attracting chinese guests using social media
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was developed for hotels, guesthouses and motels looking at attracting Chinese visitors to their properties. The aim of developing your properties Brand within China is to increase the direct bookings and facilitate greater numbers of visitors flows.TRANSCRIPT
A"rac&ng Chinese Guests Using Social Media October , 2013
The Promise of Chinese Tourists • It’s no secret that China’s economy con&nues to expand, at more than 7% a year even as the global economy wobbles due to a number of market condi&ons.
• This con&nued growth will add to the hundreds of millions of preexis&ng middle class consumers also boos&ng their levels of disposable income.
• Chinese tourists on average spend approximately $1000 USD more than overseas tourists on foreign trips
• Data compiled by the United Na&ons World Tourism Origina&on showed that; – 83 million Chinese ci&zens travelled abroad in 2012 and by 2015, this figure will top 100 million. › A 1000% increase from 2000.
– Chinese tourists spent $102billion USD in 2012, more than any other country.
Sources: McKinsey - Mapping China’s Middle Class. June 2013. United Nations World Tourism Organisation, April 2013. U.S. Bureau of Industry, Travel and Tourism
Chinese visitors can bring your property a valuable source of new bookings and opportunity.
Where Chinese Tourists Visit
Source: Daodao, Wall Street Journal
The 10 most popular destinations (summer, 2013)
1. Hong Kong 2. Phuket 3. Taiwan 4. Bangkok 5. Paris 6. Dubai 7. Macau 8. Seoul 9. Singapore 10. Bali
When Targeting Chinese Travelers: Think Digital • Rising incomes and the prolifera&on of smart-‐everything has helped to make China a wired society.
• There are currently over 591 million internet users in China, according to the China Internet Network Informa&on Center (CNNIC, June 2013).
• That means there are 43 &mes more internet users in China as there are people living in Australia. 91% of those Chinese ne&zens visit social media sites, and 66% of those social media users follow brands.
• Increasingly, the way to reach Chinese consumers of any product—be it hotels, computers or luxury purchases—is through digital marke&ng in general, and social media in par&cular.
The Chinese Social Media Landscape Whether communica&ng ideas to friends, consumers or internet at large, social media enables individuals to make their voices heard across the internet, across wireless networks and, increasingly, across the world.
Brands and companies are increasingly using social media to become a source of trusted and highly prized informa&on for consumers.
In China, the importance of social media is amplified due to consumer mistrust of tradi&onal adver&sing, the rapid prolifera&on of internet-‐enable devices and a booming middle class who will increasingly shape product offerings for decades with their preferences and habits.
Social Media is, at its core, a means of communication.
The Chinese social media landscape is unique and substantially different than its Western counterpart.
Social Media is Now Mainstream Marketing
• Social Media is no longer the preserve of Silicon Valley CEOs or uber-‐hip 20-‐somethings.
• Mul&na&onal hotel groups, independent hotels, guesthouses and motels are increasingly turning to social media to be"er communicate their values, ideas and content to consumers.
• “Consumers” no longer just refers to people or groups looking to purchase something. In the world of social media, “consumers” include everyone from retail shoppers and interna&onal travelers that simply want personal recommenda&ons about where to stay.
Why Western Hoteliers Should Embrace Chinese Social Media
• As more Chinese tourists travel abroad, the market will become more fragmented. Certain socio-‐economic groups will favor certain des&na&ons and hotel types. Younger, white collar workers will favor trips to South East Asia. Social media will allow you to target messages on specific demographics.
• “This new genera&on of Chinese outbound travelers is making their own decisions about where to go, where to stay and what to do by doing their own research online, going beyond the old stereotype of big buses of group tourists.’’ Lily Cheng, Managing Director of TripAdvisor, China
Social media will allow properties to directly talk to Chinese looking for information and recommendations about where to stay. Also, Chinese are very apt about sharing negative experiences about their stay and hotels need to monitor and respond as appropriate.
Why Should Hoteliers Invest in Chinese Social Media?
Chinese visitors are likely to
continue following and engaging with
a hotels’ social media accounts once they have
been on vacation.
Crea&ng awareness is cri&cal, especially in China. This is cri&cal in lesser known ci&es and for more niche
property op&ons such as B&B or
Guesthouses.
Pos&ng, sharing and referring interes&ng and engaging content will help to build your follower base. Be sure to encourage “Liking,” “Sharing” and “Repos&ng.”
With a solid follower and fan base, it
becomes possible to inform, recruit and network via social media. FAQs and Q&As can also be posted for use by
followers.
Source: China Internet Network Informa&on Center (CNNIC), June 2013.
Chinese Netizens spend 20.5 hours/week online and trust online peer recommendations.
Selecting the Right Platforms
• The Chinese social media space is complex and can be difficult to navigate without the help of a professional agency.
• Chinese social media plaoorms are best used in conjunc&on with each other, as each major plaoorm serves a different purpose and can be used to connect with consumers in a different manner.
A Look at Chinese Social Media Platforms Plaoorms Type Poten&al Op&ons Users
Micro-‐blogging
Branded pages
Over 500 million Features such as Wei Ac&vi&es and Wei Magazine
Page layout can be changed to match campaign
Instant Messaging
Branded pages
Over 300 million Customer service possibili&es Keyword setup and auto response Daily news/ar&cles sent QR Code
SNS
Branded pages
Over 170 million Page layout can be changed to match campaign
Lucky draws/giveaways Prac&cal marke&ng
Video Sharing
Branded pages
Over 150 million Videos will be featured in relevant channels
Ad availability throughout Available entry into branded zone
E-‐Commerce
Branded pages User base: Childless women browsing from work and school who have incomes over $30,000
Offer verified products and reviews
Gain valuable guest experience informa&on
Visual Based
Branded pages
User base: Childless women browsing from work and school who have incomes over $30,000
Shows “related brands”
Social Media Integra&on to share products online
Shows products that are available to buy
WeiXin (WeChat): A One-to-One with 300,000,000 Users • Gain access to the rapidly increasing
market of 300 million users.
• Content can be pushed to fans in one-‐to-‐one messaging serng
• Stored informa&on can be easily accessed via keyword search
• Keyword setup and auto response
• Daily news/ar&cles sent to subscribers
• QR Code(s) can direct users to landing pages, minisites and other social media plaoorms; QR codes placed elsewhere can also drive users to WeChat accounts.
Landing Pages and Localized Sites
Pos&ng content to Weibo is an
effec&ve way to engage with
tourists, but may not be enough to a"ract travelers on its own.
A custom designed and built Chinese language landing
page or minisite can be a very effec&ve means of connec&ng with travelers about overseas travel.
A Chinese-‐language site hosted on a Chinese
domain will be easily
accessible in terms of both linguis&c
understanding and internet best prac&ces.
Chinese-‐language
websites can be op&mized for search and social media marke&ng on Baidu (China’s most popular search engine) on Chinese social media plaoorms
respec&vely.
Going Mobile: The Rise of Smart-Everything in China • According to CNNIC (June 2013), China had 460 million mobile web users as of July 2013.
• 70% of new internet users in China access the internet via mobile device.
• China has over 300 million 3G users, meaning that roughly 300 smart devices across the country are perpetually connected to the world wide web.
• Given the overwhelming rates of mobile internet usage, any digital marke&ng strategy must make use of mobile plaoorms with content and messaging op&mized for mobile use.
Conclusions • The choices available to Chinese tourists are ever growing, as is the informa&on available to them.
• Given the online habits and preferences of the Chinese tourists, using social media and targeted online campaigns represent the most effec&ve means this massive and growing target audience. Conveying what quali&es your hotel has and what you are able to offer tourists will be key. Remember that tourists have thousands of places they could visit so you have to stand out against a great deal of compe&&on.
• If you would like to know more about leveraging social media to recruit Chinese travelers, or have any ques&ons, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us. We have years of experience in this field as well as talented, mul&cultural and mul&lingual staff.
Thank you for reading and be sure to share with your friends, fans and followers.
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