The map above has been published by Facebook in 2013 in a bid to highlight its global reach. The lighter a geographic area, the higher its concentration of Facebook users. Note that Mainland China is an exception to the rule.
A mind of its own
Most businesses have now integrated social media into their marketing strategies by creating and filling positions with digital professionals dedicated to managing social profiles and measuring social engagement.
When it comes to building and stepping up their social media presence, international brands mainly focus on mainstream global players such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, glossing over some parts of the world, and Mainland China is a case in point here since Internet censorship is conducted under strict laws and administrative regulations, prohibiting web users from accessing overseas websites and social platforms, including the world’s key ones mentioned above. As a result, Mainland China’s web is strikingly exclusive and led by domestic actors, meaning that the marketplace is hardly understandable for a non-domestic company that is eager to reach out to Chinese consumers.
World’s largest social network market
But mainland China’s digital market should not remain untapped: CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center) stunning statistics show that Chinese web users reached the number of 642 million – nearly twice the United States’ entire population – as of January 2015, confirming China as the country with the highest number of internet users. Note that it is supposed to hit 745 million by 2017, according to forecasts.Mainland China’s population is now estimated at 1.369 billion.
In early 2015, Mainland China registered 629 million active social media users – 46% of its population – that are estimated to spend a daily average of 1 hour and 42 minutes on social media platforms.
Therefore, as most of international brands have focused increasingly on the largest social networks – like Facebook and Twitter – to reach out to potential clients at global level, any effort to seize new opportunities like connecting with Chinese consumers through their domestic platforms may be paying off.
Chinese microblogging websites
Weibo refers to “microblog” in Chinese, and both Tencent and Sina are here dominating the market. While Tencent Weibo’s concept is quite unique as it offers an instant messaging platform alongside microblogging, group and voice chat, online games, music and shopping, Sina Weibo is often described as a blend of Twitter and Facebook.
In January 2015, Tencent and Sina Weibo reached 829 and 157 million monthly active user accounts respectively. To put that into perspective, the corresponding figure is 1,366 million for Facebook on the same date.
Mainland China’s mobile instant messaging market
WeChat – launched by Tencent in early 2011 – has become one of Mainland China’s biggest social networks in just a few years.
The Chinese version of WhatsApp and LINE has one of the largest user bases among the fast-paced mobile chat application market and is also Mainland China’s most active social network, with no less than 1.1 billion accounts and 468 million monthly active users in January 2015, along with the 26%-growth in the number of active mobile social accounts the country has witnessed since January 2014.
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