According to a 2009 research by iResearch, China's top market research firm specializing in customer behavior in internet media, e-commerce and online games, 48.6% of SNS users in China use SNS to keep in touch with old friends, and 32.2% of them use SNS for entertainment, more specifically, playing casual/webpage/interactive games provided as SNS applications.
To be more specific, many college students and young white collar employees (two most important demographic groups of SNS population in China) kill time by selling SNS friends for virtual money, stealing each others' vegetables in the SNS farms (extreme cases involve people setting up spreadsheet for effective farm stealing!), 0r competing for virtual parking spot. They don't care to add a company/brand as friends; they don't pay attention to organizations on SNS; they just want to have fun with mostly people they know, which brings a question for organizations aiming to build relationships on SNS- do we still have a shot?
The answer is yes. Entertainment elements highlighted on Chinese SNS give a lot of potential to interactive marketing communication. Organizations may think in way: if it is hard to be invited to play a game and get entertained with SNS users who happen to be their key audience, it is easier to be part of the virtual game and help your audience realize the real value of the brands. Citroën China successfully penetrated into the popular SNS game of competing for parking spots. The player who earned the msot virtual money can win a real car. Players interact with the brand in this most played SNS game in osmosis. Though Citroen is not "friended", it has successfully got into many SNS social circles. This case tells us that creative and entertaining measures need to be sought to communicate with key publics on SNS in China... perhaps also elsewhere- what do you think?
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