If you are wondering what the best strategy is to reach Chinese consumers in the USA and other countries outside of mainland China, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, the experts at Nanjing Marketing Group share more than 15 years of real-life experience in China marketing and advertising.
We will reveal:
- Is WeChat the best way to reach Chinese customers living in the USA?
- If not, how can brands promote themselves in the USA?
- Geo-targeting options on WeChat.
Let’s dive right in.
Chinese Community in the USA
The Chinese community in the USA is one of the fastest-growing groups abroad, with a population of more than 5 million people. Concentrated in metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, the Chinese community has a rich cultural presence and economic influence.
Among the Chinese in the USA are those with Chinese heritage who have lived in America for a long time, as well as new immigrants and international students.
Known for their strong work ethic, sense of business, and high education, the Chinese community in the USA significantly contributes to relevant sectors like technology, healthcare, and finance, and often stay connected to their cultural roots.
So, how do you reach these Chinese communities in the USA? Your first thought may be WeChat. Let’s find out.
Quick Recap of WeChat
With more than 1.3 billion monthly active users, and growing, WeChat is THE go-to platform for brands to present their services and products, engage with their clients, and build long-lasting relationships with their customers.
Who uses WeChat?
Under 30-year-olds are the largest user group on WeChat. (This is a detailed overview of the WeChat demographics.)
Who Should Be on WeChat
From B2B to B2C in tech, education, immigration, travel, and more – every company that wants to reach Chinese customers can’t get around a WeChat presence.
For more information about WeChat (features, opportunities for brands, etc.) click here, and for a comparison with other Chinese social media platforms click here.
WeChat Advertising Options
WeChat offers different ad types to cater to different marketing needs:
- Moments Ads: Most popular, organic look => raise awareness, sales, downloads
- Official Account Ads (Banner Ads): Most effective => grow followers, promotion, sales
- Video Account Ads (Channel Ads): Potential to go viral => raise awareness, engagement, conversion
- Mini-Program Ads: High user engagement => grow followers, downloads
- Search Ads: High-intent audience => raise awareness, sales
So, how do you best get started?
Quick Tips: Start WeChat Advertising
Using WeChat and running ads is pretty straightforward. Here’s how to get going:
- Register an official WeChat account (foreign companies can only register a Service Account, which is recommended for most brands though!)
- Define your advertising goal
- Select the best ad format and create ads (ensure content compliance)
- Specify your target audience
- Set a budget and pay (WeChat, credit card, bank transfer)
- Run ads and monitor results
Now to the question at hand. Is the powerful WeChat also the best option for reaching the Chinese community in the USA?
Is WeChat Ideal to Reach Chinese people in the USA?
The short answer is “no.”
Even though WeChat
- is available for download for Apple and Mac, iOS, and Windows in the USA,
- has ample targeting options, including geo-targeting, and
- more than five million Chinese people live in the USA
Geo-targeting on WeChat is limited:
- WeChat supports targeting by “place of residence” only for mainland China.
- Outside of China, the WeChat location targeting only supports “travel visits.”
However, don’t write off WeChat just yet!
So, How Can Brands Promote Themselves To Chinese People in the USA?
The same issue of limited geo-targeting options is true for advertising on other leading Chinese social media platforms like Little Red Book, Bilibili, and Zhihu.
So, what are the best options for international and local brands to reach overseas Chinese in the USA and other countries outside mainland China?
WeChat is Still Beneficial
For one, you can – and should – still be active on leading Chinese social media platforms like WeChat. Why? Organic content marketing (publishing articles and useful/entertaining content) will help you to
- raise brand awareness
- gain more followers, and
- increase sales
But since you can’t advertise on WeChat to Chinese people in the USA, what other options are there?
More Ways to Reach Overseas Chinese in the USA and Beyond
To effectively reach an audience who may not use Western online services like Facebook or Google, there are several alternative approaches.
- Adapt your international website to cater to Chinese culture and preferences
- Targeted email marketing (Mandarin)
- Influencer collaborations to promote your brand on their Chinese social media accounts
- Content creation and localization (landing pages, videos, etc.) for overseas Chinese communities
- SEO for Google, so US-Chinese can find you when searching in Mandarin
- Chinese PPC campaigns on Google
- Local Chinese community newspapers and magazines
As you can see, the right strategies allow global brands to reach Chinese people outside of mainland China, even without WeChat advertising! Do you want to get started?