It’s understandable: a different language, culture and the “Great Firewall” have made China the Galapagos Island of the internet.
However, as China’s consumer market rises, its social platforms increasingly look to global users and brand managers for growth.
Here’s an introduction to four of the big online platforms in China—along with tips on how to make the most of them:
1. WeChat
WeChat has more than 800 million monthly users and is owned by Tencent, one of the scions of the Chinese internet. Originally just a messaging app (think Whatsapp), WeChat adds more functions every month. They include:
• Messaging: To send messages to contacts.
• Moments: A Facebook-esque wall to share updates with friends.
• Official accounts: Brand managers can use these to send customized messages—which can include audio, video, images and text—to consumers.
• WeChat payment: Users’ bankcards can be linked to their accounts for online and online-to-offline transactions without leaving the app.
• WeChat stores: Stores that brand managers link to their accounts. Users can receive messages from branded accounts as well as buy products.
The platform offers so much functionality to users that it’s difficult to place WeChat within a traditional marketing strategy.
From new customer acquisition, customer exploration and ownership to sales and conversion, WeChat plays a role in each part of the customer journey. Because the platform moves so quickly, keeping up with the new tools—and with users’ behavior—is a key component to making the most of WeChat.
There are also regulatory hurdles for organizations that want to use the platform. Chinese business licenses, bank accounts, ICP licenses and citizen ID cards will are required to sign up. International business licenses, trademark certificates and tax certificates might be necessary, too.
As with most bureaucratic tasks, there are ways around these restrictions, but just setting up an account requires dedication and know-how.
RELATED: The 2017 Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Corporate Communicators at Disney World.
2. QQ / QZone
QQ was Tencent’s first product. It started life as an instant messenger, and quickly added online games and stores to customize users’ avatars.
Today, Tencent is one of the largest gaming companies in the world. Many Chinese citizens used their QQ numbers rather than email addresses, phone numbers and other contact information. It was the way that everyone communicated in the early days of the Chinese internet.
Due to WeChat’s success, marketers can (sometimes wrongly) overlook QQ. The platform still has a huge number of users and consumers in more rural areas that aren’t on WeChat. QQ users mostly use QZone, the social-media side to QQ’s messenger tool. QZone enable brand managers to share campaigns and storytelling efforts, reaching out to audiences in ways similar to Facebook.
Brand managers for fast-moving consumer goods and lower entry organizations should keep QQ and QZone in mind when planning marketing strategies to reach lower-income Chinese consumers. Oreo, for instance, has had great success with QZone campaigns.
3. Weibo
Weibo is similar to Twitter and is mostly owned by web-news platform Sina. It’s a one-to-many broadcast platform that is searchable and open. There is a 144-character limit to message (though much more can be said with 144 characters in Chinese than in English).
The platform is very visual, too. Messages can have up to nine images attached, and GIFs have been big for many years.
Weibo is experiencing a large drop-off in interactions, mostly due to users migrating to WeChat. However, Weibo is still for keeping up with breaking news stories and celebrity gossip.
The platform has also recently begun experimenting with live streaming, which has taken off in China.
Weibo can be a brand manager’s megaphone in China and is useful for reaching a wide audience. Gaining followers on Weibo traditionally involves periodic giveaways or influencer marketing campaigns.
Be aware that fees to work with key opinion leaders have spiked in China, as brand managers scramble to reach Chinese consumers. Weibo has made a number of changes lately to improve profits—including “taxing” organic growth—and these have cut down on marketer’s organic reach.
Marketers must have additional money set aside to unlock a Weibo post’s reach. You should also keep an eye on how to use live-streaming in their plans.
4. Youku
Youku is essentially China’s Youtube. The platforms are very similar, though the content differs.
There’s more professionally-produced content on Youku—and many of China’s TV stations use the platform as a “catch-up” streaming service. Content categories include beauty, fashion and food, and over the past few years, influencer-marketing videos has increased.
For marketers, Youku can be a great place to post video content before embedding it in other channels—especially Weibo, as the platforms work well together. Keep in mind that Youku increasingly faces competition from live-streaming and rival sites.
Additionally, working with key online leaders on video platforms is an excellent way to increase brand awareness.
Tom Griffiths is the founder and managing director of Half A World, a digital consultancy specializing in digital presences for businesses in the Asia-Pacific.
(Image via)
from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/2eo8wFg
No comments:
Post a Comment