SNS in China

Scarlett Lok shares her knowledge about SNS in China in CampaignAsia.  A good quick read!

1. For every one global social network site, there is an equivalent (and most likely a few copies) in China. Below are some comparisons of global or US social networks vs. China:

• Facebook and MySpace - China has Renren, Kaixin, QQ, 51.com and Douban
• YouTube - China has YouKu, Tudou, 56.com
• Twitter - China has Weibo, Baidu, QQ
• Foursquare - China has Jiepang

2. User interface (UI) and/ or experience is a whole new ball game in China. Although most of China's social networking sites are copies of their western counterparts, the UI seems to be lost in translation. There seems to be an adverse feeling towards 'white space' on Chinese web pages. If you surf the web in China, you will see what I mean.
3. Analytics is a luxury. All reported web statistics should be taken with a grain of salt. There are limited and/ or no neutral third-party research firms or tools that provides statistics for most of the SNS sites. Most SNS sites don't have open APIs, hence all user profile information is self-reported. In addition, most SNS sites have what they call 'site ambassadors'. For example, if a brand is short on 'fans' for a campaign, no worries. You can employ these site ambassadors to help recruit or boost your numbers.
4. A greater need for quality of content on the web. In China, everyone is tweeting, but technically it should be 'weiboing'. According to NPR, there are over 30 million bloggers in China. I also recently read a statistic that states that almost 90 per cent of online users in China are registered to at least one BBS site. Therefore, as a marketer and as a brand, quality versus quantity is even more critical. Providing the right content in the right context in this massively noisy space is essential to a brand's success.
5. Be open-minded and be prepared to learn something new everyday. Be bold, try and test new things, but do be disciplined in your approach. Given that best practices are lacking in China, you should use what you've learned from more developed markets as a foundation – a guide to help you set the framework. Then, get ready to adjust your plans. This is China, after all. And this is digital – everything is changing and at sonic speed. This month, the hottest thing is Weibo, but by next month, who knows what will be the next 'it' thing. A framework is important, but flexibility is key

Li Ning ramping up in USA

If you haven't heard of Li Ning yet, you certainly will!  It is the largest Chinese sporting brand and now they are selling in the USA.  Suffering by design and quality issues in the past, they are now poised to take on Nike on their home turf.  By the way, Nike is actually number 1 in China in the sports category competing against Li Ning.

This is a very well done TVC - great humour too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5MWk3qtflE

The Main Players in Mobile Search in China

A good overview by Richard Mabey on Clickz.asia.com.  Goes to show the fragmentated nature of mobile search in China.  Time for a big player to buy up and consolidate? Is it possible in that market?


Mobile Search in China:

The mobile search market in China is in some ways more interesting than browser-based search, primarily because there is no company with more than a 35 percent market share. It comes as no surprise that Baidu is the dominant player but it’s the companies holding smaller shares of the market that are of particular interest.
A study earlier in the year by Analysis International demonstrated just how fragmented the market is as the chart below illustrates.

Search Volume of China Mobile Search Website Q2, 2010

Source: Analysys International 2010
Here is a snapshot of five players:


Yicha
Yicha is an interesting one. Although originally from China, the company has been successful in Japan over the past year, with revenues of 200 million yuan. However, it has lost much of its share of search in the Chinese mobile market. From holding around 50 percent of the market in 2007 it now comes in behind Google and 3GYY in fifth place with 10.32 percent. The chairman, Liu Bin, told Tencent technology in August that the main focus for 2011 would be using their experience from Japan to re-establish the company in the Chinese market. He used Hua Wei as an example of a Chinese company that had applied a successful formula from overseas to enhance its position in China. Yicha has partnered with Tencent Soso, which may also boost its exposure in the coming year.


3GYY
Launched in 2007, 3GYY is similar to Yicha in that it focuses on trying to tailor the mobile search experience to the user – which is quite a contrast to the clean interface that Baidu offers. From the main screen the similarities between all the dedicated mobile search engines are obvious with the same type of information being available such as maps, MP3 search, games, and news. 3GYY has been rewarded for its efforts in the past year moving into fourth place overall overtaking Yicha.

Google
We might have thought that Google would be doing better in mobile search than in browser-based search, particularly with the wide adoption of Android by Chinese mobile handset manufacturers. The open source nature of Android has in fact worked against Google here and Baidu is ensuring that mobile manufacturers are in essence making Android ‘Google free’. Microsoft has been launching a similar attack with foreign handset makers, most notably with Motorola who has installed Bing as the default search engine on many of their phone models sold in China. Although Bing itself is yet to make an impact on mobile search in China, it all helps chip away at Google’s position in the market.

Easou
Easou, founded in 2005, had approximately 100 million yuan in revenue by 2009 with around 60 to 70 percent coming from advertising. The company has 200 staff in both Shenzhen and Beijing. After Baidu, Easou is one of the main beneficiaries of Googles’ demise in mobile search over the past 12 months. Easou has also done a good job forming partnerships in particular with Sohu in March 2010 and Taobao. The company has established a network of 30 advertising companies and around 10,000 small and medium manufacturers as clients around Southern China.

Xinhua Wants to Try too
Although still yet to enter the market, China’s state media arm Xinhua and China Mobile announced in August this year their joint plans to launch a search engine in 2011. Many doubt whether such a search engine can succeed, but with China Mobile as the key partner we can expect some bias towards mobile search in their offering.
With the total revenue from mobile Internet users expected to reach 1.86 billion yuan (iResearch) by 2012 it will be no surprise if more players emerge or companies redouble their efforts to stay in the game.

http://www.clickz.asia/2010-12-06/who-are-the-main-players-in-mobile-search-in-china/

Digital trend watching in China!

Here is a site that was shared with me by a great digital creative talent in the market.

This blog site has a clear mission:
to log and share all happenings related directly/indirectly to digital trends in China.  

China is always changing and everyday there is a new idea or happening in the digital space.

Profero in China have a great intent.  What they want to do, is not just do work that is an extension on the current trends, but actually help their clients to make a mark, and actually send the trend digitally!

Enjoy the read:

http://digitrends.proferochina.com/