How to Advertise on Douyin for Brands, Cross-Border Sellers, Partners & Advertisers
In a world where attention is the ultimate currency, Douyin stands out as a bustling marketplace of ideas, creativity, and commerce. Every swipe, every scroll, holds the potential to capture the hearts and minds of millions.
Through short-form videos and livestreaming, Douyin offers a unique space for businesses to connect with their target market. But in a sea of content, how do you make sure your message rises above the noise and resonates with your target audience?
That’s where the Ocean Engine Ads Account comes in – a powerful partner in China for brands, agencies, advertisers, and cross-border businesses.
Using an Ocean Engine Ads Account, you can advertise in China on a range of popular apps, including Douyin, Toutiao, Jianying (video editing app), and many more.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the basics, including how to advertise on Douyin using Ocean Engine, how to sell on Douyin as well as cross-border selling and branding on Douyin.
Introducing Ocean Engine
Spanning news, education, selfie cameras, real estate, games, and e-book apps, Ocean Engine gives brands direct access to a suite of popular apps under Douyin Group including Douyin, Toutiao, Jianying, Xigua Video, CSJ (Chuanshanjia), and many others.
With 1.9 billion monthly active user accounts across this network, Ocean Engine is able to analyze user interests and behavior in real-time on a massive scale, helping brands find the right audience and reach them at the right time and place.
This enables brands and advertisers to target focused online communities using granular and AI user targeting and then gain access to data-driven insights about user behavior in their chosen market.
The platform provides a user-friendly interface where you can create and manage your campaigns, set targeting options, choose ad formats, and specify your budget and bidding strategy across a variety of apps including Douyin. Popular ad formats include Douyin Search Ads, Ocean Engine Shopping Ads, and In-Feed Ads.
How to sign up for a Douyin Ads account
To get started and advertise on Douyin and other apps, you will first need to create an Ocean Engine Ads Account. Below is a quick step-by-step guide.
- Go to oceanengine.io: Visit the Ocean Engine website and navigate to the ad account creation page by clicking on the “Create ad account” button located in the footer at the bottom of the home page.
- Create an ad account: Fill in the online form and attach your business license. Please provide the original business license (photograph or color scan); photocopies of the business license should be stamped with a colored official company seal. For countries and regions where there is no official seal, the signatures of the legal person/senior management will be needed. If the official seal does not completely match the name of the business entity, please also provide the signature of the Legal Person/senior management.
- Wait for account approval: Once you’ve submitted your information, your application will undergo a review process. This process typically takes 2-3 business days, after which you’ll receive notification of approval.
- Set up payment: After your Ocean Engine Ads Account is approved, you’ll need to set up payment methods to fund your advertising campaigns. Ocean Engine supports various payment options, including bank transfer to top-up.
- Start advertising: With your account set up and payment method configured, you can start creating ad campaigns.
With your account set up, your team will have access to a comprehensive advertising ecosystem. This includes Creative Workbench for creating ads, a variety of user targeting and research tools, as well as extensive data insight products.
Creative Workbench lets you easily create multiple ad formats without spending hours editing and exporting advertising content from Adobe Photoshop or Premiere.
How to sell on Douyin
In addition to traditional advertising, Douyin offers opportunities for businesses to sell directly to consumers through features like Douyin Lite Shop and drive traffic using Ocean Engine Shopping Ads.
Douyin Lite Shop enables businesses to create storefronts within the Douyin app, including a range of seller tools and analytics to help manage an online storefront, track sales performance, and optimize marketing strategies.
What makes Douyin Lite Shop special is the fact that users can discover and shop for products all within the Douyin app. Users can browse through product listings, view images and videos, read product descriptions, and make purchases all without leaving the app.
For paid traffic, Ocean Engine Shopping Ads help businesses promote products to Douyin users with targeted video ad campaigns. With Shopping Ads, businesses can showcase their products to relevant audiences, build brand awareness, and drive traffic and sales to their Douyin Lite Shop or an external e-commerce platform.
These ads can be targeted toward specific audience segments based on demographics, interests, and online behavior, helping businesses reach potential customers at every stage of the purchasing journey.
Cross-border selling on Douyin
Beyond traditional e-commerce, the Douyin app offers opportunities for cross-border sellers and brands to sell directly into China via Douyin’s cross-border arm, Douyin EC Global.
Since launching in 2021, Douyin EC Global’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) has achieved rapid growth, becoming a leading destination for cross-border shopping in China. The number of global brands operating on Douyin EC Global has grown rapidly during this time and across a variety of popular categories.
Douyin EC Global offers access to a variety of unique marketing, e-commerce, and logistics solutions for cross-border sellers. This encompasses both bonded storage for goods and direct mail support. With the usual logistics timeframe for cross-border products ranging from 2 to 5 days, the waiting period for delivery is significantly reduced, enabling consumers to receive their purchases sooner.
To determine if you’re a suitable match for collaborating with Douyin EC Global, contact Ocean Engine today to advertise on Douyin.
How to open up a Douyin Business Account
For businesses looking to establish a strong presence on Douyin, upgrading to a Douyin Business Account is essential. This verified business account, denoted by a blue logo, offers several benefits, including access to advanced advertising features, enhanced visibility, and credibility among users.
To verify your account as a business account and obtain the coveted blue logo. This typically involves providing documentation to confirm your business identity and legitimacy.
Note that Ocean Engine now supports non-Chinese business licenses for Douyin Business Account registration.
To get started, please contact Ocean Engine.
How to sign up as an Ocean Engine partner
Agencies seeking to maximize their advertising efforts on Douyin can benefit from becoming an Ocean Engine partner. As an Ocean Engine partner, agencies gain access to exclusive resources, training, and support to help them deliver exceptional results for their clients’ campaigns.
To become an Ocean Engine partner, agencies must meet certain criteria and undergo a qualification process. Once accepted, partners receive specialized training and support to optimize their advertising strategies and drive success on Douyin.
To learn more, please visit the Partner page or contact Ocean Engine directly.
Marketing collaboration
In addition to creative and e-commerce agencies, Ocean Engine also collaborates with leading institutions and businesses on a variety of strategic marketing initiatives, including content creation, co-branded events, and whitepaper research.
To discuss collaboration opportunities, please contact us via our website.
Unlock the China market with an Ocean Engine Ads Account
Whether you’re a newcomer or an experienced marketer, Douyin and Ocean Engine offer the tools and resources you need to succeed in China.
To get started as an advertiser, partner, or e-commerce seller, contact Ocean Engine for one-on-one support to advertise on Douyin and access to further resources according to your business needs.
