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Social media advertising for Chinese brands going global

MVP (Mega Volume Production, 十方众声) helps Chinese companies and brands grow abroad, mainly in North America: it runs ads on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, Google and YouTube, X and LinkedIn, manages official accounts, brings in overseas creators and distributes English press releases. Ad accounts are opened in MVP’s name and MVP settles the spend, and reach and ROI targets can be written into the contract.

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What does MVP do for Chinese brands advertising overseas?

MVP helps Chinese companies and brands market themselves outside China, what Chinese marketers call chuhai: it buys ads on Western social and search platforms, runs the brand’s official accounts there, brings in overseas creators, and sends important news to the media in English press releases. The main market is North America; the working languages are Chinese and English.

The work is split like this:

  • What MVP does: sets the media plan and budget split, writes the English copy and adapts the creative, builds and adjusts campaigns in each platform’s ad console; runs the official accounts to plan; approaches overseas creators; writes and distributes press releases; and reviews the numbers and reports to you.
  • What is done with outside specialists: video shoots and other production work.
  • What you do: supply product information and company documents, and approve the plan, the budget and what is said in public; ads and press releases go live only after you sign them off.

You brief MVP in Chinese; your audience hears you in their own idiom. The copy is not a translation of the Chinese: it is rewritten for the target market’s habits and laws.

How the work is priced and which company signs the contract are covered under pricing below.

Which Chinese companies and brands is this for?

MVP’s going-global advertising is for Chinese companies and brands that have decided to sell abroad: cross-border e-commerce sellers, consumer brands, app and game companies, B2B firms with overseas customers, and Chinese creators who have built a brand of their own. If you want the founder or the company itself built up as a public figure over the long term, that is talent management: see companies and brands. Creators who want their own accounts and brand deals abroad should see creators and influencers. For foreign brands entering China, see China entry: PR and social ads.

What does going-global marketing include?

MVP’s going-global advertising covers five kinds of work; which of them you take on is set out in your proposal.

  • Paid ads on Western platforms

    Campaigns in TikTok Ads Manager (incl. Spark Ads), Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads (incl. YouTube ads), X Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager and other ad consoles: choosing regions and audiences, preparing the creative, splitting the budget and adjusting on the numbers. What each platform is good for is in the next section.

  • Official accounts abroad

    Content planning and day-to-day running of the brand’s official accounts on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn: themes and a posting calendar, checks before anything is posted, and replies to comments. Every account is a real company posting real content; MVP never buys followers, fakes engagement or trades accounts.

  • Overseas creators

    Finding the right creators abroad for the brand, Chinese-speaking creators in North America among them, negotiating terms, and following the content through to publication. How creators are chosen and how the work runs is on cross-border influencer marketing.

  • English press releases and the media

    Formal news, such as a product launch, a new market or a major partnership, is written up as an English press release and distributed through wires such as PR Newswire, Business Wire, GlobeNewswire and EIN Presswire; media lists and coverage tracking run on Cision and Muck Rack.

  • Localization

    Ads, account content and press releases are all rewritten for the target market: in the way local people speak, without cultural missteps, and with every claim in an ad checked against local law.

Where should a Chinese brand advertise in North America?

MVP’s advice is to start from where your customers spend their time and how they decide to buy, then choose platforms; there is no need to be on all of them. These are the ad consoles MVP uses outside China and what each is for; the full list is under platforms and tools.

  • TikTok

    TikTok Ads Manager runs short-video in-feed ads. Spark Ads promotes a post the brand or a creator has already published; to use a creator’s post, the creator generates an authorization code,⁠1 and what the contract must say is under contract points for ad use.

  • Facebook and Instagram

    Meta Ads Manager runs ads on both Facebook and Instagram from one console; for work with creators, Meta Creator Marketing Hub is where brands find creators and run partnership ads with them.

  • Google and YouTube

    Google Ads runs search and video ads: search ads appear when people look for the kind of product you sell; YouTube ads run as video campaigns in Google Ads and can appear on YouTube and on sites and apps in the Google video partner network.⁠2

  • X and LinkedIn

    X Ads runs ads on X, formerly Twitter. LinkedIn Campaign Manager runs ads aimed at businesses and professionals, which suits B2B companies whose customers are other companies.

  • Snapchat, Pinterest and Reddit

    Snapchat Ads, Pinterest Ads and Reddit Ads run ads on their own platforms. They are worth considering when your audience is concentrated there.

Notes

  1. How to create Spark Ads for Manual and Search Campaigns in TikTok Ads ManagerTikTok Business Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  2. About video ad formatsGoogle Ads HelpSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑

What must a Chinese brand prepare before advertising on Western platforms?

Before a Chinese brand’s first campaign abroad, MVP gets four things ready: company documents that will pass the platforms’ verification, products and content that fit their ad policies, ad claims written for local law, and a disclosure plan for any work with creators. Below is what the platforms themselves require.

  • Business verification: documents that match the legal entity

    TikTok asks advertisers to verify their business information when they create an ad account, and requires verification once ad spend reaches a threshold set for each market.⁠3 On Meta, some advertising and billing features can be used only after business verification; the business name and address must match the legal entity, and Meta may ask for official documents such as a business license.⁠4 Advertisers Google selects for verification answer questions about their organization and may have to submit documents; afterwards their ads show the advertiser’s name and location.⁠5 Have the business license, the company’s English name and its address ready in advance.

  • Platform policy: some categories are banned, some need approval first

    Each platform has ad policies of its own on top of the law. TikTok sets rules category by category, with specific articles on alcohol, financial services, gambling, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and weight management;⁠6 on X, restricted categories such as alcohol, financial products, gambling, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and tobacco must comply with local law and need X’s pre-authorization;⁠7 LinkedIn prohibits ads for tobacco, adult content and counterfeit goods, among others;⁠8 Google Ads policies fall into four areas: prohibited content, prohibited practices, restricted content and features, and editorial and technical requirements.⁠9

  • Local law: the advertiser is responsible

    TikTok states that advertisers are responsible for their ads, including compliance with the laws of the regions they target;⁠10 Meta requires all advertisers to comply with the laws in their jurisdiction and reviews every ad when it is placed.⁠11 A claim that is fine at home may not be fine abroad, so the copy is written to the target market’s law.

  • Working with creators: paid content must be disclosed

    Paid content from creators in the US and Canada must be disclosed under local rules. What counts as a material connection, and how sponsored posts must be labeled in China, the US and Canada (and which labels fall short), is set out in the three-country table.

Notes

  1. How to verify your business on TikTokTikTok Business Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  2. How to verify your business in Meta Business SuiteMeta Business Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  3. Advertiser verificationGoogle Advertising Policies HelpSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  4. TikTok Advertising PoliciesTikTok Business Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  5. X Ads policiesX Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  6. LinkedIn Advertising PoliciesLinkedInPage updated SourceChecked ↑
  7. Google Ads policiesGoogle Advertising Policies HelpSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  8. Advertising on TikTok - First Things to NoteTikTok Business Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  9. Introduction to the Advertising StandardsMeta Transparency CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑

How does a going-global ad engagement with MVP work?

Working with MVP on going-global advertising takes five steps, from your first enquiry to the review after launch.

  1. Send your brief

    On the contact page, choose “Chinese company or brand going overseas” and describe your product, your target markets and what you want done, such as ads or a press release.

  2. Talk it through

    MVP learns about your product, target markets and audience, any accounts and campaigns you already run abroad, and your budget range.

  3. Proposal and quote

    MVP proposes a plan for your needs: which platforms, what content, and whether creators and press releases come in. The quote comes with the proposal.

  4. Contract and preparation

    Once the contract is signed, the verification documents are prepared, the creative is produced, the English copy is written, and everything is checked line by line against platform policy and local law.

  5. Launch and review

    After launch MVP reads the numbers, adjusts audiences, creative and budget split, and reports to you regularly on results and next steps.

How is going-global advertising priced, and what size of company can apply?

MVP quotes going-global advertising to what you need, and brands just starting abroad and companies already advertising overseas can both work with it. The cost depends on which services you take, and on which platforms and markets; it usually falls into a few parts: the platforms’ ad spend, creators’ fees, the newswires’ distribution fees, and MVP’s own service fee.

Ad accounts are opened in MVP’s name and MVP settles both the media spend and its fees, so you do not open or fund an account on each platform. Contracts for business outside mainland China are signed by Mega Volume Production Inc.; business in mainland China is signed by 北京十方众声传媒有限公司. Both companies are described on About MVP.

Questions that apply to every brand service, such as which product categories MVP takes on and how brand information is kept confidential, are answered once, in the brand marketing FAQ.

Frequently asked questions

Does a press release distributed abroad guarantee media coverage?

No. A newswire distributes: it delivers the release to media outlets, websites and journalists, and each outlet decides whether and how to cover it. Distributing companies’ press releases is what newswires such as PR Newswire do.⁠12 So judge a release by which outlets and sites actually ran it and whether journalists followed up, not by how many places it was sent to.

How long do business verification and ad review take on Western platforms, and what if an ad is rejected?

It depends on the platform. TikTok says most ads are reviewed within 24 hours, and a rejected ad can be edited and resubmitted, or appealed;⁠13 Meta’s business verification can take up to 14 business days,⁠14 and a rejected ad can be edited or sent for another review;⁠15 Google may restrict some ads while verification is pending, and may pause the account until it is complete.⁠16 So have the verification documents ready well before the planned launch.

What should you check when choosing a going-global marketing agency?

Look at what you can check, not at rankings or verbal promises. Three things are worth checking yourself: whether the company on the contract appears in a public company register and matches the website and the bank account you pay, as explained in the FAQ; whose name the ad accounts are in and which company’s documents verify them, since platforms require verification details to match the legal entity,⁠14 and putting that in the contract; and whether the agency promises that ads will pass review or accounts will never be suspended, when the platform reviews every ad itself⁠15 and no one can guarantee its decision. At MVP, the contracting company is set by market and named in the contract, the ad accounts are in MVP’s name, and campaign data is shared with you as agreed, through the platforms’ ad-console reports.

Notes

  1. 关于美通社 (About PR Newswire)PR Newswire AsiaSourceChecked Vendor’s own claimUnofficial translation↑
  2. Advertising on TikTok - First Things to NoteTikTok Business Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  3. How to verify your business in Meta Business SuiteMeta Business Help CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  4. Introduction to the Advertising StandardsMeta Transparency CenterSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑
  5. Advertiser verificationGoogle Advertising Policies HelpSourceChecked May be unavailable in mainland China↑

Taking your brand abroad? Send MVP your brief.

On the contact page, choose “Chinese company or brand going overseas” and describe your product, target markets and goals; MVP follows up with a proposal and a quote.

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