Last Updated on July 1, 2024
Did you know that Tencent is among the biggest advertising networks in the Chinese market? In fact, many companies are already utilizing it to expand their local reach and connect with more targeted audiences.
Tencent products enjoy massive local popularity, generating a total market value of $400 billion for the company. With its thriving landscape, foreign advertisers are understandably eager to maximize its perks.
In this post, we’ll share insights into how Tencent advertising works, from creating official accounts to deciding which of their platforms is suitable for your ad campaign.
What are Tencent ads?
Tencent offers different platforms and services for various industries. Through Tencent Ads, businesses can tap into the company’s extensive ecosystem of social media, gaming, entertainment, instant messaging, and news platforms.
Tencent’s advertising services can reach over 100,000 apps. This vast network includes the company’s successful product launches, such as WeChat, QQ, and Tencent Video. These platforms are deeply rooted in China’s digital culture, making them ideal channels to reach users and improve conversion rates.
With its integration of big data and advanced analytics, it ensures that advertisers can achieve precise targeting and measure the impact of their campaigns effectively.
Tencent’s exposure to extensive user data and behaviors from all its apps allows the platform to develop excellent AI-driven targeting capabilities that optimize better ad performance.
Understanding How The Tencent Advertising Platform Works
When creating advertisements through Tencent, it’s important to identify which advertising platform works best with your brand and what ad format aligns with your business goals or financial capacity. Let’s explore your options:
Choosing The Right Tencent Advertising Formats
● Native Advertising
Paid campaigns launched on Tencent can take the form of native advertising. Businesses that choose this option can take advantage of its non intrusive nature as it blends with a platform’s organic feeds, like social ads.
Because these ads are created with highly integrated content and optimized conversion links, it’s no surprise that they account for 60% of brand exposure on the Tencent advertising network.
● Interstitial Advertising
Brands that intend to attract new consumers typically give more preference to interstitial or full-screen ads. True to their name, these ads appear larger in size and transition naturally within the app’s landing pages.
Advertisers can customize these Tencent ads with GIFs, pictures, graphics, videos, and H5 pages, depending on their creative needs.
● Banner Advertising
Compared to other formats you can launch through Tencent, advertising banners on Tencent are noticeably more budget-friendly for companies.
These banners are also easier to manage and customize as this paid content offers more precision through location-based targeting.
● Open Advertising
Most Tencent services target to serve the needs of China’s mobile users, so open ads are definitely the most common paid content you’ll encounter through these apps.
These ads appear on the full screen when the app’s system loads for users. Brands can set them up in different layouts, from GIFs and short videos to static images.
● Incentive Video Advertising
Tencent video ads work differently than other paid content formats on the platform. Beyond the ability to customize them more creatively, they also have flexible ad positioning.
With this feature, video ads can appear in any section of the Tencent platform to improve their visibility among users.
7 Key Tencent Platforms To Consider When Advertising in China
1. WeChat (Weixin)
One key platform that boosts Tencent’s rapid growth is WeChat (locally known as Weixin). This super app serves over 1.427 billion monthly active users, giving its advertising platform the power to expand its reach in different consumer groups and industries.
Here are the three main formats you can consider when advertising on WeChat:
- WeChat Moments Advertising
Among many popular social media platforms in China, WeChat is known for its one-on-one marketing model. Most users consider the app a tool to communicate with their inner social groups.
Launching a Moments ad for your target audience integrates your brand promotions within their organic feeds. This advertising content only appears on the user’s screen once they receive at least four Moment updates from friends.
When you create WeChat Moments ads, it’s important to integrate them with elements that interest your target viewers. If the ad doesn’t receive any engagement in the next six hours, the system automatically removes it from the user’s feed.
- WeChat Mini-Programs
Among the advertising options that Tencent offers, WeChat mini-programs are the only format that allows companies to create unique sub-applications to serve their consumers.
The advertisements you can launch through this channel range from mini-games to banners and pop-up promotions.
It’s also the only advertising format on WeChat that brands can use as an e-commerce channel, as it’s integrated with product pages and an e-wallet payment system.
- WeChat Public Account Advertising
Public account ads are a good choice for more established brands. Your campaign centers on users who already follow your account and are familiar with your content or offerings.
Companies launching public account ads can customize their campaign to appear as digital banners on content like articles, videos, organic feeds, or KOL collaborations.
2. Tencent Video
Tencent Video is one of the top streaming platforms in China, with over 530 million monthly active users. Its rapid growth is mainly attributed to its full-scale content library that provides users access to popular TV shows, movies, and short video clips.
It’s an efficient advertising platform in China, especially for brands looking to expand their visibility among entertainment media consumers. Advertisers should also note that 60% of the platform’s traffic comes from first-tier and second-tier cities.
Advertisements on this platform appear as entertainment traffic in native form, reaching users accurately and precisely. Tencent Video offers different video lengths and ad positions, so you can find a campaign to fit your needs even with a small budget.
- Brand Promotion Advertising
These ads appear when users open the Tencent Video app or transition to another landing page. When using these services for advertisements, brands can choose between a static image or a short video.
- App Promotion Advertising
Businesses launching game applications or other downloadable services can opt for these advertisements, which are specifically designed to lead users to an app page.
These advertising options appear as short promotional videos before the actual Tencent video content begins.
- Product Promotion Advertising
Tencent Video has a section for product advertising for brands that focus on turning users into paying customers. These promotions appear in the “recommended for you” tab at the bottom of a video playback content page.
3. Tencent QQ
Another notable social media and communication platform in China is Tencent QQ. Like WeChat, it was initially launched to provide instant messaging services to its users. However, as time passed, it developed its own marketing and advertising ecosystem.
Tencent QQ has a dedicated advertising platform called Guang Dong Tong, which is integrated into its social network system. Brands that utilize this option can implement ads through various channels, like QQ Zone, QQ music, QQ news app, QQ Zone, and even create a link to WeChat.
Around 75% of the platform’s user base belongs to the 18-45 age group, making it ideal for companies in the clothing, sports, toys, and gaming industries.
Here are ad types you can consider in Tencent QQ:
- Brand Promotion Advertising
When launched, these ads appear on every third page of the QQ homepage. They are similar to native ads that can lead users to a product page or any e-commerce landing page.
- App Promotion Advertising
Brands promoting downloadable apps can customize this QQ ad to appear on the platform homepage. Like brand promotions, it has the appeal of native advertising as it blends and appears on every seventh page of the organic content.
- Product Promotion Advertising
Most product ads in Tencent QQ do not appear on the platform’s homepage. Instead, they pop out during the user’s transition when watching the app’s video feed. Typically, these promotions are triggered when swiping to the next video content.
- Store Advertising
For brands in China trying to drive traffic to their e-commerce stores, Tencent QQ offers an advertising format that will suit their needs. JD.com is also integrated with the platform’s mobile application.
This partnership allows JD.com direct access, known as “Level-1 entry points,” on Mobile QQ.
4. Tencent News
Unlike other platforms focused on social networking and other media-sharing features, Tencent News is specifically visited by users to browse information that interests them. Because of this, these ads are accurately targeted based on user attributes, browsing data, and interest preferences.
It’s also a valuable advertising platform for foreign brands as it mainly focuses on mobile users, who make up 68.4% of the country’s total population.
The diverse range of advertising management tools on Tencent News allows brands to customize their paid campaigns in different formats like videos, pictures, and text.
Thanks to this, Tencent News can accommodate any digital campaign needs, whether it’s for promoting a product, driving users to download an app, or simply boosting brand interest through high-quality content. Most of these ads are also charged on a cost-per-click model.
5. Tencent Feed Advertising
For a more extensive ad campaign that goes beyond social networking and e-commerce platforms, you can consider Tencent’s information stream ecosystem. It ranges from apps such as QQ Browser, QQ aspect advertising (QQ看点广告), and Tiantian news advertising (天天快报广告).
These marketing channels mainly support native advertising formats. So, when you launch ads through these platforms, the primary goal is to enhance brand visibility and credibility.
Brands can reach users accurately through multiple advertising scenarios, using content like graphics, videos, and interactive multimedia.
- QQ Browser Advertising (QQ浏览器广告)
QQ browser was launched way back in 2012, which makes it a platform that has undergone many developments over the years. While its user base is less massive than before, it still serves over 280 million monthly active accounts.
The QQ browser can facilitate promotions for virtual storefronts and sales leads thanks to its ad tools. Its lead generation format is typically seen at the bottom of an article.
- Tiantian News Advertising (天天快报广告)
Tencent launched Tiantian News in an attempt to provide users with article and content recommendations based on their personal preferences and interests.
The system operates based on gathered user data, allowing its ads to target audiences accurately while considering their consumer attributes, browsing behavior, and hobbies.
6. Tencent Music Ads
Beyond owning China’s biggest social media app and launching a popular video streaming app, Tencent also owns the country’s largest online music platform. Its advertising reach covers applications like QQ music, Cool music, and National K Song.
Its ad customization settings mainly target users who like listening to music, searching for new songs, or watching videos.
- Cool Music Advertising (酷我音乐广告)
Locals know this app as the “Kuwo Music” app. It’s a music streaming service launched in China to provide users with curated playlists based on their activities, such as driving, sleeping, working, or studying.
Ads launched in this marketing channel are known to drive high user engagement and conversion rates. Most sales leads ad campaigns on the platform have an aesthetically pleasing appeal, attracting users to click on them.
Source: Route Note
Kuwo music app’s popularity in China is also driven by the fact that the platform has over 60 car company partners. This means that the application is integrated within 80% of the key players in the Chinese automotive industry.
- K-Song Karaoke Advertising (全民K歌广告)
K-Song Karaoke (globally known as WeSing) is China’s biggest online karaoke platform. Did you know that over 50% of its user base are young and wealthy consumers aged between 25 and 29?
The app’s notable appeal to Chinese millennials makes it a compatible advertising channel for brands in various industries wanting to expand their target audience.
7. Tencent In-Game Advertising
Tencent is the leading tech giant in China’s rapidly growing online gaming market. In fact, the company has published and developed some of the country’s most-played game titles, like Honor of Kings.
Because of this, it’s not surprising that these games are also part of the company’s advertising network in China. The company has over 140 game titles and hundreds of millions of players who could turn into consumers when viewing your ads.
How to Open a Tencent Advertising Account For Your Business in China
Setting up a Tencent advertising account should come first before picking the suitable format for your ads or creating a campaign strategy to attract target audiences. Here are some requirements you’ll need for the account creation process:
- You need a Chinese business license, ID card, and documents that display your business qualifications and production. This includes a scanned copy of the front and back of your business license.
- You must submit legal contact information that can be verified with your company, such as mailbox, telephone number, and address
- Relevant qualifications of your business industry, such as “Financial License” or “Gaming License.” These documents must follow the specified industry.
- An official Trademark Registration Certification is required if your company has patent or trademark rights.
- Other supporting documents include but are not limited to advertising review forms, authorization documents, company certificates, and quality inspections.
If you don’t have a Chinese business license, you can work with a local advertising agency to take care of ad buying at flexible rates or officially open a business in China.
How much does Tencent advertising cost?
The cost of advertising on Tencent depends on which platforms or services you choose to launch your campaigns. However, the platform requires a minimum account deposit of around 5,000 RMB.
Brands can use this deposit to run their ads on Tencent. Each campaign on the platform also requires a 50 RMB budget per day for the account, but the overall cost will depend on the keywords you use or how competitive the competition is in your niche.
Other Tools Worth Trying in Tencent’s Advertising Ecosystem
Tencent’s DMP Tool
Tencent’s DMP is a centralized hub for all your advertising data across Tencent’s channels. It aggregates data such as demographics, geographic information, mobile app identifiers, online behavior, and user interests, giving you a comprehensive view of your target audience.
One of the main features that Tencent’s DMP offers include:
- Data Links: The data link feature helps you add value to the first-party data.
- Crowd Management: This supports the creation of various forms of private crowds to help you perform more accurate crowd management by pushing in-feed ads or video ads to a segmented audience that will most likely turn into conversion.
- Smart Insights: It helps you gain more insights into your target audience and improves marketing effectiveness.
- Open Security: The API interface and secure data structure keep first-party data transmission secure for your marketing campaigns.
Tencent’s OCPA
Optimized CPA (oCPA) is an automated bidding strategy for performance marketing. It optimizes your ads based on performance goals and bids. By selecting a specific optimization goal and providing your average desired cost per action, oCPA estimates and optimizes conversions continuously.
It’s a simplified process where you only need to provide your expected average conversion price, reducing optimization costs.
You can also count on its smart bid calculation to estimate conversion values using machine learning, improve delivery efficiency, and achieve more conversions at controlled costs.
Tencent’s Dynamic Merchant Ads
Dynamic merchant advertising enhances the efficiency of your marketing conversions by recommending products or services tailored to different audiences.
This tool reduces advertising production costs while increasing conversion rates, making it ideal for promoting various products or services in the Chinese digital ecosystem.
Tencent’s Tagging System
The feature that makes Tencent the ideal advertising platform is its sophisticated tagging system. It offers comprehensive audience characterization and insights, enabling precise ad targeting.
Combining user characteristics and behaviors allows you to create tailored user segments, expand your customer base, and meet individualized needs.
The types of tags you’ll encounter on Tencent apps include:
- Demographic Labels: Target based on age, location, education, marital status, work status, and personal assets
- Interest Tags: Include business, entertainment, and other personalized interests
- Device Tags: Segment information based on device type, brand, operator, model, and operating system
- Behavioral Tags: Cover basic behaviors in social interactions, e-commerce, O2O, game usage, and other app usage
- Industry Tags: Differentiate users based on market industries to improve advertising effectiveness
- Custom Tags: Create customized tags based on your brand’s needs and data
Tips for a successful launch of Tencent Ads
- Follow China’s Stringent Digital Advertising Laws
Although each digital channel in China has its own regulations, all must comply with the country’s stringent digital advertising laws. This includes avoiding “absolute” terms in your paid promotions and specific restrictions on content targeted at children and medical industries.
- Continually Optimize for Mobile Users
Most applications included in Tencent’s advertising ecosystem are more utilized by the general public in their mobile versions. Because of this, mobile ads should be your primary focus when creating ads for the platform.
- Develop cross-platform promotions
Marketing on different Tencent platforms has its perks. While Tencent News is used for a more professional audience, Tencent Video may perform better with Gen-Z consumers.
Instead of just considering one platform to run campaigns, think about how to utilize multiple platforms to play off one another to maximize your reach.
- Test your results
Some campaigns will always perform better than others, and you need to see which format or strategy works the best. Track which platforms have the best ROI and create a strategy that revolves around those types of campaigns.
Your Trusted Tencent Advertising Partner in China!
The advertising industry in China is very competitive. If you don’t take the necessary time to understand how it works, you risk a high chance of failure in the market. Once you learn how to use the Tencent network as a whole, how it operates, and how to test your ads, you can definitely find some advertising success.
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At Sekkei Digital Group, we take pride in giving brands a chance to expand their audience reach in the Chinese market. Our team has extensive industry experience that can help your business launch advertisements, leading to more growth, a higher retention rate, and, eventually, more sales.
Whether you’re trying to open a Tencent advertising account or launching a WeChat ad campaign, we have all the digital solutions you need. Contact us today to learn more!
Reference:
Tencent Advertising