Why do we pay so much attention to a brand’s reputation in our articles?
Because in China reputation is everything. It’s indispensable. It’s vital. It’s a wherewithal of any business.
You can have a big brand. You can run a huge advertising campaign. You can be sure your product or service is an absolute number one in terms of quality. You can manage the best team of experts working for you. And this set sounds like a key to success in western business.
In China it is secondary! Reputation is first and foremost.
Reputation is the hidden means to sell any kind of product or service here. A lack of it, likewise, might give a poor to negative result on the market., Reputation is your high value. Reputation is your attractiveness. A better reputation makes any product “tastier”.
Reputation is your image built on a deluge of positive feedback coming from here and there. That goes along with your omnipresence online. Reputation is of utmost importance here regardless of what kind of business you have.
Why do the Chinese care about highly reputed brands so much:
- They don’t like risks, not even a superficial exploration;
- They want to get a good product or service from the first attempt;
- There are a lot of scams everywhere – there should be something to certify the credibility;
- The value of reputation for goods and services derives from the value they naturally attach to every single person’s reputation in society;
- In a country of 1.5 billion people, reputation can make a single person stand out from the crowd. Reputation makes a product stand out in this massive market, in the same way;
- Besides, having a well-known highly reputed product or being rendered such a service brings them to a higher level in society on a subconscious level.
Some of you have already gained credit in your own market, or even they are renowned all over the world. Some of you think it gives you a privilege in any market including China.
This is a common misconception! Please forget about it. China is like a closed community, with its own system, fully contented, able to satisfy one’s own needs, not needing anything else, and not willing to know what is happening outside.
The only thing you can do is scatter the seeds over this field and show you are worth their attention.
Here’s what you can use to do it in the most efficient way
- Baidu networks
Let’s say, Baidu is Chinese Google. Anytime Chinese people want to buy anything, they go on Baidu, search and they trust what Baidu offers to them. They won’t buy anything that is not recommended or not even mentioned in Baidu services. That’s why it is important to get there for a better reputation.
Within the Baidu complex system you may find the following services to enhance your reputation:
- Your page in Baike (a very trusted Chinese Wikipedia);
- Your positive image in Baidu Zhidao and Zhihu (local Quora to answer their questions about you in a very positive way);
- Discussions on Tieba (a forum allowing you to launch various discussions and mention you there).
- Forums
Apart from the above-mentioned Tieba, you might find a lot of local forums that focus on your industry, or related industries.
Chinese people inquire about products, and brands on forums. They also search for feedback there.
A single negative comment there might ruin the brand’s reputation and kill it. While a ton of positive reviews give trust to this massive consumer and interest and a desire to buy/cooperate.
We recommend that brands first penetrate specialized forums to feature in professional or consumer discussions and talks. This is something that boosts awareness and builds a strong positive image with a lot of people talking about the brand over a certain period of time.
- Press – eMedia
Chinese people turn to various e-magazines and press releases for expert advice in various fields. It ranges from a desire to be well-informed about the current trends in fashion to expert opinions and reviews of technologies.
It is believed that these sources only give trustworthy information and can only mention credible brands as they are maintained by experts.
Getting your brand’s name mentioned in a press release automatically implies getting a share of credibility, trust, and reputation. More information about PR in China.
- Social Media
Chinese people are very much into social media. They trust social media a lot. There are more than 500 million Chinese using the same platforms day by day, getting strong influence through social media. Trends, knowledge, and awareness all come from social platforms.
- WeChat is the mostly used one? It is not just a tool but it can serve various marketing goals. WeChat can help you with your first steps in business in China, as well as it can help you nurture your leads till they turn to you, keep them updated, sell, support, and advertise.
- Little Red Book is a relatively new though mighty platform that can help you display your product and make people talk about it.
- Douyin with its 500 million users daily is a fresh unique video-based platform that would give your brand great exposure and a positive image.
- Key Opinion Leaders / Influenceurs / Testimonials
We live in the era of influencers who put forward their views and set up trends.
- KOL are Chinese influencers. Chinese people are particularly KOL-oriented for the reason that they need someone to guide them into the right course. This concerns both their lives and consumer behavior.
- KOL in China is a big market itself.
- One might have 10000 followers on a single platform or millions of followers on a few of them.
- KOL might be a celebrity promoting products in a relatively random manner or an expert promoting something particular.
What does collaboration with KOL give?
- Access to a wider audience;
- More targeting approach;
- A fast increase in trust;
- Presence on the most popular social platforms.
We are the GMA, a Digital Marketing Agency in China
We have all these tools and much more than that to help you boost your reputation.
If you want to know how we do it and how it worked for many foreign businesses, just drop a message