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How to navigate the Chinese social media landscape

October 26, 2011

Weibo is the Chinese version of Twitter

The Chinese social media scene can provide leverage for luxury brands attempting to break into the emerging market. Unfortunately, with the different social outlets, it can also create a headache for marketers that are used to Westernized social networks.

There are many major components to the social media landscape in China and each one serves a different purpose. The six main sites — Sina, Weibo, Renren, Kaixin, Youku and Tudou — must each be taken into account when planning a luxury branded presence in this complex market.

“The first step, regardless of industry or country, is always to understand where the target client, or prospective target, spends the most time and to ensure that the brand is offering the right emotionally-driven experience for that touch point,” said Florent Bondoux, strategy and intelligence business unit manager of Digital Luxury Group, Geneva.

“For luxury brands doing business in China, it usually translates into a global strategy on major international platforms combined with local social networks such as Sina, Weibo and P1, and locally-relevant media and blogs,” he said.

More to do
Before jumping into Chinese social media, marketers need to understand the various platforms so they can use them to their fullest potential.

Largely because Facebook is banned in China, brands cannot simply extend or translate their Western social media content.

Weibo, which is owned by fellow social media platform Sina, is the most important outlet, per Mr. Bondoux. This should be the platform on which a luxury brand starts off.

Weibo in Mandarin translates to microblog, according to Timothy Coghlan, founder of Maosuit.com and China fashion industry specialist, Beijing, China.

“Weibo, for lack of a better term is China’s Twitter, but has more functionality than Twitter,” Mr. Coghlan said from Beijing, China. “So it’s kind of like Twitter plus a load of Facebook functions.

“Anyone and everyone is on it and its out of control right now,” he said. “It’s all people are talking about.”

The homepage of Weibo

Following Weibo is parent social-media outlet Sina.

Sina is one of the largest entertainment and information Web portals in China.

The main page, found at http://www.sina.com, links to thousands of various information and entertainment Web sites and provides services for shopping, fashion, sports, news and event tickets.

The Sina English homepage

The Chinese version of YouTube is YouKu, a video-sharing site.

Many of the videos found on the page are user-generated by consumers.

Much like YouTube, videos can be found across the spectrum from funny videos to social commentary or a consumer’s favorite wardrobe or luxury handbag, per Mr. Coghlan.

Unlike in the United States where YouTube runs the online video scene, Chinese consumers use two video sites.

Toudu is another video-sharing platform, and could be the more useful one for branded content.

“Tudou has less user-generated content and, so, less of a voice from the streets,” Mr. Coghlan said.

“The Chinese will use Tudou more for relaxing and entertainment rather than voicing opinions and personal videos,” he said. “It has the more official fashion brand content.”

Tudou's homepage

RenRen is the Chinese social media site that most closely resembles Facebook.

On Ren Ren, there is some talk about fashion and events, but more about street looks and personal style. There are also less comments given to the photos.

This site may be more suited for reaching more mature generations, as many of the Chinese consumers are leaning more heavily towards Sina and Weibo, according to Mr. Coghlan.

Kaixin is very similar to RenRen but also provides gaming services, much like Facebook’s applications feature.

While the two sites are very similar, consumers in Northern China prefer Kaixin, while those in the South prefer RenRen.

Racing ahead
China is no longer a market that luxury brands can afford to ignore, and some brands have already begun to spread their presence successfully on these platforms.

The number of Sina and Weibo users increased 200 percent in the last year, according to L2 Think Tank.

For example, luxury automakers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Ferrari towered over the luxury market on the Web in China, according to findings from the Digital IQ: China study by L2 Think Tank last month (see story).

Indeed, Audi is present on six of the seven major social media sites in China, and has uploaded more than 250,000 videos to YouKu, the Chinese version of YouTube (see story).

Audi content on YouKu

Luxury brands such as brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Burberry, Cartier, Gucci and Omega have also taken steps into the Chinese market by using Youku (see story).

On top of the different social media platforms, the Chinese consumer also brings a number of cultural differences that are constantly changing.

Also, rather than thinking of China as one country, brands need to recognize that each section of China presents different challenges, demographics and reactions to marketing (see story).

Indeed, experts recommend thinking of China more like Europe, where there countries are all very different but are sometimes grouped together under the Europe name.

The consumers in these areas all have different styles, social media preferences and react to marketing differently.

Therefore, understanding and maintaining a presence on more than one social media outlet is very important.

“The luxury consumer in China is considerably younger, more digitally-native and obsessed with social media,” said Maureen Mullen, director of research and advisory services at L2 Think Tank, New York.

“Furthermore, more than half of Chinese luxury purchases are made outside of China, many after several months of research — much of it done online,” she said.

“If your brand is not present on emerging social media channels such as Weibo, you are missing a significant, cost-effective channel to communicate with potential consumers.”

Final Take
Kayla Hutzler, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

Kayla Hutzler is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are automotive, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, financial services, media/publishing, software and technology, telecommunications, travel and hospitality, real estate, retail and sports. Reach her at kayla@napean.com.