operations
duelstone operations guide
DUELSTONE PLATFORM GUIDE FOR BRANDS
Thank you for your interest in using the Duelstone Global Chinese Creator Platform.
Below you will find a basic guide to working with the Duelstone team and using the Platform to build a powerful Creator Program used to drive purchase intention for your brand and products among shoppers in Mainland China.
Please make sure you ship some product samples to the Duelstone Creator team so they can assess the suitability of the products for the Duelstone platform. See address below.
1. ORDER FORM
To get started the Brand completes the Duelstone Order Form so that an account is set up and order instructions for the Brand’s Creator Program are received.
* Please note that most of the main features of the platform will only be operational for your account once payment has been received.
2. CREATOR PROGRAM BRIEF
A Creator Program Brief (click for sample) is then completed by the Duelstone Creator Team in collaboration with the Brand to capture the goals of the Creator Program, including the types of Creators suitable and details relating to the featured Brand and products.
* It is really important to understand that including too many requirements in this Brief will deter a lot of the highest performing Creators from applying for the Creator Program.
3. CREATOR PROGRAM PAGE
The Brief is then translated into Mandarin Chinese by the Creator Team and uploaded to the Brand’s Creator Program Page e.g. duelstone.com/brand
* Duelstone translation team is only able to offer a very basic level of translation. For complex translations (including technical terms) or for a more professional grade of translation Brands may choose to appoint a professional translator or manage the translation in-house.
4. CREATOR SELECTION
All qualified Creators are notified to apply for the Creator Program. The Creator Team screens the applications, selects the relevant number of Creators and notifies them.
If the Brand team are able to communicate in Mandarin Chinese then a request can be made to contribute to the selection process, which requires downloading the Wechat App and joining the Chinese Mandarin speaking Duelstone Creator community.
* Please be aware that this selection process is highly time consuming for the brand to participate in as it operates ad hoc throughout the day and night and is not subject to specific scheduling. Compiling this Creators List and gaining their confirmations may take 7-14 days.
5. SHIPPING TO THE CREATOR
If the Brand is shipping the product to the Creators the Creator list of addresses and contact names is emailed by the Creator Team to the Brand. This list is typically shared using the Microsoft excel format.
Each time a product is shipped by the Brand to the Creator all shipping information, including the shipping tracking number must be immediately shared with the Creator Team to enable follow up.
To account for Creator Drop Offs and other discretionary changes the Creator Team may require the Brand to ship to 20-30% more Creators than requested on the Order Form.
6. POST PUBLISHED
The Creators will then publish the Post in Chinese on Chinese social media, unless other specifications are included in the Brief.
Pre Publishing approval provides Brands with an opportunity to inspect Posts before they are published and is provided as a paid additional service (+£47.50 per Post).
If this feature is purchased all Posts are shared by the Creator Team with the Brand for a one time opportunity to suggest edits, which the Creator may accept of decline. If the Brand does not respond to the Creator Team within 24 hours of receiving a Post that Post will be automatically approved for publishing.
7. POST AUDIT
When a Post is published the Creator notifies the Creator Team who then reviews the Post and builds the Post Audit, which includes a Screen Capture of the Post, available data analytics and a short 50 word summary of the content in English.
For most products the Creator typically publishes the Post within 2 weeks of receiving the product, although products such as vitamins may require the Creator to try the product for a longer period to genuinely understand the product performance, before publishing.
8. TIMELINE
Each Creator Program full cycle typically takes 30 days, but this can may delayed by the Creator screening process if the Brief contains many requirements, or by the speed at which products are shipped to the Creators. If you have any questions please contact me on [email protected]
Please ship product samples to Duelstone, Wellington house, East Rd, Cambridge, United Kingdom CB1 1BH.