Facebook may be looking to expand into China despite the government’s blocks against it, Mike Froggatt reasons in the top story from today’s SmartBrief on Social Media. It doesn’t defy credulity to think that the most popular Western social network would want to develop a presence in the world’s most populous country.
The question is, if Facebook enters China, how will social marketers react?
China has its share of its popular social networks already, and taking the Facebook experience to China could prove difficult because of the Chinese government’s censorship rules. Facebook may have a difficult time convincing Chinese users to abandon the networks they currently use for a sanitized version of an American import. And diving into business in China without stopping to understand the culture is a great way to step yourself up for failure.
At this stage, marketers may be better off taking a wait-and-see approach. Usually, the conventional wisdom is that early entrants to a social network are the ones who prosper. But I’m going to argue that devoting a lot of time and effort to a nascent Chinese Facebook would be the very definition of being late to the party. I think marketers looking to reach Chinese consumers would be better served meeting would-be customers on their own networks, instead of trying to lure them over to a familiar American standby.
Will Facebook be able to enter the Chinese market? Will Western social networks be able to compete with China’s social outlets? Which kind of network should marketers looking to connect with Chinese consumers invest their time in?
Image credit, Carsten Reisinger, via Shutterstock
PS: For more of thoughts on the intersection between China and social media, check out our coverage of this panel from SXSW.
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Thanks for including my post! I'd like to respond to one of your points…
Facebook has proven again and again that 'being late to the party' isn't a concern. Take Germany, Brazil and Russia as examples. All three had dominant, local social networks (in Germany and Russia, largely based off of the Facebook design and feature-set) yet Facebook was able to develop sizable market share in each. Even today in China, advanced netizens, including foreign nationals, are sidestepping the blocks to use international networks like Facebook and Twitter.
The larger issue at hand will be whether Facebook can overcome cultural barriers. The strong sense of national identity in China may prevent users from adopting the site in large masses, but even a small percentage of the nearly 400 million internet users in China is nothing to sneeze at.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by social_medio: Would a Chinese Facebook be a boon to marketers? http://bit.ly/d65qn0...
Mike — Thanks for weighing in. I think you've got a point about Facebook's ability to buck the odds over the long term. Do you think a Chinese Facebook would be a worthwhile investment for companies right off the bat, or would the better off concentrating on native social networks until it becomes clear whether or not Facebook is going to prosper in China? Is the potential worth splitting your efforts between several networks?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by SmartBrief on SocMed, Renee ? Lemley, Janette Speyer, Kathy Meyer, SEO, SEM, Social and others. SEO, SEM, Social said: Would a Chinese Facebook be a boon to marketers? – Facebook may be looking to expand into China despite the governm… http://ow.ly/17cFsf [...]
Let's remember this is all still hypothetical – but I would think it depends who the marketers are targeting. I think it is safe to assume that early adopters of Facebook in China could be considered tech savvy and potential 'influencers,' to use a popular social media term. If you're goal is specific targetting, that may be the way to go.
For broader audiences, marketers will follow the users to native social networks.
My recent post Hulu Says No to Booming UK Video Market
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