The Chinese travellers are strongly influenced by their social circle

Social media is increasingly fragmented with new emerging platforms

Many people focus on the current Chinese networks, the most dominant social but what I feel is a strict control. New forms of expression are constantly emerging and development in this fast paced, constantly changing market. There is a huge demand for social networks and little foreign competition, which creates space for a multitude of digital home platforms develop. The Chinese government also provides grants and incentives for creative new technology start-ups is encouraging the creation of new platforms. With an increasing number of people of all ages and backgrounds by using social media, it is likely to be a demand for "new" spaces where users can communicate and share content in a different way.

Two examples are (a similar photo application Instagram) 'Nice' and 'Meipai' (a similar application on Vine video). Brands such as Ray Ban and Bulgari have already begun to launch campaigns on these platforms. Neither has yet acquired a dominant position, but it is expected that the fragmentation of the landscape of networking through these types of networks 'alternative' will continue.

Top tips for Western brands looking to market themselves on social networks in China

Content is king on Wechat 

Create interesting, shareable content in Mandarin that will appeal to the Chinese. Often the content is produced in a cartoon, the almost childlike style, cartoon animals, for example, are very popular. Be active on social media. Really engage with consumers directly, people enjoy direct communication and are more likely to share your brand within their network.

Use the 'Key Opinion Leader "or KOL. The recruitment of these figures in the name of a brand can be a very effective way to distribute content. Find specialized partners in China. They have extensive knowledge of the market and the links and local resources you need to use.

WeChat: WeChat is the Chinese Internet giant Tencent social network Lighthouse, it began as an instant messaging application before morphing into a truly integrated social network platform. Users can communicate via instant messaging, sending a written text, audio or video clips to another. It is a very user friendly platform acts as a purse (it is related to Alipay), the platform game (Chinese regularly play group games), taxi ordering service (Didi Kaudu similar Uber, is directly related to WeChat) and it also has a video call option that is much more effective than skype.

Companies can create official accounts and should attract followers to subscribe. This is vital as more closed network, users can not see the messages or comments by those they are connected. The goal of any brand is to disseminate their content to a user's network. Users post times (similar to an update) and often share content as part of this. Generating a favorable reputation is achieved by actively engaging with users and subscribers.



Baidu Tieba: This is part of the Chinese search engine Baidu 'prevailing over 70% of its own market. Tieba is a forum for topics that are searchable by different categories of subjects. Content becomes more prolific it gains visibility based on the ranking of the Tieba community (much like Reddit). For a brand, the objective is to produce interesting content that the community is very rank, the brand needs to attract quite a following classification of their high content in order that it appears on top of the Tieba community.

Qzone: A social networking site created by Tencent in 2005. It is largely an instant messaging platform, but users join groups to discuss specific topics. These groups can be directly targeted because they tend to be on niche topics.

The Chinese are strongly influenced by their immediate social circle

The numerical solution can be extraordinarily effective for western brands here because the Chinese are turning to social media for more information. The Chinese are wary of more traditional media sources, but place great confidence in their social circle. Content shared between a user's network has a strong sense of legitimacy in the eyes of the Chinese consumer. That is why it is important for Western brands to operate on these platforms, people greatly appreciate the direct communication here. Create promotions and offer discounts that are exclusively provided for WeChat and Weibo followers, but ensure that the promotion includes friends and family, that they also are likely to follow your account

source : http://www.socialnetworksolutions.co.uk/tag/marketing-strategy/