stephen的博客

5 reasons why user behaviors in China are different.

1. Rarely use text messages or email in daily life

What do they use instead of text messages and email?

Answer: WeChat

2. Use Alipay and WeChat Pay mainly to pay online/offline.

I was in Shanghai last year.

I didn’t spend any of the cash I brought.

99% of the transactions were done through WeChat Pay.

3. One app rules all.

Yes, you can do many things on WeChat

8 out of 10 marketing leaders probably don’t know this. 

Are you one of them? 

People might think the Greater China (Mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong) areas have the same internet landscape. 

It is not true.

Let me list popular applications in each area.

1. Taiwan: Line (an instant message app), Facebook, and Google.
2. Hong Kong: WhatsApp, Facebook, and Google.
3. Macau: WeChat, Facebook, and Google.
4. Mainland China: WeChat, Baidu (search engine in China), and Weibo (Twitter in China).

LinkedIn marketing is not just about posting your content.

The content is just part of the system, but not all. 

You need to engage your target audience proactively.👇

They are two ways to engage.

1. Through posts or article comments to have a conversation.

2. Through DM to have a conversation. 

In LinkedIn marketing, the content serves as a tool.

Use content as a resource to start a conversation.

Many B2B companies post content and wait for leads to come.

They do it wrong!

One HUGE B2B digital marketing mistake to avoid at all costs. 

If you fail to do this…

All your digital marketing efforts will be gone.👇

One of the B2B digital marketing goals is to generate sales leads.

When the leads are generated, the marketing team thinks their job is done. 

Wrong!

There is one last mile they need to finish.

That is…

Make sure those leads are safely passed to the sales team.  

More importantly, the sales team will follow up.

Don’t hard-sell in B2B digital marketing campaigns.

It rarely works. 

The end goal of B2B digital marketing is to generate sales.👇 

But, to achieve the goal, it is crucial to focus on…

How to develop a relationship with potential clients.

Here is why.

No relationship => No trust => No conversation => No deal

B2B potential clients rarely make a purchase, just because they saw online promotion ads.

You always need to have a conversation with them to close the deal. 

The sales team has the BIGGEST stereotype for the B2B marketing team.

The B2B marketing team only knows the market data.

They don’t know the market, aka customers.  
 
B2B Marketing leaders should talk to clients with the sales team frequently.

Why?

You can only know if your marketing messaging is right by talking to clients. 

Yes, you can analyze data to know the answers. 

But there is some information the data can’t tell you, such as…

Why is my marketing messaging not working?

How to launch digital marketing campaigns easier in China?

Having a business entity in China will help tremendously.

Why?👇

Unlike in the US, many digital channel promotions and setups in China require Chinese business licenses.  

You will need a business license at least to:

1. Hosting a website in China.
2. Set up a company WeChat account.
3. Use Baidu ads.
4. Sell in the e-commerce marketplace. 

…and more.

Of course, you can always use a third-party business license as a workaround.

B2B digital marketing is

- 10% creativity
- 40% data-driven decisions
- 50% systems

Sadly, most people fail in data-driven decisions and systems.

Agree or disagree?

2023 was a tough year for marketing agency space.

Fortunately, our B2B digital marketing business was growing last year.

I don’t think we were just lucky.

Here are 5 things I learned in 2023

You don't need shining B2B digital marketing tactics.

Go find your:

- True fans who have the problems you can really solve.
- True value propositions that can really resonate with your fans.
- True offering that your fans can’t refuse.

Shing B2B digital marketing tactics won’t help you get good results.

Truly knowing your fans, value proposition, and offers will get you there…

Even with old-fashioned B2B digital marketing tactics, i.e., SEO and email marketing.

Don’t bark up the wrong tree.