Just how different is it?

Expanding into China via digital and social platforms

What is this whole thing? The Chinese social media landscape is just so different! Where do I start? What should I do?

Before diving into a complex and ever-changing China digital and social media universe, let’s go back to visit the guiding principles of building a business via digital and social media.

It is different, but the principles remain the same

• It is about really understanding your target audience • It is about choosing the right platforms, building a persona, and having a two-

way conversation • And it is about building a relationship in the most engaging and comfortable

way…

The Connected Consumers

In China, 70% of social media users are under the age of 35 (30% are between 26 and 30), people spend five to six more hours online per week than Americans and an average of almost 90 minutes per day on social networks, and 38% of consumers make product purchase decisions based on recommendations they read on social networks.

There are more than 300 million online shoppers in China. In 2013, each online shopper spent $1,000 on online shopping. 48% of online shoppers are also mobile shoppers.

Chinese consumers depend on mobile and social platforms in every aspect of their personal lives….

Young

Trusting

Affluent

Digital Natives

Mobile Phones

who depend on

In almost every aspect of their personal lives

Different Platforms and Behaviors

http://thomascrampton.com/social-media/china-social-media-landscape-2015/

The Tencent-owned platform had taken on the role of multiple Western platforms in China:

“Combine Amazon for shopping, Facebook for branded communities and promotion, PayPal or online banking service to pay bills, and WhatsApp for messaging.”

WeChat is a single social media platform with integrated commerce, location, messaging, and social networking.

549 million monthly active users, 64.3% male, 86.2%Under 35. Over 400 million users have used its payment service.

The most active mobile based social network: 50% use it more than 5 times a day

More than just chatting with friends: WeChat supports lots of aspectsof people’s personal lives

WeChat has some unique features designed for Chinese audiences

Give virtual red envelopes to WeChat friends

Shake mobile phones to get brand vouchers and meet new people nearby…

WeChat has been improving its backend platform to help brands better understand their followers’ online behavior

How do brands use WeChat to engage customers?

Over 80% of WeChat users follow official (brand) accounts

Case Study: Starbucks- Curated Music Radio Channel

To drum up interest when it first joined, the coffee chain sent songs to users who had got in touch using an emoticon. The songs were supposed to reflect the mood of the emoticons it had received. By the end of the month-long campaign Starbucks had attracted 62,000 fans and received an average of 22,000 messages per day.

Video: https://youtu.be/AWunAgO97TI

Case Study: Burberry: A Virtual Runway Show The virtual runway showallowed fans to receive updates from celebritiesattending the show or request a personalized image.

Case Study: Tag Heuer: Bring people offline

Case Study: Coach: Sharing differently –Chinese way

Case Study: Yoox: Sell directly on WeChat

Case Study: The “Me” Media

.

Understand your target audience and stay relevant

a.) It’s about your audience. Who are they? Learn about their habits: What are they interested in? What are they reading about? Where do they spend time online? What devices do they use? -- Spend time with them online and offline b.) Be relevant. What is your story? How relevant it is to your target audience?

Be clear about your objective and experiment more often (technology)

a.) What do you use social media for? b.) Breakdown your objectives into achievable monthly/seasonal goals c.) Stay updated on new platform features and content types - However, stick to the overall tone of voice and style guidelines. – You probably need a tech person in your team

Choose the right platform and be patient

Identify the influencers in your industry and build relationships

How does a Chinese flower shop build its business purely via social media?

The Beast Summer Garden installation within Joyce Beijing flagship store

The Beast started out as a flower micro-shop on Weibo (When Weibo was the most popular social network in China a couple of years ago.)

Started out on Weibo

Great Content Strategy – It’s all about your stories

Customers didn’t have a say in what was made nor could they see the bouquet before it was sent. They could only give the details of what they wanted to say with the flowers and to whom, and the story would be translated into a bouquet by a florist.

Storytelling-based design

This tactic took root on Weibo, and the curated online flower shop gained 100,000 followers in six months.

Riding the wave of their Weibo fans, Xiang opened a full e-boutique (The Beast Shop), which later expanded offline to their bricks-and-mortar shops across China. (10 offline stores)

From Weibo ordering to e-Commerce – Leverage the influence of KOL

Questions?

XQ: t. @missxqS. @missxq