As a relative newcomer to China’s digital landscape, Scarlett Lok, head of digital at TBWA Tequila Shanghai, shares some of her learnings and observations on China’s social media landscape versus the global, and more specifically the US, social media landscape.
1. For every one global social network site, there is an equivalent (and most likely a few copies) in China. Below are some comparisons of global or US social networks vs. China:
- Facebook and MySpace - China has Renren, Kaixin, QQ, 51.com and Douban
- YouTube - China has YouKu, Tudou, 56.com
- Twitter - China has Weibo, Baidu, QQ
- Foursquare - China has Jiepang
2. User user interface (UI) and/ or experience is a whole new ball game in China. Although most of China's social networking sites are copies of their western counterparts, the UI seems to be lost in translation. There seems to be an adverse feeling towards 'white space' on Chinese web pages. If you surf the web in China, you will see what I mean.
3. Analytics is a luxury. All reported web statistics should be taken with a grain of salt. There are limited and/ or no neutral third-party research firms or tools that provides statistics for most of the SNS sites. Most SNS sites don't have open APIs, hence all user profile information is self-reported. In addition, most SNS sites have what they call 'site ambassadors'. For example, if a brand is short on 'fans' for a campaign, no worries. You can employ these site ambassadors to help recruit or boost your numbers.
4. A greater need for quality of content on the web. In China, everyone is tweeting, but technically it should be 'weiboing'. According to NPR, there are over 30 million bloggers in China. I also recently read a statistic that states that almost 90 per cent of online users in China are registered to at least one BBS site. Therefore, as a marketer and as a brand, quality versus quantity is even more critical. Providing the right content in the right context in this massively noisy space is essential to a brand's success.
5. Be open-minded and be prepared to learn something new everyday. Be bold, try and test new things, but do be disciplined in your approach. Given that best practices are lacking in China, you should use what you've learned from more developed markets as a foundation – a guide to help you set the framework. Then, get ready to adjust your plans. This is China, after all. And this is digital – everything is changing and at sonic speed. This month, the hottest thing is Weibo, but by next month, who knows what will be the next 'it' thing. A framework is important, but flexibility is key.