Digital Ecosystem in China

Global brands are flooding into China since the country has become one of the largest consumer markets. Many have realized that they cannot directly borrow the most popular digital marketing practices in the United States to apply in China. For example, email marketing is pretty much nonexistent in China at least in the B2C market. Chinese people prefer to use social media messengers rather than emails to communicate with each other--first a messenger called QQ (developed by Tencent), and now WeChat (also developed by Tencent). Even in professional settings, people in China use WeChat to make external connections or discuss issues with colleagues (in a group chat). 

For a global marketer, there are three internet giants they must know: BAT, which is short for Baidu (search engine), Alibaba (e-commerce) and Tencent (social media). And the "B" is changing. Some people argue it will become a double B--Baidu and Bytedance while others predict Bytedance will replace Baidu in the online advertising space. Bytedance owns an online news aggregator Jinri Toutiao and a short video app TikTok. 

In the United States, online advertising is dominated by Google and Facebook. But in China, search engine is in a weaker position. Alibaba and Tencent are currently the winners and Bytedance is catching up. Consumers don't use search engines to search for what they are interested in buying. If they want anything, they directly go to Alibaba or JD.com. Where do they see things they want? On WeChat or TikTok. 

WeChat is a unique combination of a messenger, social media (the Moments function equals Facebook), and an e-wallet. It has nearly 900 million monthly users and cannot be ignored if anyone is serious about reaching Chinese consumers. Numerous luxury brands, including Longchamp, Gucci, Michael Kors and Fendi, have already released mini-programs. In 2017, digital marketing company Yext incorporated WeChat's mini-programs. 

It would be interesting to see whether and when global marketers would start incorporating TikTok in their marketing strategy to leverage its 500 million active users. 

Interesting reads:

Learning From China's Digital Disrupters

https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/learning-from-chinas-digital-disrupters/

Bytedance Will Take Over B In China's BAT

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-tech-breakingviews/breakingviews-bytedance-will-take-over-b-in-chinas-bat-idUSKCN1OR07Q

While The Rest of the World Tries to "Kill Email" In China, It's Always Been Dead

https://qz.com/984690/while-the-rest-of-the-world-tries-to-kill-email-in-china-its-always-been-dead/

For Brands, Alibaba Is The Gateway To China And Chinese Consumers

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hendriklaubscher/2018/06/28/brands-alibaba-is-the-gateway-to-china-chinese-customers/#7ed1dee01658