Memories of Childhood at Hong Kong Park http://t.co/Z1db3HaB
Zaheer Nooruddin
Social Media Marketing
Digital Communications
Asia Pacific
9 months ago
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In its very first day of release, the Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific Social Media #Infographics Booklet has received a lot of positive attention. I wanted to share some background on how we designed the booklet and conceived of the idea in the first place. The project was born out of two different perspectives.
The first perspective: Burson-Marsteller’s – and D/BM’s – data-driven approach to Digital & Social Media Strategy engagement. An Evidence-Based imperative is THE central platform and promise of Burson-Marsteller in Asia-Pacific and globally, and it is always with evidence as the starting-point that we align our strategies and counsel clients in the integrated communications and public relations spaces. The second: our collective fascination at the firm in Asia-Pacific with new forms of digital storytelling. We’ve seen that data visualization is a potent, new form of digital storytelling. Infographics form the basis for some really cool opportunities to show data in what are, ultimately, more engaging and interesting ways for the viewer. So, these two lines of thinking, combined, were the basis for the project. Gathering the right data sets was important for us. We felt that the internet and social media landscapes of Asia-Pacific markets, was of most relevance for our first series of data visualizations. Putting media consumption trends into context was important too. We felt that, showing internet penetration trends, and overall populations of each country, gave our data set a complete and well-rounded picture for the viewer - our challenge and goal.
Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific’s Social Media #Infographics E-Booklet (August 2011).
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In terms of overall trends, while we worked on designing these infographics, I came to see three macro-trends.
RAPID GROWTH - YET, THE BEGINNING
The first and more obvious one that stands out for me is just how rapidly the internet in reaching more people in Asian markets - from China to India to Vietnam. Perhaps there is no market where internet penetration growth rates over the past decade are not in the triple digits. Even developed markets such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have shown hundred plus percent growth rates. And developing markets like Indonesia, India, China and the Philippines have shown thousand percent plus growth rates.
Of course, the big story in internet penetration is Vietnam, clocking in at a phenomenal twelve thousand percent in the last decade.
NEW, YET SAVVY
The second is that, despite the internet being an emerging medium to so many millions of users in Asian markets who find themselves coming online for the first time every day, users are remarkably sophisticated in their general usage patterns and media consumption habits. Asians have proved themselves to be early adopters of social networking and social media channels. They are quickly connected and are extremely adept collectively, at sharing information, ideas, news, and opinions online. The internet is relatively “new” to parts of Asia, and yet, at the same time, it is already so pervasive and powerful.
DIVERSE ASIA
The last, is the sheer diversity of the region. Let’s never forget just how diverse our region is. In Asia, there are no two countries that can claim to have the same popular online and social media channels. Each country in Asia has its unique patterns of internet, mobile, and digital channel consumption - with their own nuances of language and media - online and social.
What this set of social media landscape infographics represent to me, more than anything else, is the awe-inspiring multiculturism of the Asian continent and the Asia-Pacific region. This is a trend that will no doubt persist with time.
The Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific Social Media #Infographics E-Booklet is truly a treasure trove of digital information about our region.
I hope you find it as useful as we found it fun to design.
- Zaheer Nooruddin is the Lead Digital Strategist for Greater China, and Head of D/BM at Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific.
11 months ago
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As we know, Internet has been growing very fast in China, and more and more Chinese are using Internet in their daily life and work. In H1 2011, according to the latest data, number of Internet users in China has reached 477,000,000, which is over 1/3 (35.6%) of total China population. This makes China the top 1 country with the highest number of Internet users in the world, higher than United States. The top 5 websites in China are: Baidu, QQ, Taobao, Sina and Youku, with the reach% of 88.9%, 67.6%, 50.1%, 46.4% and 38.0% respectively. Baidu is the largest search engine in China in terms of market share and number of users, and is the entrance to Internet for many Chinese Internet users. QQ (qq.com) is from Tencent, which is well known for its leading IM (Instant Messaging) product QQ. Tencent has a very comprehensive Internet product line which includes not only Instant Messaging, but also News Portal, Social Network, Micro-blogging and a lot more. Founded in 2003, Taobao (from Alibaba group) is now a leading e-commerce platform in China, and is also focusing on building e-commerce infrastructure and ecosystem. Youku is a leading video sharing portal in China, which was launched in 2006, and successfully listed on NYSE on 2010. Social networks have been evolving very quickly in China as well. The top 5 social networks in China are: Qzone, Pengyou, Renren, Sina Weibo and Kaixin001, and the reach% are respectively 46.0%, 17.8%, 16.0%, 9.0% and 4.7%. Both Qzone and Pengyou are from Tencent, while Qzone is a nick-name social network integrated seamlessly with QQ, and Pengyou is a real-name social network with many student and white-collar users. Renren is a leading real-name social network in China, which was founded in 2005 and previously called Xiaonei with a lot of student users. With its re-branding to Renren (Chinese pinyin, means “everyone”), it has been expanding its target audience groups. Sina Weibo is a popular micro-blogging platform in China, which is often compared to Twitter, though they’re not the same in many factors, such as comment and some other interaction mechanisms. Kaixin001 is also one of the most popular and largest social networks in China, and its target audiences include many white collars. Social media is growing so fast in China that it has attracted much more page views comparing to the online presence of mainstream media. For example, Youku, the leading video sharing portal in China, has a page view of 3,600m in May 2011, while Xinhuanet (news portal from XinHua News Agency) has 940m page views. Obviously, social media is becoming a more and more important communication channel and platform for organizations and individuals. We have consolidated this important data into an infographic. If you would like to discuss with us about online and social media landscape and opportunities in China, please feel free to contact us at @DBM_China (Twitter) or@BMChina (Sina Weibo). Or email Dropbox@BM.com We look forward to talking with you! 
Leon Zhang (张亮) is Digital Strategy and Insights Lead at D/BM.
11 months ago
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6/24/2011 1:28 PM
Today concludes a successful digital week for Burson-Marsteller globally. Zaheer Nooruddin, Greater China’s Digital Practice Leader, participated in a Q&A session to introduce our colleagues around the world to China’s unique social media landscape.
Question: What are the key digital and social media platforms in China and what should we know about them?
Zaheer: China’s key digital and social media platforms include Baidu, the search engine market leader in China, as well as Sina and QQ, two of the leading integrated web portals in China. On the social media front, within SNS there is Renren and Pengyou, as well as at least 10 other major players in the SNS space. For microblogging, there is Weibo, operated by Sina, and other significant microblogging services provided by Baidu, QQ, Sohu and 163. There are also emerging platforms such as professional SNS (LinkedIn for China) such as Ushi, as well as many major group shopping sites and location-based services. You should know that the digital and social media landscape in China is extremely crowded, complicated and dynamic. The landscape is evolving almost faster than anyone can keep a track of!
Q: Are companies active in social media in China? Do you have any examples?
Zaheer: Many companies are becoming increasingly active in social media in China. Multinational companies such as Starbucks, Coca-Cola and P&G brands are leading the trend. In the B2B space, interesting explorations in the space are being carried out by Chinese companies, such as China Mobile. Many companies have blogs, and more and more executives are adopting blogging and microblogging as means of communications with audiences and stakeholders. There are over 5,000 companies on China’s main microblogging platform, Weibo, already, and more companies are joining up every day. Companies in China are more active with social media marketing. Using social media for public relations and as a means to manage reputation is still a concept in its infancy in China.
Q: What’s the biggest misconception that clients have about digital or social media programs in China?
Zaheer: Clients tend to think that digital and social media programs in China are not measurable in terms of tracking ROI. This of course is a gross misconception, since, if done properly, there is no medium that is more measurable and tangible in terms of tracking effectiveness and results than the digital medium.
Q: What impact has digital media had on traditional media in China?
Zaheer: Digital media is rapidly changing the way traditional media operates. More traditional media are monitoring and tracking issues around companies online today in China than ever before, and are gathering views and forming opinions and stories about companies based on what they see online. This directly affects a company’s public relations. In terms of consumer confidence and trust, there was a recent report that showed that an astonishing 94% of Chinese consumers trusted companies that had social media presences more than companies that did not. Companies are increasingly aware of this shift, and are adopting social media presences to gain more trust with consumers. They are forced therefore to engage directly with consumers within social media. This in turn changes a company’s outlook on the balance between digital media and traditional media.
Q: Do you see any emerging trends for digital in China?
Zaheer: The Chinese internet is growing rapidly. It is expected to be the world’s largest internet, in terms of pages served, soon. It is already the world’s largest internet by online population, with close to 500 million Chinese online already, and that number growing by an average of 10 million each month. In terms of trends, this year’s story has been the rise of microblogging in China (weibo), but I think next year’s story will be the story of digital integration. It is increasingly difficult to view social media platforms, channels and content in silos in China. All these spaces are converging and integrating rapidly. It will be interesting to see who the winners are.
Click here to find out more about Burson-Marsteller China’s digital offerings.
11 months ago
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You are lost, and it can go on for a long time. Wings of Desire, subway scene
1 year ago
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I recently came across a report by a local tech analyst company in China, Red Tech Advisors, about the status and “future-value” prospects of China’s RenRen (人人网) social networking platform. Renren as some will know, is one of China’s leading SNS site, often (quite erronously) referred to as “China’s Facebook.”
That is not to say that Renren was not once China’s Facebook; it very arguably was. In its previous brand incarnation as Xiaonei (校内网), the on-campus social network where it gained its credentials, robust feature-led platform and following of university students from China’s best schools, Renren fast emerged as the leader of the SNS marketspace in China. It’s competition for the title of King of Social Networks in China at that time, not so long ago, mainly came from other standalone social networking sites like Kaxin001 (开心网) and 51.com.
How times have changed? As with Social Media everywhere, so it is in China, and in a matter of just a few years (we’re taking 2 or 3 years here), the social media and networking landscape has rapidly evolved. Gone are the days of “just a handful” of viable social networking platforms. In this time, new standalone rivals have emerged to make a play for various audiences and geographies in China, and old players such as Baidu, QZone and Sina, to name just a few (the big 3 Online News Portals - China’s veritable Google, Yahoo! and AOL - to offer a loose comparison) have expanded their traditional online media plays with new media business models - models in which Social Networking is at the center of their user retention strategies.
These days Renren finds itself in the business news again, as the company looks to consolidate its market share with major new funding and gets to ready to launch its first IPO on the New York Stock Exchange during this month.
There is no doubt that, with all the hype around China as the world’s largest internet market by far, with such dynamic prospects for growth in the Social Web and Media spaces, that Renren’s IPO bodes well for the Chinese tech company, and will act as a signal for further IPOs of similar success stories on China’s internet.
The report is interesting on many levels. Most interestingly to anyone interested in Social Media in China, will be the fascinating study of Renren’s challenges. Certainly it is not going to be all smooth-sailing for the company, as it tries its best to stay relevant to as many Chinese as possible, increasing its audience and registered (and active) user bases as it moves forward. In fact, as one studies this report, it becomes clear that if anything, Renren has a major uphill battle against it.
Check out some of interesting timelines and comparative statistics and figures in this report; definitely worth a peruse.
Here are 11 key highlights about SNS (social networking sites) in China that I found in the report that were fascinating:
- Renren suffers from a lack of differentiation in the crowded SNS market
- Renren’s 120M registered users, only around 30-35M are active users
- Gaming remains the top draw in terms of what people do on Renren, especially in Tier 2 & 3 cities
- “Killing time” and “maintaining friendships” and “making new friends” are also top reasons to use SNS in China
- Group Shopping is a big focus in how the platform will develop going forward for Renren
- The most used apps on Renren are (1) Dairy (2) Photos (3) Music (4) Gaming
- SNS is gaining over online News Portals like Sohu and Netease in terms of # of views. Only Sina is maintaining its lead due to its stand-out popular Weibo
- Weibo (microblogging) is turning out to be SNS biggest “threat” currently. In fact, some SNS are turning to developing Weibo features to complete. Not to be outdone, some Weibo services in China (like Sina Weibo) are in turn developing SNS features on their platforms!
- In terms of stand-out competition in the “pure” SNS space, QQ’s Pengyou is a rising threat to Renren’s market share
- Unlike in the west, “integrated SNS” (the likes of what Google tried to do with Buzz, for example), has proved popular in China. There are a variety of integrated SNS platforms, competing for time and user-base share in China, with the “stand-alone SNS” platforms (such as Renren)
- Prospects of the rumored Baidu-Facebook partnership in China look “highly challenging”
What is my key takeaway?
It is that the Chinese SNS landscape will remain deeply fragmented for at least the next 1-3 years. Perhaps longer. Before a clear frontrunner emerges again, as Renren was to China’s internet in the mid and late half of the 2000s.
What I think we will see are “communities” developed within various SNS around “interests” – and as social media consultants, we need to talk to clients about the niche, targeting opportunities based on these insights about where their audiences and stakeholders are – i.e. within which cluster of SNS sites – some standalone, others integrated.
All in all, deeply fascinating stuff.
And who said China was simple?
1 year ago
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Fueled by the adoption of smarter online monitoring and intelligence services, companies will for the first time in 2011 take charge of their online analytics, measuring digital programs against ROI in more meaningful ways in the bargain.
CIC, a provider of social media intelligence, teamed up, in November 2010, with Sina Weibo to leverage the incredible amount and quality of content on the microblog.
The partnership “is expected to lead to new models and methodologies to bring value to enterprises via social media intelligence and analysis.” In 2011, we expect to see more sophisticated analytics platforms, from Baidu, Google, Sina, QZone and the like in China - and, equally importantly, we expect to see clients that increasingly demand as a matter-of-course, better digital campaign measurment frameworks around digital communications and social media marketing programs, than ever before. 
- Zaheer Nooruddin is Director and Lead Digital Strategist for Greater China at Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific.
1 year ago
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According to CNNIC’s February 2011 statistics, 66% of China’s 457 million Internet users accessed the web via mobile phones. With the ascendance of the Mobile Experience as a primary enabler of influence, communications and marketing, companies will begin to stake their claims on customer attention by seriously investing in mobile web strategic presences like never before.
One company that is an early adopter of the Mobile Web is Ctrip.com, a travel planning site. Ctrip launched the mobile version of its website, m.ctrip.com, in April of last year. The new site allows users to easily book flights and hotels across China through their mobile devices.
Continuing its commitment to mobile options, Ctrip officially launched three application options for users - Google and Nokia apps can be downloaded directly from the site, while the iPhone app is available on the App Store.
- Zaheer Nooruddin is the Director and Lead Digital Strategist for Greater China at Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific.
1 year ago
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1 year ago
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According to CNNIC, the number of online shoppers in China increased by nearly 50% in 2010 to 160 million users. Science and Technology Daily pegs group sales in China is already a RMB 409 million industry.
Fast to adapt: Renren. China’s largest social network, quickly moved to introduce “group shopping” features. Having launched in March of last year, Taobao’s group shopping site, ju.taobao.com, had sold over RMB 200 million worth of products to over 5 million users. Perhaps the most striking sale of the year was when the site sold 205 Mercedes-Benz Smart Cars in just 3 ½ hours. The convergence of social networking and shopping began last year with China’s largest e-commerce portals developing social networking features. As of June 2010, only 6% of these buyers were using group buying services, but 80% had plans to try them in the future. Social commerce, driven by group shopping, will gain in 2011. We’re just beginning to see the power and scale of group buying in the China market. - Zaheer Nooruddin is the Director and Lead Digital Strategist for Greater China at Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific. 
