Brain Vibe

I had the amazing experience last year to expand my analyst team to Shanghai. While a challenge, it opened up a new way to think about how to interact and succeed in this new market. One thing I learned is that the Chinese always bear gifts. When colleagues arrived in the US, they brought a gift. When I came to visit my team, all had a gift. I was told during cultural training that I should bear gifts.

So, when I recently came across this blog from Digital China Guide, it came across so quintessentially Chinese.

Value in Social Media

China is one of the biggest growth markets and walking around Shanghai you see the power of social media and mobile media.  Everyone has a tasseled and decorated phone at in their hand – literally.  They talk, text, play games, everything on their phones.  They live on-line to get their news and maintain connections.  The gravitate to technology.  They also have one of the largest percentage of youth and young adult markets in the world.  In 2004, over 50% of the population was under 35.  I would make the rounds in our office and watch how they would flip back and forth through their browser screens and applications like they were multi-tasking on steroids.  Their phones would play their ringtones constantly or hum on the desk.  They also remained highly productive.  Information bombarded them and they also sought it out.

It may sound a bit like the average US youth.  But, to see this in action was like nothing I ever saw in the US.

We tend to think about social media as a very US phenomenon.  Maybe a western phenomenon.  But, China is plugged in and ready with their own social norms and behavior.   If you consider entering the market with social media, it will be even more imperative that you understand and respect their ways.  Afterall, this is a social connection. Take up the challenge.  The rewards will be great!

Filed under: social media, Asia, asia marketing, China, china marketing, international marketing, mobile marketing, mobile marketing china, mobile media, Shanghai, social media, social media abroad, social media china