No YouTube. No Twitter. No Facebook.  

Yet, social media users in China are way more active than Facebookers and Twitter users. Social media is their key outlet.

China’s social media users not only are more active than those of any other country, but also in more than 80% of all cases, have multiple social media accounts, primarily with local players (compared with just 39% in Japan).

Here are top 3 trends that explains why social media marketing is critical to any brands who want to target Chinese consumers:    
 

1.  CHINA HAS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST NETIZENS: 

  - 91% of Chinese internet users (632m) have a social media account, compared to 67% of the  
    online population of the US.

  - Chinese internet users spend an average of 46 minutes on social networks every day. They
    are more likely to buy items recommended by other social media users.

  - The preferred format for advertising in China is the use of coupons (33%) and video (36%),
    with the best time to reach out to netizens on their mobiles being when they are on the way
    to work or at weekends.
 

2.  CHINESE CONSUMERS ARE AVID MOBILE VIDEO USERS:

  - 47% of Chinese consumers watch videos and television on tablets.

  - The number of mobile video users increased to 270 million in China in July 2014 with an
     increase of 134% from the same period in 2013.

  - The top three mobile video providers in China were iQiyi, Youku Tudou and Tencent video
    with total number reached users of 134 million, 129 million and 77.7 million respectively
    according to data from iResearch in July.

3. MOBILE SHOPPING IS THE WAY FORWARD:

  - 82% of Chinese netizens are buying online more than any other country including Germany
    and the USA.

  - China’s mobile shopping increased by 168% in 2013 and is estimated to almost double that in
    2014. If the trend increases, by 2017 it will have increased by over 1,000%.

  - Alipay still dominates China’s mobile payment market in Q2 2014 as it does in online
    payment market. In addition, more players have entered the market including Baidu.

  - 74% of netizens shop online to get a lower price while 78% also worry about the authenticity
    of the product they are buying.

If you want to know more about the evolving social media in China, come and join us at the Social Media Week London next week. Carol Chan, Co-Founder & Director, Comms8, is  speaking on "How to Enter the Real Dragons Den: Chinese Social Media 2014" on Monday 22 September, at 6.30pm. Register here now! 

Sources: China Internet Watch and Social Media Today