Observations on Chinese Social and Digital Media

Observations of China’s Social & Digital Media Industry

By Peta Howard

China Industry Discovery Report


By Peta Howard

General Observations and Stats on China


By Peta Howard

Innovation and speed to market is high with a rapid turn over of products and ideas Large scale roll outs and changes are possible due to the numbers of the available

work force. Competition is extremely steep with many players in the market Telco players are

trying to get ahead of their competition by releasing high tech devices on specialised or dedicated networks

For all internet / online services speed and coverage are crucial and Telco’s own their own networks to provide dedicated services to their customers

Data is much more important than the ability to send voice or text messages content will be sent using images and video or via the many social applications

Source: Austrade

The scale of the Chinese market allows for fast product and idea development as well as more innovation

Source: www.bjconsultinggroup.com/


By Peta Howard

The government is targeting “New Generation ICT’ such as:Next Generation Network (NGN)‘The internet of things’Integration of telecommunication, TV/broadcasting and internet/mobile networksNew types of flat panel displayAdvanced Integrated circuitsCloud computing

Source: Austrade

Government recognises the demand for digital content and look to enable and encourage with a focus on development within new technologies


By Peta Howard

BeijingThe city will sign a strategic cooperation framework agreement with China Mobile to build a world-class, leading wireless network system.

ShanghaiThe government is aiming to create a ‘smart city’ with 70% of the local economy (finance, shipping, tourism etc) using wireless, radio and smart grid technology

NanjingNanjing is aiming to create ICT research centres and aims to host more than 300 companies in its ‘wireless valley’.

Presenting opportunities within individual cities with a focus on enabling continuous online connection.

Source: NZTE Report on the 12th FYP


By Peta Howard

Social Media Trends in China


By Peta Howard

There are only 611,640 Facebook users in China as compared to 28,631m Ozone users a Facebook equivalent

Chinese users access local applications and services rather than westernised ones

– Due to internet restrictions– Due to preference for a Chinese “minded” product

All western popular application have at least two or three Chinese versions, the version compete internally with each other and not with the western version

Users connect of Social Media for:– Interactive and independent gaming– Watching and creating video content– Sharing their personal content with their friends– Network professionally

Social Media is dramatic in China, however, not as we know it


By Peta Howard

World’s biggest online population

According to a McKinsey study 95% of Netizens in Chinese Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities use social media (as compared to 30% in Japan and 67% in the US)

Social media has more of an influence on Chinese consumers than other regions

Weibo has over 300 million subscribers

The recently merged Chinese online video giant Youku.com / Tudou.com is probably the 2nd largest online video website globally behind YouTube.

Since the loosening of the firewall in China there has been an incredible boom in all forms of online media



By Peta Howard

Some of the Digital tools currently used in China:

Chinese users use local applications and services over westernized ones.

The market is completely packed with choice of digital choices



By Peta Howard

Applications and services produced for the local market will have more traction and up take than foreign products



By Peta Howard

Social Media & Women


By Peta Howard

Online identities are inclusive of– Your friends, followers, connections– Your comments, your content, your comments on other peoples content, what you

share or re-share

Image and saving face is very important to the Chinese and to Chinese Women especially

– Chinese women will use social media as their personal advertising platform – It’s fashionable to be connected– Most Chinese users are on multiple social media platforms

Social Media is used to express opinions and to portray the desire image and to stay collective

Chinese users are actively engaged with the internet, the majority are active users in online applications

Chinese women use social media to reinforce their status

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19756503

Dr Margaret Byrne


By Peta Howard

Women use digital tools as a way of extracting information on the world around them and sharing that with their friends

Over 90% of women online read blogs to obtain information and answer their questions

Over 50% of business women use social media as a marketing platform for their business, with Facebook slightly ahead of Twitter

Women are more open to brands than men are and more likely to respond positively to a brand interaction

Opinions are valued and shared, women like to feel like they are listen to and hear and respects by the wider community, this gives them a sense of status online

Marketers should use social media to content with the emotional side of women and deliver a deeper connection for longer term value

Women feel more connected and inspired by brands and their online voice than men to, this can be used to mobilise and engage the community

Women find that using social media empowers them

Source

-http://www.blogher.com/frame.php?url=http://www.slideshare.net/BlogHer/2012-social-media-final-v2

-http://www.onlinemarketizing.com/marketing/australian-women%E2%80%99s-social-media-habits-revealed-2011/


By Peta Howard

Organisation – note taking, alarms and reminder apps, with Evernote leading the way.

Housekeeping – house jobs organisation, kids organisations, shopping and cooking, with Grocery Gadget leading

Fitness & Health – weight loss, fitness programs, calorie counting Finance Mgt – Credit management, mobile banking Women’s troubles – period tracking, pregnancy tracking, breast feeding

The most popular apps for women fall into these categorises

Source

-http://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-8-iphone-apps-for-women-2011-2

-The Best Apps for Women | Love Twenty

-Best iPhone Apps For Women: Simplify Your Life

-http://www.guidespot.com/guides/iphone_apps_for_women


By Peta Howard

Chinese Mobile and Mobile App Trends


By Peta Howard

Mobile users/subscribers: over 1 billion Chinese Netizens: 513 million Mobile internet users: 360 million Mobile gamers: 215 million Smart phone users: 130 million

China Mobile landscape: Quick Facts and Figures


By Peta Howard

There are 356 million mobile web users in China China is the world’s largest smartphone market Big Chinese internet players such as Baidu are investing in mobile to secure and

grow their business. Baidu has recently worked with both Android and Apple in providing mobile services over their platforms and is investing 25% of their R&D budget in Mobile Web research.

Mobile-ad sales in China more than doubled to $380 million last year, according to research company iResearch

China is overflowing with boutique mobile application companies, mostly small with only one or two defined products to offer these companies run their products with their own systems as opposed to designing a product specifically for the apple or android store

In Chinese style application developer look to imitate what exists in overseas markets and then to develop locally, locally designed products for the Chinese market have a higher uptake rate than overseas products

Mobile is the focus of Chinese digital media development

-http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/infographic-apple-vs-android-in-chinas-mobile-ad-market/244215/

-http://thenextweb.com/asia/2012/10/01/chinas-baidu-putting-25-rd-mobile-revenue-devices-triples/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-29/baidu-ceo-li-says-mobile-web-revenue-remains-elusive-in-china.html

-http://thenextweb.com/asia/2012/09/24/asia-companies-crack-us-market/


By Peta Howard

Source: NetEase

Biggest players in the Mobile space

-IDI is ICT Development Index- this ranking shows China still has a long way to go meaning more development and opportunities. http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2009/07.html


By Peta Howard

Biggest players in the Mobile space

Technology

Observations on Chinese Social and Digital Media