(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
Introduction
In today’s digital-first world, the power of visual storytelling is more critical than ever for brand resonance. Nowhere is this truer than in China, where visual content dominates social platforms and drives engagement, trust, and virality. For overseas brands entering China, mastering visual content sharing is a strategic necessity—not a nice-to-have. This article explores how to leverage imagery, video, and interactive visuals to succeed in China’s unique social ecosystem.
- Know the Platforms and Their Visual Norms
1.1 Dominant Channels
- Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu): This platform values high-quality photos paired with explanatory captions. Detailed close-ups, lifestyle setups, and before/after visuals perform well.
- WeChat Moments & Official Accounts: Visuals here must be clean, branded, and concise, since they often live among personal content—too flashy visuals can feel out of place.
- Douyin & Kuaishou: Short-form video and interactive visuals (e.g. AR filters, overlays) are core. Smooth transitions, dynamic effects, and branded intros increase retention.
1.2 Visual Aesthetic Preferences
- Warm and soft tonality: Chinese users tend to prefer visuals that are brighter, cleaner, and warmer than the harsher contrasts often seen in Western ads.
- Infographics and overlays: Use graphical overlays, icons, and text boxes to explain product benefits visually, especially for complex services.
- Lifestyle storytelling: Visuals that place products into aspirational everyday settings—rather than studio shots—help users imagine themselves with the product.
- Optimize for Sharing and Reuse
2.1 Template Design & Modularity
- Design modular visuals that can be reused in stories, feed posts, and as mini-infographics. This improves consistency and speeds content production.
- Create versioned assets: For example, a master visual can be cropped into square, vertical, and banner formats for different platforms without losing core messaging.
2.2 Encourage User-Generated Visuals
- Visual challenges & hashtags: Run photo/video challenges where fans post visuals using your product, boosting organic reach.
- Reward visual contributions: Provide incentives (e.g. discount, features) to users whose images are reused in brand content, building loyalty and content volume.
- Localization of Visual Themes
3.1 Cultural Sensitivity in Visual Symbolism
- Color symbolism: Red, gold, auspicious motifs carry positive connotations; avoid visual elements associated with taboo colors (e.g. white in mourning contexts).
- Festivals and local themes: Tailor visuals around major holidays (Singles’ Day, Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival) by integrating themed design elements or limited-edition visual variants.
3.2 Local Context and Relevance
- Scenes and settings: Use local backdrops (e.g. cityscapes, interiors common to Chinese homes) to make visuals feel familiar.
- Local props & styling: Include locally recognizable objects (tea utensils, regional snacks, familiar architecture) to create resonance.
- Data-Driven Visual Iteration
4.1 Visual Performance Tracking
- Engagement metrics: Monitor likes, shares, saved images, video completion rates, and dwell time to determine what visuals resonate.
- A/B visual testing: Run controlled tests between two visual variants (e.g. color scheme, layout) to learn which drives better engagement and conversions.
4.2 Iteration and Scaling
- Rapid feedback loops: Based on performance, discard underperforming visuals quickly and scale up high performers.
- Visual libraries & AI assistance: Build a visual asset library and consider AI tools (e.g. automatic cropping, variant generation) to scale visual output efficiently.
Case Study: Overseas Skincare Brand’s China Launch
An overseas skincare brand entering China used a visual-first content strategy on Xiaohongshu and Douyin. They produced short “skin diary” videos showing daily routines in real Chinese households, supplemented with high-quality “product in context” photos. The brand invited micro-influencers and consumers to post their own skin journey visuals with a hashtag challenge. Over six months, their user-generated visuals grew to 30% of their feed, and the brand’s engagement metric on Xiaohongshu improved by 220%, while conversion from visual posts rose by 18%. They adapted visual templates regionally (north vs south China climatic variations) and continuously refined based on performance data.
Conclusion & Call to Action
Visual content sharing is not just about pretty images—it’s about crafting stories that connect, localizing for cultural contexts, and iterating based on real user feedback. For overseas brands wanting to make an impact in China, a visual-first approach is essential for cutting through clutter and building trust.
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!
info@pltfrm.cn
www.pltfrm.cn
