Social Media and Web Marketing in China

In the following report, Hanover Research explores best practices in social media anddigitalmarketinginChina.

Social Media and Web Marketing in China

October2013

Hanover Research | October 2013

2013 Hanover Research | Academy Administration Practice 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS ExecutiveSummaryandKeyFindings................................................................................3KEYFINDINGS.............................................................................................................................3Tailoringmarketingmaterialstotheaudience.................................................................3Popularsocialmediaplatforms.........................................................................................3Launchinganeffectivedigitalmarketingcampaign..........................................................4Trendsamonghighereducationleaders...........................................................................4

SectionI:BestPracticesinStudentRecruitmentMarketinginChina..................................5UNDERSTANDINGTHEAUDIENCE....................................................................................................5MostInfluentialFactors.....................................................................................................7FamilyInfluence.................................................................................................................8OtherConsiderations.........................................................................................................9

TRENDSINSOCIALMEDIAUSEINCHINA........................................................................................10SOCIALMEDIAPLATFORMS.........................................................................................................12Baidu................................................................................................................................12Renren..............................................................................................................................14Weibo...............................................................................................................................15Youku...............................................................................................................................17

EFFECTIVEINTEGRATIONOFTHEDIGITALMARKETINGCAMPAIGN.......................................................18SectionII:ProfilesofMarketLeaders...............................................................................21UNIVERSITYOFALBERTA,CANADA................................................................................................21BROCKUNIVERSITY,CANADA.......................................................................................................21FRESNOPACIFICUNIVERSITY,UNITEDSTATES.................................................................................22UNIVERSITYOFHUDDERSFIELD,UNITEDKINGDOM..........................................................................22UNIVERSITYOFKENTUCKY,UNITEDSTATES....................................................................................23MEMORIALUNIVERSITY,CANADA................................................................................................23



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS AsChinesestudents increasingly lookonline for informationtoaid thecollegeapplicationprocess,itisimperativethatWesternhighereducationinstitutionsprovideinformationthatispertinenttoandthatdirectlytargetsChinesestudents.Whilethescopeofdigitalmediatools is immense, institutionsmust use tools carefully. In this report,Hanover ResearchdiscussesbestpracticesinsocialmediaandwebmarketinginChina.InSectionI,wereviewliteratureonbestpracticesinstudentrecruitmentmarketing,beginningwithanoverviewofthetargetaudienceinChinaandanintroductiontothetopsocialmediaplatformsusedbyhigh school and college students. In Section II, we provide short case studies of sixinstitutions that have embraced social media as a method of recruiting internationalstudentsfromChina.First,wesummarizetheoverallkeyfindings.KEYFINDINGSTAILORINGMARKETINGMATERIALSTOTHEAUDIENCE

Institutions should amplify their reputation asbeinghighquality, and should alsotake care to thoroughly explain application processes to less prepared applicantswhomaynotunderstandthebasicsofadmissionsprotocolsinothercountries.

Particular aspects that should be emphasized in marketing materials and socialmediapostsincluderankingandreputation(particularlyforwellregardedacademicprograms), overall quality, safety, and the opportunity for an internationalexperience.

While social media marketing is intended to reach applicants themselves,institutionsmustunderstand that theirparentsare likely tohavea critical role indecisionmaking. Parents are more interested in qualities such as employmentprospects upon graduation, social and emotional support services, the range ofprogramsoffered,andpossibilitiesformigration.

POPULARSOCIALMEDIAPLATFORMS

The socialmediaplatforms thatappear tobemostpromising for reachingout toChinese applicants include Sina Weibo (similar to Twitter), Renren (similar toFacebook),andYouku(similartoYouTube).

InstitutionsthattakecaretounderstandtheuniquepropertiesofBaidu(similartoGoogle) can ensure that their pages receive traffic from interested students.Strategies for harnessing Baidus capabilities include using common search terms(forexample,topUKuniversity),usinga localizedmicrosite,hostingthewebsitewithinthefirewall,andkeepingimportantinformationatthetopofthewebsite.



LAUNCHINGANEFFECTIVEDIGITALMARKETINGCAMPAIGN

Socialmedia sites shouldbeupdated regularly andposts should linkback to theinstitutionswebsite.Contentmust includekey informationonadmissions criteria(including upcoming deadlines), program options, and other guidelines andrequirements.Storiesaboutrecenteventsoncampusandtestimonialsfromcurrentand former students complement the logistical information and provide a morepersonalsidetoaninstitutionswebpresence.

Direct communication is one of themost critical elements of an effective digitalmarketingcampaign.Socialmediaplatforms shouldnotbeonesided,but insteadshouldinspiredialogtokeepfollowersinterested.

Prospective students should be presented with accessible options for askingquestionsofadmissionsstaffandstudentrepresentatives,andresponsesshouldbebothpromptandpersonal.

TRENDSAMONGHIGHEREDUCATIONLEADERS

Mostinstitutionsusemorethanonesocialmediasite,andSinaWeibo,Renren,andYoukuappear tobe themostcommon. It isalsocommon for institutions touseamessagingortelephoneprogramsuchasQQorSkype.

Mostoftheinstitutionsinthisanalysishiredacurrentorformerstudenttomanagetheir socialmedia sites. English content is typically selected by themarketing oradmissions office at the university and then translated by the social mediacoordinator. Institutions often employMandarin speakers to create ameaningfulpresenceonChinas socialmediaplatformsaswellas to fieldanyquestions frompotentialapplicants.

Thoughmost institutions did not explicitly describe data collection procedures, itappearsthat institutionsgaugethesuccessoftheirsocialmarketingcampaignsbythenumberofapplicants fromChinaaswellas thenumberof followerson theirsocialmediaplatform.



SECTION I: BEST PRACTICES IN STUDENT RECRUITMENT MARKETING IN CHINA In the following pages,we provide an introduction to student recruitmentmarketing inChina. We begin by describing research on motivations of Chinese students seekinginternationalprogramsinordertoassistuniversitiesinhighlightinginformationfoundtobeimportanttothetargetaudience.Fromthere,wediscusscurrenttrendsinsocialmediausein China and provide an overview of the top social medial platforms for recruitinginternationalstudents.Finally,we introducebestpractices in integratingsocialmediauseinto an institutions digitalmarketing campaign,with a focus on strategies for fosteringcommunicationanddialoguewithpotentialapplicants.UNDERSTANDINGTHEAUDIENCEAninstitutionshouldconsidertheculturalcontextinwhichitpresentsitsbrandonlineandmustbeawareofthetypesofinformationinwhichChinesestudentsaremostinterested.Inthefollowingparagraphs,wediscusssomeofthekeycharacteristicsofthetargetaudience.World Education Services (WES), an international education intelligence firm,1dividesinternational students into four main segments based on their preparedness for highereducationandtheirfinancialresources.2Thesegmentsaredefinedasfollows:

Highfliers:highacademicpreparedness,highfinancialresources(32%) Explorers:lowacademicpreparedness,highfinancialresources(28%) Strugglers:lowacademicpreparedness,lowfinancialresources(21%) Strivers:highacademicpreparedness,lowfinancialresources(19%)

Asshown inFigure1,themajorityof internationalstudents fromChina (60percent)havehigh financial resources, while only about half (51 percent) have high academicpreparedness.

1AboutWES.WorldEducationServices.http://www.wes.org/about/2Choudaha,R.,Orosz,K.,andChang,L.2012.NotAllInternationalStudentsaretheSame:UnderstandingSegments,

MappingBehavior.WESResearchandAdvisoryServices.http://www.wes.org/ewenr/12aug/feature.htm



Figure1:SegmentsofInternationalStudentsfromChina

Source:WorldEducationServices

Theparticularmotivationsofthetwomoreaffluentgroupsareexplained ina2011articlebyAnnWhite, director of theHong KongChina division of the Institute of InternationalEducation.WhiteexplainsthatChinesestudentsturntointernationalinstitutionswithtwomaingoalsinmind,dependingontheircompetitivenessasapplicants.3Among highflier students, those seeking a toptier education tend to prefer U.S.undergraduateinstitutionsastheyoffertheoptimalroutetoU.S.graduateschools,viewedas being of top quality.White notes that British universities are also preferred as theyappeartobeperceivedasaddingsocialpolish. Mosthighfliersknowwhattheywantand how to get it: these applicants have specific fields and goals in mind, and willindependently research options and probably consider the United States first forundergraduate study.Typically thesehighfliersareclearandconfidentaboutwhich fieldandmajorstheywant.4Meanwhile, the affluent yet less academically prepared explorers group conducts itssearch forhighereducationwith thegoalof seekinganalternative to thecompetitionathome.Thesestudentsaremoreopentodifferentcountriesaswellas fieldsofstudy,andmay consider a variety of institutions in a number of destinations. White explains thatexplorersarelesslikelytounderstandtheapplicationprocessthantheirhighflierpeersandmayfeelbombardedwithsometimesmisleadinginformationfromlocalagents.Thesestudents are most responsive to institutions that appear helpful and friendly tointernationalstudents,particularlyiftheyofferspecialESLprograms.5

3White,A.2011.ChineseStudentsInternationalStudy:FactorsFeedingtheDecisionProcess.WorldEducation

Services:WorldEducationNewsandReviews,24:1.http://www.wes.org/ewenr/11feb/feature.htm4Ibid.5Ibid.

Highfliers32%

Explorers28%

Strugglers21%

Strivers19%



Inmostcases,thedecisiontoattendaninternationaluniversityisacalculatedoneforbothhighfliers and explorers: studentswhobelieve they areunlikely tobe admitted to a topChinese institution choose to study abroad because they think the cachet of aninternationaldegreewillhelpthemmorethanadegreefromasecondorthirdtierChineseuniversity.Thesestudentstendtobeveryawareofdifferentcountriesoptionsandpathsto poststudy employment opportunities and generally prefer (in descending order) theUnitedStates,theUnitedKingdom,Australia,andCanada.6Overall,foreigninstitutionscancater to both groups by highlighting positive outcomes for students, includingemployability, 7 graduate school placement, internships, job prospects, and alumninetworkingopportunities.8MOSTINFLUENTIALFACTORSPaulHoskinswrites in theGuardiansHigher EducationNetwork blog that an institutionmustbeselectiveinitschoiceoffeaturedpeople,places,products,andperformance.Therationalefor includingfactsandaccompanyingmessagesaroundthesecategoriesmustbeevidencebased best,orbetter, than the rest aswell aswrapped andpresented in aculturallynuancedlayerofunderstanding.9Below,wehighlightthetopfactorsfoundtobeinfluentialinmakingdecisionsaboutwheretoenrollininternationalprograms:

An institutions ranking and reputationare consistently citedasamong themostmotivating factors forChinese students and families;Chinese familiesparticularlyfavor institutionsthatothershaveheardof.10Topranked institutions,aswellasinstitutions with a history of accepting Chinese students, are most wellknown,though Tom Melcher, Chairman of Zinch China, argues that an institution canimprove its brand awareness through aggressive marketing in China.11Chinesefamilies are also highly influenced by university rankings, though they may notunderstand the differences between specialty lists (e.g., liberal arts colleges,regional masters colleges, etc.). 12 As such, Zinch International, the collegeadmissions portal, emphasized in its 2011 presentation that institutions shouldhighlightanyrankinglikestatisticsevenifuniquetotheprogram.13

6Ibid.7Spinks,J.andWong,I.2010.UnderstandingStudentRecruitmentinMainlandChina:ACaseStudy.Observatoryon

BorderlessHigherEducation.http://www.ed.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.38061!/fileManager/Understanding%20Student%20Recruitment%20in%20Mainland%20China_A%20Case%20Study%20_January%202010_.pdf

8ZinchChina.JumpstartingYourRecruitmentinChina:ABeginnersGuide.PresentedattheNAFSA2011AnnualConference,June2,2011.http://www.slideshare.net/Zipcast11/jumpstartingyourrecruitmentinchinaabeginnersguide

9Hoskins,P.HowtorecruitinternationalstudentsinChina.TheGuardianHigherEducationNetworkblog,March27,2012.http://www.guardian.co.uk/highereducationnetwork/blog/2012/mar/27/recruitingstudentsfromchina

10Melcher,T.2010.HowChineseFamiliesSelectOverseasUniversities.WorldEducationServices:WorldEducationNewsandReviews,23:7.http://www.wes.org/ewenr/10sept/feature.htm

11Ibid.12Ibid.13ZinchChina,Op.cit.



Along the same lines, the perceived quality of an institution in terms of theeducationandalsothequalificationisahighlyinfluentialfactor.14A2009surveyofChinesestudentsfromINTOKnowledgefoundthatthequalityofteachingwasthesecond highestrated factor that influencing mainland students choice ofinstitution.15

An institutions safety is another quality that should be highlighted inmarketingmaterials,particularly inmoreurbanenvironmentswithmore frequent incidencesofviolentcrime.16Chungetal.reportedina2009studythattheperceptionofNewZealandasasafeandharmonioussocietywascriticalforChinesestudentschoosingNew Zealand as an educational destination.17In INTO Knowledges 2009 surveypersonalsafetyandsecuritywasthetopratedinfluencingfactor.18

Althoughthequalityofthe institution is important,severalsourceshave indicatedthatChinesestudentshighlyvaluetheopportunityforaninternationalexperience,and this is most available at an institution where Chinese students are in theminority. 19 In that regard, Zinch International argues that institutions shouldhighlight low international student enrollments as providing a real overseasexperience.20

FAMILYINFLUENCEIt is inthebest interestsof institutionstoexpandthereachoftheirmarketingeffortstoawiderarrayofdecisionmakers,according to several sources.Whitewrites that inmanycases,itistheparentswhohavethefinalsayastowhichcountryandwhichinstitutionthestudentshouldapply.21ZinchChinafurthersupportsthisfinding,assertingthatinstitutionsneed to focusmarketing on parents and use the child as a marketing channel.22Thefigure below was included in Zinch Chinas presentation at the National Association ofInternational Educators (NAFSA) 2011Annual ConferenceDifferent decisionmakers, andcompareshighereducationdecisionmakingprocessesofAmericanandChinesefamilies.14Yang,M.2007.WhatattractsmainlandChinesestudentstoAustralianhighereducation.StudiesinLearning

Evaluation,Innovation,andDevelopment,4:2.AscitedbySpinksandWong.15China:StudentExpectations.2009.INTO.http://www.intocorporate.com/media/37812/china

%20students'%20expectations.pdf16Melcher,Op.cit.17Chung,K.,Holdsworth,D.,Li,Y.,andFam,K.2009.ChineseLittleEmperor,CulturalValuesandPreferred

CommunicationSourcesforUniversityChoice.YoungConsumers,10:2.AscitedbySpinksandWong.18China:StudentExpectations.2009.INTO.Op.cit.19China:StudentExpectations,Op.cit.;Melcher,Op.cit.20ZinchChina,Op.cit.21White,Op.cit.22ZinchChina,Op.cit.



Figure2:DecisionMakingProcesses UNITEDSTATES CHINA

Wholeadstheprocess? Student ParentWhosupportstheprocess? Parent GrandparentsWhofollowstheprocess? Student

Source:ZinchChina

Becauseparentsareso influential inchoosingan institution, it is importanttounderstandthatparentsvaluedifferentcriteriaformakingdecisions.Bodycotts2009studyshedslighton the differences in what is important to parents and students in deciding where tostudy.23 Bodycott interviewed 251 parents and 100 students from mainland Chinawhowereevaluatingstudyabroadoptions.Figure3showsthemaindifferencesbetweenparentandstudentratingsof importance,as identified inthisstudy.Theonly factor foundtobeimportanttobothgroupswastherangeofprogramsavailable.24

Figure3:MostImportantFactorsforStudyAbroadOptionsFACTOR PARENTS STUDENTS

Push InadequatesupplyofuniversitiesinChina Qualityofeducation

Pull

EmploymentprospectsongraduationSocialandemotionalsupportservices

RangeofprogramsavailableMigrationpossibilities

OnsiteaccommodationRangeofprogramsavailableEnglishspeakingenvironmentLanguageandacademicsupport

servicesFacilities,buildingsandgrounds

Source:Bodycott,2009,viaSpinksandWong,2010.OTHERCONSIDERATIONSTimingisalsoafactorinapplyingtoandselectingauniversity,andChineseinstitutionsuseanacceleratedprocesscomparedtoU.S.andBritish institutions.ZinchChinaexplainsthatstudentstakethenationalcollegeentranceexam,calledthegaokao, inJuneaftertheirfinalyearofhighschool.Asaresult,Chinesestudentswhoarenotawareoftheadmissionsprocess used in other countries are at a disadvantage when applying to internationalinstitutions.Ontheotherhand,institutionswithrollingdeadlinesorlateradmissionscyclesmaybemore appealing toChinese studentswho areonly just starting to consider theiroptionsforinternationalstudyneartheendoftheirsenioryearofhighschool.25Regional differenceswithin Chinamust also be considered.According to Chong and Liu,youngpeopleinTaiwanandHongKongaremorelikelytobeknowledgeableaboutoptions

23Bodycott,P.2009.ChoosingaHigherEducationStudyAbroadDestination.JournalofResearchinInternational

Education,8:3.AscitedbySpinksandWong.24SpinksandWong,Op.cit.25ZinchChina,Op.cit.



foreducation in foreigncountries,while theirpeers inmainlandChinamay requiremoreinformationabout internationalstudyopportunities.Assuch, it is importanttothoroughlyexplain concepts that may be unknown to mainland applicants (for example, liberaleducation).26TRENDSINSOCIALMEDIAUSEINCHINASocialmediause inChina isconstantlyrisingat lastcount,therewerenearly600millionactiveusers,afigurethatisup60percentjustfrom2012.27A2012surveybyMcKinseyandCompany that investigated various characteristicsof socialnetworkingbehavior revealedthatanestimated91percentofthetotalpopulationvisitedasocialmediaplatform intheprevious sixmonths, and 95 percent of internet users in Chinawho live in the nationslargest cities have a social media account.28Most of Chinas internet users access theinternet throughapersonalcomputer, thoughmobiledevicesarealsogainingpopularity:accordingtoMcKinsey,about50percentofmobilephoneusers in[the]surveysaidtheywereplanningtobuyasmartphoneinthenextsixmonths,35percentsaidtheyhaveusedatabletcomputer,andonefourthofconsumerswhodonotownatabletcomputersaidtheyplantobuyoneinthenextyear.29Chinesesocialmediausersalsotendtobeveryactive:theMcKinseysurveyreportedthatusers in China generally spend approximately 46minutes per day on socialmedia sites,compared to 37minutes in theUnited States and just sevenminutes in Japan.30Actualusage of these sites, however, can be broken down into six different categories bymotivationandbehavior:31

Social enthusiasts spend a large portion of their time maintaining friendshipnetworks;theyaccountforabout15percentofsocialmediausers.

Resenders,who account for15percentofparticipants, actively repostmessages,suchasjokes,fromothersources.Althoughtheydonotpostoriginalmaterial,theyoftenhavelargenumbersoffollowers.

Readersgenerallydonotparticipatebutreadwhatothershaveposted.Theymakeupabout14percentofusers.

Opinionated users, comprising about 14 percent of participants on socialmediasites,expresstheirown(oftenstrong)opinionsandbuildlargepersonalfollowings.

26ZinchChina,Op.cit.27SocialMediainChinaStatisticsandTrends[Infographic].GoGlobe.comblog,March12,2013.http://www.go

globe.com/blog/socialmediachina/28Chiu,C.,Lin,D.,andSilverman,A.2012.ChinasSocialMediaBoom.McKinsey&Company.

http://www.mckinseychina.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/04/McKinseyChinasSocialMediaBoom.pdf29Ibid.30Ibid.31Ibid.(Bulletsquotedverbatim)



QQ spilloversgainaccess to socialmedia sites through theiruseofTencentsQQinstantmessagingservice.Whilethisgroupaccountsfor21percentoftheaudienceforsocialmedia,participationfromtheseusersisminimal.

Inactivesbelongtosocialmediasitesbutdonotparticipateinameaningfulway.Overall, the social media market in China has been described as very fragmented andlocal.32AccordingtoaMcKinseyandCompanybrief,eachsocialmediaandecommerceplatformhasatleasttwomajorlocalplayers:inmicroblogging(orweibo),forexample,SinaWeiboandTencentWeibo;insocialnetworking,anumberofcompanies,includingRenrenandKaixin001.Theseplayershavedifferentstrengths,areasoffocus,and,often,geographicpriorities.33Abriefoverviewofthetopsitesisprovidedinthefigurebelow.34

Figure4:OverviewofTopChineseSocialMediaSitesPLATFORM DESCRIPTIONDouban Openforumformovie,music,andbookreviewsJiayuan ThelargestinternetdatingwebsiteofChina

Kaixin001 ClonedthemostsuccessfulandwellknownFacebookapplicationstotheChinesemarketPengyou Arealnamesocialnetwork

Qzone Socialnetworkingwebsitewhereuserscanwriteblogsandsharephotos,music,etc.Renren FacebookofChina

SinaWeibo Chinesemicrobloggingwebsite(similartoTwitter),withabilitytoincludedimagesandvideoTencentWeibo Chinesemicrobloggingwebsite (similartoTwitter)

Wechat Mobilevoiceandtextappwithsocialnetworkingfeatures,includingphotosharingSource:GoGlobe.comandMashableOver80percentofChinesesocialmediausersareactiveonmorethanonesite,and localplatformsdominatethemarket.35Thoughspecificnumbersvary (inpartbecauseof issueswith virtual, or fake, followers), it is clear that Qzone, a social blogging site, andmicroblogging platforms TencentWeibo and SinaWeibo are favorites among users. Forinstance,theMcKinseysurveyrevealedthat44percentofrespondentsuseQzonethemost,followed by SinaWeibo and Renren (19 percent each), TencentWeibo (8 percent), and

32Chiu,C.,Ip,C.,andSilverman,A.UnderstandingSocialMediainChina.McKinseyQuarterly,April2012.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/understanding_social_media_in_china33Chong,E.andLiu,R.HowSocialMediaUsageAmongChinasDigitalNativesisEvolving.AllThingsD,March8,

2013.http://allthingsd.com/20130308/thepowerofconnectednesshowsocialmediausageamongchinasdigitalnativesisevolving/

34[1]Mei,Y.5ChineseSocialNetworksYouNeedtoWatch.Mashable,July2,2012.http://mashable.com/2012/07/02/chinasocialnetworks/[2]SocialMediainChinaStatisticsandTrends[Infographic],Op.cit.

35Chiu,Ip,andSilverman,Op.cit.



Kaixin(7percent).36RecentestimatesasofMarch2013ofregisteredusersonsomeofChinastopsitesareshowninFigure5,below.37

Figure5:RegisteredUsers,inMillions

Source:AdAgeglobalnewsandGoGlobe.com

SOCIALMEDIAPLATFORMSIn the followingparagraphs,we introduce someof the topplatforms for reachingout toChinesehighschoolstudents.BAIDUBaiduisChinasequivalentofGoogle,andalsooffersotherservicesincludingBaiduTieba(PostBar,adiscussionforum)andBaiduZhidao(BaiduKnows,aquestionandanswersite).38KeystrategiesforusingBaidueffectivelyinclude:

Present content that aligns with key search terms. Paul Hoskins writes in theGuardianblog thatChinese studentsgenerally look fora topUKuniversity inaparticular subject, not a specific place and not your establishment. Thewebsitesthey are most likely referred to are those of agents where there is very littlediscriminationbetweentheofferofoneestablishmentandanother.39Assuch,ClayHensely,oftheCollegeBoard,arguesthatuniversitiesneedtotakeprogramsandmajors into account when trying to reach students. According to Hensley,

36Chiu,Lin,andSilverman,Op.cit.37[1]Madden,N.MarketersHeedChinasSocialMediaExplosion.AdAgeglobalnews,March01,2013.

http://adage.com/article/globalnews/marketersheedchinassocialmediaexplosion/240093/[2]SocialMediainChinaStatisticsandTrends[Infographic],Op.cit.

38Goldkorn,J.YouTube=Youku?WebsitesandtheirChineseEquivalents.FastCompany,January20,2011.http://www.fastcompany.com/1715042/youtubeyoukuwebsitesandtheirchineseequivalents

39Hoskins,Op.cit.

712

507

400

300

259

172

172

113

73

Qzone

TencentWeibo

SinaWeibo

Wechat

Pengyou

Renren

Douban

Kaixin001

Jiayuan



universities should consider searchengine optimization for their strongestprogramswith internationalappeal,sothattheprograms,not justthe institutions,willpopupinsearchresults.40

Havealocalizedmicrosite.ArnoldMawritesinFourthSourcethatinstitutionsmustunderstandthatappendingMandarinpagestoaUKwebsitedoesnotwork.Pageswillnotbe visibleonChinese search engines. It is thereforenecessary tohave alocalizedmicrositebuiltfromthegroundupwithChinesebrowserhabits,design/UXstandardsandconsumerpersonainmind.41

IncreaseaccessibilitywithinChina.LocalsitesshouldbehostedwithintheChineseGovernmentfirewall,oroveraContentDeliveryNetwork(CDN),otherwise loadingtimesmaybe slowed to thepointatwhich the sitebecomes inaccessible.An ICPlicenseisalsorequiredfromtheGovernmentforallbusinesswebsites,butobtainingoneisamatterofformality.42

Understanddifferences in searchprocesses.Paid searchesonBaiduaredifferentfrom those used in the UK or the U.S. due to the Chinese language structure.According to Ma, this fundamental difference directly affects the bidding ofkeywordsandoptimization/structureofaccounts.Forexample, phrasematchonBaiduactsmorelikemodifiedbroadmatchbroadmatchmodifierdoesnotexistyet on Baidu PPC. Also, broad match captures far more queries due to thecomplexityoftheChineselanguage.43

Simplify text and pages for search engine optimization (SEO). Ma writes thatBaidu spider is stillnotaspowerfulasGooglebot,andgenerallydoesnot crawldeeperthanthreelevelswithinwebsitestructures.44Therefore,institutionsshouldkeepthemostimportantinformationatthetopofeachpage,makethesiteeasytonavigatewithaclearhierarchy,andkeepkeyworddensitytobetween6and10percent.45

40Wheeler,D.NewTwistsinOnlineRecruitingofInternationalStudents.TheChronicleofHigherEducationPlanet

Academeblog,April8,2012.http://chronicle.com/blogs/planet/2012/04/08/newtwistsinonlinerecruitingofinternationalstudents/

41Ma,A.DigitalmarketingtheUKandChina.FourthSource,April22,2013.http://www.fourthsource.com/general/digitalmarketingtheukandchina13965

42Ma,Op.cit.43Ibid.44Ibid.45BaiduSearchEngineOptimisation.CodeThatblog.http://www.codethat.co.uk/blog/search/baiduseoguide



Figure6:BaiduScreenshot

Source:web2asia46

RENRENRenren andQzone are both considered the Chinese versions of Facebook. According toChong and Liu,Chinese teenagers typicallybeginusing socialmediawithQzone andQQ(Chinas top instantmessagingprogram), twoplatforms thatboasthighconcentrationsofusersbelowtheageof18.Astheygetolder,collegestudentsoutgrowQzoneandmoveontoRenren,whichisdominatedbytheyoungadultpopulation.47Tencents Qzone may boast a larger count of registered users, but the site has beencriticizedasbeingheavilypopulatedby dormant, skeletonprofileswithlowvalueandretention rates.Thesite,which isaccessedprimarilyby teenage, rural,andcasualusers,allowstheuseofnicknamesandaliasesratherthanreal identities.48Meanwhile,Renrenismore popular among college students,49as it serves as an ideal resource for accessingnews about their respective universities, including curriculum updates, supplementarymaterials and classdiscussionboards.50Chong and Liuwrite that college studentsoftenretaintheirQzoneandQQaccountsusually,theywilllogintoQQtostayintouchwiththeirold friends,parents and classmates,butneglect theirQzonepagesanduseRenren

46AsianEquivalentsofWesternWebServicesPart03:China.Web2asia,August5,2009.

http://www.web2asia.com/2009/08/05/asianequivalentsofwesternwebservicespart03china/47ChongandLiu,Op.cit.48Lukoff,K.Chinastopfoursocialnetworks:Renren,Kaixin001,Qzone,and51.com.VentureBeat,April7,2010.

http://venturebeat.com/2010/04/07/china%E2%80%99stop4socialnetworksrenrenkaixin001qzoneand51com/

49Ibid.50ChongandLiu,Op.cit.



instead.RenrenuserstendtobemoretransparentandhonestwhenusingRenren,whiletheyaremorelikelytofiltertheirmessagesonQzone.51

Figure7:UniversityofKentuckysRenrenPage

WEIBOWeibo,whichmeans microblog, is theChinese version of twitter and is offered underseveral platforms. The two biggest players are Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo.52LikeTwitter,Weiboallowsuserstopost140charactermicroblogs,pictures,andvideos.53Oneofthedifferencesinuseractivity,however,isthatwhileTwitterusersoftenpostaboutnews,SinaWeibouserstendtocommentmoreonentertainmenttopics.54Similarly,someoftheusers with the most followers on Tencent Weibo are celebrities, hosts, famouscompanies, andmedia and entertainment agencies.55SinaWeibo is particularly common

51Ibid.52Lukoff,Op.cit.53Goldkorn,Op.cit.54SocialWebMarketinginChina.GreenBook.http://www.greenbook.org/marketingresearch.cfm/socialweb

marketinginchina1205355Lie,D.,Zhang,J.,Sun,G.,Tang,J.,Ding,Y.,andLuoZ.2012.WhatistheNatureofTencentWeibo:Detectthe

UniqueFeaturesofTencentUsers.http://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1211/1211.2197v1.pdf



amonguniversity students,youngprofessionals,andurbandwellers,whileTencentuserstendtobemorerural.56AccordingtoTinaHu,seniordirectorinChinaforCIC,Weiboisthebestforoutreachforinstitutionsbecauseitallowsuserstoreadinformationthatisnotpublicallyavailable.57Itisestimatedthat70to80percentofChinasuniversitystudentshaveaWeiboaccount,andbetween40and50percentofstudentsuseiteveryday.58

Figure8:UniversityofHuddersfieldsSinaWeiboPage

56Lukoff,Op.cit.57Sharma,Y.UniversitiesincreasinglyuseWeibosocialmediatoreachChinastudents.UniversityWorldNews,

January13,2013.http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2013011111233585058Ibid.;SocialMediainChina:MorethanJustRecruitment.GeniusRecruiterblog,November4,2012.

http://geniusrecruiter.com/2012/11/04/socialmediainchinamorethanjustrecruitment/



YOUKUYouku isChinasequivalentofYouTube, though therearesomedistinctdifferences.First,while YouTubes videos are primarily usergenerated, 70 percent of Youkus content issyndicated(i.e.,professionallyproduced).59AccordingtoVictorKoo,YoukusChiefExecutiveOfficer, Youku also primarily features longer videos, rather than short clips or musicvideos.60As a forum for reaching out to prospective students, Youku presents some uniqueopportunities. Clay Hensley, director of international strategy and relationships for theCollege Board, explains that video is particularly popular among Chinese studentsbecause it is hard to censor. Institutions can enlist current students as brandambassadors61totalkabouttheiruniversitylifeandeducationinMandarinorCantoneseand post the video on their own sites or pages. The university should then link to thestudentsvideos.62

Figure9:UniversityofAlbertasYoukupage

59Bradley,R.WhatYouTubecanlearnfromYouku.CNNMoney,July19,2012.

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/19/whatyoutubecanlearnfromyouku/60YoukuTranscendsYouTubeasChinaBecomesCenterofInternet.BloombergNews,October17,2010.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/20101017/youkutranscendsyoutubeasinternetscenterofgravityshiftstochina.html

61RecruitingInternationalStudentswithSocialMedia.2012.InigralInsights.Availablefordownloadfromhttp://www.inigral.com/research/socialmediaforinternationalstudents/

62Wheeler,Op.cit.



EFFECTIVEINTEGRATIONOFTHEDIGITALMARKETINGCAMPAIGNInadditiontoawellmanageddigitalmediacampaign,aninstitutionsinternationalstudentwebsite must be designed to clearly and efficiently provide visitors with pertinentinformation, writes Philippe Taza, founder of Higher Education Marketing, a digitalmarketing agency. Taza notes that website content should be limited to essentialinformation that ensures that future international students can easily findwhat theyrelookingforinaquickfivesecondscan.63Theblogspecifiesthatcriticalelementsinclude:

Asearchfeatureforavailableundergraduateandgraduateprograms Admissionscriteria Upcominginternationalrecruitmentvisits Financialandvisarequirements Clearcallstoactionbuttons

Beyond thisstreamlined landingpage for internationalapplicants,additionalpageswithinan institutions international studentportal shouldfocusonpromotingyourmosthighlyratedprograms,emphasizingpositiveworld rankings,andadjusting yourmessages tobeeasilyunderstandabletostudentswhohavegrownupwithdifferenteducationsystemsandare unfamiliar with local geography and culture, according to Taza. Additionally,testimonialsfromcurrentandpastinternationalstudentsintheformofwrittenblogentriesor video posts provide personal connections to potential applicants. To encouragecommunication,institutionscanenlistcurrentstudentstoserveasresourcesinaContactaCurrentStudentwebsitefeature.64Overall, institutions must remember that social media is not intended to be onesided:communication and personal contact are the driving forces behind successful digitalmarketingcampaigns. Inigral,aU.S. consulting firm thathelpsuniversities leverage socialmedia to connect with students, describes several strategies for using social media torecruit internationalstudents.Among them, Inigralrecommends that institutionscreateaprivate (i.e., not open to the public) community where admitted students can meetfaculty, administrators, and other prospective students online. According to Inigral,internationalstudentsarelikelytouseonlinegroupsforthreemainfunctions:meetingothersfromtheirhomecountry,connectingwithothersaroundmajorsorinterests,andgettinganswerstoquestions. Institutionscanalso fosteropen linesofcommunicationbyhostingonlinechats,skypeinterviews,ormeetups.65

63Taza,P.4StepstoDesigningyourWebsiteforInternationalStudentRecruitment.EDUniverse.

http://eduniverse.org/4stepsdesigningyourwebsiteinternationalstudentrecruitment64Ibid.65RecruitingInternationalStudentswithSocialMedia,Op.cit.



Sociology PhD student and blogger Yimei Zhu writes that interaction with prospectivestudentsmaybe the key factor inobtaining followers foraUniversitysWeibopage.66Inexamining growth in thenumberof followers for sixUKuniversities, Zhu found that theUniversityof Sheffield increased thenumberof followersby41percentbetweenAugust2012andFebruary2013throughdeliberate,highqualityinteractionwithotherusers:

AfterexploringthecontentsonSheffieldsWeibopage, it isclearthattheirWeiboaccounthasactivelyinteractedwithstudentsandkeptitdowntoearth.Theyhavemanypostsand reposts showingactivities in campusand students lives, suchasspeeddating event, students eatingdinner together and job fair.When studentsaskedforaquestionregardingtoapost,theofficialaccountrepliedindetail.ItgavethesensetootherstudentreadersthatUniversityofSheffield(accountowner)careabout themandwouldcommunicatewith them if they try.Anotherstrategy is toaskquestionto their followers.Forexample,Sheffieldpostedapictureandaskedwhoknowswherethisis?Manystudentsreplied.ItfosteredinteractionnotonlySheffield official account interactedwith followers, but followers also interactedwitheachotherastheysawtherewasarelaxingenvironmentwhenpeoplecoulddiscussthingsfreely.67

Similarly,JulieCahill,AssistantDirectorof InternationalMarketingandRecruitmentattheUniversityofMontana,explainsthathyperresponsivenessmakesa lasting impressiononprospective international students,andher staffmakeeveryeffort to respond toemailsfrom studentsandapplicantswithin24 to48hours.Tobetter servepotentialapplicantsfrom China, Montanas admissions office created an International Student Associateposition and hired a Mandarinspeaking student to serve as applicants first point ofcontact.68Finally,a2012studyconductedbyswissnexChinarevealsadditionalpracticesfoundtobeeffective in the use of social media to promote international universities to Chinesestudents. The study focused specifically on SinaWeibo as aplatform for communicatingwith students regarding Swiss universities.69To facilitate the flow of information, eachuniversitynamedacommunicatorwhoprovidedcontenttobetranslatedanduploadedto Weibo by a swissnex representative.70Upon evaluating the success of the initiative,participants indicated that having a dedicated person within the swissnex office inShanghaiallowedarapidresponsetothesendingofcontentfromtheuniversities.TheproactivityandreactivityoftheShanghaiteamalsocontributedtomaintainingthesupplyofcontenteitherbylookingforinformationonthepartneruniversitieswebsitesorbyposting

66Zhu,Y.AcasestudyofUKuniversitiesuseof#Weiboaccounts.ScholarlyCommunicationandOpenSpace,July3,

2013.http://yimeizhueresearch.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/acasestudyofukuniversitiesuseofweiboaccounts/

67Ibid.68Leung,S.WooingInternationalStudentswithouttheHelpofUSNews.InigralInsightsblog,March25,2013.

http://blog.inigral.com/wooinginternationalstudentswithoutthehelpofusnews/69FischerSchrieber,I.andLaperrouza,M.2013.SocialMediaandAcademicCommunication:BridgingSinoSwiss

AcademiathroughSocialMedia.swissnexChina.http://www.swissnexchina.org/foryou/1socialmediaandacademiccommunicationbridgingsinoswissacademiathroughsocialmedia.pdf

70Ibid.,p.11.



content from social media pages. 71 Overall, the participants offered the followingrecommendations toother institutions seeking toconnectwithpotentialapplicantsusingChinesesocialmedia:72

Ensurethatapushpullmechanismisinplacewhereasinstitutionspushoutcontentin regularand structuredwaywhileensuring that timelyandappropriate contentfeedstheindividualSinaWeiboaccounts.

Builda libraryofmaterialappealingtothetargetedChineseaudiences(e.g.dreamprojects,rankings,lifestyle).

Haveadedicatedperson/teamwithinmaintaintheSinaWeiboaccounts;appointasubstitute to the account manager to ensure continuity of service in case ofabsence;buildoncommonprocessestoconveymessagesviadedicatedchannels.

Ensure continuous learning regarding the developments of the social medialandscape,inparticularofthechosensocialmediachannel.

Setup abimonthly reportingmechanism to inform the institutionson the latestdevelopments regarding its Sina Weibo account; the report could either beconveyedinverbal(e.g.viaSkype/phone)orwrittenform.

Remainuptodateonthedevelopmentswithinthechosensocialmediaandmoreimportantly outside of the chosen media (e.g. understand the implications ofWeChat for the institutions communication strategy).WhereasTwitter,Facebook,or Google+ is relatively stable social media channels, the situation is very muchdifferent in China. Forecasting the usage levels and popularity of Chinese socialmediainthemediumtermisextremelyhard.

71Ibid.,pp.1718.72Ibid.,pp.1921.(Bulletsquotedverbatimorwithslightvariation)



SECTION II: PROFILES OF MARKET LEADERS In this section, we look at higher education institutions that are considered to be keyinternationalplayersintheuseofChinesesocialmedia.Weexaminethefollowingtypesofinformationforeachinstitution:

ThespecificChinesesocialmediaplatformsused(withlinkstopagesasavailable) Howtheplatformsareusedandbywhom Howsocialmediaisintegratedwithmarketingactivity Messagingsystemsused Informationondatacollectionandhowsuccessismeasured

UNIVERSITYOFALBERTA,CANADA

Platform(s):Youku,Renren Utilization of platform(s): The University created an International Office with a

director, assistant director and six recruiters. The Office used focus groups ofinternationalstudentsandalumnitoevaluatethewebsite.

Integrationofmarketingactivity:ThesocialmediasiteshelpanswerquestionsanddirecttraffictotheUniversityswebsite,whichprovidestranslatedmaterial.

Typeofmessaging:TheYoukusiteoffersvirtualtours inMandarin,andtranslatedbrochuresareavailablefordownloadontheUniversityswebsite.

Data collection: The University identified internationalization as a key priority in2006and setagoalof increasingenrollment to15percentof theundergraduatestudentbodyby2015.73

BROCKUNIVERSITY,CANADA

Platform(s):Renren,QQ,andSinaWeibo Utilization of platform(s): The International Market Development office hired

student representativeswhospeakMandarin to reachout topotentialapplicants.TheofficeswitchedtheRenrenpagefrompersonaltopublictoallowforvalidationandabroaderreach.

Integration of marketing activity: The representatives spend approximately twohourseachday informally chattingwithprospective studentsandanswering theirquestions. Most questions are related to courses, tuition, accommodations, andotherlogistics(e.g.,transportation).

73Taza,Op.cit.



Typeofmessaging:InformalchatinMandarin. Data collection: Success is measured by the number of QQ and Renren users

interestedintheUniversity.74FRESNOPACIFICUNIVERSITY,UNITEDSTATES

Platform(s):QQ Utilizationofplatform(s):TheadmissionsofficehiredaChinesestudentassistantto

field questions from Mandarinspeaking prospective students and admittedstudents.

Integrationofmarketingactivity:Connectingoneononewithprospectivestudents.Admissionsstaffmembers includecontact information forall threeplatforms (QQplusViberandSkype)intheiremailsignaturesandencourageprospectivestudentstocontactthem.

Typeofmessaging:VoiceandtextcommunicationwithMandarinspeakingstudentsinMandarin.

Datacollection:SuccessismeasuredbynumberofapplicantsfromChina(1in2011to10in2012).75

UNIVERSITYOFHUDDERSFIELD,UNITEDKINGDOM

Platform(s):SinaWeibo Utilizationofplatform(s):TheWeibosite isoperatedbyanalumnuswhoruns the

UniversitysChinaoffice.TheUniversityalsohasaninternationalmarketingteamintheUK.

Integration of marketing activity: The University provides the China office withinformationandpicturestobeturnedintocontentfortheWeibopage.

Type ofmessaging: TheWeibo page serves as a steady and constant stream ofinformationtokeepfollowersinterested.

Datacollection:Withover30,000 followers,UniversityofHuddersfield isregardedasoneofthemostsuccessfulUKuniversitiesatusingWeibo.76

74BrockusesChinasvastsocialmediatorecruitstudents.TheBrockNews,May19,2011.

http://www.brocku.ca/brocknews/?p=986475Leung,Op.cit.76Sharma,Op.cit.



UNIVERSITYOFKENTUCKY,UNITEDSTATES

Platform(s):RenrenandSinaWeibo Utilization ofplatform(s): Thepublic relationsdepartment created a socialmedia

managementpositionandhiredacurrentstudentwhoisfluentinChinese.

Integration of marketing activity: Material from the A&S website that may berelevantorinterestingtoChinesestudentsispostedonsocialmediapages.

Typeofmessaging:News itemsfromtheA&SwebsitearesummarizedandpostedinChinesewithalinktotheEnglishstory.

Data collection: Success ismeasured by the number of Chinese students (350 in2000to600in2010)andcommentsonsocialmediaposts.77

MEMORIALUNIVERSITY,CANADA

Platform(s):Renren,Mixi(socialmedianetworkinJapan),andNaver(searchportalandbloginSouthKorea)

Utilizationofplatform(s):TheSchoolofGraduateStudies(SGS)hiredthreegraduatestudents to targetpotential studentsusing the three socialmediaplatforms. Thestudentsprovideassistancewithnavigatingtheapplicationprocess.

Integration of marketing activity: The social media sites are used to advertiseMemorial University and provide free and accurate information about theapplicationprocesswithoutusinganagent.

Typeofmessaging:Directinteractioninprospectivestudentsnativelanguages. Datacollection:Successappearstobemeasuredbythenumberofapplicants.78

77Lukoff,K.Q&A:UniversityofKentuckyEnrollsinChineseSocialMedia.TechRice,December15,2011.

http://techrice.com/2011/12/15/qauniversityofkentuckyenrollsinchinesesocialmedia/78Cook,M.SGSenlistsforeignsocialmediasitestorecruitworldwide.MemorialUniversitynews,September8,

2011.http://today.mun.ca/news.php?news_id=6617



PROJECT EVALUATION FORM HanoverResearchiscommittedtoprovidingaworkproductthatmeetsorexceedspartnerexpectations.Inkeepingwiththatgoal,wewould liketohearyouropinionsregardingourreports.Feedbackiscriticallyimportantandservesasthestrongestmechanismbywhichwetailor our research to your organization.When you have had a chance to evaluate thisreport,pleasetakeamomenttofilloutthefollowingquestionnaire.http://www.hanoverresearch.com/evaluation/index.php

CAVEAT Thepublisherandauthorshaveusedtheirbesteffortsinpreparingthisbrief.Thepublisherand authors make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy orcompletenessofthecontentsofthisbriefandspecificallydisclaimanyimpliedwarrantiesoffitness for a particular purpose. There are no warranties which extend beyond thedescriptions contained in this paragraph. No warranty may be created or extended byrepresentatives of Hanover Research or its marketing materials. The accuracy andcompletenessof the informationprovidedhereinand theopinions statedhereinarenotguaranteedorwarranted toproduceanyparticular results,and theadviceand strategiescontained herein may not be suitable for every partner. Neither the publisher nor theauthorsshallbeliableforanylossofprofitoranyothercommercialdamages,includingbutnot limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Moreover, HanoverResearch is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services.Partnersrequiringsuchservicesareadvisedtoconsultanappropriateprofessional.



1750HStreetNW,2ndFloorWashington,DC20006

P202.756.2971F 866.808.6585www.hanoverresearch.com

Date post:	17-Nov-2015
Category:	Documents
Upload:	sen-wang
View:	6 times
Download:	1 times

Social Media and Web Marketing in China

Documents