1. *
Social Media in China
A Very Preliminary Introduction to the Worlds Largest Internet Market and Its Social Media Applications
Created by Mindy Zhang for COMM215
November 2009 // Twitter: yaycaffeine
*Artwork from omjii

2. So you want to know about social media in China.
3. So you want to know about social media in China.
This presentation will
Give you a *very*preliminary overview of Chinas social media landscape (the users, the tools, the unique market characteristics).
Offer some basic, practical advice for companies looking to engage Chinese consumers through social media.
Provide a launching point for learning more and staying informed about the market.
(Download this presentation to access hyperlinks for additional resources!)
4. Chinas netizen population is increasing
338 million users in June 2009
5. and adoption of social media is growing.
Source: CIC, 2008.
6. What about Facebook, YouTube and Twitter?
7. Chinas digital media landscape is dominated by local players.
Government censorship
Local players appeal to domestic users
8. And they are innovative players, not just copycats.
Chinese entrepreneurs generally start with a service they see being successful somewhere else. If it does not work [in the Chinese market] "as is", they diverge until the service becomes quite different.

Benjamin Joffe,PlusEightStar

on Techno-Darwinism and the 5Cs of Chinese Innovation
9. And they are innovative players, not just copycats.
$1 billion inrevenue last year
Only 8.4% advertising revenue in Q2
On track to 50% growth this year
Read more about Tencent
10. What makes Chinas Internet landscape unique?
11. Who the netizens are.
Mostly urban(71.7%) However, over 95 million rural netizens and growing.
72.4% have a monthly household income of less than 2,000 RMB (~290 USD)
31.7% are students. 7.4% are unemployed.
Only12.4% have a Bachelors degree or higher.
Source: CNNICs 24th Statistical Report, June 2009.
12. How they access the web.
46% of Chinese netizens access the Internet by mobile phone.
35.5% access the web through Internet cafes. (however, declining as broadband access increases)
Source: CNNICs 24th Statistical Report, June 2009.
13. Why they access the web.
1. Entertainment2. Information 3. Communication
Source: CNNICs 24th Statistical Report, June 2009.
14. Why they access the web.
Chinese netizens are looking for ways to express their freedom on the Internet. *
73% of Chinese netizens agreed with the statement: Online, I feel free to say and do things I wouldnt do or say offline, compared to only 32% of US netizens.*
*Source: The Uniqueness of Social Media in China.
15. What theyre using.
Blogs
54% of netizens own a blog. However, only 35% have updated in the past 6 months.*
Most Chinese blogs are little more than online diaries [but] that doesnt mean crises never originate with blogs. - Kaiser Kuo
Director of Digital Strategy, Ogilvy China
*Source: CNNICs 24th Statistical Report, June 2009.
16. What theyre using.
Bulletin board
systems (BBS)
The real place where conversations about brands occur on the Chinese Internet. Kaiser Kuo
Over 100 million netizens use online forums (aka BBS), and 96% of these users spend at least 1 hour a day on these websites. (The Hive)
Source: Pepsis so-so social media campaign Littleredbook.cn.
17. What theyre using.
Social networking sites (SNS)
124 million SNS users in 2009.
Each user has on average 2.8 accounts.*
*Source: China Internet Watch.
Qzone by Tencent. Read about it here.
Primary purpose is entertainment.
27.4% log in just to play games.*
18. What theyre using.
Social gaming
Low-cost entertainment, attractive to students, low-income individuals, and young office workers. Often accessed through SNS websites.
*Source: Chinas growing addiction: online farming games. Venture Beat.
An estimated 15 million urban white-collars spend more than five hours a day on Happy Farm.*
Interesting Article: Happy Farms Game Destroys Chinese Jobs, Relationships.
19. What theyre using.
Video-sharing websites
65.8% of netizens use online video sites.CNNICs 24th Statistical Report.
Only 30% of videos on popular websites Youku and Tudouare user-generated. The rest consists of (mostly pirated) film and TV content.*
*Source: WebProChina, February 2009.
20. How theyre participating.
Higher percentage of Creators and Critics in China.
When compared with countries like the U.S., urban Chinese netizens are generally more active in contributing to online content (rather than simply consuming it). For more information about what these labels mean, see Forresters Social Technographics Ladder.
Netizen Participation in Metro China vs. United States
Source: Forresters Consumer Profile Tool, 2009 Data.
21. How theyre participating.
Chinese users are more engaged in their online lives.
86% of Chinese youth live some of their lives online, compared to 42% of American youth.
Source: 2007 survey by IAC and JWT
22. How viral it is.
China has a more tightly integrated Internet community. Everything you do is social media virality is so much more ferocious. Kaiser Kuo
Viral memes proliferate across the Chinese web and become cultural phenomena.
The human flesh search engine phenomenon (HFSE)prompts netizens to dig up personal details and reveal scandals across social media.
23. How influential it is.
56.3% of users said that they got to know brands through online channels.
58.7% actually made purchase decisions based on user-generated online info (compared to only 19% in U.S.).
Even when not making a purchase, 89.9% of users still pay attention to online word of mouth.*
81% of BBS and blog users check online word of mouth before purchasing a product.*
*Source: Making Sense of Internet Word of Mouth. CIC 2009.
24. What should companies do about social media in China?
25. 1. Listen to your audience.

Monitor the channels theyre using.

26. What are they saying about your brand? 27. What are they saying about competitors brands? 28. Pre-empt reputational crises. Be ready to respond when necessary.