Communicate via social media with consumers, that is easy. But to get into the Chinese social media market means to overcome several hurdles and to understand the market's rules and consumer habits.

The Chinese way - ‘An error occurred. Please try later.’

  • Facebook, Twitter & Co. have not been accessible for 3 years because of the censorship

  • almost half of their time is spent on local counterparts, especially on micro blogs

  • possibility to exchange experiences and to level criticism anonymously

  • the Chinese let themselves extremely be guided by the opinions and recommendations of others

How to succeed in the market

  1. First of all: pay attention to the origin of the contents! - The user’s opinion or negative news about competitors will not always be the true ones.
  2. Fine-tune your marketing! - Presence on different local platforms and targeted marketing are indispensable.
  3. BUT: Do not forget the basic measures to develop your social media strategy! - Even in China, it is essential to
    • present yourself sincerely
    • address the customer directly
    • learn by trial and error and
    • keep your Corporate Communication in the social media platforms.


Worth knowing:

Not a mission impossible, but hard work

By developing new techniques to manage the customer relationship and considering the mentioned facts, companies will make the most of the high social media activity of the Chinese. They should profit from analogies with similar markets and from the incredible potential of the market with regard to the number of internet users.



Internet Sources:

Facebook, 2012. Facebook Newsroom.
http://newsroom.fb.com/News/457/One-Billion-People-on-Facebook

Financial Times Deutschland, 2012. Article ‘Alles außer Facebook’.
http://www.ftd.de/it-medien/computer-technik/:china-alles-ausser-facebook/70020586.html

Internet World Business, 2012. Heftarchiv Ausgabe 12 2012. Article ‘Das Netz im Reich der Mitte’.
http://www.internetworld.de/Heftarchiv/2012/Ausgabe-12-2012/Das-Netz-im-Reich-der-Mitte

Lingner Consulting New Media, 2012. Article ‘Social Media und Employer Branding in China’.
http://lingner.com/zukunftskommunikation/china-im-social-web

McKinsey Quarterly, 2012. Marketing & Sales, Digital Marketing, April 2012.
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Understanding_social_media_in_China_2961

n-tv, 2012. Article ‘Cyber-Attacken in Zeiten des Parteitags: Google in China geblockt’.
http://www.n-tv.de/technik/Google-in-China-geblockt-article7717896.html

t3n We Love Technology, 2012. Article ‘Social Web in China: Wie deutsche Unternehmen im Reich der Mitte erfolgreich sind’.
http://t3n.de/magazin/china-sozialen-netzwerke-social-web-mitte-229593/

we are social, 2012. Blog. Post ‘Social, Digital and Mobile in China’.
http://wearesocial.sg/blog/2011/12/social-digital-mobile-china/

Yahoo! Deutschland, 2012. Nachrichten. Article ‘Facebook heißt hier RenRen: Social Media in China’.
http://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/blogs/total-digital/facebook-hei%C3%9Ft-hier-renren-social-media-china-125602858.html

YouTube, 2012. Video ‘PandoHouse Rock: The Great Firewall Of China Song’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89lQef9-k18

YouTube, 2012. YouTube Statistics.
http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics?hl=en-GB