The first step to kickstarting your social media marketing in mainland China is setting up official brand accounts on key social media platforms. Popular social media platforms which are effective for brand promotion and audience engagement include WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Zhihu, and Toutiao. In addition to account registration, many of these platforms also provide business entities the option of account verification, which further enhances the credibility of your brand’s account and allows you to access additional marketing-related features.

Setting up an official brand account on Chinese social media platforms can be a hassle for brands as most of these platforms only provide a Chinese interface for account set-up. In addition, the overall registration procedure is more than just a few clicks, and requires businesses to supply a range of documents in order to validate the business entity as well as the account administrator.

International brands, in most cases, without a business registration in mainland China will need to prepare the following documents for account registration:

• Your local business registration documents
• Proof of identity of the account administrator (e.g. passport)
• Position, email address and phone bill of past 3 months of the account administrator
• Basic information of the company, such as address, phone number
• Application form (or registration letter) with company seal

Each social media platform has its unique registration and verification process. If you are looking to set up a WeChat official account, for instance, one step involves Tencent representatives calling the account administrator to verify the information submitted. Brands should also be aware that most platforms require detailed information to prove the identity of the account administrator. For a Toutiao official account, for example, the account administrator will upload a clear picture of himself.

The lead time for account registration and verification is usually from one to twelve week(s), depending on the platform’s requirements and the complexity of the verification process.

The Alarice team has hands-on experience in helping a wide array of brands, those with and without Chinese business entities, to successfully register and verify their Chinese social media accounts. We’ll help to prepare and translate the necessary documents for account registration and verification, and manage the communication with the platforms’ representatives. Upon request, we can also provide temporary account administration services and offer subsequent account customization services once the account is ready. We can manage your Chinese social media account set-up and give you a ready-made account for ongoing marketing activities.