Social media network with Chinese characteristics

China has more than three hundred million people use social media, is active in social networking sites, microblogging and other online community platform. In addition, 40% of China's netizens online time for social media. With the improvement of smartphone penetration, using social networking toll is bound to increase. In 2010, more than 100 million mobile Internet users, at an annual rate of 30% is expected to grow.

China's social media coverage, not only the social Internet is still very active. Weibo upload times top five users, an average of more than 100 100 forwarding information, and twitter to more than 5000. Weibo Posting about 32312, 2012 Spring Festival than twitter's record was 25088, showing China's 300 million Internet users the incredible energy. About 76% of Chinese Internet users in addition to see stick, also actively Posting. Posting positive to 25% of Internet users in the United States. China's weibo story spread faster and more widely than the United States.

Prepare: to establish a social safety net

To establish a social safety net is the key, find and cultivate the network opinion leaders. Western consumers more trust peer recommendations, rather than the company's advertising, Chinese consumers, too, and more. Tainted milk scandal broke out in 2008, Chinese consumers for advertising highly suspicious. Social media seems to help reduce suspicion. After the wenzhou high-speed train crash in 2011, Chinese netizens have sent more than 1000 ten thousand small, criticism of porous safety standards and the ministry of railways opaque bureaucracy. Later the government will each compensation for the victims' families increased from 450000 yuan to 915000 yuan.

Most Chinese suspect information from formal channels, to attach importance to consumers on social media platforms. As consumers widespread suspicion, the brand needs to find can influence social network user opinion leaders on brand relationship. Negative news, these people often play a key role in protect or destroy a brand. Although China's use of social network users more than 300 million, really special influential opinion leaders are relatively few.

Opinion leaders are divided into three types: expert (specialist); The social type (network community managers or moderator); Grassroots type (a brand fan and have a large number of followers). If the cause of the crisis is misunderstanding over the product or brand, by the users trust expert opinion leaders can eliminate misunderstanding.

Before the crisis, the company needs to establish long-term relations with these opinion leaders, in order to establish the strong security network brand, in deepening usual positive brand emotion, help protect the brand in the crisis.

Network crisis spread quickly, must every minute counts. Early monitoring system must be established, be prepared. Also need to establish a set of guiding principles of crisis management, help you evaluate the crisis, and to ensure that your response will not worse.

Response: be careful to deal with social network crisis as early as possible

After the crisis, to seek the aid of opinion leaders in the first place. Expert opinion leaders can provide professional advice and help to find out the truth, to eliminate misunderstanding. Social opinion leaders to help coordinate highly emotional network are discussed. Type and grassroots opinion leaders can tell positive personal brand or product experience, and expressed willingness to continue to use the brand to protect the brand. During the crisis, it is necessary to actively communicate with these opinion leaders, and to provide useful information, accurate and true. Cautious action at the same time, because there might be an opinion leader is sensitive to this approach.

You need to know when and where to intervene. Social media platform is numerous, weibo users generally 80% to 90% of the amount of negative post. Therefore, the brand needs to focus on microblogging platform and react. You know, China's social media users usually in 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. quote, this is the key period to take action. For example, let the opinion leaders to support the posts of the brand. Finally, a quote is the most active time of 9 minutes after Posting. Each stick is short, the period of validity of the brand need to add new information in time for the communication.

Crisis occurs particularly complex situation. Many companies use "water army", release your company's positive news, and negative attack competitors, hopes more people will spread. Sometimes a company's negative reports, such as product pollution charges, cause competitors and its numerous weibo "water army". Social media crisis management, the company should be by tracing history, carefully and find out who really is consumer who is hired "water army", they tend to be active and very negative, ruthless. Don't ignore them, they can't be friendly to you. Focus is to explain to those consumers really sincerely, to respond to their negative comments.

Brand: keep communication, real communication, rebuild the brand value

In a calm, crisis management is not over. Brand recovery activities is to improve consumer information and rebuilding the key to brand trust. This needs to be monitored constantly cultivating opinion leaders, social networking activities to find signs of problems, and follow up customers.

In after the end of quality crisis, for example, a consumer brand main opinion leaders invited to visit the factory, face to face interview with the senior management team. The company open and transparent manner, these opinion leaders on weibo Posting, positive accurately evaluate the quality of the company's products, through the network transmission, has positive impact thousands of consumers.

Experienced company know, the crisis will burst sooner or later. According to the situation of China's social network, customized to recover from a crisis, crisis response preparation to project, can significantly enhance the brand crisis control, and provided a basis for long-term success.