Toutiao and WeChat are definitely the platforms that marketers shouldnot miss. Both are mobile content distribution platforms, but what makes them so different?

WeChat is a social networking, No.1 platform in China has attracted the most content contributors, no matter they are companies or individuals. Moerover, WeChat official account is a must-have to Chinese marketer, sometimes even more important than having a website

In contrast, Toutiao has the most powerful recommendation algorithms, which allows it to find the readers that are really interested in your content. Toutiao, on the other hand, is a platform where you can gain new users and advertise. How many exposures your content can get on Toutiao depends on how well the system understand your content. 

Toutiao Operations

Toutiao initially showcases general content to a first-time user and then uses machine learning to learn about the reader’s learning habits and interests based on how the reader engages with the app.

• Easy to use: Toutiao has been designed to be an easy-to-use, personalized, informative, and addictive mobile-first app.
• Personalised content feed: The most significant selling point of Toutiao is its “intelligent news feed”, where artificial intelligence and machine learning software tailor content.
• Pushed content based on AI-powered information/content platform. Toutiao is known for its pushed content based on users’ preferences, selected categories and browsing history, etc.
• Short-video-focused business: Toutiao runs the best short video platforms in China, as it has connections with most of the Chinese users’ favorite short videos apps.

Toutiao is a big deal and should be considered as part of any marketing mix when looking at advertising options. The platform offers a range of options for marketers. There are different ad forms which can be served across two platforms – 今日头条, which is focused on hard news, and 内涵段子, which shares more jokey funny content and viral visuals.

Ad forms on Toutiao include a H5 landing page, or a Toutiao post.

Toutiao is a platform that should be considered as part of the marketing strategy for education professionals who want to recruit more Chinese students. The platform does allow for foreign universities to advertise on the site but as ever, there are licensing, accreditations,  and transcreated content approval processes to go through for any university who hopes to advertise.

Create a Toutiao Official Account

Everything starts on Toutiao Website. On the left top click on 头条产品 (Toutiao Product).

Select 头条号 from the drop- down menu and click on it. What is your account type: Personal Media, States institutes enterprise, educational groups, NGO etc

To register for a Toutiao publisher account, you will need:

• A Chinese phone number;
• Both mobile phone and a computer;
• A Chinese business license and a company seal;
• A printer that can print a single-page document;

You will need an expert to take care of  your posts, and share on others social media platforms and possibly get viral on Toutiao.