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Q1：企業申請「BUD專項基金」的資助需要符合甚麽資格? 申請「BUD專項基金」資助的公司必須符合以下的資格： (a) 按照《商業登記條例》(第310 章)在香港登記， (b) 非上市公司 (c) 在香港境內有實質業務運作。 實質業務運作是指有真實營運及生意交易，需要考慮相關因素，包括企業在香港有否聘用員工、繳納稅項或進行產品/服務買賣交易。空殼公司不會被視為在香港有實質業務運作。 公司在提交申請表時須提供以下有關文件以作證明： (a) 公司員工記錄； (b) 公司財務報告記錄； (c) 公司商業交易及營運記錄。 Q2：香港或海外上市公司旗下的香港公司(非上市)可否申請資助? 由於上市公司的子公司與母公司為獨立的法律實體，即使母公司在香港或海外是上市公司，只要該子公司在香港及海外是非上市公司，並按照《商業登記條例》(第310 章) 在香港登記及在香港境內有實質業務運作，便符合申請資助的資格。  Q3：資助計劃是否只限於中小企? 本資助計劃不限於中小企，申請之公司只要是非上市公司，按照《商業登記條例》(第310 章) 在香港登記及在香港境內有實質業務運作，便符合申請資助的資格。  Q4：哪些行業可申請此計劃的資助? 此計劃不設行業限制。申請的項目須透過發展品牌、升級轉型及/或拓展內銷市場以發展中國內地/東盟業務為目的。  Q5：在中國內地暫時沒有業務或營運的公司可否申請資助? 中國內地暫時沒有業務或營運的公司，只要是根據《商業登記條例》(第310 章) 在香港註冊及在香港境內有實質業務運作的非上市公司，而有意發展中國內地業務，便符合申請資助的資格。  Q6：合資格申請的企業不包括上市公司，原因為何?於本港創業板或外地交易所上市的公司是否符合資格? 「BUD專項基金」旨在透過向個別企業提供財政資助，協助他們推行有關發展品牌、升級轉型和拓展營銷的項目，以開拓及發展中國內地/東盟業務。由於上市公司在籌集資金方面有較多選擇，為求讓更多有實際需要的企業受惠，所有上市公司，包括於本港的主板和創業板，以及香港以外地區上市的公司，均未能符合申請資格。  Q7：如企業在中國內地是註冊上市公司，附屬的子公司是香港註冊的非上市公司，子公司在香港申請計劃的資助，但項目則在中國內地的公司(上市公司)實施，這是否可行? 若資助項目是由中國內地上市的公司執行及受益，由於上市公司在籌集資金方面有一定的能力，為求讓更多有實際需要的企業受惠，有關資助申請將不獲批。

「BUD專項基金」最新消息 2021年3月更新 為支援企業發展更多樣化市場，財政司司長在2021至2022年度《財政預算案》宣布建議向「BUD專項基金」再度注資十五億元，以增加每家企業的累計資助上限，由四百萬元增至六百萬元；以及進一步擴大資助地域範圍至所有與香港簽署自貿協定及／或促進和保護投資協定（投資協定）的共三十七個經濟體。如獲得立法會財務委員會的批准，政府計劃按以下時間分階段擴大「BUD專項基金」的資助地域範圍： 第一階段 （2021年7月） 涵蓋日本及韓國 第二階段 （2022年第一季） 涵蓋奧地利、比利時—盧‍森堡經濟聯盟、加拿大、丹麥、芬蘭、法國、德國、意大利、墨西哥、荷蘭、瑞典及英國 第三階段 （2022年第二季） 涵蓋科威特及阿拉伯聯合酋長國 2020年4月更新 「BUD專項基金」的進一步優化措施已於2020年4月9日推出。在「BUD專項基金」方面，每家企業用以推行於內地的項目，或於其他與香港簽署自由貿易貿易協定（自貿協定）的經濟體的項目的個別上限（各自的累計資助上限為200萬元）將會取消，讓企業能靈活運用合共400萬元的資助，推行內地項目或於其他與香港簽署自貿協定的經濟體推行項目。此外，企業如參與由政府有關機構或有良好信譽及往績的展覽上舉辦的虛擬展覽，將可受惠於「BUD專項基金」下的資助。   BUD專項基金－資助範圍 於國內設立業務單位、廠房 樣辦製作 品牌定位及形象設計，如宣傳品設計及印刷等 品牌推廣，如廣告、代言人、網紅、公關服務、拍攝等 新產品設計及開發 管理體系提升 購買或租賃設備 推廣國內銷售渠道，如天猫、京東、Alibaba等 專利 / 商標 / 設計 / 實用新型專利註冊 產品或服務推廣 參加內地展覽會 (香港則要視乎展覽性質) BUD專項基金－申請資格 按照香港商業登記條例(第310章)登記，須符合香港政府訂明的中小企業定義及在香港有實質業務運作。中小企是指在本港聘用少於一百名員工的製造業公司或聘用少於五十名員工的非製造業公司。 BUD專項基金－申請次數 內地及自貿協定計劃最多40個核准項目，每個項目須於24個月內完成。 BUD 專項基金－評審流程 先由BUD秘書處 (由香港生產力促進局執行)作初步評估，再交由計劃管理委員會審批，該委員會由一名政府官員擔任主席(一般是工業貿易署署長)，成員包括來自政府、及在發展品牌、升級轉型及拓展營銷市場方面具有專業知識或經驗的工商專業界人士。審批結果由BUD秘書處向申請企業通知。

BUD專項基金的資助範圍及地域一再拓展，實在為做生意朋友的福音！ 為支援企業發展更多樣化市場，政府落實為「發展品牌、升級轉型及拓展內銷市場的專項基金」（簡稱 「BUD 專項基金」）推出優化措施，並將分階段擴展資助地域範圍，由現在 19 個已與香港簽署自由貿易協 定（自貿協定）的經濟體，逐步擴展至 37 個已與香港簽署自貿協定及／或促進和保護投資協定（投資協定） 的經濟體。此外，每家企業的累計資助上限將由現時四百萬港元增加至六百萬港元。 優化措施分三階段推行。第一階段措施已於 2021 年 7 月 30 日起生效，資助地域範圍會擴大至日本和韓國兩個促進和保護投資協定經濟體。在第二階段，資助範圍將擴大至奧地利、比利時－盧森堡經濟聯盟、加拿 大、丹麥、 芬蘭、法國、德國、意大利、墨西哥、荷蘭、瑞典及港人鐘情移民的國家英國，預計在 2022 年第一季推出；至第三 階段則會把資助範圍擴大至科威特及阿拉伯聯合酋長國，預計於 2022 年第二季推出。 BUD專項基金－資助範圍 於國內設立業務單位、廠房 樣辦製作 品牌定位及形象設計，如宣傳品設計及印刷等 品牌推廣，如廣告、代言人、網紅、公關服務、拍攝等 新產品設計及開發 管理體系提升 購買或租賃設備 推廣國內銷售渠道，如天猫、京東、Alibaba等 專利 / 商標 / 設計 / 實用新型專利註冊 產品或服務推廣 參加內地展覽會 (香港則要視乎展覽性質) BUD專項基金－申請資格 按照香港商業登記條例(第310章)登記，須符合香港政府訂明的中小企業定義及在香港有實質業務運作。中小企是指在本港聘用少於一百名員工的製造業公司或聘用少於五十名員工的非製造業公司。

因疫情關系，很多中小企業都受到了影響，為了幫助企業共渡難關，香港優化了"BUD專項基金"的相關措施，甚至將補貼額度提高到了400萬元（不限行業）！BUD專項基金是什麽？有什麽要求？下文都有講解！ 一、什麽是BUD專項基金？ 政府在2012年6月正式成立「BUD專項基金」，並於2020年4月9日推出進一步優化措施。 總的來說，BUD專項基金包括 「內地計劃」和 「自貿協定計劃」兩部分 ，主要是 協助香港企業發展品牌、升級轉型及拓展營銷市場。 1、內地計劃：資助個別香港企業推行有關發展品牌、升級轉型和拓展內銷的項目，從而提升他們在內地的競爭力，促進他們在內地業務的發展。 2、自貿協定計劃：為了進一步支持本地企業應對香港經濟所面臨的挑戰，2019-20年預算案建議向BUD專項基金注資10億港元，並將BUD專項基金的資助適用地域範圍擴大至所有與香港簽署自由貿易協議（自貿協議）的經濟體。 自貿協定計劃地域範圍包括：東盟的成員國（即文萊、柬埔寨、印度尼西亞、老撾、馬來西亞、緬甸、菲律賓、新加坡、泰國和越南。）、澳洲、智利、歐洲自由貿易聯盟國家（冰島、列支敦士登、挪威、瑞士）、格魯吉亞、澳門和新西蘭。 二、BUD專項基金優化措施具體如下：  1、擴大“ BUD特別基金”的範圍，以涵蓋與香港簽署自由貿易協定（自由貿易協定）的所有經濟體。  2、將企業累計資本上限提高到400萬元，其中內陸項目實施資金200萬元，東盟及其他自由貿易協定項目促進資金200萬元。  3、將第一階段撥款的比例從核定的政府撥款總額的25％增加到75％。  4、免除受資助的企業開設和維持獨立的計息賬戶，以及於要求在收到首筆付款之前將等值資金存入該賬戶。  5、提交申請表後，您可以啟動所有項目（包括選擇申請的第一階段）。  6、放寬各種支出預算所占比例的上限。包括：采購；租賃其他機器；設備，制作樣品；型號，專利；商標；設計;實用新型專利的注冊。  7、添加更多可以資助的項目。包括：在內地設立新的業務部門；根據內地計劃購買和租賃額外的機械設備以增加產能等。  三、申請香港BUD專項基金的公司基本要求：  1、國內有自己的公司占股51%以上（含51%），營業額一年不低於300萬。  2、國內公司有自己的產品，或代理的產品（有正規授權），有設備或模具的最優。  3、國內公司有進出口業務。  4、香港有自己的公司，和國內占股51%及以上股東同時占股香港公司不低於31%。  5、香港公司的營業額不低於500萬港幣（上一年度或者今天達到）。  6、按照《商業登記條例》（第310章）在香港登記，並在香港有實質業務運作  7、非上市企業。  不論是從事制造、服務行業，或是否已在內地及自貿協議經濟體有業務運作，均符合資格申請資助。

近年，中國政府也放寬了外商獨資企業（WFOE）的註冊要求，不再強制要求100萬人民幣的註冊資本，而且也降低了企業的所得稅率。對於想上大陸開公司的港人是絕對的利好消息！那麼上大陸開公司之前，首先要了解究竟有什麼需要特別注意的: 大陸公司類型 想在中國大陸開立公司，首先要找出適合你的業務計劃的公司類型，可以選擇的業務結構包括：有限責任公司（LLC）、股份公司、合資企業（JV）、外商獨資企業（WFOE）、代表處（RO）、國有企業、私營企業和個體企業。以下會介紹三款比較常見的公司類型。 外商獨資企業（Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise WFOE） WFOE是最受歡迎的公司種類，由外國投資者成立，不涉及任何大陸的投資者。由於公司由外國人全權控制，因此公司營運上有更大的靈活性，可以從事營利活動並僱用本地和外國員工。WFOE是一種有限責任公司（LLC），股東只需就公司的債務損失承擔有限責任（Limited Liability），即是只局限於其投入的本金。成立過程通常需要2 – 4個月，而最低註冊資本則因業務種類而異，一般為10至50萬人民幣。 個體企業（Individually-Owned Enterprises IOE） 個體企業是最簡單的公司類型，通常適用於預型且簡單的業務，例如非連鎖式的商店和小餐館。只有中國公民才可以成立個體企業，因此香港人都可以考慮以此方式創業，經營一些小生意。成立個體企業無需註冊資本，亦無需聘請員工，而且因為不是法人公司而可以享有較低的稅率和營運成本。但是，亦因為這類型的公司不是法律上的個體，經營者要為其承擔無限責任，當公司資產不足以償還其債務時，經營者就要用個人財產去償還。 合資企業（Joint Venture JV） 合資企業是兩間或以上的公司同意共同成立一個單獨的企業，其業務結構是有限責任公司（LLC）。合資企業的參與者會共同承擔投資金額、管理責任以及公司的債務損失。在中國，合資企業一般為一家中國公司和一家外國公司或外國投資者共同合作而成立。此類型的公司特別適用於一些受限制的行業，例如傳媒行業，而在其餘行業依然是外商獨資企業（WFOE）最受歡迎。 大陸開公司注意事項 1. 我應該如何選擇設立業務的地點？ 中國大陸在業務經營方面分了不同的區域，例如自由貿易區（FTZ）、經濟特區（SEZ）、高科技區（High-Tech Zone）等。自由貿易區包括上海、廣東、天津等18個區域。在自由貿易區會有較多的外商企業，營運業務的形式亦較多元化，會比較適合香港人在當地創業。 2. 我需要為我的公司註冊商標嗎？ 中國不承認在其他國家/地區申請的商標。若果你打算把現有的香港業務擴展到中國內地，緊記要重新在內地作商標註冊。即使是新創業，也建議花一筆小錢去完成商標註冊，以保護品牌的知識產權。 3. 我應該選擇WFOE還是個體經營？創業前有什麼要考慮？ 作為香港人可以選擇個體經營，因其申請程序較簡單，涉及的創業資金和營運成本也較低，但注意不要經營高風險的行業。雖然註冊過程無需提交公司章程或詳盡的業務計務，但最好還是作最周全的準備，例如店舖的選址考慮，即使是一街之隔，人流也可以差很遠。 完成公司註冊後和開設公司銀行帳戶後，就要把剩餘的初始資金轉移到大陸的銀行戶口。 大陸開公司稅款 在中國大陸經營公司可能會面對以下幾種主要的商業稅項： 企業所得稅：標準稅率是25％，但對於某些受中國政府鼓勵的行業而言，稅率可以降低到15％，甚至還有免稅期。應稅款項為業務獲得的收入減去經營業務所涉費用的金額。 個人所得稅：累進稅，稅率為3 – 45%。 非居民預繳稅：只適用於非居民，針對利息、租金、特許權使用費和其他被動收入而徵收10%的稅款。 增值稅：適用於在中國境內銷售的商品和服務，標準稅率為17%，某些必需品的稅率則為13%。 消費稅：適用於14種消費品，包括煙草、酒精、化妝品、珠寶、汽車等，應稅款項為總營業額。 商業稅：適用於在中國境內銷售的服務，包括無形財產的轉讓和房地產的銷售服務，稅率從3%到20%不等。 房地產稅：對房屋和建築物的擁有人徵收的稅項，稅率為物業價格的1.2%，或年租金的12%。 契約稅（Deed Tax）：購買或轉讓物業時要繳納3 – 5%的稅款。

  為什麽要核數   香港公司法及稅務條例規定，香港有限公司無論是否有利潤，每年都必須做核數師報告，向股東、董事及稅務局申報公司的財務狀況。   核數報告是規範公司財務，贏得良好信譽的基礎，這對公司的發展起到決定性的作用。所以我們不能忽視香港公司做知賬核數報稅問題。   公司做核數是為企業進行審查監管的重要道步驟，是外部對企業的監管。 核數或核數，核數從字面上來理解是指，對公司做核數是為企業進行審查監管的重要步驟，是外部對企業的監管。   核數是由香港持牌會計師專對某間公司在一個周年或以上進行公司財務帳目的核實與核準，以相關文件報告的形式對香港政府部門進行責任性的說明。   每個公司每年必須向香港稅務局遞交報稅表，首次報稅表將會於注冊日後18個月發出，當收到報稅表後，稅務局規定必須於一個月內遞交。   如果公司有經營或者銀行有入賬，那麽就需要如實報數並核數。公司核數是為了幫助稅局確定稅務申報的合法性，因此需要具備相關資質的核數師進行核準並出具報告。   公司核數的材料：   一、銀行月結單及對應的銀行收付款通知書；   二、所有支出收據（包括本司開出及對方開出的收據）；   三、所有發票（包括購貨及銷貨發票、與公司經營有關的費用票）；   四、所有協議、合同，比如：   1、購貨、銷貨合同；   2、代收代付協議及相關人的身份信息證明；   3、傭金協議及相關人的身份信息證明；   4、租賃合同及相關人的身份信息證明；   5、借款合同；   6、投資合同；   7、樓宇及土地買賣合同；   8、其他相關合同。   上面的合同都是有發生的才需要提供的。   五、如果有做工資，也是需要提供資料的，比如：   1、雇傭合約/聘書；   2、薪酬明細表一份，需列出每次支付薪酬的金額與日期；   3、如通過銀行支付薪酬，說明存入薪酬的銀行賬戶資料；如以支票付款，則列出支 票號碼、支票日期、支票付款銀行名稱；   4、已簽署的收據或其他證明文件，以證實員工已收取薪酬；   5、個人身份信息證明，如身份證、護照等覆印件。   六、公司成立的全套文件（周年申報表、商業登記證等）；   七、公司董事會的會議記錄；   八、公司業務的簡單描述；   九、固定資產清單及原始憑證；   十、以往賬目及核數報告及計算表（適合不是第一次核數的公司）；   十一、如果是單獨核數，還需提供公司已完成的所有賬目（包括資產負債表、損益表、試算平衡表、明細賬等）；   十二、還有其它相關票據。   不核數的隱患   如果某家公司在稅務申報時進行了零申報，但其所屬的銀行賬戶又出現資金往來，這樣很容易引起稅務局懷疑並展開調查，銀行也會認為客戶故意違反香港公司零申報規定。針對這種情況，銀行通常的做法就是即刻關閉該公司的銀行賬戶，防止受到牽連。   如果查實某家公司刻意違反相關規定，在有交易往來的情況下涉嫌漏逃稅行為，那麽將追究股東和董事隱瞞真實應繳納稅務情況的法律責任，輕則處以3倍應繳納稅金的罰款，並強制補交過往年度的核數報告，而情節嚴重的，將被追究刑事責任。   什麽時候核數   新設立公司會在成立後18個月收到第一封利得稅報稅表，這封稅表的申報期限是：自收到後1個月內，如果:   1、公司成立後沒有業務發生，稅表零申報就可以，可以委托現任的秘書公司辦理，但是如果往後一直零申報也是不行的，現在一直零申報會存在一定的風險的，可以讓會計核數時做成不活躍的核數報告；   2、公司成立後有業務發生，這種情況，需要通過核數、將完成的核數單呈交給稅務局完成稅務申報。香港公司報稅年結日必須是公歷年1.1~12.31，通常會建議定在3月31日和12月31日。   公司首年做賬期間可以不超過18個月，從第二年起以12個月為一個周期。   公司怎麽核數報稅     1、提供財務單據，進行評估、報價和付款；   2、根據財務單據進行做帳；做賬完成後，由香港執牌會計師進行核數；核數完畢後，由股東簽署核數報告，會計師持簽署的核數報告給到政府報稅；   3、核數會計師將相關文件返還給到客戶保留。

Some digital agencies treat SEM as paid advertisements that appear on search engines. If you're looking for a way to boost traffic to your website, search engine marketing is the perfect solution. This method involves increasing your website's visibility on search engine results pages. The key is to increase your ranking and exposure. Paid advertising is the primary means of search engine marketing. It will make sure that your website is available to customers who are looking for products and services that your business offers. In the broader term, SEM also has the same procedure as SEO. Many people misunderstand the concept of SEM, which is considered as "pay-to-play" where the top bidders will always win at the auction and get the top slots. Rather, Google has a complex quality to determine which ads will appear in the top spot.  Google will assess the quality of the ad based on the relevance of the ad, the ad's historical CTR, and landing pages that match the keywords installed. The higher the quality of the ad, the price of Google ad will be cheaper. That's why using a digital agency service will increase your efficiency in advertising and get the ROI of an SEM campaign. WHY DO SEM? Fast and effective Getting your website up on the first page with organic search results is challenging and takes a long time. The systematic SEO plan will take at least a few months to implement. Search engine marketing can provide you with instant visibility and a high CTR. Compared to SEO, SEM can get your website onto the first page in a matter of minutes. It also delivers instant visibility.  When a searcher clicks on a search ad, it's because they want the answer to their question as soon as possible. In addition, people click on search ads indiscriminately. 50% of participants didn't know that they were clicking on paid advertisements. Greater brand awareness SEM is an effective way to increase your presence in search engines. It can help potential customers find you and increase your ROI. However, if you don't have a robust website, SEM can help you get there. While SEO takes time, SEM can get you into the first page quickly. The first position is where people click when they type in a search query. While search ads aren't purely advertisements, they serve a functional purpose in a search engine. Hence, they're often not recognized as advertisements. The results from SEM campaigns can be helpful for your business. Stay in the competition SEM is a great way to reach your potential buyers if you have a local business. The local market is full of local businesses, and it is crucial to compete with them to reach that audience. With SEM, you won't lose out to the competition, since it is much easier to use. You won't have to wait for the results of your ads. They will show up on the top results faster than you can with other forms of advertising. If you already have a ranking of #1 in organic search, you can still be eliminated by people who install ads. Not everyone who accesses the first page will click on your link because the position is lower than the one who posted the ad. In addition to being a supporter of SEO, SEM is also useful for keeping your business in the top competition. SEM gives you control over your selling message Organic search results are met by answering user questions as detailed and relevant as possible. While this is good for the inquiring public, it is not so great for companies to maintain their selling proposition. For that matter, search engine marketing gives you complete control over your message. It enables you to be visible to people looking for your products or services. With search engine marketing, you can have a better chance of getting your products in front of potential customers. Designate the proper keywords to transmit the message you desire. Paid search marketing is an excellent way to increase your sales. You can create ads that look like organic search results. Whether it's an ad or a link, you have complete control over your message. It's important to know what types of ads work best for you. When choosing a website, make sure that you take keywords that relate to your business. SEM paves the way for SEO You can gain insights from SEM campaigns. It will explain the weaknesses and strengths of your website. This will help you to prepare SEO for the future after you decide to stop posting ads for a while.  For each keyword in your SEM campaign, you will get statistics on the number of times your ad served, volume, and conversions. This data is essential to determine whether the ad that you have installed is right on target according to the keywords you want or not. For example, if clicks on your ad are high but conversions are low and the traffic is good, but the steps for potential buyers to be interested in your product or service are still not set. It is the best way to start other SEO methods to support your SEM campaign. Google Analytics reports will also give you to discover new long-tail keywords, title tags, and meta descriptions for your SEO. SEM VERSUS SEO The two main types of online advertising, SEO, and SEM are complementary and can be used to meet the marketing goals of your business. SEO and SEM can help drive traffic to your website, but there are some differences between them. With SEO, you have to build a strong base of authority. Building an authoritative base can take months. Second, search engines are constantly changing their algorithms, and adding new ranking factors can make your SEO strategy obsolete. So, when deciding between SEM and SEO, remember that a successful strategy requires a long-term commitment and ongoing testing. Ultimately, your goal is to increase traffic to your website. SEM can result in instant traffic. But SEO web pages can be wiped out by SEM campaigns. In addition, SEO pages are optimized for organic search, so a combined paid and organic click-through rate is more effective. Whichever method you choose, you'll be maximizing the potential of both methods to drive targeted traffic to your website. You'll need to make a choice based on your business's needs and goals. Both methods are effective in generating traffic. While SEM is more effective at getting instant traffic, SEO is more useful to increase your brand's visibility in the organic search results. For this reason, both methods are good to drive more traffic to your site. And choose whichever one works best for your business.  So, which is better SEM vs. SEO? Both organic and paid methods have their advantages and disadvantages. FAQS How long does it take before I see the SEM results? SEOs will take around 3 months to see their first results, while the average top ten pages are more than 1 year old. It means that it could take anywhere from six months to over a year to achieve the desired position. To be sure, though, you should try to set your own KPIs. SEM will take it way faster than SEO. If your ad has a high relevance score, you can immediately occupy the top place of search results in an easy way. But occupy the top position by using SEM according to your budget. If your budget runs out, you can disappear from the top spot. How do I know the campaign is working? The performance of your SEM campaign can be measured by the number of visitors who clicked on your advertisements. Search queries can be informational, navigational, or transactional. Depending on the intent of the user, the ads should reflect that. To make your SEM campaign work, you can use markers that represent the performance of your website, ad copy, and keyword groups. By measuring how well your ads are performing, you can make necessary changes. The most essential measure of a successful SEM campaign is the ROI (return on investment). You can see the return on investment by dividing your revenue by the cost of your ads. For example, if you spend $400 on ads, you should get a 125% ROI. It means you've made more money than you've spent. High ROAS will increase your ROI over time. But if you're not seeing any return on investment, it's time to rethink your strategy and your budget. Is the SEM campaign safe for my website? SEM is a popular and safe online advertising method. Google Ads helps marketers to reach targeted audiences through pay-per-click advertising. An SEM campaign can increase website visibility and traffic for new websites to increase brand awareness. If you don't feel safe using SEM, look for a digital agency that can help you set up from start to finish. How to start an SEM campaign? A key aspect of an effective SEM campaign is its ad structure. A well-designed ad will be highly relevant to the customer's search queries and should appeal to their buying intent. Before selecting keywords for your SEM campaign, you should research your target audience and determine how to best reach them. If you're targeting customers online ad copy should be as concise as possible. After you've determined the keywords, write your ad copy. Remember, your headline has just 30 characters. The body of the ad copy should include the unique selling points of your business. It will convince users that you're the best solution for their problems. Be sure to tailor your ad copy to the advertising platform. For example, Google Ads has a limit of 90 characters for the headline and 30 characters for the description.

Millions of people spend up to 3 hours or more per day scrolling timeline through Facebook, Engage on things that appeal to them. Just for that reason, Facebook can be the best platform for advertising your business.  Advertising on Facebook has been used by around 6 million advertisers and has become a trusted strategy for lifting their businesses. If you start thinking about raising your business to the next level, it's time to start advertising on Facebook. But you will ask: How Much Does It Cost to Advertise on Facebook? The most important consideration when determining how much to spend on advertising on Facebook is your budget. While the daily and lifetime budgets are not the same, you can still tailor your ads to fit your budget. If you are advertising for a small business, you may want to allocate one-third of your total spending on conversion remarketing. You can choose the highest bid for the campaign and set the frequency accordingly. Why you should advertise on Facebook More than 130 million businesses are using Facebook for advertising. It is because 2.6 billion people use Facebook monthly, and everyone who owns businesses wants to promote their business on Facebook as the best place to advertise services and products. The best part about advertising on Facebook is the wide audience it can reach. You can target a large audience with your ad and use it to target people who are most likely to buy it. The platform's demographic targeting is one of the greatest benefits of using Facebook. For example, you can use ad templates and create your ad from scratch. This way, you can customize your ad to fit your audience's demographics. Facebook offers its users a lot of benefits. The most prominent among them is its massive audience. Its users are highly engaged with pages, so your business can interact with them and grow through this channel. It allows you to reach people with your products and services and improve your business. Here are 5 Instagram Marketing Tips For Beginners When you advertise on Facebook, you can expect your brand to grow. You can also expect your ad to be seen by hundreds of millions of people on the platform. What is the cost of Facebook Ads? The Facebook ads cost varies from $0.5 - $3.5. On average, you can start at $0.97 per click and immediately pick up $7.19 for 1,000 impressions. Prices can vary depending on your desire to promote your business. If you want to get likes (cost-per-like), you will pay around $1.07, and if you want your audience to download something (cost-per-download), you will pay $5.47. Facebook ads use the auctions system. Facebook will assess ads in terms of relevance, quality, and bids to determine which ad wins and appears on the platform. The cost of Facebook ads varies greatly depending on your industry and target audience. The cost can vary by the country, target audience, and even by city. If you're targeting a specific demographic, you can use the cost of ads to target them. Once you've determined how much your advertising budget is, you can choose the best strategy for your business. What Determines Facebook Advertising Costs? Facebook advertising depends on the marketing objective. Most businesses choose to use a single objective, but multiple objectives can be effective. With several things that can affect the price, you must know some of these factors. Let's take a look at the different factors below. 1. Audience The cost of a Facebook ads will depend on the audience's age, location, interest, and demographic of your targeted audience. You can determine your budget for an ad by turning off automatic placements in your Facebook ads. By turning off automatic placements, you can determine whether you are spending more or less money than you should. You can set advertising costs according to the budget you want to spend. The more specific you choose to put ads in your target audience, the more different the price. For example, the cost-per-click may go up by $0.55 if you are targeting women. Age also determines how big your ad is. The age 25-34 years old range is cheaper than 55-65 years old. The lower ad price could be because many users use that age range to place their ad. The best way to determine the cost of your ad is to compare the average cost of similar advertisements. In this way, you can determine the optimal budget for your ad. 2. Ad budget The advertising budget will impact how much Facebook ads costs for your business. If you set $100 for your budget, it will affect your ad performance, ad bids, and overall results of your advertising campaign. Facebook allows advertisers to set a daily budget. Social media strategists suggest at least $5 per day for Facebook ads daily budget. If you want to reach a large number of people in a short period, a daily budget of $25 will suffice. 3. Ad bid Facebook's bidding system is an excellent model to get more sales. Besides, it will improve the experience for people viewing your ad. While the size of your ad bid is not the only factor that determines ad delivery, it is a good benchmark to consider. To determine how much you spend on Facebook ads, you need to know the algorithm behind the Facebook ads bid. Let's take a look at some of the bidding strategies: Lowest cost bid strategy This bid is good for companies that are just trying out the Facebook ads. The lowest cost bid option will do the automatic bidding to help the business achieve the lowest cost opportunities per action or click. Target cost bid strategy This is manual bidding, for businesses who want to keep the bids at the same cost. You can bid however you want, but you can only use this strategy for product catalog sale campaigns, app install lead generation, and conversions. You should focus on your ROI to make the most out of your campaign. A high bid will mean you reach more people and generate more leads but a low one may not. 4. Ad objective When you create an ad, Facebook will ask you to choose one main objective and a specific goal. Awareness Brand awareness Reach Considerations Traffic App installs Engagement Video views Lead generation Messages Product catalog sales Conversions Store visits Conversions 5. Ad placement As a business owner, it's imperative to maximize your ad placement to maximize your results. Fortunately, Facebook allows you to customize your ad placement and optimize your campaign for maximum results. There are 6 different places for you to put your Facebook ads: Facebook Desktop Newsfeed Facebook Right Column Facebook Messenger Instagram Instagram Stories Audience Network Why is Instagram also included in the lists? Because Facebook owns Instagram and is one of the social media platforms with the most users, reaching 1 billion people monthly. Decide which of the placements above is cheaper. For example, Audience Network is lower than Facebook ads CPC and Instagram and can appear on mobile apps and websites. And on average Facebook CPC is $0.30 cheaper than Instagram. 6. Ad quality The most essential factor to consider when determining the Facebook ads cost is the relevance of the ad. A high Relevance Score will mean that your ad is relevant to your target audience. A Relevance Score of 8 means that the ad is highly relevant to the target audience. The higher your relevance score, the more likely your ad will be shown to potential customers. Hence, a high-quality ad will reduce your ad costs. Facebook gives these scores based on positive or negative feedback. You can access your relevance and engagement scores with these steps below: Go to Ads Manager --> Select the ad you wish to see --> Choose the Columns dropdown menu --> Click Customize Columns --> Select Relevance Score --> Hit Apply --> View Relevance and Engagement Score. 7. Season Season determines Facebook ads cost. The holiday season is the most expensive time for Facebook advertising. Below are the most expensive days to advertise: Christmas New Year's Eve New Year's Day Black Friday Cyber Monday Thanksgiving Boxing Day You will know people will spend more or need services on holidays. Although the ad cost will be higher, it's well worth the investment. 8. Industry Every industry has a different CPC on Facebook ads. For example, the cheapest industry to advertise is apparel. The most expensive industry is finance and insurance. You can take a look in the table below. Apparel Industry Average CPC $0.45 Industry Average CPC Apparel $0.45 Travel & Hospitality $0.63 Retail $0.70 Education $1.06 Technology $1.27 Real Estate $1.81 Beauty $1.81 Healthcare $1.32 Legal $1.32 Fitness $1.90 Industrial Services $2.14 Auto $2.24 B2B $2.52 Employment & Job Training $2.72 Home Improvement $2.93 Consumer Services $3.08 Finance & Insurance $3.77   Do Facebook Ads Work? Facebook advertising can be highly effective for many businesses. With a low cost and a wide reach, Facebook offers businesses an affordable way to promote their products and services to potential customers. You should not focus only on one type of Facebook ads. Instead, focus on the objective you are trying to achieve. If your goal is to increase traffic to your website, you should try the first option and test it out for a while. Aside from that, you should also test different types of Facebook ads to see which works best for your business. Different Types of Facebook Ads Photo Ads Video Ads Carousel Ads Slideshow Ads How To Reduce Facebook Ad Costs? Now that we've learned the basics of Facebook ads, we'll give you tips on reducing the cost of Facebook ads. Choose the right marketing objective Choosing a marketing objective is crucial because you can't click carelessly what you think feels ok. Do you want to market your product or service to people who need it? Or do you want to do brand awareness? Every goal you choose must be valid because choosing the wrong campaign will cost more than you imagine.     Narrow down audience Facebook can offer robust targeting possibilities instead of having to choose a broad audience with lower conversion rates. Specific audiences will be more targeted, and you waste less money to advertise. Always monitor your ad relevance Always check Ad Relevance Diagnostics to evaluate your engagement rate, ads' quality, and conversion ranking. This information will help you to determine whether the ad that you have installed is by the target audience you want. Conclusion If you want your Facebook ads to perform better than your competitors without having to study in detail and through trial and error, look for a digital agency that can carefully manage Facebook ads to grow your business.

The COVID-19 pandemic might be slowing down, and governments all around the world are slowly planning on returning to something similar to the “normality” in the past. As the first country to feel the impact from the pandemic, China is also rising back to its former glory. BBC.com reports that China has reported an economic growth of 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021. Hence, new businesses were created, and job opportunities are advertised for new recruits. The post-pandemic world also presents a new opportunity for new entrepreneurs. During the lockdown, e-commerce and digital marketing grew significantly. Online sales grew by 3% during the first two months of the pandemic, and it surely will not stop. If you are looking to start a new business in China, creating an online platform would be a perfect place for you, considering that it could also reach a wider range of audience. Plus side is: it won’t even bother your main job! You could just consider it as a side business if you are hesitant in leaving your main income. Starting A New Business: Now (or never?) Now let’s get back to the topic. Online sales or not, starting a new business in China is a pretty good opportunity, and one that you can’t afford to miss. Even before the pandemic, owning your own business is definitely a risk that will pay off with high rewards if you play your cards right. Perhaps, you would wonder: why now? Is it really the right time, considering that the economics are still in recovery? Well, we are here to explain why now, more than ever, would be the perfect time to open a company in China!   Interest rates at a low point Business climate in China and everywhere has definitely changed since the pandemic. New businesses are emerging in China after the lockdown. And if you are wondering ways to get a business loan in China, then worry not! Interest rates have been lowered as a result of COVID-19, and it’s probably best for you to seize this opportunity to invest in your business.   Cheap, cheap, and cheaper In this digital world, your business won’t be successful without the help of services such as Canva, Zoho, and other tools you need. Fortunately, due to the impact COVID-19 has on the economy, vendors need to activate their survival mode and offer a lower price for their services. With the promotional prices and discounts all flooding the market, what better time to be doing a business here in China right?   Digital world: a world for everyone One of the positives to be taken out of the pandemic is the increased networking via digital channels. As a result, it’s so easy to find talents you will need for your business to grow. Most of the workers out there are currently looking for a new shift and job opportunities. Before big time companies such as Google and Apple, who are aggressively hunting for fresh faces snatch them, you best bet that now would be the perfect time to hunt down quality workers. Can’t afford to pay them on a monthly basis? Worry not, as there are so many freelancers out there that could suit your criteria! Time for You to Step Up Another positive to be taken from the ever-growing world of digital platforms is the opportunity it presents for you to compete with big time players out there. With ideas and creativity, it’s not an impossible task to be David and beat Goliath. But those things alone are not enough, as there are a lot of Goliaths you will be facing out there. You will need strategic planning, as well as careful considerations to execute your mission in order to be the best and beat out other businesses in China. There are a lot of ways to build and plan out your mission, but here are some of the basics you will need to know in order to really get you company going:   What’s your passion? It may seem simple, but it could be really essential. Here’s why: building a business based on something you like would definitely reduce the burden of “working” on your mind, as you are doing something you are passionate for. To start a business, you will need to do some background research. It will certainly require less time to research when you do something you like. The period of time you saved can be used for you to fasten up the launch of your business   What’s happening out there? Unfortunately, there’s a possibility that your passion doesn’t align with the trend. Don’t sleep on this fact, and make sure to study China’s business market. It would be a waste of time to build a cool company that attracts no interest. You could also check out the top 10 industries in China, and use them for your reference in starting your own. One more thing: try to think of what your potential customer needs now rather than what they needed before during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Planning and execution A good plan will help guide you to the right path. To make it right, you will need to answer some questions, such as: -          What’s the cost of doing business in China? -          How many tools will I need to help develop my business? -          What kind of marketing strategy I needed to use, and which platform to use it for? Hopefully, those questions will be able to help you in mapping out your business strategy. You could also search out other companies and learn how they are doing their business in China. Business in China for foreigners: doable? Starting your own business is a very interesting opportunity for everyone, including foreigners. In fact, what better way to make a living by being your own boss? The Chinese government allows foreigners to start their own company. In fact, they could own a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, or WFOE. Other alternatives would be to open a joint venture and do business with Chinese companies. Either way, it’s a very exciting prospect. Still unconvinced that doing business in China as a foreigner is a huge opportunity? Try to search for the list of foreign companies in China, and you will find a huge number of it. By the end of 2019, there were a total of 179,268 companies with foreign direct investment in Guangdong alone, and the list will keep on getting bigger as time goes by. Here are some of the top foreign companies you could find in China: -          The Daimler Group -          GE (General Electric) -          Walmart -          Microsoft -          Honda -          Casio -          Fujifilm Mind the Culture! As a foreigner, it is important for you to learn and adapt to the local culture. It will proof to be beneficial, and helps you to understand people in your environment. The same thing goes for business reasons. You wouldn’t want your business going down in flames just because of a clumsy misunderstanding with others, right? Besides the local Chinese culture, you will need to understand the business culture here in order to avoid any errors. We have listed down some of the basic cultural knowledge that you could note down.   Discipline The Chinese held on to a strict discipline. They really value punctuality, and working hours are usually 8.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday. They have two hours break within that period, and work stops during the time to eat, nap, or refresh yourself. However, sticking to an end of a schedule is not a common thing, as the end of an appointment is rarely scheduled. Chinese people also held a strict hierarchy. During a meeting, people who enter the room first are the one with the highest rank.   Conversation Chinese people liked to have small talks at the beginning of the meeting. Popular topics to begin a conversation are: art, landmarks, climate, or travelling experience. However, avoid political-related discussion at all costs. They would also appreciate it if you learned and used a couple of sentences in Chinese.   Numbers Numbers play a huge part in Chinese business culture as well. As part of their beliefs, some number hold a good omen, whereas others don’t. Here are some of the examples: o   8 is the luckiest number, giving something with this number means a good gesture too o   Number 6 is often considered as a blessing for progress and smoothness o   4 is the number of death, and 73 means “funeral” How to Register a Company as a Foreigner? You may wonder this question, right? Perhaps you would worry that it will be one of the many challenges for foreign companies in China. But turns out that it is not a difficult task to do, after all. Registering a company in China is a simple task to do. Follow this task below!       Prepare all of the documents Typically, you will need to submit the documents such as: Legal ID, homecoming permit, and Shareholder ID. You will also need to provide the name address for your company, business scope, and proposed capital.   Figuring out your legal structure Before moving on, it is best for you to try and figure out the legal structure of your company. As previously mentioned, there are different types of companies owned by foreigners: WFOE, Joint venture, and Representative Office. WFOE is a company owned fully by foreigners, whereas Joint Venture is a cooperation between foreigners and Chinese partners with less restriction.   Recruit talents It’s highly advisable for you to try and recruit local workers for your staffs. They understand the local culture and market better than foreigners do. They could even provide you with suggestions to further develop your company while adapting to the local culture. To accomplish this, you will need to find a recruitment agency. They will be able to find top talents that are suitable for your needs.   Opening a bank account If you haven’t already, make sure to open a new bank account intended solely for your business purpose. WFOE is required to have a minimum of two bank accounts: an RMB basic account to help your daily operation and foreign currency capital contribution account for receiving financial injection abroad. Both of them will function are a must have for your operation, so be sure not to miss it.       Find agencies Registering a company by yourself will take a lot of your time and money. Therefore, you could use the help of agencies that specialize in this situation. We could help you to register your company! So, what’s the procedure? After making sure that you have all the documents and legal files needed, you will need to follow these steps: -          Application for name verification and registration online -          Supply information -          Waiting for review the application. It usually takes up to three working days -          Finalization completed registration -          Business license obtained and your company is a go! Sounds easy and simple, right? Just like that, you will own a legitimate international business in China. SME Brother won’t take you to a longer path in order to obtain your licenses. What are you waiting for? Go do some research for your business, and get rich by doing so!