- Test Different Formats and Styles: A/B testing allows you to experiment with different video formats, lengths, and CTAs to identify which resonates best with your target audience. This iterative process ensures your short-video ads continuously improve over time.
- Refining Targeting Parameters: Using data from previous campaigns, brands can refine their targeting parameters to reach the right audience more effectively. For example, adjusting targeting to focus on specific age groups, interests, or geographic locations can improve ad performance.
Case Study: A Global Fashion Brand’s Successful Douyin Campaign
A global fashion brand launched a short-video ad campaign on Douyin, partnering with top influencers to showcase their new summer collection. Through a combination of shoppable videos, influencer-driven content, and limited-time offers, the campaign generated over 1 million views and a 150% increase in sales during the first week. By leveraging analytics to optimize the campaign and create engaging, culturally relevant content, the brand achieved both high engagement and conversions.
Conclusion
To succeed with short-video advertising in China, overseas brands need to craft culturally relevant content, optimize their campaigns for mobile and e-commerce, and use data insights to drive continuous improvement. Collaborating with influencers and adapting to local trends will help brands amplify their reach and connect with Chinese consumers.
PLTFRM is an international brand consulting agency that works with companies such as Red, TikTok, Tmall, Baidu, and other well-known Chinese internet e-commerce platforms. We have been working with Chile Cherries for many years, reaching Chinese consumers in depth through different platforms and realizing that Chile Cherries’ exports in China account for 97% of the total exports in Asia. Contact us, and we will help you find the best China e-commerce platform for you. Search PLTFRM for a free consultation!
