douyin tiktok ads for foreign brands

What is the best way to get visibility in China in 2024 ? = Douyin the Chinese equivalent of TikTok the short video app

  1. Growth: Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok, +60% growth in Ecommerce. IT was launched by ByteDance in September 2016. It quickly grew to become one of the most popular short-video platforms in China.
  2. User Base: As of 2023, Douyin had over 800 million daily active users, indicating its massive reach and influence in the Chinese market.
  3. Content Diversity: The platform hosts a variety of content, including music, dance, comedy, and educational videos, making it a versatile medium for advertisers.
  4. Advanced Targeting Algorithms: Douyin uses sophisticated AI algorithms for content recommendation, allowing advertisers to target users with remarkable accuracy based on their preferences and behavior.
  5. Native Ads: Douyin offers native advertising options where ads are seamlessly integrated into the user’s feed, appearing as regular videos, thus ensuring a higher engagement rate.
  6. Brand Takeover Ads: These are full-screen ads that appear when a user first opens the app, providing high visibility for advertisers but are limited to one advertiser per day.
  7. Challenge and Hashtag Ads: Brands can sponsor challenges or hashtags, encouraging user-generated content around their products or services, creating viral marketing campaigns.
  8. In-Feed Video Ads: These are the standard video ads that appear between user videos. They can be up to 60 seconds long and support various call-to-action options.
  9. E-commerce Integration: Douyin has integrated e-commerce features, allowing for in-app purchases. Brands can link their products in video ads, leading to direct sales from the platform.
  10. Data Analytics: Douyin provides robust data analytics tools for advertisers, offering insights into ad performance, user engagement, and demographics, enabling brands to refine their marketing strategies effectively.

Why brands invest massively in Douyin Native Advertising in 2024?

Brands invest massively in Douyin’s native advertising for several compelling reasons:

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  1. Huge User Base: With over 800 million daily active users in 2024, Douyin offers unparalleled access to a vast audience in China. This massive user base provides a fertile ground for brands to reach potential customers.
  2. High Engagement Rates: The native ads on Douyin are designed to blend seamlessly with user-generated content, making them less intrusive and more engaging. This leads to higher engagement rates compared to traditional ads.
  3. Targeted Advertising: Douyin’s sophisticated AI algorithms allow for highly targeted advertising. Brands can tailor their ads based on user behavior, preferences, and demographics, ensuring that their content reaches the most relevant audience.
  4. Innovative Ad Formats: Douyin provides various innovative ad formats, such as challenge and hashtag ads, which encourage user participation and content creation, leading to higher viral potential and brand visibility.
  5. E-commerce Integration: The platform’s e-commerce integration allows for direct in-app purchases, making it easier for brands to convert views and engagement into sales.
  6. Brand Image and Recognition: Being active and visible on a cutting-edge platform like Douyin enhances a brand’s image, particularly among younger demographics who value innovation and trendiness.
  7. User-Generated Content and Virality: Native ads on Douyin often encourage user-generated content, which can lead to organic sharing and virality, amplifying the reach and impact of the advertising campaign.
  8. Data-Driven Insights: The platform provides robust analytics tools, enabling brands to gain valuable insights into ad performance and user engagement, helping them to refine their strategies and maximize ROI.

A short history

  • proved itself in 2019, in 2024, it is the major ad platform in China .
  • The only 3 years old app boomed in 2019
  • reaches today 800 million monthly active users in 2024 a
  • This app is considered to be one of the most efficient new ways to reach the nowadays youth
  • more than half of its users are under 24 years old
  • nearly 75% of them are aged between 20 and 34 years old.

It mainly gathers young people, including the Gen Z (born between 1995 and 2000s) and Millenials (born between 1980 and 1995). Knowing that half of Gen Z-ers and about the third of Millenials spent more than 50,000 RMB on shopping in 2017, Douyin is now a key actor in the Chinese marketing strategy of any brand that wants to reach Chinese youth.

Why is Douyin an opportunity for your company?

  • Booming app since the revenue from Apple and Android users were five times higher than in 2018.
  • In-app sales and advertisers made TikTok earned about USD 177 million in 2019.
  • China is the biggest TikTok market: considering only iOS users, Chinese users spent USD 122.9 million on TikTok while United States users only spent USD 36 million)
  • With 740 million downloads, it was the second most downloaded app in 2019.

By reading these numbers, companies quickly understood that being present on Douyin may help them to reach their target and gain visibility in China, especially with young people.

Douyin Kick ass in ECommerce

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Brands invest massively in Douyin Ads

For example, many luxury brands started to work with Douyin through ads.

The first was Michael Kors, followed by leader brands as Dior, BMW or Hugo Boss. Some other brands which are relatively new in China have the goal to get known and use platforms like Douyin to reach a large young public. And this is what Airbnb did!

Many other brands from a huge diversity of sectors (like KFC or Tesla) also worked with Douyin for their marketing campaign.

How to market your company/product with Douyin?

There are several ways to promote your company in Douyin:

Open Tik Tok / Douyin Verified account: 

Having an official Douyin account is the first step to establish your fanbase on this platform and gather an important amount of followers to whom you will be able to spread content.

Setting up your business account (by providing business information such as name, promotion links, primary contact, tax information, payment method, …) is the prior thing to do.

Getting certified on Douyin is not compulsory, but really helpful for your business account! This little badge will make your account seen as authentic and reliable. Notice that there are some requirements to get a verified account: creating original content, having certain notoriety and also adheres and respect Douyin’s community guidelines and terms of service.

Engaging content is Critical on Douyin

Since Douyin is a short video app, your content format must fit the app and of course be attractive and adapted to the Chinese market.

Douyin Open-up display ads

Usually in China, an open-up ad appears when you open an app. You have the choice between a static ad or a dynamic ad. The static one is a poster that will be displayed for 3 seconds while the dynamic one is a video that will be displayed for a little bit longer (4-5 seconds).

Douyin Sticker ads

A MUST in Douyin. Companies and brands can create customized stickers that users will be able to add to their videos. Funny, stylish, beautiful or cute, stickers are very popular in the app.

Douyin Feed ads

The feed ad will be placed among the other entertaining videos the users will watch. In this way of promotion, users are more receptive to watch your ad with attention and less hostile about considering to buy a product. Feed ad allows you to promote your product/company in a very soft and enjoyable way for the app users.

Mini-Programs on Douyin?

Quite new in the app, Douyin made possible the link of Mini Programs in 2019 which has enforced the idea that Douyin is more and more becoming a social commerce solution for brands (just as WeChat, Weibo, or Xiaohongshu).

KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) marketing strategy

The MOST used (and certainly the most efficient) Douyin tool to promote your product. Choosing the right influencers, aiming at the right public, … Many strategies are possible in Douyin: you can choose to work with one single large influencer or several small to medium influencers. Select carefully your KOLs since each influencer’s visibility can vary a lot. Did they do any viral video? Do they have an engaged audience? Are they in line with your brand image? These are some of the questions you must think about your selection.

Also, top content creators can now (with fan bases of at least one million followers) to add links to Taobao and Tmall directly within the video post. This new feature is very good news and will help you increase your sales.

Douyin Ads format

  • Open Screen Ads: Capture audience attention immediately upon app opening with prime, full-screen exposure. Be the first video viewers see, offering immersive and uninterrupted visibility.
  • TopView Takeover Ads: Your sound-on content appears instantly and can last up to 60 seconds for an immersive storytelling experience. Initially, dominate the screen for 3 seconds for a clean viewing experience, then transition smoothly into an In-Feed video, enhancing ad interactivity and brand recall.
  • In-Feed Creative Pop-Up Ads: Seamlessly integrate your brand content into the audience’s “For You” feed with relevant and resonating content. Utilize various interactive formats for precise audience targeting and conversion driving.
  • Video In-Feed Ads: Blend into the platform’s daily user experience for a natural brand appeal. Choose from diverse creative styles to boost engagement and conversions. There are two types:
    • Diversion Ads: Launch ads without a Douyin account.
    • Account-Linked Ads: Connect ads to a brand or creator account.
  • Carousel Creative Pop-Ups: Use native content featuring your product to inspire engagement, build trust, and spark purchase intent. Raise brand and product awareness.
  • Interest Seeding Ads: Promote native content to ignite engagement, trust, and purchase intent, increasing interest in your brand and products.
  • Content Promotion: Amplify your organic content by integrating it into the “For You” feed. This strategy efficiently boosts views and interest, supporting various marketing goals like lead generation, brand promotion, product seeding, user engagement, and follower growth.

Including Douyin in your marketing strategy will allow you to reach a young audience that may be hard to reach if you were not present in the app. That is why we recommend you to add Douyin in your marketing strategy as soon as possible!

We can help you with Getting on Douyin

  • Open and verified Douyin account
  • Douyin PPC ads
  • Douyin Kols
  • Douyin eCommerce Store
  • Douyin Live-streaming
  • Video shooting and editing

5 reasons to collaborate with GMA (gentlemen marketing agency ) for Douyin

  1. Douyin Partner, we are partner with Douyin, and work closely with douyin for any marketing campaign
  2. Expertise in Chinese Market: Gentlemen Marketing Agency (GMA) possesses deep knowledge and expertise in the Chinese market, including the nuances of consumer behavior and preferences. Their understanding of the local culture and trends is invaluable for effectively navigating and leveraging Douyin’s platform.
  3. Digital native : GMA specializes in digital marketing, particularly in the Chinese social media landscape. This specialization ensures that they are up-to-date with the latest features, algorithms, and advertising strategies on Douyin, offering clients the most current and effective marketing solutions.
  4. Tailored Strategies: GMA is known for creating customized marketing strategies that align with each brand’s unique goals and target audience. Their approach ensures that campaigns on Douyin are not only creative and engaging but also specifically tailored to achieve the desired outcomes for their clients.
  5. Strong Track Record: With a proven track record of successful campaigns and satisfied clients, GMA has established itself as a reliable and effective agency. Working with them for Douyin marketing campaigns offers a level of confidence and assurance in achieving significant results.
Read more about Chinese social media and Douyin:

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