There has been a lot of recent buzz around social networking sites (SNS) in China, and for good reasons. With the world’s largest netizen population at 320 million and growing, the potential for volume is huge. Although China is currently dominated by large domestic players such as QQ and Xiaonei, foreign players have been eying the market with less success. The primary reason is simple: instead of properly localizing their websites, foreign SNS have essentially been translating their domestic sites into Chinese without making the fundamental changes they need to compete in a new market.
The fact is that Chinese users approach online social networking differently than Western users. In order to stand a chance against local competitors, foreign social networking companies should take the time to understand these differences and adapt their sites appropriately. Here at BloggerInsight, we tapped the knowledge of our expert network and identified four key characteristics that distinguish Chinese SNS users.
(1) It’s all about entertainment – Chinese users rely on online social networking sites as their primary source of cheap, quick, and accessible entertainment throughout the week. As a result, online social networks are used less for practical communication and more for killing time and amusement—whether it’s playing a quick game at work or chatting with other users after school. Take ‘Parking Wars‘ for example – one of today’s hottest games on Chinese social networking sites, especially among white-collar workers. Users earn virtual cash for parking on their friend’s lots and for ticketing their friends when they park “illegally”. After earning enough money, users can buy more expensive cars. Millions of white collar professionals are hooked; many check their Xiaonei or 51.com profiles several times each day to update their parking status. And why? For fun, of course. After all, that is the primary motivation of Chinese netizens when logging onto a SNS.
(2) Higher tolerance for intrusiveness – While Western users are often sensitive to “clutter” around their social networking profiles (remember the initial backlash against Facebook’s flurry of new applications?), Chinese users dig the extras that come with social networking platforms. Viral games, contests, forum discussions, and other add-ons drive traffic because young Chinese netizens don’t hesitate to send message after message to friends, inviting them to get involved on social networking platforms. For instance, on a site called QQ Show, developed by China’s SNS giant Tencent, users dress up their avatars and compete in virtual fashion shows. Teens will IM their friends fervently, asking for votes on QQ Show. And while some of us are tempted to label this as “spam,” it’s just another way for Chinese SNS users to engage and interact with each other. As you can imagine, these SNS applications are huge in creating user stickiness and encouraging users to repeatedly visit the site.
(3) SNS as a public space – Many Western users see social networking sites as an extension of their real-life relationships, and their online social circles often reflect this perspective. Chinese users, on the other hand, are more likely to add strangers via the Internet and generally accept most friend invitations. And instead of keeping online conversations within their own networks, Chinese netizens gravitate toward bulletin board systems (BBS) to express themselves and participate in completely public discussions. As one of our bloggers notes, “privacy is not as important as interesting conversation.”
(4) Building an online identity – Young Chinese netizens view their SNS profiles as representations of themselves to the world, establishments of self territory outside of their parents’ and schools’ oversight. For them, social networking is about standing out and building a reputation in an online world. Local social networking sites do a great job of catering to this need for self-expression. For instance, on QQ – China’s largest social networking portal in terms of user base – users make micro-payments of 1-5 rmb to customize their profiles by purchasing virtual goods, such as accessories, clothing, and new hairstyles. In fact, this handy feature generated a large portion of QQ’s revenue last year.
So despite foreign efforts to “figure out” the much-discussed Chinese market, local social networking sites are simply cooler and more entertaining to the country’s netizens. Companies need to realize that the cut, translate, and paste strategy will never work for a unique market with its own preferences and idiosyncrasies. New features need to be added, and entire websites need to be tailored and adapted to suit Chinese netizens.
Some additional questions to consider (and we would love to hear your thoughts):
Are there any foreign social networking sites that are on the right track to tapping the Chinese market?
What will it take for foreign SNS to snag and keep users from QQ, Xiaonei, and other domestic giants?
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