In Asian countries, social media is a very important parts of the online marketing mix and many brands use blogs and communities to create brand awareness. This post offers some numbers and reasons about the social media phenomenon.

What is social media?

Actually we just need to split the term into social and media. Social stands for interaction of Internet users and for sharing content, basically characteristics that give technology a human touch. Media is the content that is shared and can be any kind of online media like videos, pictures, text or sound.

So, put together social media is about reading and writing blogs, posting opinions in blogs or BBS, creating accounts in online communities, uploading pictures, videos or music, make friends by connecting to other online profiles and share content with them.

Social media use in Asia

Universal McCann conducts a yearly study about worldwide use of social media. This study has really some great numbers and I summarized some of them with a focus on Asian countries. Asian countries covered are Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, India.

The key facts:

• Asian countries have worldwide the highest penetration of blogs and communities. Numbers are the same with video upload, photo sharing, etc.
• The inventors of the social media business models (esp. the US and to some extent the European countries) lag clearly behind.
• Use-generated content has become a mainstream online medium in Asia.

I wonder about one thing: You can quite often hear the opinion that Chinese like to use social media because through blogs they can the first time freely express their opinion. This study contradicts that idea because other Asian countries like Japan and South Korea with freedom of opinion embrace blogs and communities in the same way. The inversion of the argument is that it must somewhere lie in the Asian culture and nature of the people.

Maybe a sociologist could help in this matter. Anyway, any kind of idea or comment is welcome!

Why is social media so popular among users?

The use of blogs and online communities has a great stimulation for persons. It allows them to communicate and interact on a very private basis, sharing personal information that one would maybe not so openly and easily share in real life. This “open your soul online” phenomenon is supported by the fact that many people who are online in social media live under a pseudonym, basically being able to be themselves but not showing others their real identity. This allows pushing the border much further than in real life as you’re real identity can’t be tracked back.

Example 1: Opinions in blogs, forums or bbs show very clearly what a person thinks. And people tend to be very open and frank when their real name will not be shown. One can assume that in a face-to-face discussions many opinions that are posted online would be worded more carefully – or maybe not at all.

Example 2: A profile in a social network like myspace. Many people basically expose themselves. It would be like these people place their family picture album in front of a supermarket, so everybody can take a look. Nobody would do that. But online it’s no big deal.

The importance of social media for brands and businesses

1. Social media has become a mass-media in Asia that can’t be neglected due to it’s mere reach.

2. Blogs and communities offer insight about consumer opinions which have never been available before because they are real and true. I.e. businesses and brands can not only find out what consumers really think, but if done wisely they can use the willingness of people to create own content for product development (creative consumer).

3. The word-of-mouth (viral) potential of social media campaigns can create great buzz.

4. Brand management must adopt and create a culture within the company to profit from the social media development.

5. Opinions and reported experiences about companies, products and services are one of the most important influencing factors for decision building prior to the purchase of a product, no matter if the purchase happens online or offline.

We had no clue why, we had gotten a lot of traffic during the day from search engines and sites like hao123.com, but it was quite steady until our competitors copied our site. And then we realized what happened: they not only copied the design, but also our site measurement code that was embedded in the site. Thanks for giving us some insightful information on your traffic compared to ours, dear competitors!

Read the whole post here.

China Dating Domains
Domains for the 15 largest Tier1 and Tier2 cities: Beijing, Hongkong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing, Chendu, Wuhan, etc.
Other Asia and beyond: Tokio, Seoul, Singapur, Bangkok, Taipei

The domain names all follow this pattern:
[cityname]-friend.com

Suggested business model:
Nice package for a dating or friendship community that targets whole China but also wants to focus locally as well. China is so big, why should a guy from Chongqing be interested in a girl from Shanghai? That’s why.

Single domains available

• humao.net
  meaning is similar to bargain with each other, could be used for a community-based classifieds portal. Detailed business idea available.
• luxiang.net
  means video, could be used for a video portal but maybe not necessarily another youtube-clone.
• maikuai.com
  means sell fast or buy fast. Why not try a Woot clone or power-shopping portal on this?
• cujin.net
• nano-trader.com
  business directory for nanotechnology related topics.

Once again the results are just amazing how heavily the Chinese users are adopted to the Internet and how intensively they use it. Advertisers in China should really have an eye on these studies as they contain very important information. And they should also raise some questions how to allocate marketing budgets, how much weight put on e.g. TV spots, how much attention on online marketing.

Embracing life online

• I live some of my life online: CN 86%, US 42%
• Online is as real as offline: CN 37%, US 16%
• I have a parallel life online: CN 61%, US 13%

Self-expression on the web

• I have expressed personal opinions and/or written about myself online: CN 72%, US 56%
• Online I feel free to do and say things I wouldn’t do or say offline: CN 73%, US 32%
• I sometimes express myself more strongly online than I generally do in person: CN 52%, US 43%

Relationships online

• It’s perfectly possible to have real relationships online with no face-to-face contact: CN 63%, US 21%
• The Internet helps me make friends: CN 77%, US 30%
• Online interactions reduce the time and attention I have for personal interactions: CN 51%, US 20%

Expanding the sexual universe

• With the Internet I am more likely to access adult material: CN 65%, US 28%
• I have made hot dates using text messages: CN 54%, US 20%
• The Internet has broadened my sex life: CN 32%, US 11%

Compare this information to my post about Online Marketing Trends in China.

Of course, the Chinese line of the most important websites in China is included again. It can be found in the top left corner of the map, the green line. Included are Chinese search engines (e.g. baidu ), web 2.0 sites (e.g. video sharing like tudou.com) and news and information sites like sina or phome.

Here is a screenshot, thanks for the great work!

Internet Advertising Trend No. 1:
Using the power of individual expression

It is no secret that users get tired about pure banner advertising more and more. But still banners are an important means to reach a mass of consumers. However, banners are just superficial touchpoints, the deep effect lacks. But there is a way out of this dilemma: Combined with web 2.0 approaches a brand can develop real brand embassadors who deeply engage with a brand and spread it on the Internet.

But how to create these brand promoters? Make use of the power of the human pool of creativity (crowdsourcing), integrate the consumers into your brand by letting them contribute with their ideas and individuality. Interact with the consumers, challenge and reward them. Use these sticky consumers in a clever way, don’t exploit them.

Why should it work? Many people want to express themselves in an individual way, especially true for a society where self-expression has rather been restricted than fostered. This need could be expressed in a personal dressing style, for example, but the easiest and most anonymous way is the Internet.

Which tools and concepts can be used? blogs (especially in China a powerful instrument of opinion building), video contests, creative idea collection (e.g. write songs, texts, design motives or products, etc.), always combined with a poll so that the users themselves can elect the best input and not to forget the reward which needs to be special itself and a real motivation. Special-interest community models where users can design and define their personal page, get answers and exchange with like-minded people.

Internet Advertising Trend No.2:
Measurement and conversion tracking

The return-on-investment (ROI) of marketing spendings will become increasingly important for advertisers. Marketing budgets won’t be spent without fulfilling predefined goals, e.g. increase in brand awareness, lead generation or online sales. Click rates are definitely no conversion, the ROI must be defined as a real value for the advertiser.

Closely related to optimizing the return on investment is the target group matching, which means to buy relevant traffic and not mere reach any more. Quality, not quantity brings your brand conversion and awareness. The target group of the advertiser has to fit to the target group of the media, the product or service advertised needs to fit to the advertising channel.

Internet advertising and website development will be seen as integrated disciplines. Reporting and tracking results will be analyzed and flow back into the optimization of the marketing campaigns and the website funnel.

With the increase of e-commerce and the availability of conversion points on websites (lead form, online sales process), performance marketing will play an increasing role, giving search (SEO and keyword advertising) and affiliate marketing more demand. Banner campaigns and eDM advertising will be based on conversion calculation as well.

Internet Advertising Trend No.3:
Integration of online and offline activities into the marketing and sales strategy

Online advertising is part of the overall marketing strategy. Any marketing activity will pay into the brand value or marketing goal, no matter if online or offline. Using a single online marketing channel is not a comprehensive strategy. Instead, offline sales channels like offices, point-of-sales (POS) are integrated into Internet advertising campaigns in a way that e.g. traffic can be drawn from the customers in the local shops to boost a website. On the other hand, a website can generate leads which will be converted by local sales offices into sales.

The Chinese-consumer behavior data have broad implications for American companies intent on selling consumer goods in China, Netpop said.

Among the key findings of the report, “Netpop | Nations: China and the US Web 2.0 Behavior”:

• User-generated content (consumer reviews/rating sites, forum/discussion boards, blogs, etc.) influences 58% of all purchase decisions in China, compared with 19% in the US.
• 47% of Chinese broadband users post comments to a blog, chat room, listserv or forum, compared with just 28% of American broadband users.
• Search engines are the most influential source for making purchase decisions in both countries: 46% of Chinese broadband users use a search engine to make purchase decisions vs. 25% of American broadband users.

So, why do Chinese users rely so heavily on user-generated content?

In my opinion there are two things: first, expressing your free opinion and posting it in blogs and forums is much easier in the Internet than in traditional media. Due to the facilitated access, of course. Second, advertisement in China in traditional media is often heavily misleading consumers. So, consumers often have developed a natural cautiousness to magazine, TV and outdoor ads. On the contrary, mouth-to-mouth recommendation is trusted much more. As user-generated content is nothing else than that, it is very successful.

The Chinese Blogger Conference will take place this weekend (November, 3rd to 4th). Since half a year before the event, Chinese web 2.0 companies were asked to place their logo on the postcard shown above. A nice idea, I think, especially as you can see labels that are not part of the regular web 2.0 list. A good insight into what is going on and developing behind the big players. Thanks Yupoo.

Social bookmarking: QQ Bookmarks, Baidu Bookmarks, Yahoo.cn My Web, 9fav.com, Chouti, LeShou.com, inu.cc, tolib.com, hemidemi.com, and Otag.cn.

Video storage/sharing: Tudou.com, 56.com, Youku.com, 6 Rooms, hupu.tv, bobouni.com, Mofile.com, UUMe.com, video.QQ.com, Ouou.com.

Very “Digg”: Diglog, 20ju.com, DigBuzz.com, MyTaoke, Shouker.com, SecretWeb.

Music sharing: 8box.cn, icoobo.com, yobo.com, weazone.com, SongTaste, MyBaLe.com, Lifepop.com, Ubox.com.cn, Top100.cn, Music.AoBo.com, MusicPaw.com, 9sky.

Blog hosting: Yo2.cn, 72pines.com, Lifesterblog.com, Blogcn.com, 51.com, Sina.com, Sohu, 163.com, Baidu, Qzone, Bokee, BlogBus, Donews blog.

Micro-blogging platforms (like Twitter)F Fanfou.com, Jiwai.de, iLaoDao.cn, LaiGuLe.com, TaoTao.com.

RSS: ZhuaXia.com, XianGuo.com, 365Bloglink.com, Anothr.com, RSS.com.tv, Potu.com, OPML.cn, EmailRSS.cn, RSS.modim.cn, feed.Aobo.com, FunP.com.

Photo-sharing: yuPoo.com, BabaBian.com, DPDP.net, JetPhoto.cn, QuDoo.net, SeekPai.com, 886.cn, Fotolog.com.cn, Fotoky.com, QieZi.com.

Map services: Baidu Maps, Yahoo.cn Maps, City8.com, Edushi.com, eeMap.org.

Online apps: xiaoI.com, mojiti.com, Picidea.net, Sayjoy.com, Lenovo Scheduler, Best4C.cn, Mindpin.com.

Personalized homepages: sWoDe, Googsc.com,yaTrack.cn, hoozone.com, WoYong.com,P.cn.

Social networking: xiaonei.com, linklist.com, 365ju.com, qoodou.com, fZone.cn, iPart.cn, myTupa, babytree.com

User-generated content/comment sites: douban, koubei.com, fantong.com, dianping.com, mtime.com.

Online TVF: PPlive, QQlive, PPstream, MySee.

Not to forget:

Virtual worlds: hipihi, shanda, perfect world, ipartment.

Travel websites ( a la holidaycheck): yododo, mipang, tuniu, cn0km

An extract of this years venture capital investments is shown in the following list:

• 56.com, video sharing portal, 10 Mio. USD from Steamboat Ventures and SIG
• 51.com, blog community, 10 Mio. USD from Intel/Redpoint/Sequoia/SIG. Robert Basic has an interesting post about 51.com …
• leeuu.com, virtual community game developer, Redpoint Ventures
• NGI, in-game advertising service provider, 10 Mio. USD from GSR Ventures
• Captiv8, in-game advertising service provider, Qiming Ventures
• lakala, e-billing service provider, 5 Mio. USD from Fortune Venture
• PPStream, p2p-video broadcasting service, 10 Mio. USD from Qiming Ventures and Ceyuan Ventures
• UUsee, IPTV developer, 20 Mio. USD from DFJ/Highland Capital/Steamboat Ventures
• fractalist, wireless marketing solution provider, 5 Mio. USD, SBI Group
• 1bib.com, used car portal, Econa

Do you know more deals? Post them in the comments. Thanks!