pr marketing in china

One way of doing PR in China is to go online. There are over 600 million netizens in China where a lot of people prefers reading news online to reading hard copy. Brands could leverage online news networks and portals like forums, blogs and knowledge-sharing platforms to generate quality content of high creditability and to increase brand awareness. With the power of sharing and word of mouth, news online could reach out to an even larger audience group at a relatively low advertising budget. Many Chinese media outlets, such as People's Daily and Xinhua News, have official accounts on social media to further distribute their news.

Social media is a main source of information for the public in China, particularly amongst the younger generation. They are active on platforms such as WeChat and Weibo, some of the most popular communication tools in China. Weibo is a China-based microblogging service. Similar to Twitter, it provides an instant information platform where people can share and exchange news and ideas. It is also a commonly used platform for PR practitioners to break the news. Other than running an official Weibo account, collaboration with Weibo influencers is also an effective way to do PR in China.

Douyin is the most popular video media in China now. Many brands use it to engage with Chinese audiences. Strong KOL marketing strategy has been the key to success for overseas brands doing PR on Douyin. When working with KOLs on Douyin, running a 'challenge' campaign is a good way to attract Gen Z consumers in China, as they are the key users on Douyin. ‘Challenge’ is a unique feature of Douyin which brands can encourage users to replicate or create 'challenge' content with a branded hashtag to win a prize. Otherwise, overseas companies can simply work with KOLs to produce short video content or run live streaming sessions on Douyin to promote their brands.

Baidu, being one of the most commonly used search engines in China, is also a good channel for brands to do PR in China. Besides Baidu SEO, such as using China domain for the website and localise content in Chinese for better Baidu ranking, brands can also do PR on Baidu by keywords bidding (Baidu SEM), display ad and Brand Zone etc.

Being a content contributor through guest posting is another great way to build a long-term positive brand image in China. By contributing articles on other media outlets, brands could promote their name, products and services to the media's audience and gain high-quality back-links - which not just build the credibility of the brand, but also helping on SEO in China.