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Geographically, China and Japan are a mere 750 miles apart, however when it comes to understanding one another through social media, they might as well be on different planets. China has lagged behind Japan in the digital media age as far as embracing the Internet and more specifically, social media. According to recent surveys, 77 percent of Japan’s population is online compared to 25.5 percent of China’s. This shows that there is a tremendous growth opportunity for businesses looking to enter the Chinese market.
The Japanese media and businesses have little clarity when it comes to understanding the Chinese business atmosphere as there is limited information available on the Internet. In fact, reporters from one of the leading marketing magazines in Japan, MarkeZine, claimed that they weren’t aware of any social media services available in China. This provided The Hoffman Agency an opportunity to work directly with the Japanese media to help educate them on what is happening with their neighbors across the Sea of Japan and what opportunities exist to open up the doors for new business relations.
Chris Tang, managing director of The Hoffman Agency Asia Pacific, hosted a session on April 9, 2010, with attendees from CNET, MarkeZine and other key influential bloggers. During this session, Tang provided insight on China’s current social media landscape, touching on what platforms are being used by the population, breaking it down by demographic. Tang also discussed uniquely Chinese Internet phenomena and issues from “human flesh search” to government censorship, reinforcing each point with case studies created by her team that works within the boundaries of China.
The feedback from the attendees was unanimously grateful as the session provided them with a much greater understanding of the Chinese Internet landscape, how to better work with the government and a tremendous amount of insight on how the Chinese live their online lives.
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