Chinese Social Media Impact Report

OKOMP Marketing • 17 April, 2015

China is probably the most social media obsessed nation in the world. On average, Chinese spend 78 minutes on social media everyday, while Americans spend 67 minutes. More than 50% of consumers rely on word of mouth, compared to only 40% in the US.

The function of Chinese social media is evolving very fast, from communication and social networking to online shopping and CRM. From a report by McKinsey, social media has increased the time Chinese consumers spend on online shopping by 38%. WeChat is becoming a direct marketing platform, but it is very different from other platforms. This is because WeChat is a closed, friend-based network, meaning that users have more privacy and initiative. Thus, word of mouth is more powerful.

Data source: McKinsey 2015

Social media has positive effects on Chinese users’ behaviour in terms of socialising with friends, sharing photos, listening to music, reading news, watching online videos and online shopping.

However, Chinese are making fewer phone calls and sending fewer texts, which is eroding profits for the telecom industry.