Know this before entering the Chinese market! Popular Chinese apps that marketers can't miss. Make online marketing easier and reach twice as many Chinese people.
Why is marketing in China so attractive? Why has China become the world's leading e-commerce nation?
China's rise to prominence in e-commerce began in 2003 when Alibaba launched Taobao, an online marketplace platform that made buying and selling easy for both individuals and brands. Since then, Taobao has grown rapidly and now dominates the Chinese online market, accounting for as much as 80%.
Since then, many Chinese brands have launched numerous new online platforms, and people have started using them.E-commerce platform These factors contribute to the continuous increase in online shopping, coupled with advancements in technology, making it easier for people to access various e-commerce platforms. This has significantly increased opportunities for brands to sell their products and services.
Therefore, the Chinese market is considered one of the top targets for various brands, due to its high potential, with a market value exceeding 100 billion baht and a staggering 829 million internet users—approximately 10 times more than Thailand.
Surveys show that 58% of Chinese consumers currently shop online. Chinese social media platforms have grown by over 400% and continue to experience growth. This is because Chinese consumers prioritize convenience, time saving, and speed, making these online channels extremely popular.
Furthermore, in 2022, sales in China's e-commerce market reached 15.5 trillion yuan, and are projected to grow at an annual rate of 12.41% between 2022 and 2025. The peak shopping season for Chinese consumers on e-commerce platforms is typically during major festivals or around the fourth quarter of the year, due to year-end sales promotions, especially on November 11th, considered the country's largest shopping day.
Entering the Chinese market using social media as the primary marketing channel.
Because China uses its own platforms for marketing, many people wonder: What apps does China use? What apps do Chinese people use? How can we market through those Chinese apps?
The simple answer is: if you want to succeed in the Chinese market, you need to understand user behavior and the various Chinese apps that are currently popular among Chinese people.
As is well known, statistics show that one-quarter of the world's internet users are Chinese, with over 618 million users, representing 45% of the total population. Chinese people primarily use mobile phones for communication. A 2018 survey found that mobile internet usage surpassed PC usage. Furthermore, the proportion of email users is steadily declining as people shift to Chinese apps like WeChat. As a result, Weibo and WeChat are Chinese apps with 300 million and 1 billion users respectively. In business communication, companies also choose Weibo as their primary communication platform.
Therefore, if a company wants to penetrate the Chinese market, it needs to promote its advertising through various Chinese apps to effectively build brand awareness among Chinese consumers.
7 popular Chinese apps perfect for boosting sales and achieving rapid success through marketing.
For China, it can currently be said that online marketing in China is the most effective way to reach Chinese customers, especially through various Chinese apps that help create a communication space between brands and consumers. Today, HelloAds will introduce 7 must-have Chinese apps before venturing into the Chinese market.
Baidu is a top search engine platform in China.
Baidu is the largest search engine network in China, with a market share of 76%. Therefore, Baidu Ads can be considered a gateway to reaching over 950 million internet users in China.
However, the website's algorithms are different from the Google we're familiar with, so we may need to make adjustments and do some research.The fabrication of SEO and SEM This is to enable it to synchronize with search engines in China.
Furthermore, Baidu Ads is the most used Chinese app in China, with daily usage increasing from 28% in 2020, representing approximately 160 million users.
According to data from 2020, Baidu Ads revealed that over 80% users of Baidu's search system primarily used mobile devices, and this trend is expected to continue.
WeChat is a popular Chinese app among consumers.
A Chinese app with over 1.2 billion users, it's the world's second-largest chat app and continues to grow rapidly.
With the various features of the WeChat, we can choose from three types of advertising content:
Advertisement on WeChat Moments
Ads on WeChat Moments can be text, images, or videos. They can sometimes be used in conjunction with promotional campaigns and can include links to connect to various campaign pages within WeChat.
Advertisements on the WeChat Official Account.
This type of advertisement can be placed as a banner ad at the bottom of an article. Both CPC and CPM rates are available. WeChat Official Account ads can reach a large customer base for small and medium-sized businesses, and are also effective for marketing special events.
Advertisement for WeChat, KOLs & Micro KOLs.
WeChat, KOLs & Micro KOLs advertising will be key for small and medium-sized businesses, effectively promoting brands, products, and increasing sales on WeChat. After brands have entrusted KOLs with advertising and product reviews, the advertisements will be published on the WeChat Official Account for further brand promotion.
Therefore, WeChat is another popular Chinese app for online marketing, allowing users to reach a much wider audience.
Weibo is a popular social media app among Chinese people.
Weibo is often used as a Chinese social media and marketing tool.Tie-in marketing via KOLs Singers or actors are always popular because they have massive followings. Some have over 10 million followers, like Wang Yibo, the handsome actor who has 40 million followers.
Therefore, this Chinese app caters to both brands that want to promote themselves and those looking for influencers to help promote their products and services.
Weibo is a social media platform with over 400 million users, making it the largest social network in China. It boasts a daily activity rate of 94%, and features 1,300,000 video posts per day, up to 200,000 live streams daily, and 114,000,000 articles posted on Weibo.
Therefore, it's no surprise that Weibo is popular among brands for product promotion and marketing. Digital Marketing In China
The Douyin or TikTok Chinese version is a popular new Chinese app.
Douyin, a rising Chinese app popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, is mostly known as TikTok. However, Douyin is exclusively for use within China, making it the number one social media platform for entertainment in China and the second-largest in China's digital advertising industry. Currently, it is one of the most talked-about Chinese apps globally.
For example, in the first quarter of 2018, Douyin had the highest number of downloads on the iOS App Store, reaching 45.8 million downloads. This was due to Douyin's unique features, which allowed brands to easily create promotional videos themselves or through influencers, as well as conduct live sales or interact effectively with their followers.
TouTiao is a successful Chinese app for engaging with customers.
TouTiao, China's largest news update platform, boasts 120 million daily users, spending an average of 76 minutes on the app every day (compared to 66 minutes for WeChat). Over 85% of TouTiao's users are young adults aged 18 to 30, and 37.8% are freelancers, self-employed individuals, or private company owners. This makes TouTiao an ideal B2B advertising platform and a highly effective marketing platform and popular app in China, significantly influencing Chinese consumers' brand engagement and purchasing decisions.
TouTiao also integrates social functions for digital marketing. For example, users can easily register using their personal accounts on QQ, WeChat, and Weibo. Through AI, TouTiao can analyze user behavior by accessing personal data. Users can also share their favorite news topics and articles through these platforms, giving brands the opportunity to effectively create viral content both on social media and through TouTiao's algorithm.
Zhihu is China's largest knowledge platform.
Zhihu is a Chinese Q&A and knowledge-sharing app that allows users to express their opinions about various products and services. In addition, Zhihu has developed other useful functions such as Zhihu Column, Zhihu Roundtable, Zhihu Bookstore, and Zhihu Live to meet the diverse needs of Chinese consumers.
Because Zhihu has significant authority over domain management on Baidu Ads and other search engines in China, meaning that when searches occur, Zhihu's questions and answers consistently appear on the search engine's first page, marketers view Zhihu as a powerful tool for improving SEO and other related content.
Little Red Book is a popular Chinese app that's gaining just as much traction as Douyin.
Little Red Book, known in China as Xiaohongshu, is currently one of the most popular Chinese apps. It's a lifestyle review app that also serves as a platform for sharing experiences in beauty, fashion, and travel, particularly among Chinese people who travel abroad. It allows followers to view reviews and follow in the footsteps of users who have shared their experiences.
This Chinese app is a platform that combines the strengths and fun of Instagram and Lemon8. Therefore, Little Red Book is not just a Chinese app for sharing beautiful lifestyles, but also incorporates the trendy feature of social commerce. This means users can simultaneously be buyers, sellers, and content creators on this Chinese app.
Brands can therefore promote their products themselves or through influencers or KOLs to increase product awareness, boost sales, and expand their customer base.
It is clear that these seven Chinese apps are channels that marketers can use to reach Chinese target audiences and directly target their needs. However, these are not the only new Chinese apps; there are many others, along with important trends and factors for penetrating the Chinese market.
So, if any brand is looking for...Chinese Digital Marketing Strategies In order to penetrate the Chinese market,You can consult HelloAds Come on over, full-service online marketing agency!
Read in-depth analysis by platform.
Each app has a different way of playing. Choose to read only the ones that best suit your business.
Weibo — The voice of Chinese consumers on social media.
- Why Weibo remains important for brands in 2025.
- Weibo Marketing for brands selling to Chinese consumers in Thailand.
Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) — Real reviews that led to the purchase.
- Tips for creating content that will make Chinese viewers stop and watch.
- Reach the new generation of Chinese consumers on Xiaohongshu.
- Boost your sales with Xiaohongshu Ads campaigns.
Dianping — A review platform used by Chinese people before deciding to visit a store.
- Dianping and the Chinese tourist market.
- Opportunities for Thai restaurants on Dianping.
- Update store information to appeal to Chinese tourists.
- Analyze review data to improve your business.
- Strategies for managing reviews to increase in-store sales.
Influencer and KOL China
- Nano Influencers and the New Generation of Consumers
- Get to know the different types of KOL (Chinese made) before choosing one.
🇨🇳 I want to be on an app that real Chinese people use.
Now that you know which apps Chinese people use, the next step is to get your brand visible there. Comprehensive marketing services on Chinese apps.
Read the overview before making a decision: Develop a comprehensive Chinese marketing plan for Thai brands.
