Singles’ Day is a holiday dedicated to celebrating singlehood. As its popularity rose among the Chinese youth, the world’s e-commerce behemoth Alibaba adopted it as a shopping holiday in 2009. Since then, on Singles’ Day (the date, 11/11, depicts four singles) brands have encouraged singles to celebrate their independence by purchasing something for themselves.

In reality, Singles’ Day appeals to a much broader spectrum of consumers. The entire Chinese nation now celebrates it as an excuse to treat themselves, with many buyers eagerly awaiting the day to make large purchases with the expectation of receiving huge discounts.

Ready to get in on the action? Here are 10 things that you can do:

1. The most effective way to catch your audience’s attention on email is to create a sense of urgency with a campaign. A flash sale works well here. You can also reward your customers with a Singles’ Day coupon code.
2. Launch products that promote self-love. Also, livestream your Singles’ Day sale launch. Live streaming, I think, is a great platform for extending your organic reach.
3. Boost social media engagement. 80% of my fellow marketers use pictures in their social media marketing. So go heavy on the visuals, and don’t be afraid to add a little humor. Another way to increase brand awareness and social media engagement is to create a branded hashtag.
4. Chinese Singles Day is such a vast event that it pays to really pin down your targeting before you begin to launch a marketing campaign.
5. Create a personalized shopping experience. Alibaba has taken it to the next level with gamification.
6. Choose your platforms wisely. Alibaba leads Chinese Singles’ Day sales,  and last year around 60,000 global brands joined the rush. They listed over 15 million products on Tmall.
7. Most digital e-commerce platforms offer plenty of scope for creative marketing. Leverage the value of Chinese Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) and their social media feed recommendations. You can integrate with the live countdown event to get your customers excited and ready to buy.
8. As China’s equivalent to Google, you must place and target Baidu PPC adverts carefully in order to differentiate yourself from the competition. Make sure your website landing pages are optimised – if you haven’t created a dedicated Chinese website – set up your Baidu PPC account
9. Start promoting early. Timing is everything when it comes to marketing, so it’s a good idea to get a head start and prepare your store for Singles’ Day. Remember, your customers only have 24 hours to take advantage of the various offers, so make it as easy as possible for them to choose you. Provide the information that they need beforehand. Teaser campaigns showcasing the product lines you will be promoting (at a discount) for Chinese Singles’ Day help your Chinese customers to research your product and make a decision to buy in advance.
10. And as mentioned earlier, mobile is a key player in Singles’ Day e-commerce. So be sure to integrate it into all your marketing efforts.

Digital Crew is a China marketing company that offers a full suite of professional digital marketing services, which we deliver in partnership with our Chinese clients to ensure measurable ROI and results. Get in touch with us today.