Imagine a digital landscape in which individuals charge followers, and social e-commerce is standard practice? For Chinese consumers this is part of everyday day life in which social media plays a far more important role than in the West.
China is radically and dynamically different in the creative and technical arms race between established and emerging social platforms. By comparison in the West, there is not so much a race, more of a stroll.
Most articles on Chinese social media are based on describing the profiles of Facebook and Twitter against popular Chinese platforms, but that is to miss the point. There are plethora of multi-faceted options in which it is possible to create instant messaging, attach pictures and video, music, access a huge range of emoticons, utilise social e-commerce, introduce micro topics, receive rewards, choose your own style template and create event groups. But that’s just micro blogging site Sina Weibo.
Similarly, mobile text and voice messaging app WeChat combines the features of Skype, Facebook and Whatsapp, but it also includes a payment facility that is fast becoming a serious rival to Alipay, China’s equivalent of Paypal.
Not only are the social media platforms more multifunctional, there are also far more of them, and in this environment they have to provide much more than commodity based services such as messaging.
This would seem to make life difficult for brands wanting to target consumers, but it is not. Consumer types have a tendency to segment and converge on particular social platforms based on wealth, lifestyle and interests.
For professionals and the wealthy, Sina Weibo is de rigueur and used by hundreds of millions of individuals. But consumers also coalesce in huge numbers on peer group platforms to learn and exchange information on common interests. And it goes even further. For example, for targeting premium watch buyers iwatch365 has hundreds of thousands of users who discuss nothing but luxury watches.
Brands also take full advantage of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). The function and importance of KOLs is hugely important. Some are single brand authorities, some specialise in specific subjects, and others are focused on what is popular within peer groups.
KOLs and their followers have veracious appetites for learning about, broadcasting and discussing news and information. The key to KOLs is to make them information heroes. If this is done correctly they will broadcast messages. Like social media in the West, Chinese consumers are switched on to brand marketing techniques and quickly identify forced messaging. Push too hard and you get rejected.
Also, rewarding KOLs pays huge dividends based on their level of authority and frequency of activity. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through the use of badges, which give them enhanced importance and credibility.
To understand the psychology behind the power of KOLs and social media in general, it is important to know about the importance communication plays in Chinese culture. People are more expressive than in the West, and they like to learn and share information more readily than in almost any other country.
For this reason chat rooms and forums were used in truly massive numbers, and the transfer to social media was seamless. It plays a much greater role in commercial and personal life than in the UK, and is used by all demographics, including high net worth individuals. The response commercially has been to push the boundaries in terms of platform development and consumer engagement.
But it also means there is rapid and continuous change. For example, as little as a year ago many young urban wealthy consumers considered gaining access to P1 an important right of passage. It is a millionaire only site that requires proof of wealth and five nominations from existing members. Members shared information about luxury goods and displayed purchases. But now users have moved on, and P1 is a shell of its former self.
So what can the West learn from Chinese social media. Firstly, multifaceted platforms can work. Not all consumers want multiple options, but many do and there are opportunities to capitalise on this.
The biggest lesson for digital marketers is learning how to encourage engagement with the use of rewards. Premium based marketing, such as loyalty marketing is a proven technique in the West, and its adoption on social media is a small technical step. It is the mindset that requires engineering.
The other underutilised asset is social e-commerce. The facility is available, and it is one of the few ways to communicate and facilitate instant call to action.
As to whether or not film and music stars in the West will be able emulate their Chinese counterparts by charging subscriptions to their followers is a debatable point. But I would not bet against Katy Perry being able to make a seven figure sum every few months.
By Arnold Ma, CEO of Qumin (the UK's only full service Anglo Chinese digital marketing agency).
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