By adaptive - April 22nd, 2013

As one of the largest potential markets on the planet, China is irresistible for corporations. However, when social media is considered, the rules of engagement are very different.

 

Corporations have spent the last few years learning how to utilise the plethora of social media networks within their businesses, and have had a great deal of success in the socialisation of their organisations. However, when a business turns its attention to markets in China, they invariably have to unlearn most of these skills, and develop a whole new set of guidelines if they are to reach potential customers in this vast country.

Censorship is of course at the foundation of China’s online community and has the most impact on how businesses can use social networks to reach potential customers. The so-called ‘Great Firewall of China’ that was instigated in 1998 and serves to limit the access that China has to the rest of the world over the Internet, is a constant reminder that doing business in China is a very different affair.

The much publicised withdrawal by Google from China in 2010 showed that even the search leviathan could not combat the Chinese Government’s desire to limit its citizens’ access to the services that the rest of the online world takes for granted. YouTube continues to be blocked to Chinese users, with Google searches redirected to their Hong Kong services – all of which can be turned off at any time by the Chinese Government.

Chinese citizens do though continue to expand their use of online services including their own homegrown social media networks. Over half a billion Chinese users are online, with 25% of all social network users being based in that country. The leading social media networks that your corporation has been using see marginal use in China. Facebook is a good example with only 1% of the online Chinese population using this leading social media network according to research from Synthesio.

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The Chinese way

In the absence of free access to the social media networks that your customers in the West take for granted, China has created its own. Blogging is massive in China with Sina Weibo (A Twitter-like messaging service) leading the pack with nearly 400 million users. According to www.dccn.com.cn a typical Weibo user is male (57%), married (62%) and has a bachelor’s degree (54%). The most active users live in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces – 59% are from first and second tier cities.

Created in 2006, Renren is the closest that China has come to creating its own version of Facebook. Most students will have an account on this network, but many leave after graduation. However, the network is trying to remedy this with active promotions. This network has 160 million users, with big brands including Mercedes-Benz and BMW taking advertising on this network. A new Pinterest-like feature called ‘Discover’ was launched last year. One of the leading corporate users on this network is Dell with over three-quarters of a million fans.

One corporation that has made great use of this network is Ikea. Used to not only create more brand awareness, Ikea also engage with their customers and also use this platform to resolve customer services queries.

The microblogging services in China will soon have more users than Twitter.

Location-based social networking is also evident in China. Jiepang is a Foursquare clone. With less than four million users, this network is aimed at the more elite end of the consumer market. The brands that have used the platform reflect this with mobile phone developers being some the most active ‘tenants’ on the network. Starbucks successfully used the network in a campaign that attracted several thousand hits.

Mobile access to these networks remains very high with over 60% of Sina Weibo and Renren users accessing these networks on their handsets. Mobile and social media is massive in China with WeChat boasting 200 million users, who are mostly in their 20s and located in the first and second tier cities. Fashion brands such as Nike have been quick to exploit this group with well-targeted campaigns. Youku Tudou is the second largest video-sharing site in the world with over 400 million active users each month, streaming 15 billion minutes of video daily.

Redant in their whitepaper concluded: “Chinese social media platforms are on the rise, each looking to extend their reach because in China social has become serious - something that creatives and consumers know alike. It is important not to underestimate the commercial nature of social networking in China; it delivers results, works to KPIs and expects to be paid appropriately. China leads the way in the world for paid authorship of blog posts and social amplification and the results they deliver. However, this can make it tricky to negotiate the complex landscape of social networks, and their up-front media costs can hinder brands in forming lasting commercial strategies for their use.”

Brand exposure

What is clearly evident from all of the social media networks that are operating across China is that gamification is a major way that brands can engage with their potential customers. Over 20% of Chinese social network users are online primarily for gaming. And games have a major commercial component with 40% of Chinese players clicking on game ad banners across all of the popular social networks according to the China Social Game annual report from AppLeap.

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Micro blogging across the Sina Weibo network is assessed to soon surpass the traffic that Twitter manages on a daily basis. Traffic is divided between Sina Weibo and Tencent with its microblogging service QQ with the top ten most followed bloggers using Weibo not Twitter.

For brands what is more significant is that the web is the primary source of information, advice and recommendation for the Chinese consumer. Unlike the West where word-of-mouth reins supreme, in China online sources of information are trusted. A recent study by Fleishman-Hillard showed that Chinese consumers are not less confident in a brand that uses social media networks for engagement and promotional activity.

Brand exposure across the Internet and on social media networks in particular has a positive influence on decision-making on China.

“We’re witnessing a sea change in process,” said Dave Senay, Fleishman-Hillard president and CEO. “Today, the collective voice of the Internet is eclipsing the persuasive power of family, friends or colleagues when it comes to influencing purchase decisions. Our survey shows the tremendous opportunity that today’s tech-savvy consumer presents. Marketers need to maximize their online channels to make it easy for consumers to interact with and access information about their brands.”

What is clear is that social media in China isn’t a closed network for corporations that want to tap into the vast potential that China offers. All of the familiar social media networks have their equivalent in China, but it’s the behaviour of the Chinese consumer and their relationship to online information that marks this consumer base as different from any that your business will have encountered before.

 

Next Reads

The Social Media for Customer Service Summit 2013

October 2013, New York

How you can leverage social media for a more effective customer service function and better customer insight

Brochure Programme
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