Cunningham: Developers must take the time to understand what are the best platforms to engage the target audience when marketing projects in China. These include WeChat, China's dominant social media and communications platform (over 1.1 billion accounts and 768 million daily active users) and Investorist, the world's leading marketplace for buying and selling pre-construction property, which has its own Chinese-hosted website behind the Great Firewall, meaning it will operate in China unlike many other websites.

GlobeSt.com: Do property expos still work?

Cunningham: Large one-off property expos have limited success in China today. Launching a property development with fly-in/fly-out sales presenters without committing to an ongoing presence in China very rarely works. Responding to client demand, Investorist has developed a China Concierge program to assist developers in this area where they don't have the in-house expertise or staffing resources on the ground in China themselves.

GlobeSt.com: What type of marketing activities work best in China?

Cunningham: At Investorist, we use the term O2O, or Online to Offline. This means that the start of the sales relationship or project introduction is online—via Chinese social media, EDM's, invitations to events or expos for example—but this is followed up by offline meetings, both formal (boardroom presentations, information sessions in agents' offices with their sales teams) and informal, such as lunches, dinners, networking drinks et cetera).

This is the way that most business is conducted in China. Chinese people want to know they are dealing with people they can trust, who will take the time to get to know them in person and will be there for the long haul, especially with such a significant purchase as real estate.

MIAMI—Marketing real estate to Chinese buyers is a different—much different—than marketing to American buyers. GlobeSt.com caught up with Josh Cunningham, Investorist's vice president of Sales for Americas, to get his expert tips. You can still read parts one and two: What it Takes for US Developers to Succeed in China and The Real Reason So Many Chinese Buyers Use Agents.

GlobeSt.com: What common mistakes do you see developers make when marketing in China?

Cunningham: In the US, many of the big-name developers and leading brokerage firms are still focused on generic selling points like their project's distance to retail or public transportation. What they should be highlighting are more specific selling points, the important factors for Chinese buyers such as: the range of educational opportunities (a Western education is very important to Chinese families); healthcare access (if appealing to those looking to retire); and the demographics of the area including nearby Chinatowns or even other Chinese developers investing into the local community and feng-shui design elements. Another mistake is not translating all marketing materials into Mandarin.

GlobeSt.com: What platforms are effective in China?

Cunningham: Developers must take the time to understand what are the best platforms to engage the target audience when marketing projects in China. These include WeChat, China's dominant social media and communications platform (over 1.1 billion accounts and 768 million daily active users) and Investorist, the world's leading marketplace for buying and selling pre-construction property, which has its own Chinese-hosted website behind the Great Firewall, meaning it will operate in China unlike many other websites.

GlobeSt.com: Do property expos still work?

Cunningham: Large one-off property expos have limited success in China today. Launching a property development with fly-in/fly-out sales presenters without committing to an ongoing presence in China very rarely works. Responding to client demand, Investorist has developed a China Concierge program to assist developers in this area where they don't have the in-house expertise or staffing resources on the ground in China themselves.

GlobeSt.com: What type of marketing activities work best in China?

Cunningham: At Investorist, we use the term O2O, or Online to Offline. This means that the start of the sales relationship or project introduction is online—via Chinese social media, EDM's, invitations to events or expos for example—but this is followed up by offline meetings, both formal (boardroom presentations, information sessions in agents' offices with their sales teams) and informal, such as lunches, dinners, networking drinks et cetera).

This is the way that most business is conducted in China. Chinese people want to know they are dealing with people they can trust, who will take the time to get to know them in person and will be there for the long haul, especially with such a significant purchase as real estate.