How Do Wechat Mini-programs Boast KOL Sales Campaigns?

Wechat offers wechat mini-programs in its exosystem which can help the users in generating more sales for their businesses. Wechat mini-programs can help in setting up a Wechat store or a Wechat shop. Through the use of Wechat mini-programs, KOLs can help improve the sales by promoting it on their platform.

WECHAT PAY REVIEW: CUSTOMER REACH AND USAGE

It started to be a simple chat application a few years back, now WeChat (or commonly known as Weixin in Chinese) has grown as a leading platform in the market that connects a significant number of businesses to customers and customers to services across the globe.

The Chinese mobile payment market has prospered very fast, and WeChat is now being considered as a one-stop social messaging platform. Tencent, the owner of the booming social messaging application, developed a mobile payment service called WeChat Pay. Since its commencement in the market last 2013, there are exceeding 300 million users who connected their credit card details to their respective WeChat accounts and have started to enjoy the perks.

Instant Electronic Wallet

As payment has been integrated into the social messaging platform, users can now easily pay their bills through their mobile phones ranging from QR Code Payments, In-App Web-Based Payments, Quick Pay, and even Native In-App Payments. Customers are given the options per payment situation.

This eventually led to the merging of QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay, which made the duo rank second on the list of payment systems in China.

All-in-one Payment Method

What is good about WeChat Pay is the application being user-friendly and easy to use that adds up to a great user experience for shoppers, especially when doing money transfers. It is simple that a user does not need to be directed to external websites just to complete the process.

More than the ease of process, the booming payment app has also a number of promotional discounts and incentives to its customers.

Acceptance of the Chinese Market

Though Alipay is the current number 1 payment system in China (owned by Ant Financial Services Group), WeChat pay is proud to express that with its almost five years of existence in the market, it has managed to achieve at least 33% of the Chinese market.
Indeed, WeChat is advancing the game and is catching up with its close rival, Alipay with at least 39% users.

WeChat Pay Core Functions

WeChat Pay’s core function is to aid users when doing bill payments, money transfers, eCommerce payments, ticket purchases, hotel bookings, product purchases, investment and funds management, and many others. Additionally, consumers can receive discount vouchers from sellers, which they can use and utilize to make the most out of their shopping experience.
The app is available in more than 20 countries like China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, UK, and the like.

WeChat Pay and Its Benefits

A growing number of Chinese people are traveling outside the country, more and more Chinese buyers purchase items overseas, as well as ease of conversion of foreign currencies to the Chinese yuan — through WeChat Pay, the user can do all of the aforementioned with just a few clicks away.

More than that, WeChat Pay supports major currencies worldwide such as the British Pound, Hong Kong Dollar, US dollar, Japan Yen, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, South Korean Won, and the Euro.

Now there is nothing to worry about unsupported currencies since the payment can be made through US dollar.

The App Closes the Gap

The one-stop app has made messaging, voice calls, and online shopping possible. It also opened the way for users of all ages. Moreover, WeChat Pay can also be used as a payment preference in physical stores.

Furthermore, the app closes the gap between sellers and buyers. It makes the process smooth and simple. This results in brands seeing the importance of adopting the payment app as a significant part of their business, especially in marketing and customer engagement.

Conclusion
WeChat is into making the life of social media users comfortable and uncomplicated. With the many advancements in the field of technology, businesses are being transformed in a way that they can make the most out of the present market opportunities presented before them. Developments need not be a big-time one, but rather small developments that aid people in their day-to-day lives are what really matters.
In the end, the user experience would greatly matter. Consumers and sellers should remain to be prioritized in order to come up with improvements that would really be meaningful and beneficial to everyone.

VIDEO BACKGROUND ON WEBSITE – WHO SHOULD CONSIDER AND WHAT CAN BE ADDED?

When you come across a video background on a website for the first time it pops-up a good number of questions in mind. Those beautiful 15-30 seconds videos are good enough to entice you to the website and there is no secret that you may want the same for your website as well. The first question that comes across while watching these websites with video background is that if you should consider it or not and if you should consider that what all can you add? Let’s discuss the objectives and possibilities one by one.

Image by Pixabay

WHO SHOULD CONSIDER?

Frankly speaking, any company or individual who has a product or a service to showcase to the client can use video backgrounds on the website. You can be a photographer, videographer, dress designer, Makeup artist, jeweler, baker, handmade gift seller or anyone from any other field. The basic idea behind using a video in the background especially on the homepage is to give a clearer idea about the products and the services to the visitors.

HOW CAN IT BE USED?

There are two ways by which you can create a video background. The first way is by using smaller clips to clear a video montage of your work which can include products, services, behind the scene videos etc. The second way is by using the still images to create a video slideshow which can showcase the products of the services.

DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR DIFFERENT NICHE

The niche of every website owner is different. Thus it is very important to understand what can be shown in the background video. We have compiled a few examples below which will give you a better idea of what you can include in such videos.

Image by Free Range

• For photographers: Whether you are a product, fashion, wedding or contemporary photographer, the work is entirely different from the other photographers. In case of weddings and fashion photography, you can showcase your best work in the form of slideshows, or you can also add behind the scene videos where you can show what all goes in the process of creating those photographs. In case of product photography, you can show how you illuminated the product to look better in the photographs and so on.
• For videographers: It is much easier for the videographers to have video backgrounds on their website as they already have a lot of content related to the final product as well as behind the scene videos. You can use a blend of both which will give an idea to the visitor how much work it takes to create those magical videos. Alternatively, you can concentrate only on a montage of final edited video clips.
• Dress designers: The dress designers can showcase the latest products in the form of a ramp show, a fashion show or can produce a video showcasing the work that goes behind creating a piece of elegant dress. You can also make a stop motion animation of the process to make it even more interesting.
• Makeup artists: Makeup artists can showcase before and after images, behind the scenes, and a slideshow of final results.
• Jewelers: Just like the dress designers, the jewelers can either showcase a new range of products or showcase the work that goes behind make different pieces of jewelry.
• Bakers: Bakers have a lot of fascinating products and the process of making these products like biscuits, cakes etc. is also very interesting to watch. You can create a small video which runs through the process of cake making or can simply showcase a slideshow of the products you provide.

THE MINOR GLITCH

There is only one problem with the video background on a website, and that is the loading time. If the video size is big, then it will take some time to buffer which can increase the exit rate on your page. To avoid such situation, you should keep the length of the video between 15 to 30 seconds which is more than enough to give the glimpse of your work to the visitor. You can also keep a smaller video in a loop which will substantially reduce the loading time.

CONCLUSION

In short, any business can come up with an idea of a video background for the services or the products. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you have to keep the size of the video short so that the loading time of the page with video background can be controlled.

WECHAT MINI PROGRAMS CONNECTS BUSINESSES TO WHOLE NEW WORLD OF CHINA ECOMMERCE

With Wechat sweeping the local Chinese market by storm, Tencent’s giant app is no longer just a regular communication and messaging app— it is now a lifestyle app. With Wechat, you can send instant messages to friends, send payments, and even download apps with the new Mini Programs platform.

In fact, 2017 statistics show that the app already has almost about 1 billion followers. Specifically, Mini Program users have already reached 170 million daily users with 50 percent of them being male and the other 50 percent being female. We can also see that the social class of the users is also very diverse with 30 percent coming from tier 1, 20 percent from tier 2, 19 percent from tier 3, and the rest from tier 4 and below.

Mini Programs
Ever since Mini Programs hit the market, they became a phenomenon in the local Chinese market, possibly serving as a replacement for regular apps.

For those who aren’t familiar with Mini Programs, they’re basically just apps that are found on the Wechat platform. You access Mini Programs through the Wechat Mini Program store and use them on the spot. What makes them amazing is that they can be used without having to be installed on your device. This allows you to have a low memory and convenient alternative to the regular apps that you usually find in Google Play.

eCommerce Using Mini Programs
Aside from being extremely convenient for app users, it is also now seen to be a leveraging platform for eCommerce. You see, Wechat in itself already has an extremely big network of users. Introducing Mini Programs into the equation allows entrepreneurs to tap into that big network to sell their products and services.

As Wechat continues to further promote the use of Mini Programs, more and more businesses are setting up their own Wechat shop using the platform. The great thing about opening up a Wechat store using the Mini Programs platform is that you can use the social functions of the Wechat app itself to further market your wares.

For example, many stores have already been using the group chat feature to host group buying promotions and other cool deals. This also allows sellers to get up close and personal with their customers— something that buyers really love. This harmonious mix of social engagement and shopping experience creates the perfect buying atmosphere for local customers who use Wechat.

All of these coupled with Wechat’s digital wallet Wechat Pay and the customers have the complete e-shopping experience. In fact, the complete Wechat platform may even be a threat to eCommerce giant Alibaba once the Mini Programs platform reaches its full potential.

KOL And Sales Generation
While KOL brands in China have gained huge success due to their very niche method of marketing, Wechat’s KOL market struggled against other giants such as Weibo and Alibaba. However, the introduction of the Mini Programs proved very beneficial to Wechat’s KOL sales campaigns.

The cool thing about the Mini Programs platform is that the brands themselves create the experience for the customers. The platform is only there to serve as the base where the stores can get the customers. This is pretty different from what other eCommerce platforms such as Alibaba have to offer.

For instance, with Alibaba, sellers don’t really have control over the User Experience of the store. They just provide the merchandise and Alibaba will promote. With Mini Programs, brands can literally have their own online stores and control their own UX much like how brands would do when they create regular apps. This in itself already revolutionizes the KOL sales campaigns of Wechat.

Conclusion

With the Mini Programs platform becoming more and more popular, we can expect the number of total users to skyrocket. When shopping will become an even more fun experience in Wechat, a big chunk of the online shoppers will flock to Wechat Mini Programs. This will be good for both the buyers and the sellers alike.

In fact, Wechat shopping, as we like to call it, may even revolutionize Chinese eCommerce as a whole. With the combination of Wechat’s big network and awesome social functions, plus the wonderful user experience that Mini Programs can give, we can expect Wechat to soar in the coming years.

Want to know more about Wechat Mini Programs Designs and Development services? Get in touch!

WEBSITE IS NOT LESS THAN AN ART

WEBSITE IS NOT LESS THAN AN ART

When you hover your mouse on your website what strikes your mind? Stunning and breathtaking visuals that softy encourage you for a call to action? Have you ever poured your thinking to know what drives you to make an action? It’s the mysterious chemistry of art that stands behind your website’s success. The more effort you put into making this art a colorful and engaging one, the better the conversion rates would be. Those who understand that website design is all about art, cash out profits and for those who are still in doubts, here are some points in favor:

1. ART OF CLASSY BUTTONS SPELLS THE MAGIC

When your website features a contemporary example of art from its classy buttons and colorful squares with brand’s message, getting glares is quite obvious. A majority of patrons landing on your website won’t mind spending hours on it to see the stuff inside. Focusing on the designing art in a scientific way encourages them to make an action. They will perceive your website as neat and won’t mind breaking the protocol to buy your product or service.

2. LEVERAGE ART OF LIGHTING TO DRIVE CONVERSIONS

Website design is nothing but a canvas where you use a variety of lighting effects to tilt opportunities in your favor. A beautiful design theme retains and converts customers. Probably, this is what you have been craving for. Setting the tone of your site with colorful layout and lighting effect creates a synergy to improve the mood of the landing customer. Put the flashlight on the warm and friendly look to leave your users surprised. Such a great artistic touch to your website will bring amazing results to your table.

3. ARTISTIC TOUCH TO DESIGN ELEMENTS IS THE KEY

Are you using white space tactically to put an emphasis at some places on your website wherever you need? This is nothing but an art that should be wisely used to create separation and balance of information on the website. An artistic touch to your logos, navigation buttons and call to actions with some white space leads to better user experience. But as a thumb rule, don’t overuse it. Asking for a professional advice comes handy while implementing this artistic effect.

4. USE SCIENCE OF ART TO BRIGHTEN UP YOUR WORLD

People love the art and the business with the best one wins. Consider yourself sitting at a marketplace where people don’t give a dime to the one with dull looks. All that glitters sell. So, if your business is just making pennies, it’s time to revamp it all with an art that’s fulfilling and lovely.

CONCLUSION

The website is not less than an art that requires skills to bring conversions to the table. Those colorful logos, elegant themes and appealing call-to-action buttons give the ROIs a propel you always dream of. Make sure you don’t settle for anything but the best to reward your business with success. After all, who minds sitting at the pinnacle of success? Just pick the reputed design agency that’s driven with colors and art and could pave your way to online success.

Stun your customers with a contemporary website design from We Do Design, Australia. We blend the art in your websites that drive conversions. We draw results on your website canvas, so having us at your side makes a sense for you. Call us today to get a contemporary website.

THE FUTURE OF MOBILE APPS – 2018 INSIGHT

“There’s an app for that.” Who hasn’t heard this phrase? It was made popular by Apple, one of the top two mobile operating systems used by millions of people around the world. Thanks to Apple and Google, we have apps for everything. Paying for things, calling taxis, watching movies, shopping, reading, and anything else you can imagine… there is probably an app for that.

Once companies started realizing that mobile apps were the next great thing, everyone wanted an app for their company. For nearly a decade, the popularity of apps has continued to grow at a very rapid pace. But some people are beginning to ask whether or not there is a future for apps.

Are apps really all that great?
There is no doubt that apps make our lives easy and more convenient. We don’t have to do everything in the tiny little web browser on our phones. They also make our lives more convenient in many ways. But are they really all that great?

Think about it this way, if I want to call a taxi, I have an app for that. If I want to buy movie tickets, there is an app for that. If I want to edit photos, there is an app for that. But most apps serve one primary purpose. Every time I want to do something different on my phone, I have to go out to the app store, download the app, sometimes even having to choose from a dozen or more apps that all do the same thing, then install it before I can even use it.

With so many different apps, storage space on phones is limited because you need 30 different apps just to do everything that you need or want to do.

What’s wrong with apps?

Believe it or not, the likelihood of apps existing and remaining popular for an extended period of time is highly unlikely. Even though it seems like they make things more convenient, they really aren’t as good as we would like to believe.

Not to mention the problem that app developers face with the existence of multiple operating systems. With iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, and even a few others that are floating around in OS limbo, making apps that can be used by everyone with a smartphone is nearly impossible.

Since each operating system is programmed using a different language code, often times an app coded for Android has to be completely re-written to be used on another OS. At the very least, it requires a lot of tweaking and it is really just a big hassle. Not to mention, if a mobile OS is updated, the app software needs to be updated as well, making maintenance of every app a huge hassle as well. Some of the major problems with apps today are listed as below:

• Apps take too much space of smartphones leaving little for other purposes
• Most apps are only for specific purposes which begs the need for a lot of apps for various purposes
• It is more difficult and expensive to create a smartphone app
• Upgradation and maintenance of mobile apps is difficult
• Apps on different developing platforms require diverse technical skills
• Users are more likely to uninstall mobile apps for using for sometime
• It requires great sums of capital to keep the mobile app smoothly running

What are we going to do?

Generally speaking, apps are problematic for just about everyone involved. But we can’t just stop using apps. How do we fix all of these problems?

Actually, companies are already in the process of finding ways around the idea of single-use apps. One of the most likely solutions to the many app problems that is already slowly being implemented today is something called “Super Applications.” A super app is basically an app that combines the functions of multiple apps.

A really good example of a super app is WeChat. With the ability to make voice and video calls, call taxis, pay bills, order movie tickets, use the virtual wallet feature and more, this app basically eliminates the need for a dozen apps by allowing you to use the features of 12 or more apps all in one, saving time and precious phone space for the app user and developing time and dollars for the app creators.

How long will we have single-use apps?
It is impossible to say how long apps will continue to exist and be used regularly. But it is safe to say that to the popularity of apps is declining and will continue to decline while better, simpler, and more convenient options are explored.

As these other options like super apps continue to be improved upon, we will begin to see the use of the types of apps we see today decline drastically. Before long, apps will be as obsolete as floppy disks, CDs, and Blue-ray.

THE FUTURE OF MOBILE APPS – 2018 INSIGHT

If you own a business, regardless if it’s a startup or just a small one, you need to get a mobile app. Whether you agree or not, a mobile app is now an integral part of a business. Unfortunately, not all business owners realize the importance of having one. In the following sections, we will discuss the common reasons why small businesses choose to skip building a mobile app, as well as why getting one is a must.

Why Do Most Small Businesses Choose Not to Have a Mobile App?

The main culprit of this decision is the cost. Mobile app development is a multi-stage process. On top of that, each stage requires specialization, which means that business owners might need to hire more than two or more experts who are qualified for certain stages.

Moreover, many of these small business owners believe that building a website is sufficient to attract new customers. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. According to the 2016 app development survey administered by clutch.co, an independent research firm, from the 352 small businesses in the US, only less than a quarter of them have a mobile app. The survey later revealed that this is because mobile app development needs tons of money, not to mention the time and effort needed to build one.

5 Top Reasons to Build a Mobile App for Small Businesses

1. Reach More Customers and Improve Accessibility

The prime reason why business owners, especially the small ones, are encouraged to get a mobile app is to reach more customers by being more accessible to them. According to a Gallup Survey, more than half of the US smartphone owners check their phone a few times every hour. This implies that you have high chances of getting new customers if you launch a mobile app as compared to relying on website traffic alone.

Furthermore, since the mobile app can be downloaded and stored on the smartphone, customers can easily access your business wherever and whenever they want.

2. Boost Brand Recognition

One of the important stages in mobile development is the creation of a brand logo. Having your brand situated on people’s smartphone will help your brand’s promotion. Considering the number of times that people check their smartphones every hour, your business’ personalized smartphone icon will help build your brand by providing a visual image that people recognize easily.

3. Engage with Customers in Real Time

Mobile apps allow you to connect with your customers and tend to their queries and concerns immediately, which is a crucial step if you aim to foster trust with your customers. Moreover, mobile apps even help you boost repeat visits and deployment of customer loyalty programs, which are essential to building loyalty in today’s crowded marketplace.

4. Collect Your Business Analytics Easily

Most mobile apps nowadays have built-in analytics that will help steer your business to the right path. Unlike years ago when businesses need to hire experts to manipulate complex information and databases, most mobile apps can now collect and process raw data automatically. Hence, you can improvise and make changes fast to better serve your target market. You can even track the number of downloads that your app has garnered so far, as well as track user engagement and actual sales.

5. Partner with Other Services

There’s a new trend recently which involves similar or related companies partnering to form a sort of mobile ad exchange. This is a program that allows local companies to piggyback on each other’s success by displaying mobile ads on the partner networks, thus allowing you to get new customers. This tactic leads to mutual benefits of the companies involved and eventually helps increase profits.

Conclusion

Although developing a mobile app for your business means spending an exuberant amount of money, getting one is proven to speed up your ROI and more. Regardless the size of your business, mobile app is a must-have tool if you want to improve your brand reputation in the market.

In reality, it’s not a question of whether your small business needs a mobile app; the real question is “why didn’t you have one?” There’s a reason why big companies and brands are putting much effort to build their own mobile app. Even the smallest of companies can take advantage of what mobile app has to offer— which is a lot as revealed in this article.

HOW MUCH IS THE TOTAL COST TO MAKE AN APP FOR A SMALL BUSINESS?

Apps are popular these days, so it’ll definitely be a good move to create a mobile app to further promote your brand. However, creating an app isn’t as easy as you may think. Making your own app entails a lot of planning and a lot of budgeting.

You especially have to pay attention to the cost because it can be expensive to build an app, depending on how high tech or functional you want it to be. If you’re a novice or beginner at app creation, here is a guide on the estimated cost that you need to shell out.

Given below are cost factors that you have to take into consideration, as well as the actual costs of the development.

THE BUSINESS MODEL

The first thing that you have to consider is your business model. How will the app fit into your business model? If it can compliment your brand, then it’ll be easy to market the app. If it’s a bit hard to fit in, you might need to do some thinking as to how you’ll make it fit.

THE KIND OF APP

How high tech do you want your app to be? Obviously, the more low tech the app, the cheaper it will be. To get an idea of how the costing is like, check out the estimated costs for Android apps below:

• Basic App- up to $35,000
• Standard App- $40,000 to $55,000
• Semi High-Tech Apps- $55,000 to $100,000 (depending on the functions)
• Very High Tech Apps- $100,000 and higher

These are the costs for Android apps. Let’s check out the ones for iOS or Apple apps.

• Table Based Apps- $1,000 to $4,000
• Database Apps- $5,000 to $50,000
• Gaming Apps- Up to $250,000 (depending on quality and functions of the game)

THE FUNCTIONS

Next, you have to consider the functions of the app. There are so many functions that you can choose from. As long as you tell the developer what you want, the developer will be the one to quote you. However, below are some of the most common functions that you can add along with their respective costs:

• In-app purchases: Around $3,000
• Internet services: $1,000 to $5,000
• Share Functions: $500 to $1,500;
• SDKs: $50 to $200

The cost of other functions may vary depending on the developer.

THE DESIGN

The design would entail both the front and the backend of the app (what the consumer sees and what you see from the back). You have to work with your development team when including all the functions and development to create the final app design.

THE MANPOWER

You have two options with regard to manpower— you can create your own team of developers, or you can outsource a development company (or a freelance developer) to create the app for you. If you want to create your own team, you’ll need:

• Operations Manager to supervise the development
• The Coding Team to do the actual development structure
• The QA Engineer to test all the protocols
• The UX Specialist to help determine what people would want in the app

If you want to get a development company, check out some of the costs below for three development companies:

• Applico- $100,000 to $300,000
• Fueled- $100,000 to $500,000
• Savvy Apps- $100,000 to $500,000

If you want to get a freelancer, you would most likely be charged by the hour. Here are some estimated rates:

• Native Apps- $35 to 100 per hour
• Cross-Platform Apps- $16 to 60 per hour
• Hybrid Apps- $20 to $100 per hour

CONCLUSION

As you can see, it’s possible to spend over half a million dollars on the development of a regular app. However, it is also possible to spend much less like just a little below $100,000 depending on what you want your app to be like. All you have to do is to create your main vision first and work from there. You’ll be able to see the costs along the way. From there, you can start shaving off costs and functions that you won’t need.

Take note that all these costs are estimates and may differ from the actual figures.

IS DOUYIN THE NEXT BIG PLACE FOR BRAND MARKETING IN CHINA?

Launched in 2016, Douyin is on the path of becoming the most popular short video app in China. Owned by ByteDance the app is based on another app owned by ByteDance i.e. Musical.ly which is very popular in rest of the world especially in the US. The app allows the users to create 15-second videos and provide a huge collection of background songs and dialogues. It has amazing filters and editing tools which help the users to create high-quality content. There are many other features which are attracting more users like Live videos.

The increase in popularity
There are many other applications that run on the same concept but the strategically planted advertisements and better features helped Douyin to grab the topmost position in the market leaving other apps like Kuaishou, Miaopai, and Haokan Shepin behind. In August 2017, the app crossed 1 billion views on videos which were a great achievement in a very short span of time.

KOL love Douyin
The team behind the app did not leave any single chance to attract Key Opinion Leaders or KOLs. As the app gained popularity more KOLs started using the app which further attracted more users in form of their followers. Douyin has special events for KOLs and also give them monthly incentives in form of gifts etc.

The Generation Z’s favorite app
As the technology is getting advanced, the younger generation with age group 18-24 better known as the Generation Z wants to have applications that provide entertainment but do not waste their time as well. This young generation loves to multitask and longer videos are a big hurdle in it. Thus apps like Douyin became their preferred app. Douyin’s user base has around 33% of Generation Z users. Also, the application is famous in all sections of the society and even in smaller cities as well. It has attracted women from all age groups as well and a good percentage of KOLs are women on the app.

Cheaper options
Using Douyin is not at all expensive for anyone. All income groups can use Douyin to make quality content without using any additional software etc. The app provides a special platform for the brands and companies to promote their goods and services on the app via short videos. These brands often collaborate with KOLs and take advantage of their reach. In return, the KOLs are paid in terms of goods and money.

The live video feature is gaining popularity among the KOLs especially for promoting brands. They combine their entertainment streak and subtlety promotes the brand while interacting with the followers. Some of the live videos are direct promotions as well. Even the big brands like Audi, Pizza Hut, and Michael Kors are exploring the platform in extreme possible ways.

The problems with Douyin
Although the platform is perfect for brand promotions there are many issues which are worrisome for the brands, KOLs and general users. It has been noticed in past that apps disappear from the market without any notification. The way Douyin gained popularity is not normal for any market and despite being backed by a large corporate house; there will always be some fear that app will leave the market.

Another problem which brands are facing is the fake KOLs. There are a lot of people who are exploiting the loopholes in the code of the application to gain followers unethically. There are services who charge for providing followers as well. The problem is that majority of them are fake profiles. Paying heavy amount to these fake KOLs result in a major financial loss for the brands. The app has to take drastic steps to remove such fake accounts.

Conclusion
Douyin is one of the best ways for the brands to explore social media platforms and reach new groups of customers at a very affordable price. However, it is still not as big as WeChat which has way more active users than Douyin. We can only hope that in coming days the app will gain more users and address the problems faced by brands and KOLs.

PLANNING A WEBSITE FOR A CHINESE AUDIENCE? – CONSIDER THESE POINTS

A website is very important for any business house or professional individual. It gives a face value to the customers and followers while giving them the information about the products and services that you provide. When you are planning to build a website for Chinese audience, the conditions are little different from rest of the world. Most of the basic concepts are similar but there are some aspects that you need to consider before moving ahead.

Image Created by Mindandi – Freepik.com

PURPOSE

First of all, you need to decide the purpose of the website. You need to be clear in your mind if it is going to be a website that provides complete details about your business, if it is going to be a blog, or if it is going to be an e-commerce website where customers can place orders for the services or the products.

1. The domain name: The second point that you need to consider is the name of the website. When we discuss the importance of the name, a lot of people use the famous phrase “What’s in the name – Williams Shakespeare”. Now, if you notice, his name appears at the end of the quote and everyone knows that he said this phrase. This is how important the name is.

When we talk about the name of the website, consider the following points:

• Pick the word or combination of words that mean something to a Chinese audience. The common English names and combinations generally do not work for them.
• A domain name that has foreign influence will be hard to remember for the customers in China. Avoid such names.
• There are some words which have awful meanings or usage in China. Please do consider checking the meaning and usage in the country before finalizing it.
• Keep the name of the domain small and meaningful.
• Do not use “-“ in the name of the website and people do not remember to put the “-“.
• You can use Chinese PinYin as an alternative choice. The Chinese customers remember the name of the websites which are easy to pronounce for them.
• If your desired domain name is already registered, you can contact the owner to negotiate a purchase.
• Do remember that if you plan not to go for a .com domain and prefer a .cn domain, you will have to go through a lot of paperwork. The domain name with a .cn extension is not a necessity to establish a name in Chinese market so if you can, avoid it.

2. Web hosting: First of all make sure that the location of the server is as close to China as possible to ensure faster loading time. You can choose Chinese servers but they require a lot of paperwork just like registering a domain name in China. However, if you host the website in Hong Kong China, Singapore, Korea and Japan, the location will be much closer to the mainland China and it will work like a charm for you

The next point to remember about the web hosting service is how reliable is the hosting service provider. Do not randomly choose the service provider and do check the online reviews for the company. If possible do consult with the friend circle to get some offline reviews.

You also need to consider the amount of traffic that you are going to get. A small blog may not get a lot of visitors on daily basis as compared to an e-commerce site. So choose the hosting plan according to the number of customers you expect that you will get.

3. Administration: When you are setting up a website in or for the Chinese audience, you will require doing a Real Name Verification of the business entity. You will need to provide your documents that contain personal and business details. Also, it will require a submission of ICP license along with some other formalities.

4. Content Management System: Better known as CMS, it is the backend of the website based on a coding language like PHP. The CMS helps the owner of the website in making simple changes without the in-depth knowledge of the coding languages. You can add pages, posts, images, videos etc. via CMS and make some design changes as well. There are a number of CMS systems available in the market like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magneto, Blogger, Shopify etc. Out of these CMSs, WordPress has the market share of above 50%. It is easier to hire a WordPress developer at an affordable price and the CMS has tons of add-on as well which can be helpful in making the website an easy deal for both owner of the website and the customers.

5. Importance of translation: When you get a website done for China in English, you may need to add the whole content in the Chinese language as well or vice versa. Make sure to hire a professional translator so that your customers do not get lost in the translation.

6. Website design: Make sure the color, style, theme, structure, and language meet the eye of the customers that you are targeting. For example, if your target is mature people, you need to keep the color scheme calm while for the young people, it should give the energetic vibe.

7. Functioning: Make sure to sit and discuss the functioning of the website with the developer for the Chinese audience. You should be clear on the points that if it is going to be a combination of information, blog, e-commerce etc. or you want to have just a blog or just an e-commerce website. Also, you need to consider the best possible payment gateway for the e-commerce website. There are services like Alipay, WeChat payment etc. which you can use in China.

8. Website testing: It is very important to test all the aspects of the website for the Chinese audience before making it public. You need to make sure that there are no services included in the coding which may block or slow down the website. The services including Google, Facebook, and Twitter etc. are banned in China. Make sure the Google fonts are not used by the website. Also, do make sure that website is mobile friendly as most of the Chinese users use their Smartphone to access the websites. A mobile app for an e-commerce website can do wonders for you.

CONCLUSION

The process of making a website for the Chinese audience may look overwhelming but it is a small price that you need to pay to have the access to the biggest economy in the world.