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In this episode of Daxue Talks, Olivier Verot, a digital marketing specialist in China, explains how B2B business can leverage on Chinese social media.

Full transcript below:

How to use Douyin in the context of B2B?

Douyin for us is not a B2B platform. It is more a B2C platform where people are searching for entertainment. So, it is not exactly the right place to promote a B2B business because usually, that kind of business is niche. However, videos are a very good way to promote B2B. So, I would recommend using Douyin for the image of the company. So, if you are talking to a customer, you can send him videos and proof of concept. You can use your Douyin channel and your customers will get the QR code and after that, they can watch different videos relative to your activities. For me, it is not useful to promote or to get leads in B2B, but it is more for the image of the company or a tool to convince your customers. 

Does it mean that Douyin is a good B2B tool to host and show videos to clients?

No really. I would not recommend hosting your video on Douyin. I would recommend hosting them on platforms. For instance, Youku is better and other platforms that are free of adds. Even Tencent Video is better. Douyin cannot integrate them. Douyin videos are vertical and 100% for mobile phones, so it is not very suitable for B2B businesses. I would recommend using other video platforms. 

How to use WeChat in the context of B2B?

WeChat should be used in the same way as a newsletter. So, WeChat is not a place where you promote and get exposure, but it is a place where your colleagues can receive information, they can learn more or be aware of your company in terms of services, etc. In the end, it is the same as a newsletter. Once you get the notification on WeChat, they can follow you and receive all the information about your company.

What are the best B2B platforms?

It depends on B2B businesses. I would like to say that most of the platforms to generate leads are open platforms. These are the platforms where people search for information. I recommend using a search engine like Baidu, Sogou or Haosou. People that need information will use these search engines. There are also some platforms related to specific industries. For instance, if you have a service for reparation, people will go on a forum or even Taobao can be a platform. So, in general, it good to be on Baidu to gain traffic but other platforms might be useful depending on your industry. If you are doing B2B for tourism it can be Ctrip or that kind of platform.

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