Advantages such as infinite segmentation, interactivity, insight, real time analysis and manipulation are good starters.
Combined with tractional channels LBS marketing helps cement customer loyalty, can define your trade fair more precisely resulting in finely targeted, hotter prospects. Unless you are using Social Media in your China marketing mix you are missing a very large opportunity.
Weibo is the default marketing media in China, with one of the globes biggest number of Internet users and the exploding use of smart phones in China, Social Media Marketing is no longer just an option for multinationals.
Beijing BMW Dealership: Social Media Marketing
Social Media Event Marketing improves results
Social Media Research targets specific customers
Digital Marketing is INTERACTIVE, vibrant, effective, no longer cold, sterile and impersonalWhy use China Social Media?
Before we start looking at all the hyperbole and enthuse about the wonderful, nay extraordinary results that Social Media can bring, let's put things into cold perspective.
Humanity has evolved, from the Iron Age, to the Bronze Age, the Steel Age and the industrial revolution.
Today we lived through the "Communication Revolution" into the Information Age.
At each step we have had to take stock of what we have, where we are and where we are going, how we are using and how we can best use the new medium. Had we failed to adapt and adopt we would have perished.
But JP Morgan, a former CEO of IBM [UK] talked about a "new revolution:" a revolution in technology in products, in services offered, the "Digital Revolution."
In many ways he is right, look at the way communication has changed in half a decade, the speed of technological change.
Another business maxim says;"
That is the best answer to; "Why use China Social Media to grow your brand in China."
Another way to look at it is to summarise what we have discussed so far.
We know that WEIBO is currently the default Social Media channel in China and companies such as VW, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Totota and many Embassies are spending millions to get their marketing message on this platform.
Unlike some of the mainstream media, China Social Media can employ economies of size making it a highly effective and cost efficient medium for small businesses in China.
We have also mentioned that Social Media in China is more intense than the frivolous western style and that Chinese culture lends itself well to this form of marketing.
Let's quickly revisit the advantages summary.
Infinite segmentation
target specifically, infinitely.
Real Time Analysis
fine tune your campaign minute by minute
Flexibility:
Combine with traditional marketing. [LBS]
Customer Insight:
What your customers think of your product.
Virality
You and one today, you and one million tomorrow.
Damage Control:
Respond to malicious or adverse publicity .
Loyalty:
Build a strong, loyal fan base who will support you.
Interactivity
Power shift to the consumer, now a two way street.
We have also noted that as well as the usual challenges involved with this media, such as time and virality, Social Media in China comes with its own issues, like language, culture, IPR, anti marketing and business ethics.
But business is not without risks, perhaps this is what makes it exciting, and a good business woman knows how to minimise her risks and maximise her opportunities.
To a large degree, using China Social Media helps lessen those risks because you can define and refine your research more accurately than with conventional media.
This gives you greater, more precise information from which to make business crucial decisions.
You know where your customers are, how many they are, what their needs are and so you can market to them with pin point accuracy.
Of course nothing is 100% guaranteed, but overall, the advantages of Social Media Marketing in China far outweigh the risks.
However, as we noted in our introduction, in many cases the biggest challenge foreign business face to success in China is.... themselves.
If you are serious about doing business in China and are prepared to accept that somethings work just a little differently here, then you really can not afford not to use Chinese Social Media.
And if that sounds a little patronising or offensive, forgive us, but we are focussed on your success and think it is important to understand these things.
We mentioned the ease of "Disengagement" and this epitomises Digital, Word of Mouth Marketing.
Your campaign can be on line at 10AM, the results monitored, analysed and tabulated a short time later and any changes or adjustments can be made another few moments later.
It keeps your fans engaged, interested and helps strengthen your brand.
Quite simply, you can't do that with a glossy magazine ad.
So, why use Social media to drive your success in China?
If you don't want to build a loyal, supportive base of dedicated, satisfied customers, if you don't want to grow a strong healthy brand, if you don't want succeed.... these are all excellent reasons NOT to use China Social Media.
Done well, Social Media Marketing will put you in a virtual one to one situation with customers and potential customers uncover their needs, their problems and then adjust your product and advertising to exactly fit.
By involving them in on line games, completions and LBS you will build brand loyalty ensuring they come back to purchase again and again, bringing friends and family who will also be strong supporters.
No other media gives you such an opportunity to talk to your customers or potential customers on a 1 to 1 basis, no matter where in China they are, and China is one heck of a big country!~
No other media is so instant, it happens in real time, you can refine your market as soon as you get feedback. Your interaction with fans is not limited to a predesigned set of questions, it can flow just as it does in natural conversation and, in the right hands [ours!] can reveal real feelings, wants, needs and frustrations.
We have also mentioned Chinese culture is already relationship based and relate well to this type of media, especially given the sheer number of Chinese smart phone users who are on line almost all day every day. It is, in some ways, a captive market with an unquenchable thirst for more.
"Humanity has matured, today we no longer trust governments or advertising, but we value the comments and recommendations of friends or co-workers".This is the simplest reason why China Social Media marketing should be in your marketing mix.
If we sound passionate to the point of evangelistic, we make no apologies, we have been doing this a long time and have seen foreign businesses come.... and go.
Yes, you can get lucky in China, but we don't believe in luck. Success comes from hard work, skill, knowledge, dedication, good planning and having the right team on your side.
We believe in what we do, we believe in us and we believe we can work with you to ensure your success.
It is this vision that drives us and pushes us to be the best we can... and a little bit more.
Take a good handful of our accumulated China business and marketing experience, learnt the hard way since 2003, involvement with players such as Guangdong Development Bank, VW, K Boxing, and BMW, stir in our reputation and principles of honesty, transparency and effective marketing plans and strategy, and our ability to communicate with you in perfect, fluent Native English [plus a few others].
Combine with our youthful team of "Virtual World" experts, a perfect mix of Gen X, Y and Z who "live On-Line" and carry their world and the web in their hip pocket via their I-pad and I-phones, and gently blend in a strong, mature team of seasoned Chinese business professionals and you have the recipe for what we know best - Internet Marketing in China - developing cost effective solutions for your China on line marketing campaign.
We have said Baidu is THE search engine in China resulting in Search Engine Marketing [SEM] maybe similar to PPC. As we explained in Challenges Baidu has its own algorithms and although moving closer to Google, rankings are most often "bought". This is complex and requires knowledge of Baidu's system and Chinese language to be done well. Active Digital has the knowledge and experience, it is one of our "Core Services."
Is China Social Media Over hyped?
Chinese are early adopters, readily accept new technology which is comparatively cheaper here and have a staggering number of on line users
Even smaller, poorer remote villages are "connected", via a PC [most likely a Mac!] Laptop, Smart Phone or Tablet.
China has one of the globes most modern Internet systems, albeit grossly overloaded at peak times and subject to certain controls.
Look around any bus, train, subway, taxi, street, coffee shop, you will see Chinese people, across the age spectrum totally immersed in their Smart Phone or Tablet.
Whether reading news, playing games, shopping or QQ, China's extremely popular version of ICQ chat that provides entertainment, romance, news and advertising this opportunity rich platform is an indispensable way to reach customers in China.
From high school students chatting, to office workers playing games to relax their mind to white haired grannies checking their stocks, China is addicted to E technology.
On line shopping is becoming one of the top mediums in China retailing, especially foreign branded or sourced products, partly from natural human desire to "stand out" and partly from a lack of trust in domestic products. This is driving the development of LBS.
And with every application the marketers are there, QQ shop, QQ this, QQ that, even QQ currency, at every turn an E-marketing message is there, somewhere on the screen.
Chinese are also avid computer game players, a fact exploited by companies such as VW who use the Weibo [the Chinese Social Media = to Twitter] format to draw fans to their site via games, competitions, on line "holidays" or test drives.
Ms Yu used this extremely effectively with the China launch of VW CC and later, the new VW Magaton.
Weibo is also the default, unofficial or underground news channel in China with fans tweeting their displeasure regarding social conditions or events.
Marketers often use the term "HOT" to describe a popular trend, but Weibo is beyond hot.
So, is Social Medal over hyped in China?
Given the phenomenal amount of activity that is generated daily and the potential for businesses to reach a depth and breadth of customers that were hitherto not dreamt of, we don't think so.
In fact, it could be well understated.
We have also mentioned: "China Social Media allows you to fine tune your product or any one of your marketing mix components to what the customers wants, because they have told you."
But telling you and you understanding are two entirely different things if Chinese is not among your language skills.
Did we mention we are multi lingual?
We speak fluent, native quality English, Chinese and Russian and are also skilled in Japanese and German.
In the previous chapter we talked about a lack of understanding of Social Media by many businesses, they were cheated, burnt, ran out of time and became disillusioned.
Using Active Digital ensure your campaign will be tailored to your needs and budget, we take care of everything leaving you free to spend your time doing what you do best while we do what we know best.
With Social Media now the default marketing tool in China we must look at any Digital Marketing campaign from a wider, holistic perspective than just "tweeting," businesses have to think more carefully about their web sites, simple templates, flash, irrelevant or info copied from other sources is going to work against you.
Active Digital will start at square one, evaluate your website, for content, design, ease of use by both humans and machines.
To be really effective, in terms of time, money and results you have to begin with a well designed and WRITTEN site, expert SEO and reliable, fast hosting BEFORE you start to think about building a fan base.
To day's consumers in China are smart, can smell a cheat or scam, live as busy lives as you and don't have time to wait for your site to load irrelevant hype which does not meet their needs. There is plenty of competition that will give them what they want.
This squeezes already limited resources of many SME's in China, adds time into the equation, or an expensive addition to the pay roll, neither of which they can afford.
Shopping around in different sectors, runs the risk of being cheated and with so many separate entities involved the end result may not be as they hoped, the more people involved, the more confusion, the higher the risk of misunderstanding, mis-information and disappointment.
So what do we do so passionately? The next chapter covers that, or if you would like further information how we can make China Social media work for you, please, drop us an e-Mail Remember, it costs nothing to contact us, our advice is free, honest, and comes with no hidden catches, carrots or SPAM.