Western content now heading to Chinese social media feeds

Apr 15, 2017

I came across this article http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/13/western-content-is-heading-to-chinese-social-media-feeds.html, which detailed how a recent tie-up between local social media platforms (eg; Weibo) and Yoola (a digital content distributor owned by YouTube) will bring selected content, mostly from the US and Russia, into the Chinese market.

One of the few aims of this endeavour, is to help influencers gain traction in China and bridge international content gaps by localising Western content and promoting it on different networks in China.

I think it is very interesting how China is slowly opening up to Western media, although it seems very certain that China will continue to block International social media companies such as Facebook from gaining a foothold in the local market.

2 responses to “Western content now heading to Chinese social media feeds”

Crystal Wong

April 15, 2017 at 9:23 pm

Hi Samantha,

I think the flow of content you pointed out in your post is indeed very interesting and it ties in with Yan and Tan’s (2017) article on how the effects of United’s deplaning had such a huge impact on Chinese social media sites. The transparency and openness of the web exacerbated the issue and due to United’s lapse in external stakeholder management, the #UnitedAirlinesforcespassengeroffplane hashtag was a “top trending topic over the last two days on Weibo” (Yan and Tan, 2017). In addition to expressing their discontent through social media, some have even taken to cutting up their mileage cards and posting pictures and videos of their shredded cards online. Due to the shareability of such content, even Hong Kong legislator Charles Mok has took to posting a video of him cutting up his United mileage card on Facebook.

References:
Lawmaker cuts United out. (2017, April 13). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=181868

Yan, S., & Tan, H. (2017, April 12). Chinese social media continues to rage at United, and the airline may face real fallout. Retrieved April 15, 2017, from http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/11/chinese-social-media-continues-to-rage-at-united-and-the-airline-may-face-real-fallout.html

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varellanicolejoanne2013

April 22, 2017 at 1:50 am

Hi Samantha and Crystal,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts – it is interesting how China may be finally opening up to Western media (albeit very slowly).

In the meanwhile, it would benefit companies to establish a presence on Chinese social media. As mentioned by this article from CNBC (http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/19/chinas-digital-media-is-booming-but-breaking-in-can-be-tricky.html), involvement in the Chinese social media space can be very rewarding, with sportswear brand Nike’s campaign on Weibo resulting in a 14 and 22% increase in sales in the Chinese market.

Additionally, the article advises that companies take note of which platforms would be most suitable for its objectives. For example, Wechat is suitable for sales conversion and customer service, while Weibo would be most helpful in brand-building and exposure.

References: Tan, H. China’s digital media is booming, but breaking in can be tricky. (2017, Apr 19). CNBC. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/19/chinas-digital-media-is-booming-but-breaking-in-can-be-tricky.html

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