10 Digital Strategies to learn if you work in Travel Business in China
Nowadays, thanks to China opening its borders, Chinese tourists began to fly all around the world with their great spending power. In 2019, there were more than 170 million outbound trips. By the end of 2023, it is expected it will be 110 million outbound trips. So this is just the perfect timing to prepare for tourism companies and get to know how to attract Chinese tourists. Here we are going to introduce you to how can you do that in an efficient way.
Website in Chinese
In order to start any activity on the Chinese digital market you have to create a website, in Chinese and preferably hosted in China (Chinese people are more trustful when they see a .cn and they all are not able to read English). Do you need some information about how to market a website in China?
????Expert Tips: How to make your website work in China?
1. Kill all links to Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
2. No Google maps and Google automatic translations
3. Translate content to Mandain, otherwise, you won’t get indexed by Baidu (Chinese Google)
4. Better re-host in Hong Kong or Singapore
5. Recheck your website speedtest Here
6. In case you are still slow, In-depth optimization needed
Provide precise and relevant content
If you want to attract people and be efficient, you need to have a good reputation and in order to reach this point you need to introduce to the users interesting content and precise information and generate a large interest from them. You can for example give some information about what the country can provide them and show them the different offers.
Example: https://www.aiguemarine-paris.com/
Create a good user experience
Why? Because if we want to attract people to a country we have to make their dream and catch them for a long time on the website. They have to take the time to discover before to take a decision and if the website is ugly, too slow or doesn’t provide enough information, the target will leave the website and will not have the willingness to visit what you offer to him. If the experience is good, it can be beneficial, for example, the user will share the website on social media.
Local search engines
If you want to integrate into the Chinese market you have to be aware of the local search engines, firstly because Google is blocked, and then because Chinese travellers are constantly connected and many of them use Baidu. If you are viewable with no Baidu, you will lose a lot of potential customers.
Importance of SEO
How to talk about search engines without saying something about SEO? If you want to be viewable on Baidu you have to deserve it. As for Google, users only pay attention to the first page (and sometimes, but not often the second…) so if you are not there, they will never reach you. SEO is one of the most important things besides your digital marketing campaign.
Guide to Baidu SEO – China #1 Search Engine
Social networks in China
As we said in the last paragraph, social media are important because they allow people to share what they lived, what they saw and how good was their experience. To be on social media doesn’t mean only that you have to manage your own page, you need also to use this way to be in contact with users. “Chinese People are connected and Social Media is the key to touching them “explains this Chinese culture expert based in Shanghai.
Explore social media can give you interesting information about your future customers and with that information you can adapt yourself to what they need. Our advice is to have your own page on Weibo (200 million daily users), the Chinese Twitter, to promote your services. It’s one of the most important things in your digital marketing strategy. More information about social media in China is here.
WeChat and its 500 million users
This app is one of the best ways to reach Chinese travellers. As with every social network, it’s a way to be close to your consumers. Whechat allows you to create a community around your business and then discuss with your clients what they want. Furthermore, In China people are used to checking information on WeChat, and sharing their experiences in “moment” with their friends. It’s essential to take into account this app in your digital marketing to reach Chinese tourists.
How to Use WeChat Groups for Marketing Purposes Effectively?
Key Opinion leader campaigns
As we talked about social media, influencers are really important, especially in China. A key opinion leader is usually someone really famous who has thousands or millions of followers. They are used as brand ambassadors. In the tourism industry, KOL is really important because many destinations are famous only because the influencer shared information about his holidays in the country. Do you want to know more about the power of KOL in China? Click here.
Be part of the conversation
It’s really important for travellers to know the opinion of people who’ve been to a place they want to go. So when someone shares what he thinks about you on TripAdvisor or on social media, you have to be quick to answer and accept this opinion, even if it’s a bad comment. Then you will improve your reputation and attract more people.
Make people dream
To promote a country, a hotel or travel, the most efficient solution consists in make people dream. You have to use pictures of really famous places and play with users’ emotions (for example to show a short movie – which is really trendy in 2016 – showing two lovers who are visiting Paris and a romantic act in front of the Tour Eiffel.
How Chinese Celebrities can Boost your tourism destination ?
Are you working in Tourism and want to enter the Chinese market?
We are Experts in Chinese Tourism!
Contact us now to get a Free Consultation or tailor a great Campaign for you.
Really great article…. I guess many people should get inspired by what you say.
Digital is the King to attract Chinese travellers 😉