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.
Chinese netizens are addicted to Parking Wars, a game that allows users to earn virtual currency and upgrade their car model. Entertaining games like this one keep users actively engaged on Chinese social networking sites.
(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.
Teen netizens use QQ Show to show off their dressed-up avatars and compete in virtual fashion shows. Winning competitions requires votes from friends, introducing a viral component to the QQ platform.
(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.
One of many QQ virtual stores where users can purchase clothing and accessories for their avatar using QQ coins.
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?
Contributed by Mindy Zhang from BloggerInsight
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People get entrenched, so the only way to get them to move from one SNS/SMS service is to do what facebook did: offer a service that appeals to one very small demographic, and then gradually expand it as its exclusivity makes it cool to outsiders (time was, Facebook was accessible only to users with an Ivy League college email address).
As new people join they feel “included”, and when it finally goes totally public lots of people will bitch and moan but they won’t switch because they’re already set up in facebook…
So I could see some company pulling that off in China, although I don’t know who the “cool” demographic would be. In an alternate reality, I could see NeoCha doing it, but I don’t think they’re interested in heading in that direction.
Number 1 is totally true. I thought social networking was a waste of time, like facebook, but the Chinese ones sound really bad… You gotta wonder what the parents say. Especially about spending 5 yuan on some online avatar necklace. How ridiculous.
1. Are there any foreign social networking sites that are on the right track to tapping the Chinese market?
Facebook is OK (maybe so-so) in certain degree.
2. What will it take for foreign SNS to snag and keep users from QQ, Xiaonei, and other domestic giants?
i) Yes, Chinese SNS are all about entertainment. However, don’t try to do the same as a foreign SNS. You won’t be able to better understand Chinese Internet culture than Kaixin001, Xiaonei/RenRen, Mop, Tianya, QQ, 51.com etc.
ii) If you want to success, a niche position might be a good strategy. Build a SNS dedicated for young mothers, for doctors, for senior managers, for techies, for idols – fans. Make the network be exclusive, not open for massive.
Jason @IN2marcom.com
the only-child dynamic may play a much bigger role in the china internet than we know how to measure … it is unique in the world, a huge psychological experiment, no one having brothers or sisters …
Millions of white collar professionals are hooked but they are NOT checking Xiaonei or 51.com profiles several times each day. The white collar SNS market is dominated by Kaixin001.com who introduced Parking Wars to the China market. The student SNS market is led by Xiaonei. 51.com leads the “others” category.
I’m pretty sure Xiaonei.com followed in Facebook.com’s original footsteps by making it only for college students. They only recently opened up to the general public with Renren.com, if I remember correctly.
The rest of these things make Chinese social networkers sound kind of like high school/middle school kids in the U.S. (not that I don’t think the points are valid or anything). Maybe Neopets should open up a Chinese site, seems like they would do fine since they hit most of the four notes.
#2 is also very true. And not only with regard to the intrusive nature of those little extras that drive sane people a little crazy, but also because of the plethora of viruses that accompany them. QQ has got to be the most infected social network in the universe.
I was a fan of QQ until I realised it was the source of all my computer problems. But Chinese people do seem more tolerant of such annoyances and treat them as part of the package. I prefer to rage against the machine.
QQ is clean. I doubt it would be the source of your computer problems anymore. Unless you’re talking about viruses and other spyware being sent through the QQ FT system. But that also comes down to the user.
(Use Tencent Messenger for a cleaner interfance btw)
Chinese do like their filled screen with flashing and moving stuff.
Most Chinese websites are horribly designed. I find the penchant for stuff moving around at me and flashing sickening. It actually makes me want to puke.
(1) It’s all about entertainment
Facebook is full of online games and applications.
What would be the difference between Parking war and Vampire war?
(2) Higher tolerance for intrusiveness
On QQ just as on MSN or Facebook you can’t talk to someone who did not accept you as a friend. And just as with MSN, there are alot of ways to give you ID to strangers, through forums or search engines.
(3) SNS as a public space
Just as Facebook, you can choose your profile to be public or only for your online friends. Most of Facebook’s groups are public.
(4) Building an online identity
Yes, here is a point. In Wester countries, people eager to spend money on virtual cloths are between 7 and 13 years old. In China it stops around 25, 26 years old.
I think Western SNS perfectly match Chinese users expectations. Facebook, Twitter were getting more and more popular, and that’s probably one reason they have been banned from China. Economic war.
some more reasons:
(5) In China, social networks are held responsible for the content posted up by their users. So sometimes censorship comes from within. As for social networks not locally owned, the only way to control free speech is to, well.. make it temporary unavailable.
(6) Chinese value anonymity in discussion. That’s how BBS began and because of the climate and environment. Some people have had to make conscious decisions to become speak up online with a voice, and a face.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say “most Chinese websites are ‘horribly designed’” (although many, just as many non-Chinese sites, to be sure, are); it’s mostly a different aesthetic sense and standard.
Frankly, I think the corporate-blue look of most Western sites is about as offensive as the blinking, flashing elements on most Chinese sites. They’re just at apparently opposite ends of the spectrum, reflecting the different tastes that [marketers perceive] the two different publics have.
Anyway, point no. 3 resonated most with me. On Facebook (pre-blockage), it was a rare day I’d get a Westerner I didn’t know (or had at least met once) trying to friend me; it was pretty commonplace, on the other hand, for Chinese I’d never met to friend me on there or on Douban.com. But before Facebook, there were Friendster and Myspace, and it was a pretty common thing to get friend requests from total strangers on those sites. It seemed to only have become taboo on Facebook, since you were automatically blocked from viewing profiles of people not linked to you.
I’ve also received at least one friend request from a stranger on Couchsurfing.com, where “friending” somebody implies that you know and trust that person and would be willing to vouch that they’re not going to commit atrocities against others. Definitely not a site where you want to add random people you don’t know as friends, but that goes against the SNS norm here.
Another thing I’ve been observing is that Western Internet users seem far more attached to e-mail and view chat software as more playtime than anything else whereas many Chinese use their QQ as a sort of all-in-one communication tool … chat, e-mail (as in, leave a message and I’ll get back to you), etc.
Commenting on the “how foreign sns will grab market share from the locals”, I think if they first stop trying to put a square peg in a round hole that would be a step in the right direction. By that I mean that applying a “western” based system to the Chinese is literally “square peg” round hole. From the people in China that I have talked to, there is no disinterest for the western brands, but there is no interest for the way they are being presented. If the big companies from outside of China want to play in China, it seems logical that they start from the ground up, and build it for the Chinese, instead of trying to modify what exists. Chinese people are very interested in what the West has to offer, but you have to address them in just their language, but also their culture.