How to promote a musician in China ?

The way to market and advertise in China has changed with the coming of the new media age. Also, to enter China’s music market you have to learn about consumer preferences. We are not agents or talent agencies for musicians, but marketing to China is part of our strength.

New media revolutionize the way to promote music

Previous music has spread to millions of households through television. Nowadays, it can’t count only on the “word of mouth” method, but also uses the Internet to achieve rapid dissemination. With the rapid development of science and technology, new media art has penetrated all aspects of our lives. Music creation is also an integral part of the development of new media.  It is transmitted through mobile terminals such as mobile phones and computers, and the form of communication is more flexible and faster.

Even if some people have less knowledge of musical history or musical instruments, and no musical background, they can make their own creations and cultivate their passion through the techniques of new media. By incorporating images into music in a cross-media way, the graphical creation method can provide a more friendly user interface and a more convenient operation mode.

Chinese people are spending a lot of time online for entertainment. Go online is the most effective way to reach a wider range of audience.

Using Social media platforms

Chinese people are very present online, every time, they look, post, and search for something. The new generation is also called Chinese digital natives. Due to this, a lot of social media platforms became useful marketing tools to catch online consumers. Anyway, we have to notice that new media brings music closer to people’s life. It also brings people closer to other people’s life.

Douyin: Video x Music

Even on Douyin, it is possible to promote a musician. Douyin is a very popular app for short video creation, a bit similar to vines. It bet Youtube, and Facebook in download charts, hitting the top of the Apple App Store’s global non-game download chart for the first quarter of 2018. The short-form video app Douyin (or Tik Tok in English) has helped to reveal some of Chinese talent

王贰浪 (wáng èr làng) became very hot with its videos on Douyin. They last only for 15 seconds but have caught the attention of many users. Her most popular video is a cover of «爱你 », viewed 1,6 million times and used almost by 220 000 Douyin users as BGM (background music, to shoot video). The 15-second song was also uploaded on the music streaming app NetEase Cloud Music: the link to her cover is here.

Changba: KTV app x indie musician

Changba is an online karaoke app where people can save their records or upload their own creations or music accompaniment. Users have your profile page where they can share their songs. There are a lot of communication groups and communities of fans. Changba is also a kind of social media platform for music amateurs.

Song hangyu (changba’s ID : 树虫啊) has over 32 000 fans on Changba. He is popular to make his original songs, which have been covered by many Changba’s users. Nowadays, he is an indie musician, present on the famous music app NetEase Cloud Music.

Weibo : your promotion partner

Weibo is a website for micro-blogging, actually, it is the most used in China. Launched in 2010 Weibo, is considered Twitter in our countries. It’s a unique platform in China, where users can express themselves. However, Weibo is more evaluated than Twitter because you can write a long posts (10.000 characters) and customize your post, add videos, pictures…

It’s a social media very appreciated by users and also by celebrities and businesses. They can share their activities with their followers, creating trust and interaction. A Brand’s Weibo page is also a reference for its consumers.

Our agency has been helping a lot of businesses to advertise through Weibo and to gain significant results.

Collaborate with Kol

Young Chinese people’s tastes are often influenced by what we call KOL (Key opinion leader). They got popular through their activity online through videos or posts. To be introduced or collaborating with KOL can help you to boost your awareness among their followers.

Of course, this is only a way to promote, later to get more followers it depends on your potential to attract an audience.

If you have the means, you can also participate in music shows in China. This is more complicated because an average individual can’t handle a lot of directions made for the show. However, there are still some successful cases as Laurence Larson, from New Zealand. He participated to “Sing a song” a Chinese music platform made for indie musicians’ performances. The singer is nowadays well-known for their original song “Give up on love” available in Chinese and English version).

Manage your SEO

When you reached a new audience, they will try to search for your information (or just to follow you), what you have to do is to make yourself visible online. Baidu is the most used search engine in China, Chinese people use to rely on it for all kinds of questions and research. Making your name appear easily to online users will help you to catch your new audience as they can find you. A complete guide here for SEO baidu in China.

Same, SEO on social media apps is important.

Nowadays media is involved in a lot of activities in China. GMA is specialized in social media and digital marketing. We help companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses in China. By providing the latest marketing tools, following the latest trends, and keeping improving our methods we have become the most visible marketing to china agency. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

Further lecture about digital in China :

• Douyin the hottest video app in China 
• What does a good SEO agency in China ? 
• Guide to weibo for beginners