307 million consumers in China are expected to use social networks in 2012. Social networks are censored. Facebook is banned. The government temporarily shut down some networks in March 2012. Despite these aspects, many people are using Social media. Popular examples are Sina Weibo (the most popular network in top-tier cities) or Renren (No. 1 among college students).

So what works in Social Media in China?

Here are 3 tips..

Be responsive -

Consumers in China appreciate brands being responsive, to the good and the bad. So being talkative, to issues that need fixing and also to compliments and observations.

Gaming -

This is an obvious aspect. I recall doing an online marketing presentation a few years ago to some of my marketing colleagues based in China. The audience was a mix of young, middle aged and senior marketers. At the end I asked them if any of them did not do take part in online gaming, and only 1 or 2 from a group of 20 said that they did not. So do not just give something away when you can have a gaming aspect to it and make people play for it. Make it fun so that people will want to share the game with friends.

Social search -

Drive people to search via social. Consumers look to social networks to find out what‘s going on, then look for more information on search engines later.

Here are two infographics that expand on the rise of social media in China.

Click the infographic to open an enlarged version in a new window.

Via: Best Free Online

And here is the second infographic.

Click the infographic to open an enlarged version in a new window.

Here are two blog posts that you might find interesting about social media in China

 - Mckinsey & Company, greater China, “China’s social media boom”

 - Tea Leaf nation, “Chinese Social Media Is Less Scary Than You Think”

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About The Author:
Clive Roach is the social media strategist for Philips Healthcare. He is active with strategy development, activation, governance, projects and educational training activities for all aspects of social media within Philips Healthcare. Clive has been working in the eMarketing area since 1997, and previously held roles in engineering, design and sales. Clive is also practical in addition to his current strategic role. In addition to this blog, he tweets daily on three Twitter accounts, has two Facebook fan pages, Google+, Pinterest, So.cl, Instagram, and participates in many other social networks.
Connect with the author via: Twitter | Google+ | LinkedIn | So.cl

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