Establishing an Online Presence on Chinese Social Media: In the context of New Zealand Nutraceutical Companies

Abstract

There is considerable interest among practitioners from the New Zealand nutraceutical sector to move into the seemingly young and exciting social media arena in China. As different multinational companies have achieved greatly varying different levels of success, there is an obvious need for an effective social media strategy. Hence, the purpose of this study is to provide initial insights into the use of social media by New Zealand nutraceutical companies in the Chinese market, taking into consideration the unique social media environment and consumers. To conduct this research, a qualitative approach was adopted and data was collected through nine semi-structured interviews with experienced practitioners from the New Zealand nutraceutical sector and cross-border social media agencies who were known to be knowledgeable in the research area. The primary finding was complemented with secondary data in the form of journal articles, corporate releases and a small range of carefully selected websites that provided the theoretical and practical background to this research. The study identified a number of critical action-points in the different stages of a social media venture life-cycle, namely pre-entry, strategy execution & maintenance and outcome assessment. Brand content needs to be adapted so that the language and message are relevant to Chinese consumers. New Zealand nutraceutical companies must strike a careful balance between productrelated information and information that is of interest and relevance to Chinese consumers. In consideration of the cultural norms, New Zealand nutraceutical companies may benefit from encouraging word of mouth communication between customers, which is a source of information that is highly valued in the country. From a cross-cultural perspective, the approach to using social media in China by New Zealand companies should be objective-driven. Companies must clearly define the business goals for using social media in China, as different goals will entail different strategies to be designed and metrics to be employed. Given the current requirements for enterprise account registrations, outsourcing social media to an agency is a necessity. Lastly, the willingness to constantly monitor and adapt to market and consumers changes is seen as a necessary business mentality to succeed in the rapidly developing Chinese market.