Bastille Day, an iconic French event celebrated in China, was marked by an exceptional evening organized by Aeroluxus, with HICOM as silver sponsor.

Introduction

On July 5, Aeroluxus, founded and managed by Franck Dubarry, organized a major event for the French community in China: the 5th Bastille Day Gala Dinner. This special evening, entitled “Together under the stars and moon of Hangzhou to celebrate Franco-Chinese cooperation and harmony”, also marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China. HICOM, a Shanghai-based translation, copywriting and digital marketing agency, was honored to participate as a silver sponsor of this prestigious event.

Presenting the event

The event, held at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Hangzhou, brought together many influential figures from the French and Chinese business communities. The aim of the gala dinner was twofold: to celebrate France’s national holiday, while strengthening ties between companies and business leaders from both countries. The theme of the evening was “Together under the stars and moon of Hangzhou”, highlighting the friendship and collaboration between France and China.

HICOM as Silver Sponsor

As silver sponsor, HICOM played a key role in the event’s success. We designed and donated the booklet presenting the event and all its partners, an essential support that highlighted the evening’s various speakers and activities. For HICOM, this sponsorship represented a unique opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to promoting Franco-Chinese relations, and to support an initiative aimed at bringing the two communities closer together.

Learn more about HICOM’s copywriting services

Highlights of the evening

The evening, whose main sponsor was Dassault Aviation, was marked by a warm and friendly atmosphere, conducive to exchanges and new encounters. Guests enjoyed a refined dinner, inspiring speeches and captivating artistic performances. Speeches by representatives of Aeroluxus and other partner companies underlined the importance of cooperation between France and China.

Conclusion

The 5th Bastille Day Gala Dinner was a resounding success, bringing together the French and Chinese communities under the banner of cooperation and friendship. HICOM is proud to have contributed to this event as a silver sponsor, and to play an active part in promoting Franco-Chinese relations. Our sincere thanks go to the organizers, partners and all participants for a memorable evening. We look forward to continuing to support and participate in such events in the future, helping to strengthen the ties between our two countries.

Product descriptions are one of the most significant features of your product page, which can make or break the sale.

If you look back on the last time you bought something online, you may remember that you probably left a product page with no description as quickly as you clicked on it.

The benefits of having a good product description are:

• Increased Sales. Having a well-written product description will make the buyer view you as a professional company and have them want to do business with you. It also helps them understand the product better and know what they are buying. One of the biggest deterrents is a vague or empty product description.
• Fewer Refunds. Writing an informative and engaging product description will not only get people to buy your product, but they are also less likely to return it because the buyer knows what they paid for and will get. A clear product description also indirectly increases your seller rating since people will not be dissatisfied with a product they may or may not have liked.
• Higher ranking in SERP. A good copy in product descriptions means using strategically placed and popular keywords. Because the Search Engine that AliExpress uses considers this, your product will show up more and more in search results, increasing views and sales.

Now that you know how a good product description helps you read on to learn how to write a product description that converts like crazy.

Know your buyer

One of the most important things to remember while writing your product description is whom you will be selling to. Take the time and think about your target market, their needs, and how your product helps them fulfill their needs. Some of the questions you can ask yourself to get started are:

• Who will benefit most from this product?
• What problem of theirs can my product help to fix?
• How can my product fix that problem of theirs?

You can also use data from previous purchases to determine what kind of market your product attracts. Find the market that will benefit the most from your product and try to speak to them in a personalized tone aligned with their needs. Different customers mean different needs; thus, you should use a different voice to communicate with them.

Use Keywords

Keywords are crucial to your product description because it helps your product rank higher on the SERP. You can use Alibaba’s Seller Tool to optimize your product description with the appropriate keywords. You can also use Google’s Tool for a more general view of keywords.

Pro Tip: Do not just add random keywords in hopes of it reaching the top of the result page! Doing this is called keyword stuffing, and it makes you look unprofessional. It may also discourage a customer from buying.

You should write your product description and find exciting ways to weave the keywords in the text. Incorporating keywords in your text in this way makes the text more attractive and helps your search engine ranking.

Mention how the features will benefit the buyer

A typical mistake sellers make is listing the product’s features without mentioning how those features will benefit the user. Most people will need help understanding technical details. For example, instead of merely writing the computer’s specifications, you can add an engaging sentence at the end. Read the product’s description example below.

1.

12th Gen i7 processor

RTX 3070Ti

2.

The 12th Gen i7 processor paired with the 3070Ti will allow you to play any modern game at high frame rates with breathtaking graphics.

The second description is much more attractive because it discusses how the product helps users get what they want. You want to write the benefits so that they align with the customer’s needs on each feature. Due to this, we recommend you research your ideal customers and their wants. You want to let them know your product is what they have been looking for.

The product description should also have enough information so the buyer can come to an informed decision on whether to buy your product.

The above text features an example of using a feature to explain a benefit. Instead of only mentioning 50mm High-Quality Speakers, the seller paints a portrait that “reproduces every detail of your music.” It would be best to aim to reproduce this when showing your benefits. The problem with the above example is missing better-written English, which brings us to the next point.

Translate your text correctly

H3: Translating your product description can be tricky if you are a multilingual seller. Each part of the copy needs to be correctly translated and adapted to the native language of your market, and it needs to keep the same level of salesmanship as the original text.

Online translation services are usually not enough to correctly translate your text. It would be best if your translation is done in a grammatically correct and persuasive manner.

Incorrect grammar and weird phrases act as a deterrent to buyers. When a product description features correct grammar and attractive language, the buyer considers the business professional and worth working with.

To spell-check your text, you can use apps that are available online like Hemingway. You can also contact us and see what we can do for you.

Conclusion

Product descriptions are critical in influencing whether a potential buyer purchases your product or moves on to the next alternative. Increased sales, lower return rates, and a better search engine position are all advantages of a strong product description.

To write captivating product descriptions, you must analyze your target audience and customize your wording to their demands. Determine their problems and how the product would help them.

Keywords are another vital factor to consider since they boost search engine optimization. Instead of keyword stuffing, strategically weave them into the content excitingly and naturally.

It is recommended to emphasize the product’s benefits rather than just stating its features. Connecting the product’s attributes to how they meet the buyer’s needs increases the buyer’s interest.

Using appropriate vocabulary and organizing the description simply and concisely are other essential components in projecting a professional image and establishing trust in potential customers.

By following the advice in this article, AliExpress sellers will be able to create interesting product descriptions that will attract their target audience, increase conversion rates, and lead to sales success.

Don’t let your competition beat you to it; begin creating your new and compelling product descriptions right away!

Follow us to stay in touch with the digital news of the China, top trends and hot topics!

HI-COM is a digital marketing agency dedicated to providing China-specific strategy, social media communication and e-commerce marketing services to businesses around the world. Working with more than 100 brands, HI-COM is the go-to partner of companies that want to enter the China market!  Contact us for your free consultation today!

Rumor has it that in China machines are doing all the work for you! Are robots really able to take the load off human copywriters and deliver a great piece of content? Let’s take a look and find out!

1. 小发猫/Xiaofamao

   Xiaofamao is an AI pseudo-original tool. Just copy and paste an article into Xiaofamao and click “Generate an AI rewritten version”, and Xiaofamao will analyze and imitate the original text from multiple angles and generate a new pseudo-original art.As soon as you open the web page, you can input a composition. The product interface is very simple, and you can simply input an article and then rewrite it with the AI. The revision is paraphrasing the article in another rhetorical device, so it is not suitable for writing an original article.

   Xiaofamao pseudo original_Xiaofamao AI writing v1.2.3 (xiaofamao.com)

2. Giiso 写作机器人
   You simply enter keywords and the desired style of writing, and Giiso will produce an article. After selecting an article, you will enter the editing page. You can select a paragraph and select the writing resources in the left column to replace it, or you can enter keywords to select the right writing resources.
   This platform is often used to write about cars. It offers a special column for automobile reviews, including model comparisons.
   
   Giiso, an AI assistant tool for content creation

3. Get 智能写作 / Get AI is a one-stop intelligent writing service platform that provides services including hot-topic identification, intelligent rewriting, and quality checks. It is often used to help authors improve the quality of their writing rather than do independent creation based on keywords.

   When you lack inspiration or need some writing resources you may use this application to search for writing resources or perspectives.

   GetAi, a one-stop intelligent writing service platform (getgetai.com)

4. 5118智能原创
   5118 is a tool known to be frequently used by media professionals, and it offers various functions including intelligent rewriting, media writing content database, originality detection, article generation, content planning and big data word cloud.5118 primarily enables the author to create a large number of articles with the same theme and slightly different content in a short time. Compared with other AI writing platforms, 5118 provides a more complete set of functions, which covers all services from content planning to writing execution.
   Intelligent rewriting tool_online intelligent rewriting generation_high-ranking articles rewriting (5118.com)
5. EffiditEfficient and Intelligent Editing is a research prototype system developed by Tencent AI Lab to explore the improvement of authors’ writing efficiency and creative experience via AI technology.Effidit, which was developed by Tencent AI Lab, supports both general and academic versions. It provides various functions including intelligent error correction, sentence completion, phrase polishing, example sentence recommendation, paper search, phrase completion and cloud input methods. Effidit helps authors to complete writing articles in Chinese and English and improves their writing efficiency.https://effidit.qq.com
6. 悉语智能文案/XiYu Intelligent CopywritingXiYu Intelligent Copywriting is a tool developed by Alimama Creative Center that can generate product description copies with just one click, covering all e-commerce scenarios.XiYu Intelligent Copywriting is very easy to use. Copy any product link on Tmall.com or Taobao.com and add it to the tool. Click “Generate a copy”, and the XiYu Intelligent Copywriting tool will produce a marketing copy for the product. In addition, the platform also provides the weekly rankings of search terms to help users to produce popular articles based on frequently searched keywords.Alimama Creative Center  –  intelligent copywriting (taobao.com)

Plagiarism has become a major concern for writers and web owners. Not only this, the students that are using research from the internet are also facing the consequences of duplicate content.

Avoiding plagiarism is one of the most essential things because it can create some serious problems like getting expelled from school or getting ranked down from the SERP of Google.

Here are the ways/steps to stay away from plagiarism:

1. Monitor your source
2. Rewrite the content
3. Citations
4. Checking plagiarism before uploading
5. Use quotations with reliable sources
6. Add a reference section

Before avoiding, remember to check the quantity of the plagiarism in your content. This is possible through plagiarism checkers that are available online for free.

You just need to paste the content in the tool and the rest of the words will be done by the tool itself instead of comparing your content with other published articles.

1. Monitor your source

You can find out what piece of writing is copied as well as the source from which it came through monitoring the source. You must avoid the same content as on these sources.

In this way, it helps to prevent unexpected content that might be conceivable for the random situation in which the individual does not remember the source from which the specific idea was copied.

This problem can be effectively avoided by sorting out notes and monitoring every source website and in this way, the source can be cited for general articles or even magazine articles.

By using this step, one can draw up a list of references that would help to stay away from copied content.

2. Rewriting the content

Rewriting basically means changing the words of the sentences in a way that it wouldn’t lose the actual meaning of the content.

The important benefit of this method is that it can change the words by replacing them with synonyms that are actually of the same meaning.

It is not possible to simply replace a single word and not duplicate several words accurately; its content should be reformulated in such a way that no one can perceive its source.

Moreover, it should be possible to properly examine the text and leaving the same meaning as of source.

The content rewriting besides the manual way can be possible by using a word spinner. These tools are available online for free and you can use them for any purpose.

Most of the students, bloggers, and content writers use article spinners for their platforms.

3. Citation

Staying away from plagiarism is quite a difficult task when you have to copy the important content like in the research paper.

Now, when you are copying, we have already discussed to note the source page giving the author the credit.

In other words, maintaining a strategic distance from copyright infringement while compiling the research paper is possible through the citation or an in-text reference that helps the user distinguish the first author of the source.

The text contains the number of pages, the year of publication, and other important dates.

Citation is a reference that helps avoid plagiarism by following the appropriate rules for the reference, but the most important certainty is that different specimens can help you in making the citation easily.

The rules are developed by different associations as well as with the collaboration of the universities and researchers.

The common reference style includes APL, Chicago and MLA style, and so on are accessible and each of them has its principles for different types of content.

Plagiarism is considered if the citation is not made appropriately.

4. Checking plagiarism before uploading

To check plagiarism, the online plagiarism checkers can help you to know the originality of the content in your writing whereas it would be helpful to avoid any penalty after publishing.

Checking the originality is an innovation that provides some kind of assistance in verifying and comparing reports from a huge information database, and features that are available worldwide and somehow identify with the content.

Besides, checking for plagiarism helps to detect the error that can encourage literature theft, such as when someone omits quotations, does not remember references to sources, or notices a summary that is uniquely identified with the first entry.

Plagiarism detectors are accessible via the web. In addition to literature theft tools, they also offer other key points such as stating the actual source, comparing the unique and plagiarized content, etc., which can be downloaded.

The key component of the originality verification is that it indicates the copied content, the section, or even the line from the pasted content and also indicates the general extent of copyright infringement, indicating how incomparable the paper is.

5. Use quotations with reliable sources

Quotes are relevant when the specific word-to-word meaning of the first author is used, which happens if it is difficult to rewrite or rephrase the sentence without losing its unique or incipient meaning.

Consequently, it is helpful to stay away from negative outcomes while appealing rules that must be followed and using a statement in a specific way that it is reflected in the content.

The copier should quote or cite the text properly to avoid the consequences.

You should quote the copied content, as this cycle may take additional time, but it helps to stay away from accusations of copyright infringement.

6. Reference Section

Another approach to prevent plagiarism in your content is to abandon the list of references to all the sources of publication from which you have copied word-by-word or the idea.

The reference section is usually made at the end of the article or the page just like Wikipedia does.

This page should also carefully follow the reporting guidelines, which helps the user obtain information about the implied reason for publication.

Conclusion

Besides these methods, there are multiple methods to stay avoid plagiarism. However, the best way is to consider your ideas and writing without looking at the internet or any other source.

The plagiarism, on the search engine, can be ranked down your website and this way, it would be a loss to the traffic of your website.

If this is your business website, then you are ruining your business and your income.

Many brands have a special department of the content production team which makes fresh content and guarantees originality.

Looking for copywriting services? Contact us today to discuss your project!

HI-COM is an international multilingual translation agency that makes communication easy, professional and engaging. With our rich pool of resources all over China and an ever-ready international team, HI-COM will make sure your message is fully understood, localized according to the highest standards, and delivered on time! Contact our team today!

When it comes to dual localization, brand name translation, especially into languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic, can be very sensitive, and despite the fact the end result may only consist of one or two words or characters, the amount of time, research, and effort involved to arrive at this point can be enormous. This is especially the case in China, where one character may have several meanings, and these meanings may morph into something completely different when paired with another character.

8 out of 10 brands localize their brand name when entering foreign markets. In markets like China it is necessary because local customers may not be able to pronounce your brand’s usual name.

To illustrate this, 好（hǎo) means “Good”, and 好坏 (hǎo huài) means “Very bad”!

What is the process of brand name translation?

When working on brand name translation, it is important to follow the methods applied by professional naming agencies. The goal is not only to find a Brand translation that will mean and/or sound the same as the original, but also to make sure the new name will be positive, sound right, be original, and fit the new location’s market.

Brand names can be translated in different ways. They may reflect phonetic specifications, meaning or be more independent, or include both.

The brand name translation process includes 4 key parts:

1. Brand Image definition
2. Definition of the target audience
3. Benchmark of existing competition and their brand names
4. Brand name translation

Brand Image Definition

When conducting research on Brand Image, one should include the brand’s attributes (what type of organization it represents, what it stands for, the meaning of its logo etc.), association (the meaning and emotions that the brand name brings out), targets (the type of audience the brand is aiming for), domestic market (the category to which its loyal customers belong), and price positioning (is it a luxury, mass market or niche brand?). This research is critical for creating a successful foundation to brand name translation.

The second step is about defining key words associated with the brand. This can be done in focus group studies.  Ask your group what they think are the main associations people make when hearing your brand’s name. Then work around the key words they have used to describe your brand.

Why should you translate and localize your brand name when exporting your company?

You need to ask yourself how your customers will pronounce the name of your brand. Do they include words or sounds that may have a different meaning in another language or that could cause offence?

When it comes to translating your company name or even your product name, it’s important to ask yourself these questions. You can either transliterate the name which means create a name that sounds like your brand or one that is spelt similarly. Or you can also transcreate which means creating a name that has the same meaning as your brand name even if the spelling is quite different.

At HI-COM we offer both of these services to help you expand your market especially in China, where the native language looks and sounds completely unlike Latin languages.

Find more about brand name translation here!

For example, your focus group thinks that your brand is associated with modern fashion and ethical/responsible products. When describing high quality association, they use words like young, good quality, design, and fresh. And ethical association was all about sharing, support, and charity. Even with such limited information, brands like TOM’s come to mind. The goal is to create a new brand name that will not distract from the brand’s current image but at the same time, ensure it sticks in the minds of the brand’s new audience.

Definition of the target audience

The goal of this research is to find out who are we talking to. The Brand’s market research and your marketing strategy will be at their most useful here. If you are working on a brand name translation of a famous cognac brand that wants to enter China market, your market may be:

• 25-35 years old (demographic), youngsters and young-at-heart who are looking for a subtle and modern cognac
• They are energetic, modern, sophisticated drinker

Benchmark of existing competition and their brand names

One of the most important tasks here is to determine who the relevant competitors are, analyze their names and find similar trends.

Take into account the origins of your competitors, as translated and original names may play by different rules. Try to see what similarities the translated names have. Can you apply these trends to your brand name translation?

Brand name translation – putting it all down

Now, when you have all you need, you can now start the actual brand name translation process. Decide on how important it is to be close to your original name phonetically. See how many syllables the brand name has, and (if you work with Chinese brand translation) what meaning each syllable shall have. Pay attention to cultural norms and habits. For example, Hyundai Accent had consistently declining sales in the Russian market, until it was renamed as Solaris.

Of course, a strong linguistic background is required to choose the best variations, that will not sound strange together.

How big brands translate brand names to Chinese

It is very important to leave brand name translation work to the pros, otherwise you might end up on the pages of “failed marketing” articles. But be careful, even pros can fail. Therefore it is important to double check your results with an extra focus group before you make it official.

1. Funny on the ear

A buzz around AirBnB’s new Chinese name 爱彼迎 （àibǐyíng) appeared after the seemingly innocent characters 爱 (love) and 迎 （welcome) (which does not mean, but sounds like another character 淫 (yín) with meaning of “”lust, excessive, loose” ）were separated by a second character 彼, making the name sound a little like a word for female genitalia. The original meaning of 彼 is “those”, but its spelling is not so important, as it sounds the same. And considering that the business of Air BnB is based on inviting strangers to your home, this may give some a strange impression of the company’s main line of business…

2. Brand name translation: Missing the point

Examples of major campaigns such as KFC’s “finger-lickin’ good” being translated to “bite your fingers off” in China a few decades ago, and Pepsi’s “Now it’s Pepsi for those who think young” translated as, “New Pepsi is for people with the minds of children” have basically become classics in failed marketing.

3. Brand name translation: Irrelevant meaning 

When translating a brand name, keep in mind that the characters have to remind a customer of your scope of business. So if you are in the automotive industry, pick characters that represent speed, safety or even an animal like a “precious horse” (BMW with their 宝马 （bǎomǎ）), or a tiger on a road (Land Rover with 路虎（lùhǔ) ). If you work in the IT business, opt for words relating to “ideas”, “progress” or “knowledge”.

When Google picked 谷歌（gǔgē）, which literally means “a village song”, their supporters were, let’s say, a bit confused.  And in the case of Best Buy,  百思买 （bǎisīmǎi） their name is more of a warning: think a hundred times before buying!

4. Skipping a translation 

So as you can see, it’s a minefield out there. No wonder some companies have never localized their brand name in China. Look at GAP, or Facebook, for example. But if the first one has 3 letters and somehow fits into local minds, the second one is called by the users as they please which can be a good excuse to turn a brand into a joke (脸书（liǎnshū））, and in the worst case scenario an English name of a brand will be long/complicated/unmemorable for Chinese customers, so they will just not talk about it, putting a stop to word-of-mouth. This actually happened to Hermes; for the first few years, Chinese customers simply did not talk about the brand, giving the company no choice but to pick a Chinese name.

You would think that companies as big and as prestigious as Hermes would know better and would never make poor judgment on such an important task as brand name translation, but apparently no one is immune. So think twice before deciding to do such a job in-house.

In the early 2000s, Dosirak instant noodles from Korea entered the Russian market. “Dosirak” is what is written on the Korean packaging to this day. The product did not sell well as the brand name sounded too funny to local ears (associated with a “person who has very frequent bowel movements”), and the noodles were renamed to “Доширак” (Doshirak). Given that the letter “sh” doesn’t exist in Korean language.

Looking for a trustworthy professional with experience in China in brand naming? Then HI-COM is here for you! We are an international multilingual expert that makes communication easy, professional and engaging. With our rich pool of resources all over China and an ever-ready international team, HI-COM will make sure your message is fully understood, localized according to the highest standards, and delivered on time! Contact our team today!

Beware of marketing your product as ‘the best’ or ‘the greatest’.  In China, this could land you a fine or even get your business license revoked…read on to find out more… Today we talk about advertising law in China and Banned marketing terms.

2916 companies in China were penalised right after Double 11 festival 2018 for using forbidden terms in their marketing campaigns! The biggest fine paid last year was 600 000 RMB! For the past three years the amount of penalised companies is decreasing, yet not every company is paying attention to the seriousness of the issue.

While there are many articles available on the ‘pretty’ side of advertising in China, there is less information available on the legal restrictions you face in China as a marketer.

As a translation agency, we have the privileged position of being right at the coal-face of the communication exchange.  We see first-hand the issues that arise when translating and localizing marketing content from one country to another.  The legal ramifications of translation are not so widely known and today we share some of our learnings.

On 1 September 2015, amendments to the Advertising Law for PRC meant huge changes to the type of language companies could use when describing their products or services.  The 2015 amended law prohibits the use of superlatives such as “the highest” or “the best”; no hyperbole is allowed.

Under local advertising law, the direct Chinese translations of the above advertisements would not be allowed. Chinese advertising policy states that any statements made must be measurable and able to be proven.  If statements cannot be proven, this will be deemed misleading and thus a violation of the advertising code.

The Advertising Law didn’t take long to be tested in China.  Shortly after its enactment on 1 September 2015, one of the top smartphone maker of China was investigated by Beijing officials for using the superlatives “the best” and “the most advanced” on its website. Nowadays, thousands of companies – small and large – are being penalised on a monthly basis.

In order to help our clients, HICOM offers a new service: China-specific copy-editing: compliance check! 

Here are some English phrases for which the Chinese translations would be considered as banned marketing terms under he Advertising Law in China:

• Incomparable: unparalleled; peerless: 无与伦比 / wú yǔ lún bǐ
• World leader: 世界领先 / shì jiè lǐng xiān
• Leader: 领导者 / lǐng dǎo zhě
• Number one sold: 销量第一 / xiāo liáng dì yī
• First-class technology: 顶级工艺 / dǐng jí gōng yì
• Most powerful: 能力最强 / néng lì zuì qiáng

And some English phrases that would be considered as banned marketing terms under the Advertising Law in China:

• The best
• The fastest
• The first
• 100% (almost anything actually)….
• Promotes (any health related fact)
• Good for (any health related fact)
• Etc.

Translating content from one language to another means that as well as knowing the target audience, you have to think about the local laws.  We recommend seeking professional legal advice to minimize the risk of being fined or losing your business license. Mireia Paulo, Director of the European-American Market and Overseas Investment Projects at A & Z Law Firm, states: “The creative and advertising media industries are the most dynamic industries in China, however since the implementation of the 2015 Advertising Law it is subject to far heavier regulation and restrictions. The degree of punishments for violations against advertising policies by using banned marketing terms has become more severe and violations can carry fines from 200,000 yuan (US$31,000) to 2,000,000 yuan (US$300,000) as well as the risk of having one’s business license revoked. Companies, marketers and advertising agencies would be well advised to seek professional advice from lawyers specializing in Chinese advertising law so that they can find the right balance between publicity and compliance”.

The degree of punishments for violations against advertising policies has become more severe and violations can carry fines from 200,000 yuan (US$31,000) to 2,000,000 yuan (US$300,000) as well as the risk of having one’s business license revoked.

Have you run into advertising law issues when translating marketing material in China? What do you think of these strict advertising laws?

Shoot us an email! We would love to hear from you!

For reference, a bilingual version of the Advertising Law in China article is available here.

The above comments are not intended to be relied upon as legal advice.  As we are not lawyers and not authorized to give legal advice, but we can proofread and edit your content in accordance with the advertising law regulations of China!

Copywriting for ICO blogs: How to convert your readers into investors with well-written ICO content. You might think that every business out there is writing content these days, and yes, a large portion of them are regardless of what industry they’re in.

You might think that every business out there is writing content these days, and yes, a large portion of them are regardless of what industry they’re in.

Interestingly, there’s a good reason they are spending time writing blog articles. Content drives your SEO (search engine optimization) score and answers your audiences’ questions.

If you’re just getting started with your blog, use these guidelines to create content that generates interest in your ICO.

The secrets of ICO blog writing:

1. Every blog needs a structure, every article needs an outline.
2. Don’t underestimate the importance of headings!
3. Research keywords and sprinkle them throughout your content naturally
4. Including links to previously written content and other articles generates authority, it’s a must.
5. Do not forget to fill out your page title and description fields.

5 Guidelines for writing high-quality ICO blog content  

1. Every blog needs a structure, every article needs an outline.

First, determining the structure of your blog simply means categorizing topics you want to write about and writing about them consistently.

For example, you could categorize content related to crypto regulations, locally, nationally, and globally, together and continue tagging new articles under something like “ICO Regulation Updates”. Doing this is important as readers will begin to return to your blog for specific types of content.

Second, your articles should have a consistent outline. Good writers know that a strong outline helps identify the key topics of your content and helps build out the sections. A very simple article outline looks something like this:

Title

Subtitle

Introduction– Your introduction should clearly tell a reader what they are going to read about. Think of it this way, your introduction sets the tone and creates tension that makes a reader interested in learn more.

Heading

Body – This is your opportunity to give your readers additional context that relates to specifically to their needs. You can also use the body to provide solutions to identified problems and offer suggested resources. I

Subheading– It’s important to note, that subheadings can continue throughout the body of your article. In fact without strong subtitles, you aren’t giving your readers who are skimming a reason to stop and read every word.

Conclusion– Use the conclusion to summarize and reiterate your solution or offerings.

2. Don’t underestimate the importance of headings!

This cannot be stressed enough. Blog articles that lack headings are the posts that never get read

The truth is, 55% of readers will read the blog post for 15 seconds or less. What this means is readers are skimming through content until something catchers their attention.

In addition to catching a readers’ attention, headings also make content easier to read and boost your SEO performance. Headings make it easier for search engines to identify what longer posts are about and therefore, boost your ranking.

3. Research keywords and sprinkle them throughout your content naturally

Before you even start writing blog ICO, do some investigation on the trending keywords associated to that topic. This will help you create content that people are searching for and will improve the chances of your content appearing at the top of a search page.

Once you have identified keywords that need to be included in your article, find ways to incorporate them into your headings and body content. A general rule of thumb is one to two percent of your content should be keywords. That means an article of 800 words should mention keywords eight to sixteen times.

4. Including links to previously written content and other articles generates authority, it’s a must.

This is self-explanatory. You don’t need to include a link in every paragraph but related content, whether written by you or not, shows readers that you know the topic well and have an authoritative voice

If you’re just starting out, don’t be afraid to link to other blogs. Outbound links impact your search ranking just as inbound links do. The more authoritative the link is, the higher the impact is on your search ranking. Plus, it provides another opportunity for you to join the conversation of an important topic in your industry.

5. Do not forget to fill out your page title and description fields.

Filling out this meta data is critical for search engines to be able to craw and index your site. The combination of this meta data with your keywords will provide the information the web crawlers need to understand what your article is about.

Your page title and description fields will be in different places depending on what platform is hosting your website. Most platforms, like WordPress, clearly indicate if you are missing meta data. Make this part of your article writing and posting routine.

This are just a few guidelines to use when creating a high-quality blog. Other things to keep in mind include general writing and grammar principles and maintain a consistency in article posting.

Think like your readers to create a successful ICO blog!

Whether you’re new to blogging or looking for ideas to refresh your current blog, try to think like your readers. Identify what solutions they are seeking and what the latest information is for them to know about.

Even if you have already read numerous articles on a trending topic, your perspective will continue to position you as a leader in the field and a trusted source for hot topics.  

If your goal is to find investors for your ICO, creating a high-quality blog gives these potential investors the information they need to make the decision to invest with you. Use your blog as a way to attract and sell to potential investors. A successful ICO blog will help you engage with investors!

Looking for ICO copywriting team to help you on your mission? Click here!

More about copywriting.

Translating and transcreating: what are the differences? Many new businesses are looking into expanding into the world market. One of the biggest challenges that they face is advertising their brand in a way that appeals to the local demographic. You may be thinking that you only need to hire a translator to get the job done. This will not get you the results you are looking for, you need transcreation. I decided to interview one of our professional transcreators, Celia G., to show you why they are an essential part of any global company.

Many new businesses are looking into expanding into the world market. One of the biggest challenges that they face is advertising their brand in a way that appeals to the local demographic. You may be thinking that you only need to hire a translator to get the job done. This will not get you the results you are looking for, you need transcreation. I decided to interview one of our professional transcreators, Celia G., to show you why they are an essential part of any global company.

 

 

 

Before you convey the correct message, you need to understand it properly.

Q: Are there any notable mistakes that translators tend to make when translating copyright material?

A: As a translator, your job is to translate from one language to the other. It isn’t your job to adapt or change anything in the source document. So, when translating copyright material, most of the time they just translate and that’s it. For some copyright material that would not be enough, sometimes to make it easier to understand in the target language some changes need to be made. This is due to the differences in the ways of expressions between the two languages. In fact, that’s not really a mistake but a need to go the extra mile when copywriting. So translating and transcreating are two different things.

Q: When people hear about translating and transcreating they might think they are the same thing, tell me what sets them apart from each other?

A: There is always a confusion when we talk about translating and transcreating. When we are talking about translating, we care more about the translation from one language to another, however when we are talking about transcreating we care more about how the final copy or translation feels to the audience or reader. While transcreating you need to take into account cultural differences, advertising limits, or other conflicts. You need to adapt your translations in order to avoid these things. As a translator, your main role would be telling people what the source means in a readable, precious manner. However, a copywriter + a translator equals a transcreator. Transcreators use the source as reference material including brand assets, target consumers, what image the brand wants to project, and what the main idea of the campaign is. His or her main role is to write the copy in the target language to reflect the main idea and adapt to the source based on cultural differences and advertising limits. Transcreating is usually used for marketing and would be read by a large audience to show parts of the brand or image.

Q: When you receive a project that requires you to transcreate something, what is that process usually like? How about for translating copywrite material?

A: Let’s take the brand tagline as an example. Usually a brand tagline is quite short and abstract. What we do is not only understanding what the tagline means in the source language, but we also try to understand everything about the brand. (We are not telling people what the tagline means but what the brand means). First, we need to write down every keyword you can think of when you are reading the material, then you choose the ones which are most appropriate. These keywords are just like the ingredients for a delicious dish for the customer. You use these keywords and your understanding of the brand plus your imagination and creativity to make the final copies. You usually come up with two or more final copies to show the customer. Before we do copywrite material, we need to determine whether it’s necessary to transcreate it. Since some copywrite documents are very abstract they need to be transcreated to make sense. After all this, we let the customer know.

Q: What was your reasoning behind becoming a professional transcreator/copywriter?

A: At the very beginning I was just a translator working with technical and marketing material. I worked in the industry for many years, and in Hi-Com team, I got a chance to work with some great advertising agencies who offered translation requests for their marketing material. However, sometimes clients requested more than just a translation, they needed an extra work on style of translations. That’s the point when we introduced “transcreation”, not a direct translation, but a work of a copywriter and a translator together. So, I learned to do those jobs from the angle of the customer or target consumer. I took more elements of their background and brands into account and made a number of marketing modifications. That’s a lot more than just a translation. So to sum up, Transcreator = Copywriter + Translator.

Q: With the evolution of artificial intelligence, do you think computers will ever be able to replace humans regarding transcreating different documents/material?

A: First, I’m sure that computers will be able to replace humans regarding simple translation in the near future. However, I don’t think a human can be replaced regarding transcreation. As the artificial intelligence rapidly growing, I believe that one day they will be able to think like a man much like they do in Sci-Fi movies. Until this point they will never replace humans because transcreation needs creativity and imagination. You need to be able to consider multiple background elements and use your imagination to shape them into something that is adaptive and easily understandable, this is something that computers cannot currently do.

Q: Is it difficult to convey the correct message when transcreating a project for a foreign market?

A: Before you convey the correct message, you need to understand it properly. In fact, when its comes to translating and transcreating, it isn’t difficult to understand and convey the message. The difficulty comes when figuring out whether it is attractive and reflective of the intended message. That’s what transcreation does.

Q: Do you enjoy working on copywriting or transcreating more and why?

A: Translating and transcreating, copywriting and transcreating are closely related and I enjoy doing all. I had been a translator for many years before I began to do copywriting and transcreating. When you do transcreating less creativity is required since all you are doing is translating from one language to another. Doing this for years on end can get a bit boring. I like being in the “Chief” role and being in charge of transcreating. This work is often very time-consuming and tedious, usually requiring many edits and modifications. You always have to listen to the customer for feedback such as, “make it more involved”, “make it more attractive”, “make it feel different”, “make it outstanding.” This process usually goes on until the customer is fully satisfied.

Interested in learning more about uses of transcription? Check out our Transcreation Concept.  

Did you know that Chinese isn’t actually a language?? When we talk about ‘Chinese’, and how there are more than one billion Chinese speakers in the world, one might imagine one monolithic universally understood language.  However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.  ‘Chinese’ in fact refers to a family of languages that comprises at least seven different linguistic groups, each with various dialects and sub-dialects sitting under them. Languages of China, learn all about them!

TABLE OF CONTENTS :
I – Did you know that Chinese isn’t actually a language??
II – Languages of China
III – What Is Happening To Chinese Dialects Today In 2018?

Did you know that Chinese isn’t actually a language??

When we talk about ‘Chinese’, and how there are more than one billion Chinese speakers in the world, one might imagine one monolithic universally understood language.  However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.  ‘Chinese’ in fact refers to a family of languages that comprises at least seven different linguistic groups, each with various dialects and sub-dialects sitting under them.

The generally accepted classification of Chinese language groups is:

• Guan (including Beijing and Nanjing variants; Mandarin falls under this dialect)
• Wu (including the Shanghainese and Suzhounese variants)
• Yue (including the Cantonese and Taishanese variants)
• Min (including the Hokkien and Fuzhounese variants)
• Hakka (Kejia)
• Xiang (Hunanese)
• Gan (Jiangxinese)

 

Pu’tong’hua普通话is a standard form of 官话Guan’hua, and is the language sponsored and supported by the government, taught in schools and universities throughout China, and is considered the lingua franca of China.

The two most well-known forms of Chinese languages are Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese. Mandarin Chinese or Pu’tong’hua普通话, the official language of China, is actually just one dialect – a very widely spoken dialect at that – derived from one of northern dialects called Guan’hua 官话. Pu’tong’hua普通话is a standard form of 官话Guan’hua, and is the language sponsored and supported by the government, taught in schools and universities throughout China, and is considered the lingua franca of China.  Within Mandarin Chinese itself there are even more varieties of sub-dialects.

Cantonese, which belongs to the Yue dialect, is the main language spoken in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, and Macau, which are all located in Southern China.  Xiang is also a southern dialect with its speakers concentrated in Hunan province.  Also derived in Southern China is Kejia, or Hakka, the language of Hakka people who are spread out across pockets in Taiwan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and other Southern regions of China.  The Min dialect is spoken in China’s southern coastal province—Fujian. It is the most diverse dialect, meaning within the dialect group there are still many different variations on word pronunciation.  Hokkien is one such sub-dialect under the Min dialect, and Hokkien speakers can be tracked across Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, reflecting the Chinese diaspora over the past few decades.

With so many dialects and sub-dialects found in China, it is difficult to precisely determine how many dialects actually exist. Any province, district, town or city can potentially have a hua 话(speech, language). For example, Shanghai’hua 上海话is the local dialect of Shanghainese which shares some similar words to Pu’tong’hua普通话but is still very much its own standalone dialect and sounds very different to Standard Mandarin.

Languages of China

China’s diversity of spoken dialects is truly unique when comparing it to countries of a comparable or larger geographical size such as USA, Canada and Russia. These countries cover the same kind of land mass, but do not share the same breadth and diversity of dialects that are found within China’s regions.

So why are there so many different dialects found in China?  It is understood that China’s linguistic diversity is attributable to its history and culture.  China’s expansive mountain ranges, rivers and deserts have acted as natural regional boundaries, and this is evident in the regional spread of dialects.  The Chinese word for dialect fang’yan方言, translates literally to ‘place speech’, reflecting how dialects are strongly related to the geography of its speakers. It has been said that China as we know it today is in fact the sum of thousands of small nations that, before the days of transport or rail providing connections between the valleys, mountain ranges, rivers and deserts, each ran like their own mini-empires with their unique cultures, traditions and, of course, languages.

1. Number of tones: Chinese dialects are tonal languages. In Mandarin, there are 4 basic tones and a fifth neutral tone. Cantonese is often said to have 9 tones, including the so-called “checked tones”. However, there are generally understood to be 6 (by speakers in Hong Kong) or 7 (by speakers in Guangzhou).
2. Initial consonants: Cantonese has far fewer initial consonants than Mandarin.
3. Vowel length: Cantonese has a much longer vowel length.

In terms of numbers, Cantonese has around 66 million speakers worldwide. As previously noted, Mandarin has over 1 billion.

A case in point is Wenzhou’hua温州话, the dialect of people from Wenzhou, a prefecture-level city in Zhejiang province.  Due to its geographical location, situated in a mountainous region, Wenzhou remained isolated from the rest of the country and neighbouring areas for many centuries.  This has made Wenzhou’s local culture and language very distinct to other Chinese dialects.  It makes sense that we will find the greatest linguistic diversity in southern China, looking at the vast mountain ranges that acted as natural barriers between regions and villages, allowing indigenous dialects to thrive and continue.

Understanding this history, it makes sense that there is little crossover between these dialects.  To non-Chinese, the concept of ‘dialects’ may be something new.  We are familiar with the idea of accents; for example, we know about English with an American accent, a British accent or an Australian accent.  Each of these accents are very distinct from each other, yet they are mutually understandable.  However, in China, you could come across two places within a few miles of each other, where the locals from each village or county speak different dialects and cannot understand each other at all.

Outside of these languages there are still more languages spoken by a huge population. For example, Jinyǔ, spoken mainly in Shaanxi and Henan provinces, while not deemed a ‘main language’ in China, is still spoken by about 46 million people.  There are also many non-Chinese languages spoken in China by the many ethnic minorities, such as Tibetan, Mongolian and Miao, and their subsequent dialects.

Chinese alphabet

A fun fact about learning Simplified Chinese language: students start with learning English alphabet, which will be construct phonetical spellings or “Pingying” (拼音), and those will be locating the sounds of Chinese characters. That is why computer keyboard of Chinese laptops and desktops is “QWERTY”.

In earlier times (before cultural revolution), Chinese alphabet did not exist. The character where memorised with the strokes. So if you were to look a chinese character up in a dictionary, even if you don’t know how to pronounce it, you can calculate how many strokes it has, and what are the semantic components or “keys” of the characters.

Interpretation & Translation Issues

Over the last several decades, the Northwest of USA has seen large immigrant influxes from China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. The primary language of these multiple ethnic groups is a Chinese dialect. Therefore, interpretation and translation services are necessary in every field ranging from government officiating, law enforcement, and court activities, to medical encounters, insurance affairs, and industrial business and so forth.

What Is Happening To Chinese Dialects Today In 2018?

China’s rapid urbanization means that millions of people now live far from their hometowns. The World Bank reports that by 2030, up to 70% of China’s population – around 1 billion – will be living in cities.  This shift alongside the strong promotion of Mandarin Chinese usage in schools from an early age, potentially puts homegrown dialects at risk.  However, all is not lost.  With technological devices such as WeChat voice messaging and the connectivity of the internet, spoken local dialects, idioms and expressions stand a chance of survival – as long as its speakers continue to engage with each other. Zhu Zhenmiao, who holds a PhD in Linguistics from Shanghai University has stated: “There are around 6,500 languages in the world. Each and every one is a lens for us to look into the thoughts, ideologies and cultures of the people who speak it. China’s dialects are a crucial part of our national heritage”.

Indeed, China is home to a plethora of languages and dialects, reflective of its diverse culture and historical provincial and regional segregation.

Where can you reach a potential audience of more than 100 million active users, bring your content to new heights of search engine authority and have it shared across the most popular apps and social media groups in China? The answer is – Zhihu (知乎), China’s version of Quora!

Where can you reach a potential audience of more than 100 million active users, bring your content to new heights of search engine authority and have it shared across the most popular apps and social media groups in China? The answer is – Zhihu (知乎), China’s version of Quora!

In September this year, Zhihu’s press release stated there are as many as 100 million registered users and 26 million active daily visitors.  These numbers are well matched with the investment of US$100 million the platform received during recent series D funding round.

What makes Zhihu so special and how similar is it to Quora? Let’s take a closer look:

Similarities to Quora

Quora is a widely known American Q&A online platform launched in 2009, where questions are asked, answered, and managed by its community of 190 million monthly users.  Zhihu is a similar Q&A user-led online platform which launched in China in 2011 and shares many of Quora’s features:

• Voting system for answers provided
• User generated topics
• Amount of views are displayed and the number of views indicates credibility and authority
• Notification and personal inbox
• Personalized feed with “follow” feature for topics of interest
• Newsletters sent to registered readers
• Answer Wikis: this allows different users to collaborate on an answer to one particular question; the pooled or aggregated answer is believed to be the most factually authoritative.  (The use of Answer Wikis on Zhihu needs administrator approval, while on Quora anyone can initiate it).
• Ability to share to third parties (Sina Weibo, Wechat, QQ; similar to the ability to share on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for Quora)
• Ability to hide user name from search engines
• Advanced editorial tools such as autosaving, hyperlinks, embedded images/videos, equations, etc.
• Available as a mobile application

Quora’s Differences:

In early 2013, Quora added additional features to differentiate itself from other similar Q&A platforms that were growing in popularity at the time such as Reddit and Yahoo Answers:

• Blogs (formerly known as Boards (discontinued Quora feature))
• Review (recently launched)
• Credit system
• Promotion
• Embed
• Quora’s Top Writers program
• Publication Best of Quora 2010-2012 (2012 book)
• Registration wall

 Zhihu’s Differences:

In April 2013, Zhihu also implemented a number of its own features which made it distinct from Quora:

• “Topic” feed: a personalized feed that shows users the most recent updates for their favourite or “most followed” topics
• Zhihu Column (launched in 2013) which allows users to post longer articles
• Zhihu Round Table: an activity hosted by Zhihu in which a group of experts are assembled to answer a particular question or to discuss a specific topic
• “Discovery” feed: trending topics as voted by the general public
• “Debut show” feed: showing the first answers of new users
• “Zhihu Read”: a read-only portal accessible to logged-out users
• My Zhihu 2012: a product released at the end of 2012 featuring a summary of your personal activity on Zhihu over the past year.

Distinctive features aside, the biggest difference between Quora and Zhihu is the operating language. Quora is supported by English speakers while Zhihu is the domain of Chinese speakers.  The combined power of these two websites is fascinating to consider, as English and Chinese are the top two spoken languages on the internet.  According to 2017 statistics (Top Ten Internet Languages), 985 million global internet users speak English versus 771 million using Chinese.

Using the general Zhihu website for commercial use is strictly forbidden.  Any spamming or advertising – including the use of links – runs the risk of an administrator permanently banning you from Zhihu.  Seeing the commercial potential for users, in 2013 Zhihu launched Zhihu Column, a platform which allows users to post longer and more in-depth blog posts on serious topics. Here, users can post links as long as they are relevant to the topic and bring quality insight or advice to the potential reader.  In this respect, Zhihu has provided an excellent option to support SEO link-building.

What types of industries are currently using Zhihu Column

• IT
• Law firms
• Healthcare
• Designers
• Educational service providers.

To capitalize on the captive audience that Zhihu Column provides you access to, you must prove that you are a credible source of information; the content you generate must be of the highest quality, based on real experience and well researched facts.  Zhihu Column is well managed to maintain its reputation as a platform for expert opinion.

Zhihu Column versus Weibo: Which is Better for Marketing?

Based on the types of users and posts you will see on Zhihu Column, it appears that most of them are looking for specialized or professional knowledge, news, opinions or advice on specific topics, whereas the content on Weibo is generally entertainment and social media driven.  The posts on Zhihu are typically much longer than Weibo posts as well; however this does not deter users as their motivation for engagement with the website is more educational or professional, rather than purely for entertainment.

There are approximately 230,000 Zhihu articles being shared daily to other websites, including Weibo and WeChat, for secondary consumption and further sharing.

Some user statistics:

According to a CNNIC report released in January 2017:

15% of total Zhihu users spend around 40 minutes a day on this platform

Average user’s income is above RMB 8,000

49.53% of the Zhihu users have a monthly expense of over RMB 2,000

17.24% of the users have reached a monthly expense of over RMB 5,000

73.93% of users hold a bachelor degree or above

1.62%  of users hold a doctoral degree or above

A window for B2B marketing through Zhihu Column

Zhihu in 2017

Good news for B2B businesses: you can now open a professional account!

In September 2017, Zhihu announced it will remove the invitation system and allow organizations to open professional accounts, subject to administrator approval. Any properly established company should have no problems registering and getting their own account.  The validation process involves sending proof of your business license and provision of other company details such as a representative’s name and your company address.

The professional account feature is relatively new, so the space is not too crowded yet.  Go ahead and become one of the first experts in Zhihu in your field, and make a difference!