Brands finesse social media
Generation Z users are getting used to a shorter purchase decision cycle.
Commercial brands tend to use Chinese social media platforms, which often have different functions and focus, more than their overseas social media accounts, a Kantar study has shown.
Tencent's WeChat and QQ as well as Alibaba's Taobao and payment tool Alipay were among the top omni-media platforms with a daily user base of more than 500 million.
The platforms have expanded beyond a single function to include search, networking, communication, entertainment, gaming, and much more.
The latest China social media landscape study by Kantar's CIC Intelligence analyzed how multinational brands leverage social networking sites in six major industry categories including food, alcohol, sports, gaming, technology and fashion.
Higher levels of sophistication are usually required when brands are launching digital campaigns on Chinese social networks.
Marketing activities are also more complex as many brands have incorporated various functions including membership management, e-commerce, store location inquiry, promotion and even recruitment.
Successful online influencers, or key opinion leaders in China have had accounts on at least three social platforms, and in many cases many more.
Their content on different platforms might be similar, but their influence over followers on different platforms varies significantly.
Brands and influencers need to select appropriate platforms, adapt content to fit the platform’s characteristics and relevancy, and adapt campaigns across different platforms.
"Brands are more likely to get a higher level of user engagement when they measure not only the content created by KOLs, but also the appropriate platform as well as the level of participation of viewers," said Chief Executive Officer of Kantar's Media Division in China Coolio Yang.
Instead of just focusing on how many sales online influencers have brought in, he suggest brands take a holistic approach in curating messages to measure brand influence and how brand image fits with social media followers in the long run.
The study also finds that Generation Z users, or those who are born after the mid-1990s, are also getting used to a shorter purchase decision cycle and love customized services and information.
Older generations tend to try out products in offline stores and are more practical when they engage on social media sites.
