Navigating Social Media in China

Amanda Mohar
Manager, Communications

Marketing communications professionals in all parts of the world are a-Twitter over the power of social networking. No campaign, it seems, is successful without at least a Facebook page, Twitter feed and YouTube channel. So you can imagine how surprised unknowing clients are to learn that a similar strategy just isn’t going to work in China. Not only are these online destinations inaccessible this side of the Great Firewall, even when they were available, domestic alternatives were still the preferred network and platform for the local market. Regardless of the cause, Chinese netizens show a clear preference to domestic sites more often than in any other country in the world. The Facebook frenzy, it appears, did not make it to China.

So if Chinese students aren’t on Facebok or Twitter or YouTube, where are they? And how can foreign institutions capitalise on this opportunity? All across the country, you’ll find students in three main locations: SNS (Social Networking Sites), BBS (Bulleting Board Sites), and domestic micro-blogging platforms. Let’s take a closer look at a few SNS institutions should know about.

51, Renren, and Kaixin, oh my!

Lots of different sites in China claim to be the biggest, the most popular, and the place to be, but the most important are Renren, Kaixin001, 51 and ChinaRen. (I’m omitting a couple others for obvious reasons). By registered users, 51 holds a clear lead over other sites, but Renren dominates in visitor traffic. Despite any confusion, it’s pretty clear that out of these top four, two can be skipped over and two deserve a little more attention.

Skip It

51.com
What it is: One of the first on the China SNS Scene, 51.com had an early lead in the market. With membership exceeding 160 million, clients may have heard of the site, but they probably don’t know that its popularity in key markets is waning.

Why you can skip it: Maybe the downfall of 51 was, surprisingly, in its simplicity. This basic open source platform was quick to garner general interest initially, but its popularity has been retained only among less-savvy SNS adopters – primarily those of lower income from provincial cities. Without the attention of the affluent urban audience, the chances of international institutions finding their target market at this site (and not on others) is pretty low.

Chinaren.com
What it is: Stemming from the popularity of university-based bulletin board systems (the first and still most frequented form of networking in China), ChinaRen was originally established as an independent alumni network before being bought by Sohu in 2000. Sohu looks and functions very much like the Yahoo! portal, offering communications tools, pooling articles from other news sources and offering original content all in a customisable platform. Although ChinaRen still sees a high volume of traffic, I would consider the site to now be a “portal with social networking characteristics” rather than a SNS specifically. Visitors are coming for the content, not the networking.

Why you can skip it: It could be a successful location for more traditional advertising, but even then, there are probably better locations within Sohu for targeting your market segment, like liuxue.sohu and studyabroad.sohu.

Use It

Kaixin001.com
What it is: Kaixin (“Happy”) has a layout similar to Facebook, with an emphasis on playing social games with current friends, rather than making new ones or connecting with other netizens over similar interests.

Who’s there: 80 million Chinese netizens, largely young white collar workers in urban areas looking for a distraction from their boring desk jobs.

How it’s different: Current lack of open-source platform component for 3rd party applications hasn’t stopped the site from maintaining a strong gaming emphasis– Kaixinwang’s Happy Farm and the like top the most popular social media games in China. Users typically come to the site to share photos and play games with current friends, not to make new ones or connect with others over commonalities.

How clients can get involved: This demographic of middle to upper-class professionals makes for a prime target for promoting FMCG lines, but not so much institutions. Kaixinwang can be an ideal place for promoting alumni associations or groups for current students, a resource incoming students could certainly benefit from as well. Some traditional advertising space is available (banners, buttons), but opportunities are limited and can be costly. A presence on Kaixinwang is most often recommended to institutions that already have full time Chinese-speaking staff, who may add a fan page or group as a supplementary component to a larger campaign.

Renren.com
What it is: Renren ("Everyone") abandoned its old name of Xiaonei ("On Campus"), a story which, again like ChinaRen, shouldn’t sound new to social marketers. Facebook followed a similar path when it made itself open to non-students in 2006. The similarities don’t end there in this case, as Renren continues to be the destination of choice for university students – and could almost pass as Facebook’s Chinese twin, both in terms of visuals and functions.

Who’s there: 120 million registered users, the vast majority of whom are 18-24, connecting with their friends, sharing photos, playing games, joining groups and becoming fans of their school, hometown, and favorite brands.

How it’s different: Despite their similarities, Facebook hasn’t taken hold in China because competitors like Renren are simply doing it better. The Chinese version of Facebook is pretty weak in terms of localising the language platform. Appearing ignorant of your target audience isn’t the way to win fans, even for the world’s most popular SNS. When a nearly identical site popped up, offering the same advantages as Facebook but localised to meet market expectations, the audience reacted. Although the site still primarily caters to university students, the move from “on campus” to “everyone” clearly shows a change in direction, as their audience expands.

How clients can get involved: Out of all of these, the clear winner for institutions is Renren. There are a few opportunities for more traditional advertising through banners and buttons, but the bulk of marketing on Renren is through groups and fan pages, though these can be much more individualized and altered than they can on Facebook. China is big on brands, and Renren is no exception. Establishing your institution here, offering a new avenue to make your programs more accessible to the local market is a smart idea.

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