2012 Survey Report on Content Marketing and New Media ... · on the current status of content marketing and application of new media by Chinese companies in China. This report delivers

2012 Survey Report on Content Marketing and New Media Adoption by Chinese Companies

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2012.11

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REPOETWe tell your story to the world

Table of Contents

Foreward………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

Explanation of the methodology and description of the questionnaire 3

Key Findings……………………………………………………………………………………. 4

I. Basic information……………………………………………………………………….. 6

II. Content Marketing……………………………………………………………………. 8

i. Channels and Options……………………………………………………………... 8

ii. Strategies and budget trends………………………………………………... 12

III. News release distribution………………………………………………………. 20

IV. Social media usage………………………………………………………………….. 26

Trends and Suggestions………………………………………………………………… 34

About PR Newswire……………………………………………………………………….. 35



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Foreward /Explanation of the methodology and description of the questionnaire

In 2012, with the maturing of new media such as Weibo, Chinese firms are increasingly diversifying

the channels through which they send their corporate messaging and other forms of content

marketing , while the forms of content marketing are becoming increasingly varied. New media has

penetrated every part of the communication change. In China’s unique new media communication

environment, marketing and PR departments as well as any department responsible for brand

communication are increasingly facing digital challenges, and their top concern is how to create

valuable content and communicate this content to their target audience effectively through various

communication channels and use the available tools so as to place the audience in the brand

environment that they have created.

PR Newswire carried out this survey with marketing , branding and communication personnel as well

as with C-suite executives of Chinese organizations on an invitation-only basis between August and

October 2012 and collected a total of 1, 387 valid questionnaires. This is the first and largest survey

on the current status of content marketing and application of new media by Chinese companies in

China. This report delivers data quantitative analysis and insight into content marketing channels,

frequency of tool use and allocation of budget by companies, all of which are of different sizes, work

under different business models and operate in different industries. The survey yielded a cornucopia

of valuable and interesting findings. It is intended to act as a reference for Chinese companies in

terms of content marketing and application of new media, enabling companies to develop effective

content marketing strategies on a more purposeful and targeted basis.

Foreward




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Explanation of the methodology and description of the questionnaire

This survey was 100% handled online. All respondents were invited through a combination

of EDM, Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) and e-mail. For this reason the data from the

report does not take into account companies who do not use online networks frequently.

This survey targets a specific population within companies: corporate branding, marketing

and communication personnel as well as top executives (C-suite /business owners) ,

however some of the data collected was deemed invalid and excluded, signifying that the

conclusions drawn does not fully cover all personnel responsible for branding.

The questionnaire is divided into 4 sections, comprising 29 single choice, multiple choice

and matrix choice questions. Respondents answered the questions based on the individual

situations within their companies. The survey is industry-specific, and the classification of

industries only provides a reference of proximity.

The report delivers data cross analysis and mining based on type, size, business model and

sector of the various companies in terms of the frequency of use, current status, strategies,

future development and allocation of budget for various content marketing channels by

companies surveyed, and the resulting conclusions only provide a reference of proximity.

This survey report is freely downloadable. No organization or individual may distribute or

otherwise use the report for commercial purposes. PR Newswire holds the right of final

interpretation of the report.

Foreward



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Key Findings

In the coming 12 months, the frequency of use of new media

tools for content marketing by companies, such as Weibo and

mobile marketing , as well as multimedia forms of communication

such as pictures and videos, is expected to increase significantly,

while the use of blogs is expected to witness a great drop.

Nearly 60 percent (57%) of companies surveyed allocate less than

CNY500, 000 of their budget to content marketing (excluding

advertising) , and nearly 80 percent (75%) allocate not more

than 50% of total corporate communication budget to content

marketing . In the next 12 months, the budget allocated by

companies to content marketing through channels such as

online media, Weibo and the mobile internet is expected to rise

significantly.

There are major differences in the extent of use of various

content marketing tools and channels by companies of different

types and sizes across different industries. As compared to their

overseas counterparts, Chinese companies attach the greatest

1

2

3

4

5

Over 90 percent (95%) of companies surveyed consider content marketing important or

critical, and believe that the greatest challenge they face is content production and ROI.

Forty percent of top executives (C-suite /business owners) do manage or participate in

brand-related content marketing activities.

Nearly 90 percent (88%) of companies surveyed use news releases as the most common

tool for content marketing . Thirty-four percent of companies use news release

distribution services provided by PR agencies /newswires. The majority of news releases

issued by companies involve a new product launch (76%) or a promotional /marketing

campaign (59%) .

importance to new media channels such as Weibo, communities /forums, encyclopedias

and videos, but significantly less importance to SNS social sites.

Key Findings

Nearly 60 percent of

companies surveyed

allocate less than

CNY500, 000 of

their budget to

content marketing

57%

Over 90 percent

of companies

surveyed consider

content marketing

important or

critical

95%



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Eighty-five percent of companies surveyed have set up a homepage on social media

sites or corporate Weibo account. The number of followers grew from last year but not

significantly. Companies are learning to be more realistic in terms of objectives and

expectations of communication through new media.

Companies are paying more attention to customer service and to the interactive features

of recognized social media. In the past 12 months, 60% of companies said they had at

least once adjusted or changed their products, services or market strategies as a result of

comments or feedback from their followers on social media sites, up 10% from last year.

Over 60 percent (61%) of companies surveyed have not yet used third-party media

monitoring services. Comprehensive media and public opinion monitoring (27%)

covering social media and Weibo as well as digital mining services (33%) offering in-depth

industry-wide analysis of competitive intelligence are more favored by companies.

7

8

6

Key Findings



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Information collected from each respondent: Occupational identity, type of business, size, business model, type of industry

I. Basic information

1

2

Of all respondents, marketing practitioners account for nearly half (48%) , branding communication

practitioners represent 39%, and respondents in positions at or above marketing communication

manager or director level account for more than 60% (63%) . Among them, 8% of the respondents

were top executives.

As for type of organizations surveyed, 664 private companies account for half (48%) of the

respondents, foreign-funded companies (including joint ventures) account for 38%, SOEs account

for 10%, while NGOs and not-for-profits (NPOs) account for 1%.

I. Basic Information

What is your position?

18%

30%14%

8%5%

25%

Market /Marketing Heads /Specialists

Market /Marketing Managers /Directors

PR /Branding Heads /Specialists

PR /Branding managers /Directors

Top Executives

Others

What type of organization?

38%

10%

48%

Foreign-Funded Companies (Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprises /Joint Ventures)

SOEs

Private Companies

NGOs /NPOs 1% Others 3%



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In what industry does your company operate?

18%

15%

12%

9%

6%

3%

0%

Touris

m /H

otel /

Aviation

Autom

otive /L

ogistics

/

Transp

ortatio

n

Compute

r /Softw

are and

Hardware

/Com

munica

tions

Inte

rnet

E-Com

merce

Energy /C

hemica

ls /

Environm

ental

Finance

/Inve

stm

ent /

Securit

ies

Retail /

Garments

/FM

CG

Food /B

evera

ge

Adverti

sing /M

edia /PR

Real Est

ate /B

uildin

g

Mate

rials

/Furn

iture

Pharmace

utical /

Health

Educatio

n /HR

Manufa

cturin

g

Trade Show

/Exhib

ition

Other

Trade fa

irs

6%

4%

11%

13%

5% 5% 5% 5%

1% 1%

16%

3%

5%6% 6%

2%

6%

3

4

B2B companies account for nearly half of the companies

surveyed. The survey doesn’t differentiate beyond the

definitions B2B and B2C and doesn’t take into account or define

other or more complex business models. Companies surveyed

with other business models totaled 248 and account for 18%.

As for the industry breakdown, the IT sector including

internet, computer, software, hardware, communications, and

e-commerce has the highest percentage at 29%, followed by

the advertising, media and PR (16%) , while tourism /hotel /

aviation, automotive, education, finance, fast moving consumer

goods, traditional B2B manufacturing, energy /chemicals and

pharmaceuticals, each respectively exceed 5%.

5 Of all companies surveyed, SMBs account for 70%, while large and very large companies

account for 30%. Many of them are foreign-funded companies as well as medium-and large-

sized SOEs. Of private companies, SMBs surveyed account for over 80%.

I. Basic Information

What is the business model of your organization?

B2B45%

Other18%

B2C37%

What is the size of your company?

31%

39%

17%13%

Small Companies (≤ 100 People)

Medium-Sized Companies (101-999 People)

Large Companies (1, 000-4, 999 People)

Ultra-Large Companies (≥ 5, 000 People)



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News releases (88%) are still the most common form of content marketing overall. While, for

Chinese companies, use of Weibo, websites (features /mini-sites) , photos and EDM follows

close behind, however, there are major differences in the extent of use of various content

marketing tools and channels by companies of different types and sizes across different

industries.

Channels, Budgets, Strategies, Trends, Challenges

II. Content Marketing

News releases are still the top choice for many traditional sectors.

B2B firms from healthcare, finance, energy /chemical /environment

and manufacturing sectors have the highest extent of use of news

releases, with 90% saying they use them.

Private companies are far more active in using Web 2.0 tools such

as video sites, Weibo, blogs /forums and wikis /Q&As than foreign-

funded companies and SOEs.

The larger the company is, the higher the extent of its use of various

content marketing channels and tools. On average, 91% of large

companies surveyed have issued news releases, and more than 60%

of large companies have used photos and videos.

In the coming year, Weibo (79%) will continue to be the hottest

option for companies in terms of additional investments in

communication channels, followed by websites (features /

mini-sites) (50%) and multimedia (45%) , while the focus on blogs

(including corporate blogs) (26%) is expected to be significantly less.

i. Channels and Options

Today, new media has had

a revolutionary impact on

marketing . Companies

need to acquire new

knowledge and gain new

experience in order to

execute its marketing plans.

After the wave of new

media subsides, we will find

that marketing does not

change, but what will have

changed will be ourselves.

Prof. Zhao Zizhong

Dean of New Media Institute at Communication University of China

Doctoral supervisor




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Marketing professionalsCommunications

professionalsTop executives

TTM

Percentage of respondents

saying it is their most frequently

used method

Percentage of respondentswho

consider it to deliver the most effective return



used method

Percentage of respondents who




used method

Percentage of respondents who


News releases 85% 64% 93% 78% 79% 67%

Weibo 74% 49% 85% 65% 81% 63%

Websites (features /mini-sites)

60% 41% 68% 44% 52% 26%

Photos /infographics 50% 24% 58% 31% 42% 20%

EDM 53% 40% 46% 34% 37% 22%

Communities /forums 45% 20% 46% 25% 45% 20%

Videos 32% 16% 41% 23% 26% 9%

SNS sites 33% 13% 34% 18% 35% 13%

Wikis /Q&As 29% 11% 33% 16% 26% 13%

Mobile marketing 30% 19% 29% 17% 26% 11%

Blogs 32% 14% 25% 9% 29% 11%

White papers /reports 21% 13% 28% 17% 25% 16%

Total /percentage 655 people /48% 543 people /40% 98 people /7%


Which content marketing tools (forms) were frequently used by your company in the past 12 months? (Multiple-choice)

Most Frequently used Considered Most Effective

News Releases Videos

SNS Social Sites

Mobile Marketing

Blogs

White Papers /Reports

Wikis /Q&As

88%70%

35%18%

33%15%

30%13%

29%17%

28%11%

26%15%

78%57%

62%40%

52%26%

49%36%

45%22%

Weibo

Websites (Features /Mini-sites)

Photos /Infographics

EDM

Community /Forum Marketing



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As compared to marketing professionals, communication

professionals use content marketing tools such as news releases,

photos, videos and Weibo to a greater extent, as they believe

these deliver the best ROI. Just under less than half (49%) of

marketing professionals surveyed consider Weibo to be an effective

communications tool; by contrast, more than 65% of communication

professionals find Weibo to be effective.

B2B firms from the healthcare, finance, energy /chemical /

environment and manufacturing sectors have the highest extent of

use of news releases, with more than 90% of the companies in each

of these sectors using them. By contrast, only 69.5% of e-commerce

businesses issue news releases. Meanwhile, as compared with

B2B companies, B2C firms use social media such as Weibo, mobile

marketing , blogs and SNS social sites much more frequently.

Foreign-funded companies and non-profits /NGOs have the

highest frequency of use of news releases, with 93% and 91% of

these two groups, respectively, saying these use them, nearly 10

percentage points higher than private companies (83%) . However,

privately-held companies are far more active in using Web 2.0 social media tools such as

Weibo, video sites, blogs /forums and wikis /Q&As than foreign-funded companies and SOEs.

Foreign-funded companies have the greatest extent of use of such tools as photos and white

papers. 31% of foreign-funded companies frequently use white papers /reports for content

marketing , while just 18% of private companies and 23% of SOEs use white papers. B2B firms

have the highest extent of use of white papers with 33% responding positively, while only 13%

of B2C companies publish them.

The larger a company is, the higher the extent of its use of various content marketing channels

and tools. On average, 91% of large companies surveyed have issued news releases, and more

than 60% of large companies have used photos and videos, while SMBs (51.5%) are more

active in using relatively low-cost EDM, 10 percentage points higher than large companies

(40.5%) .

1

2

3

4

1. The above data do not take into account respondents (about 5%) who hold positions within the company other than the three listed above, with the majority holding positions associated with corporate communication, such as planners, product managers and assistants to top executives.

2. The highlights in yellow and green indicate figures significantly higher than the average and those significantly lower than the average, respectively.

ÀÀ Notes:

Every type of media has

its value. Theoretically,

its pricing is certainly in

line with its value. The

most valuable content can

maximize its value only

when it is distributed via the

most effective media.

Shen Yin Founder of NTA Innovative

Communication Institution

Former Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur magazine

5




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B2B B2C

Percentage of respondents saying it is their most

frequently used method

Percentage of respondents who consider it to deliver the most effective return

Percentage of respondents saying it is their most

frequently used method

Percentage of respondents who consider it to deliver the most effective return

News Releases 91% 73% 83% 63%

White Papers /Reports 33% 23% 13% 7%

Photos /Infographics 48% 25% 53% 26%

Video Marketing 35% 15% 32% 19%

EDM 53% 42% 47% 34%

Websites (Features /Mini-sites) 62% 38% 60% 42%

Mobile Marketing 22% 13% 31% 19%

Wikis /Q&As 25% 12% 33% 15%

Blog Marketing 26% 9% 30% 12%

Community /Forum Marketing 38% 17% 51% 27%

Weibo Marketing 72% 45% 82% 63%

SNS Site Marketing 23% 10% 43% 18%

In the coming 12 months, the frequency of use of new media tools

for content marketing , such as Weibo and mobile marketing , as

well as multimedia forms of communication such as photos and

videos, is expected to increase significantly, while the use of blogs

is expected to witness a significant drop, impacted by social media

tools such as Weibo.

When asked “what about increase or decrease in the use of various

content marketing tools by your companies in the coming 12

months”, 73% of respondents said they plan to increase the use

of Weibo, while 50% said they will increase the use of websites

(features /mini-sites) . In addition, over 45% of respondents

said they will increase the use of multimedia, such as photos,

infographics and videos, as well as mobile marketing .

6

1. The above data do not take into account 248 companies surveyed that do not fall into the category of either a B2B or a B2C and these accounted for 18%.

2. The highlights in yellow and green indicate figures significantly higher than the average and those significantly lower than the average, respectively.

ÀÀ Notes:

The key is how to seize the

interest and meet the needs

of your audience through

content as well as having on

hand content maintenance

personnel who are good

at guiding topics. Mobile

marketing should be the

future, and can serve as the

way to build a direct, effective

communication channel

between companies and

consumers.

Han Jianguang

Marketing Director of Crystal Education




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Will the frequency of use of the following content marketing tools (forms) by your company change in the coming 12 months?

Increase Unchanged Decrease Not used

Weibo Marketing

Websites (Features /Mini-sites)

Photos /Infographics

Video Marketing

Mobile Marketing

Communities /Forums

News Releases

SNS Sites

EDM

Wikis /Q&As

Blog Marketing

White Papers /Reports

0 % 20 % 40% 60% 80 % 100%

73% 18% 2% 7%

50% 36% 4% 10%

46% 37% 5% 12%

46% 28% 5% 21%

45% 27% 3% 25%

43% 33% 7% 17%

42% 47% 8% 3%

40% 30% 5% 25%

39% 31% 7% 23%

30% 39% 5% 26%

26% 37% 10% 27%

18% 34% 10% 38%

It should be noted that only 26% of Chinese companies surveyed said they will increase the use

of blogs in the coming 12 months, and those citing blogs as their most frequently used method

is just 28%. Impacted by other social media such as Weibo, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, the

use of blogs by companies is decreasing year by year. According to the INC. 500 survey (fastest

growing top 500 companies in the US) on the usage of social media conducted by the Center

for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts, only 37% of companies surveyed

had a corporate blog in 2011, compared with 50% one year earlier.

(Link to the report from the University of Massachusetts)

On the whole, companies are actively communicating positive messages, which is still the

most dominant communication theme. Content has become the absolute focus of corporate

communication in terms of both importance attached (over 95% consider it important) and

involvement (over 40% of top executives participate) , though companies of different types

place different emphasis on the types of content they communicate.

ii. Strategies and budget trends


http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/socialmedia/2012inc500socialmediaupdate/



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The primary objective of content marketing by companies remains to enhance media

exposure and brand visibility;

Nearly 60 percent (57%) of companies surveyed allocate less than CNY500, 000 of

their budget to content marketing (excluding advertising) , and nearly 80 percent

(75%) allocate less than 50% of their total corporate communication budget to

content marketing .

The budget allocated by companies to content marketing (excluding advertising)

such as online media, Weibo and mobile internet is expected to rise significantly.

B2C firms show the strongest willingness to invest in new media channels, such

as Weibo and mobile internet, while at the same time are quite forthright in their

plans to cut the budget allocated to traditional media such as broadcasting and print

media.

Over 60 percent of companies surveyed said the biggest challenge they are facing

now is “how to produce different kinds of content that is rich enough to appeal to

customers /consumers” and “measuring the ROI generated from content marketing

in terms of branding and sales”.

1 The primary objective of content marketing remains to enhance media exposure and brand

visibility, with 91% of companies surveyed agreeing to this statement. B2C firms, especially

those from industries such as tourism /hotel /aviation, e-commerce, FMCG /retail, and

education, have more expectations in terms of enhancing customer loyalty, driving sales

and improving site traffic.

What is the primary objective of content marketing by your company? (Multiple-choice)

Enhance Media Exposure /Brand Visibility

Secure New Customers /Consumers

Enhance the Loyalty of Consumers /Customers

Directly Drive Sales

Improve Site Traffic /Ranking

As a Tool for SEO

Attract Investors

91%

73%

58%

47%

35%

31%

19%




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From the perspective of market and brand competition, over 90

percent (95%) of companies surveyed consider content marketing

important or critical. Forty percent of top executives (C-suite /

business owners) do manage or participate in brand-related

content marketing activities. Brand communication departments,

including marketing and PR, play a leading role in the management

and implementation of corporate content marketing .

2

From the perspective of market and brand competition, how important is corporate content marketing /marketing for your company?

49%Very ImportantImportant

Not Important 3% Not Important at all 2%

46%

The whole company, from CEO

to the marketing department,

attaches great importance

to content marketing , as it

will directly impact the brand

status and the image of our

company among investors.

We currently issue many news

releases. Our target in the

near future is to issue at least

15 news releases per month.

Li Ting

PR & Communication Manager

Ambow Education

Who is responsible for managing and participating in brand-related content marketing activities within your company? (Multiple-choice)

Corporate Marketing Department

Top Executives (CEO /C-suite /Business owners)

Brand Communication Department

Corporate Communications Department

Sales Department

Third-party Organizations (Agencies /Consulting firms) 13%

71%

40%

36%

34%

15%




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Nearly 60 percent (57%) of companies surveyed allocate less than CNY500, 000 of their budget

to content marketing (excluding advertising) , while nearly 80 percent (75%) allocate not more

than 50% of their total corporate communication budget to content marketing . There are

major differences in the amount of budget allocated to content marketing by companies of

different types across different industries.

3

What was the percentage of total corporate market and brand communication budget allocated by your company to content marketing /marketing (excluding advertising) in the past months?

0 % 5% 10% 15% 20 % 25% 30%

100%

75%-99%

50%-74%

25%-49%

10%-24%

5%-9%

1%-4%

2%

7%

16%

23%

27%

15%

10%

What was the total spend by your company in content marketing /marketing (excluding advertising) through all of the above channels in the past 12 months?

28%

19% 15%

9%

29%

CNY100, 000-CNY500, 000

CNY500, 000-CNY1, 000, 000

CNY1, 000, 000-CNY5, 000, 000

≥CNY5, 000, 000≤ CNY100, 000




REPOET

Nearly 60 percent (57%) of companies surveyed allocated less

than CNY500, 000 of their budget to content marketing (excluding

advertising) , and nearly 80 percent (75%) allocated less than 50%

of total corporate communication budget to content marketing

. The automobile, e-commerce, finance, education and real estate

sectors saw the highest percentage of companies, with percentages

approaching or exceeding 40%, allocating a budget exceeding CNY1

million to content marketing . Among them, 31% of automobile

makers allocated a budget of CNY5 million or more. Companies from

the tourism /hotel /aviation sector attach the greatest importance to

content marketing but allocate it a relatively lower amount of budget.

Seventy-one percent of companies from the tourism /hotel /aviation

sector spend less than CNY500, 000 budget in content marketing

(excluding advertising) .

ÀÀ A 2013 study from CMI (content marketing Institute) , a well-known content marketing research organization, shows that companies in North America plan to allocate 33% of their budget to content marketing , compared with 26% in 2012. Furthermore, the majority (54%) of marketers expect that investment in content marketing to grow in the coming year.

In the next 12 months, the budget allocated by companies to content marketing (excluding

advertising) such as online media, Weibo and mobile internet is expected to rise significantly.

B2C firms show the strongest willingness to invest in new media channels, such as Weibo and

mobile internet, while at the same time are quite forthright in their plans to cut the budget for

traditional media such as broadcasting and print media. B2B companies pay more attention

to traditional content marketing channels and forms and exhibit significantly less willingness

to invest in new media such as Weibo than the average.

4

Don’t mistake new media or

social media as something

cheap. Significant results

require a large amount of

investment. KPIs should

be tailor-made for every

company, as KPIs for others

may be not be fit for you.

Amy Chen Director, Interactive

Marketing, Coca-Cola China

ÀÀ Though budget for content marketing remains small, most US companies surveyed agree that content marketing is the key to building an emotional connection with their customers, and three fourths of companies believe that their brand will increasingly look like a content provider.

Increase or decrease in budget allocated to corporate content marketing by companies of different types and sizes and with different business models in the coming 12 months

Just under 60 percent (59%) of foreign-funded companies said that they will increase

budget for blog communication in the next 12 months, significantly lower than

the average. As for all content marketing channels, the percentage of foreign-

funded companies saying they will increase budget is lower than the average. The

percentage is highest for companies that said their budget will remain unchanged.




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In terms of local businesses, the percentage of SOEs saying they will

increase budget for traditional media is higher than the average.

Private companies attach more importance to online media, 23%

of whom said they will significantly increase budget for Weibo,

while the highest percentage (31%) say they will cut budget for

traditional media.

NGPs /NPOs maintain the most enthusiasm for investment in

social media such as Weibo and SNS. Up to 90% of them said they

will increase their budget for Weibo, with nearly 50% saying they

will increase budget for SNS social sites, and less than 10% saying

they will increase budget for traditional media.

When differentiating by business models, less than 60 percent

(57%) of B2B companies said they will increase their budget for

Weibo, while 40% said they will increase budget for EDM.

We do focus on the quality

of interaction with our

followers, rather than the

number of followers. We

intend to integrate more

offline content online in

the coming 1-2 years, as we

believe this will be the major

marketing trend.

Lance Tao Director of Marketing

Communication, Canada Wood

Budget allocated to all new media channels by B2C companies is higher than the

average. Seventy-three percent of them said they will increase budget for Weibo,

and 56% said they will increase budget for mobile internet, while nearly one fourth

said they will cut budget for traditional media.

Nearly 30% of SMBs said they will significantly increase budget for Weibo, while

nearly 30% of large companies said that they will enhance budget for traditional

media, 10 percentage points higher than the average. Furthermore, the percentage

of large companies saying they will significantly increase budget for mobile internet

and Weibo is relatively high.

By sector

Up to 79% of companies from the tourism /hotel /aviation sector said they will

increase budget for Weibo, with the highest percentage (38%) of them saying they

will cut budget on traditional media.

IT companies such as those in the internet and e-commerce sectors allocate

significantly more budget to content marketing through Weibo and internet than

those from other sectors, with the percentage exceeding 70%, respectively. IT

companies allocate up to 72% of their budget to mobile internet, followed by Weibo.




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What change is expected in budget allocated to content marketing channels (excluding advertising) by your company in the coming 12 months?

Increase Unchanged Decrease Not used

Online Media

Weibo

Mobile Internet

Search Engines

SNS Social Sites

EDM

Video Sites

Blogs /Forums

Traditional Media

0 % 20 % 40% 60% 80 % 100%

71% 27% 1% 1%

69% 24% 1% 6%

48% 33% 2% 17%

46% 38% 4% 12%

37% 38% 4% 21%

35% 40% 5% 20%

34% 41% 6% 19%

33% 44% 7% 16%

20% 49% 24% 7%

Among them, e-commerce companies exhibit a stronger willingness to investing in

Weibo, mobile internet and search engines. Up to 62% of e-commerce companies

said they will increase budget for SNS sites.

On the B2B side such as firms in the energy /chemical /environment sector, only

37% of companies said they will increase budget for Weibo, while 30% said they will

increase budget for traditional media, 10 percentage points higher than the average.

Seventy-six percent of FMCG and retail businesses said they will increase budget

for Weibo, while 46% said they will do the same for SNS sites, and 47% for mobile

internet.

Eighty-two percent of advertising /media /PR firms say they will increase budget for

Weibo, the highest of any sector, while over 30 percent (31%) of them said they will

cut their budget for traditional media, and more than 40 percent (42%) said they will

increase budget for SNS sites.




REPOET

The greatest challenge facing companies in terms of content

marketing is content production and ROI. Over 60 percent of

companies surveyed said the biggest challenge now is “how to

produce different kinds of content that is rich enough to appeal to

customers /consumers” and “measuring the ROI generated from

content marketing in terms of branding and sales”.

Compared with the issue of how to produce content, companies

from the tourism /hotel /aviation, finance, e-commerce, FMCG,

and pharmaceutical sectors, put more focus on the ROI they will

generate from content marketing , 10 percentage points higher

than those from other sectors. Companies from the tourism /

hotel /aviation sector are more concerned about content marketing

expenditures. Fifty-seven percent of them said the biggest

challenge they face are the various content marketing expenditures,

almost double the average (31%) .

ÀÀ According to a 2013 study from the content marketing agency CMI, 64% of US companies feel that “producing sufficient content” is the biggest challenge for content marketing now, while the biggest challenge cited in the previous year’s study was “how to produce content for effective interaction”.

5content marketing has now

become the primary focus of

the marketing department.

The greatest gain from

news release distribution

is its ability to help SEO,

enhancing the ranking

on search engines for the

keywords on a company

website through the

republication of the news

on websites.

Aaron Shen

eMarketing Supervisor at Stanley Black & Decker China

What is the biggest challenge for your company in terms of content marketing /marketing now? (Multiple-choice)

67%

60%

45%

36%

31%

How to produce different kinds of content that is rich enough to appeal to customers /consumers

Measuring return generated from content marketing in terms of branding and sales (brand /sales transformation)

Lack of sufficient content marketing knowledge, skills, creative ideas and talent

Selection of content marketing /marketing channels

Various marketing expenditures required for content production (copyrights /campaigns /production budget)




REPOET

According to Factiva, the global news and business information database owned by Dow

Jones, the number of corporate news releases is expected to reach more than 3 million in

2012, hitting an all-time high. Given the convergence of PR and marketing , news releases are

no longer a simple PR tool but are gradually becoming the core of content marketing . More

than ever before, the media and the reading public access corporate and institutional news

releases via the internet and search engines.

Frequency, content type, distribution methods, usage of multimedia such as photo /video

III. News release distribution

The internet allows companies to spread their message directly

to consumers and the public. News releases, official websites

and blogs are the most trusted sources for the media to acquire

information about companies. The downsizing of traditional

editorial teams has forced them to rely more on third-party news

sources. Bloggers and Weibo owners also gain information directly

from companies and then pass the information on to their readers.

News releases are the most important source of media coverage.

In new media, valuable content (the telling of stories) has become

the core of marketing . Compared to online advertising and sponsor

links on search engines, consumers prefer to put their trust in

brand-related articles on websites. Official sources are more

reliable and trackable.

According to a report published by international PR firm Text 100

in 2012, 72% of journalists use news releases to find out the latest

corporate news, while 71% visit company websites. Meanwhile,

according to the 2011 Survey Report on Application of New Media

What is more common than

ever is that news releases

issued by companies and

organizations will soon be

copied and pasted by editors

on many media platforms

and websites without any

further fact checking being

undertaken.

Pew Research Center

How News Happens study

by Chinese Journalists released by PR Newswire, the more than 2, 500 Chinese front-line

journalists interviewed said that news release emails from companies, PR firms and newswires

are still one of the most important channels through which they receive corporate news and

information in their daily work, and are second only to search engines in usage.




REPOET

State-owned and privately-held companies have higher awareness of news release

distribution, as nearly 40 percent of them distribute more than 40 news releases per year.

By contrast, nearly 60 percent (58%) of foreign-invested companies distribute 6 to 40 news

releases per year. Thade show /exhibition, automobile, education and IT sectors distribute the

most news releases.

The majority of news releases issued by companies involve a new

product launch (76%) or a promotional or marketing campaign

(59%) . B2C companies are more active in issuing news releases

involving a new product launch /promotional campaign, corporate

social responsibility (CSR) or crisis management than B2B firms.

NGOs and foreign-funded companies have the highest percentage

of news releases involving CSR. Sixteen percent of foreign-funded

companies issue news releases involving crisis management,

compared with privately-held companies (10%) and state-owned

enterprises (5%) .

1

2

How many news releases has your company distributed in the past 12 months? (Single Choice)

15%

33%19%

33%

≤5篇

6-20

21-40

≥41

Firms need to balance the

‘quantity’ of the news releases

issued with the need to

ensure the ‘quality’. Every

news release may have a

positive or negative impact on

their brands, so they need to

strictly follow the established

principle of developing a

plan about what, when and

how to communicate their

information before issuing

their news releases.

He Kun

Vice President of Market Communications at Deutsche

Bank China

Seventy-one percent of B2C companies issue news releases

involving a promotional /marketing campaign, much higher

than B2B companies (47%) ;

More than 4 percent (42%) of B2B companies issue news

releases involving research findings, compared with B2C

companies (18%) ;

Findings based on the business models of companies surveyed:




REPOET

Over the past 12 months, what is the most common content type of news releases issued by your company? (Multiple-choice)

New Poduct Launch /Release

Promotional /Marketing Campaign

Interview

Research Findings

Changes in Corporate Business (JV /Transaction, etc)

CSR

Crisis Management

Financial Report

Personnel Changes

Legal Dispute /Litigation

76%

59%

45%

29%

27%

26%

12%

11%

5%

1%

B2B B2C

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

New Pro

duct La

unch /

Release

Prom

otional /

Mark

eting C

ampaig

n

Inte

rview

Research

Findin

gs

Changes in C

orpora

te

Business

(Partn

ership

s /

Transa

ctio

ns, etc

) CSR

Crisis

Managem

ent

Personnel C

hanges

Financia

l Report

Legal d

ispute

/Liti

gation

27% 27%

17%

25%

13%

6%

3%5%

11%

8%

2% 2%4%

3%

8%

15%16%

9%

1% 1%

Thirty-three percent of B2B companies issue news releases involving changes in

corporate business such as a partnership or a major transaction, compared with B2C

companies (21%) ;

B2C companies (26%) are more active in issuing news releases involving CSR,

compared with B2B companies (22%) .




REPOET

Trade show organizers are the most active users of news releases involving a

promotional or marketing campaign, followed by typical B2C companies, including

e-commerce, tourism /hotel /aviation, FMCG and retail businesses;

Companies from the IT technology sector, including computer, hardware /software

and Internet, as well as automotive companies, have the highest extent of use of

news releases involving a new product launch /release.

Firms in the educational sector have the highest extent of use of

news releases involving an interview;

Companies engaged in energy /chemical /environment, education,

tourism and hotel sectors as well as NGOs have the highest extent

of use of news releases involving CSR;

Financial businesses are the most active users of news release

involving changes in corporate business, formation of partnerships

and major transactions;

E-commence, Internet, FMCG as well as food and beverage firms are

the most active users of news releases involving crisis management;

Energy /chemical, medical /pharmaceutical and real estate

companies have the highest extent of use of news releases

concerning the results of research;

The power of mass media is

fading in an era of information

fragmentation with the

emergence of social media.

PR is being integrated into

marketing , making valuable

content (storytelling) become

the core of a marketing

campaign.

Yujie Chen

Managing Director of PR Newswire China

Findings based on the business models of companies surveyed:

Thirty-four percent of companies use news release distribution services provided by PR

agencies and newswires. IT technology, education, finance and healthcare firms are more

likely to use third-party distribution services. The amount of budget allocated by companies

to content marketing has a direct impact on the way companies issue news releases.

3

What is the most common way your organization to issue news releases?

38%

10%

34%

14%

52%Directly Send to Media

Use News Release Distribution Services Provided by PR Agencies and Newswires

Only Publish on Own Corporate Website




REPOET

What is the most common method used by your organization to public news releases? (single choice questions)

Send Directly to Media Go Through a PR Agency /Newswire Only Public on Own Website

Private companies SOEs NGO /NPO

70%

20%

10%52%35%

13%

54%29%

17%10%

50%40%

Foreign-funded Companies

Seventy percent of companies said that they shoot and produce videos for PR /marketing

activities. Foreign-funded companies as well as companies in the education, fast moving

consumer goods and advertising sectors are particularly aggressive in their use of videos, with

80% of these firms doing so. Meanwhile, over 90% of companies agree that the inclusion of

customized components including pictures and videos in news releases enhances the readership.

4

Eighty percent of tourism /aviation /hotel companies choose to directly send their news

releases to the media, while only 11% use PR agencies. Less than 30% of firms in the Internet

and education sectors use third-party distribution services. Companies in the computer,

E-commerce, automotive, fast moving consumer goods, finance and pharmaceuticals sectors

more frequently use news release distribution services provided by PR agencies and newswires,

with the percentage for each one of these sectors being near or above 40%. B2B companies

in trade, import and export (25%) and energy /chemicals (23%) sectors choose to only publish

their news releases on their own corporate websites.

What is your opinion concerning the level of enhancement in readership when

customized visual components (videos /images /documents) are added to news releases?

Somewhat Enhances

Greatly Enhances

Not Sure Does Not Enhance

56%

1%

36%7%




REPOET

Is your company shooting and /or producing videos as part of PR or marketing activities?

51%

7%

23%19%

Never Considers

Is Considering Doing So

Sometimes Does

Is Doing

The survey shows that foreign-funded companies use videos most

frequently, 75% of which actively or often shoot or produce videos for

PR or marketing activities. As for the industry breakdown, companies in

the education, retail /fast moving consumer goods, advertising sectors

as well as computer and internet firms use videos most frequently.

Nearly 40% of tourism /hotel /aviation companies said that they are

considering using videos, but currently they use videos the least.

ÀÀ According to PR Newswire’s 2012 tracking analysis of nearly 10, 000 news releases issued by companies, adding multimedia such as images and videos is shown to increase news release views by a factor of 9.7. Meanwhile, using multimedia enhances the optimization of content for search engines.

Companies need to

keep up with the latest

communication tools. Use

of new media platforms to

make external communication

more transparent, while

adding depth and color to

the corporate image and

improving the company’s

interaction with the general

public, is an effective way

raise corporate visibility.

Zhu Jianwei

senior communication manager of public affairs of Unilever




REPOET

Level of adoption, size of audience, goals, strategies and trends

IV. Social media usage

By industry, internet and e-commerce companies had the highest

level of adoption of social media, with 97% having established SNS

homepages and /or official microblogs. Other industries with more

than 90% of the respondents having established SNS homepages /

official microblogs included education (95%) , tourism /hotel /aviation

(93%) , advertising, media and public relations (92%) , as well as retail /

garments /FMCG (91%) . However, B2B firms in the energy, chemical

and pharmaceutical sectors reported a percentage of less than 60%,

25 percentage points lower than the average.

According to PR Newswire’s 2011 Survey Report, last year 40% of Chinese companies each had

more than 10, 000 followers to their social media outlets, while this year the percentage improved

slightly to 47%.

ÀÀ According to the PR Newswire 2011 Survey Report on Application of New Media

by Chinese Companies, last year 77% of Chinese companies had created official corporate microblogs, and 24% had established SNS homepages.

1

Has your company set up a

homepage or an official microblog

on social media sites?

15%

85% YES

NO

Number of followers to your company’s presence on Chinese social media sites (including microblogs) :

≤1, 000 1, 000-10, 000 10, 000–50, 000 50, 000–100, 000 100, 000-500, 000 ≥500, 000

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

27% 26%

21%

9%13%

4%

Adoption of social media by Chinese organizations further improved over last year, with 85%

of them reporting they having established their homepages or microblogs on social media

sites. Adoption of microblogs by SMEs and B2C companies significantly improved. The

number of followers increased from last year, however the increase is slight. B2B companies

lagged far behind B2C companies in adoption of social media and in the number of followers.


http://www.prnasia.com/story/54024-0.shtml

http://www.prnasia.com/story/54024-0.shtml



REPOET

By industry, 93% of energy /chemical companies have less than 10,

000 followers each, and of these companies more than 60% (62%)

have less than 1, 000 followers. In the IT sector, nearly 70% (67%) of

computer hardware and software companies have less than 10, 000

followers, and 40% have less than 1, 000 followers. In a sharp contrast,

30% of internet companies and 41% of e-commerce companies each

have more than 100, 000 followers. Nearly 60% of the e-commerce

companies have more than 50, 000 followers, and 12% have more than

500, 000 followers. The top three industries that have the highest

number of companies with less than 1, 000 followers each are energy /

chemicals (61%) , manufacturing (51%) and pharmaceuticals (47%) .

By business model, nearly 70% (68%) of B2B companies have less than

10, 000 followers each, and only 8% have more than 50, 000 followers.

In contrast, more than 30% (33%) of B2C companies have more than 50,

000 followers each.

Notably, by enterprise type, nearly 40% (37%) of foreign-funded

enterprises have less than 1, 000 followers each, while Chinese

domestic firms have far more followers than do foreign-funded ones.

2

B2B B2C

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%≤1, 000 1, 000-10, 000 10, 000-50, 000 50, 000-100, 000 100, 000-500, 000 ≥500, 000

37%

31%

24%

18%

24%

7%11%

6%

17%

2%4%

19%

Nearly 90% (89%) of respondents said microblogs are one the most important new media

venues for them, but less than 30% (27%) of the Chinese domestic firms responded with the

same answer, a percentage far less than that for overseas companies. Companies of different

types in different industries showed significant differences in their focus on various social

media platforms and tools.

We manage the microblog

ourselves, so we only invested

manpower. The content we

distributed was also what the

industry’s target audience

is interest in, as a result we

received comment or personal

messages every week asking

for product information, after

services and media contacts.

Ms. Xu Lei

Marketing Manager

Hafele




REPOET

IT and trade show /exhibition sectors pay more attention to

communities /forums

Pharmaceutical, manufacturing, education, real estate and financial

sectors attach the most importance to Wikis and Q&A sites

The food and beverage sector attaches the most importance to

communities /forums and local review sites

The advertising /media sector pays more attention to video sharing sites

Which of the following social media venues are most important to your organization? (multiple choice)

Microblog (Sina Microblog, Tencent Microblog, etc.)

Forum /Community /Tieba

Wikis /Q&A (Baidu Encyclopedia /Baidu Knowledge, etc.)

Video Sharing Sites (Youku, Tudou, etc.)

Social Network Sites (Renren, Kaixin001, Qzone, Douban, etc.)

Blogs (Including Business Blogs)

Document Sharing Sites (wenku.baidu.com, docin.com, etc.)

Local Review Sites (dianping.com, etc.)

Photo Sharing Sites (Pinterest, tuding001.com, etc.)

Location Based Services (jiepang.com, etc.)

0 % 20 % 40% 60% 80 % 100%

89%

41%

39%

37%

27%

24%

11%

11%

8%

6%

Differences between industries

New media provide ‘nonlinear’

communication, while

traditional media provide

‘linear’ communication. Why

can a 140-word microblog

message have enormous

repercussions? The reason lies

in the “nonlinear” revolution

brought by new media.

Micro-innovations bring

about revolutionary change.

New media enable powerful

communication.

Jin Cuodao

Vice President at Leho.com

ÀÀ In comparison with microblogs which are valued most by Chinese companies, Facebook is the most important social media venue for North American companies,

followed by Twitter, according to PR Newswire’s 2012 Survey Report on Usage of

Social Media by North America Companies. In contrast, Chinese organizations show a lower usage rate and attach less importance to SNS sites than foreign ones, with only 27% responding that they are devoting much attention to such sites.

ÀÀ According to a content marketing study (2013) conducted by the content marketing Institute (CMI) of 1, 416 companies in North America, the most popular social media channels used by these companies to distribute content are LinkedIn (83%) , Twitter (80%) and Facebook (80%) . Last year, Twitter was the most popular channel (74%) . LBS sites and social photo sharing websites like Pinterest receive greater attention in other countries than in China where only 6% to 8% of organizations are using them, leaving a huge space for growth.


http://promotions.prnewswire.com/rs/prnewswire/images/report_SocialEcho_SurveyResults.pdf?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRolu6vNZKXonjHpfsX56ukvX662lMI/0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4EScpmI/qLAzICFpZo2FFICO6Qa5NX8+dY

http://promotions.prnewswire.com/rs/prnewswire/images/report_SocialEcho_SurveyResults.pdf?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRolu6vNZKXonjHpfsX56ukvX662lMI/0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4EScpmI/qLAzICFpZo2FFICO6Qa5NX8+dY



REPOET

Importance of Different Social Media Venues

IMPORTANCEFacebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Video-based services

13% 6% 7% 9% 17% 43%5 6 7 8 9 10

8.09 average \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

15% 7% 13% 20% 33%4%4 5 7 8 9 10

7.74 average \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

2%

2

6.91 average \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

9% 11% 20% 13% 11% 7%6%4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5.85 average \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

4%2%

32

Google+

19% 2% 17% 7% 4% 7%7%4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4.76 average \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

11%2

2%

31

4%

14% 2%

3

1

17%

120% 6%

3

17% 7% 15% 11% 17% 19%4%4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2%

216% 4%

3

Location-based services

Photo-based services

Coupon services

11% 7% 15% 9% 4% 7%7%4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4.69 average \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

19% 9% 17% 4% 6% 4%6%4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4.65 average \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

9%2

13% 4% 6% 4%4%2%

4 5 6 7 9 10

2.94 average \\\\\\\\\\

11%2

4%31

28%

120% 7%

3

6%3

7%2

52%1

FIGURE 12

3 The proportion of companies showing either “ a dramatic increase” or “no increase” in media

coverage, website traffic, news customers acquired and product sales by using social media

for brand communication fell significantly over last year, indicating that companies have now

become more realistic concerning their expectations and goals in terms of the results derived

from new media communication.

Over the past 12 months, the proportion of companies showing dramatic, moderate or no increase in

the following areas through the use of social media for brand communication were as follows:

Dramatic Increase Mo derate Increase No Increase

10% 68% 22%

11% 70% 19%

18% 60% 22%

20% 67% 13%

Product Sales

New Customers Acquired

Media Coverage

Website Traffic

0 % 20 % 40% 60% 80 % 100%




REPOET

The proportion of companies showing no increase in ROI and KPI

decreased significantly over last year, demonstrating how social media

has influenced practical marketing , while the proportion showing

significant increases in the two indicators also went down dramatically.

This indicates that companies have now become more realistic

concerning their expectations of the goals they have set in terms of the

results they will derive from new media communication.

The financial industry showed moderate increase in both ROI and KPI

Most traditional B2B companies, including those in the energy and

computer sectors, said that they saw moderate increases in the

number of new customers and product sales

Companies in the healthcare sector said that they had made less

progress in increasing media attention

Social networking is

an individual-centered

revolutionary interactive

product that also takes

group communication into

consideration. There is a need

to change the traditional

methods of communication,

and there is no way out if you

don’t know how to integrate

the internet spirit into social

networking.

Wang Guanxiong

Former Marketing Director at Sougou.com

Differences between industries

4 Over the past 12 months, 60 percent of the respondents said that they had adjusted or

changed their products, services or market strategies as a result of the comments or feedback

from their followers on social media sites, up 10 percent compared to last year. Companies are

paying more attention to the customer service and interactive features of their social media

sites, especially the B2C firms in the e-commerce (89%) , tourism, hotel and aviation (86%) as

well as retail and FMCG (72%) sectors.

A significant change was seen in respondents’ attitude towards the feedback from users of

social media sites relative to last year. A lesser number of respondents (60 percent) adjusted or

changed their products, services and market strategies as a result of the feedback from these

users.

Seventy-one percent of B2C respondents said that they had adjusted or changed their

products, services or market strategies as a result of the feedback from their followers on social

media sites, while 55 percent of B2B companies surveyed did the same.

Eighty-eight percent of e-commerce respondents said that they had adjusted or changed their

products, services and market strategies according to the feedback from their followers on

social media sites, followed by the tourism /hotel /aviation (86%) , conference and trade show

organizers (80%) , internet (79%) , advertising, media and public relations (74%) as well as retail

/FMCG (72%) sectors.




REPOET

Did your company ever adjust or modify its products, services or market strategies as a result of the comments or feedback from their followers on social media sites?

YES NO

Percentage by Industry

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Trave

l /Hote

l /Aviatio

n

Autom

otive /L

ogistics

/Tra

nsporta

tion

Compute

r /Softw

are and

Hardware

/Com

munica

tion

Inte

rnet

E-com

merce

Energy /C

hemica

ls /E

nvironm

ental

Finance

/In

vest

ment /

Securit

ies

Retail /

Garments

/FM

CG

Food /B

evera

ge

Adverti

sing /M

edia /Public

Relations

Real Est

ate /B

uildin

g Mate

rials

/

Furn

iture

Pharmace

uticals

/Health

Educatio

n /HR

Manufa

cturin

g

Trade Show

/Exhib

ition

86%

10%

46%

51%54%

49%

79%

21%

12%

88%

39%

61%

51%

49%

72%

28%

60%

40%

74%

26%

41%

59% 59%

41%

54%

46% 46%

54%

80%

20%

37%63%

NOYES

Total Percentage

55%

B2B B2C

55%45%

71%

29%

5 Compared to the previous year, companies still exhibited a high demand for such third-party

new media services as Campaign Planning and Event Marketing (69%) as well as Content

Distribution and Maintenance (66%) . B2B and private companies demonstrably expressed a

greater interest in these third-party services than others.




REPOET

Content distribution and maintenance on social media:

tourism /hotel /aviation, IT, finance

Multimedia video: food /beverage, retail /FMCG, IT

Social media monitoring: e-commerce, real estate /building

materials /Furniture, automotive financial, tourism /hotel /

aviation

Campaign planning and event marketing : retail /FMCG,

tourism /hotel /aviation

Social media advertising exhibition, retail /FMCG

Search engine optimization: pharmaceuticals /health, energy /

chemicals /environmental, trade /import and export

Network crisis management food /beverage, e-commerce, real

estate, education

Companies themselves

are becoming business

catalysts. As mass media has

transformed itself from solid

state to streaming, networking

becomes everything.

Companies can communicate

with multiple parties using

microblogs, which provides

an environment for group

communication.

Wang Fan

Director of Business Development, Sina Weibo

Third-party services for various industries

Which third-party services are used by your company? (Multiple-choice)

Campaign Planning and Event Marketing 69%

66%

50%

47%

44%

35%

34%

Content Distribution and Maintenance on Social Media

Public Opinion Monitoring on Social Media

Search Engine Optimization

Creative Communications via Multimedia Videos

Network Crisis Management

Social Media Advertising

6 Over 60 percent (61%) of companies surveyed have not yet used third-party media monitoring

services. Among the various service designations, comprehensive media and public opinion

monitoring (27%) covering social media and Weibo as well as digital mining services offering

in-depth industry-wide analysis of competitive intelligence (33%) are more favored.




REPOET

The industries using monitoring services most are: automotive (58%) ,

advertising (54%) , fast moving consumer goods (51%) , tourism /hotel /

aviation (48%) and finance (47%) . Over or nearly half of the companies in

each of these industries use monitoring services.

Foreign-funded companies saw the highest percentage (45%) using

monitoring services while less than 30% (29%) of the Chinese state-

owned companies surveyed use a monitoring service.

The tourism /hotel /aviation, automotive and food /beverage industries

attach more importance to wide monitoring coverage as well as

integrated and comprehensive data; Medical /health and automotive

companies more frequently request comprehensive manual analysis

reporting; energy /chemical, computer /communication, fast moving

consumer goods companies are more interested in competitive industry

intelligence monitoring and business opportunity creation. The

industries most frequently requesting sensitive information monitoring

are finance, fast moving consumer goods, electronic commerce, real

estate, household goods and education.

Corporate communication

faces challenges of being

drowned in information

flows when meeting the

opportunities in independent

guided content marketing .

Only through more advanced

communication ideas,

supporting technologies and

strength of content would

companies achieve smarter

marketing .

Zhang Peng

Business Value Magazine Chief Editor, GeekPark founder

Does your company use third-party media monitoring services?

61%39%

NO

YES

As for your company’s monitoring requirements, which aspect of the monitoring service do you think is the most important? (Single Choice)

27%

24%

33%

16%

More comprehensive manual analysis report

Wide monitoring coverage, integrated and comprehensive data

Competition industry intelligence monitoring,

business opportunity creation

Sensitive information alerting, dealing with public relations crisis




REPOET

Trends and Suggestions

The corporate website should be where the corporate communication starts and ends

Syndicate your content through all relevant channels

Sustainable communication to create brand loyalty

Realize interactive communication by utilizing social media

Let your audience find you by using SEO in your content and implementing long-tail content strategy

Monitor the effects produced by communication, collect business intelligence, monitor public opinion about brands

Plan valuable brand information and content release

Story

Site

Syndication

Search

Sustainable

Surveillance

Social

7 S of content marketing

High quality content marketing is the key. As the internet, digital marketing and social media continue

to develop, corporate content marketing is no longer limited to media or reporters, but becomes how

corporates communicate their message to a variety of audiences through multiple channels including

media, websites, search engines, Weibo and other social media. New media audiences have more content

options and more power to be an influencer and are more inclined to trust brands that have developed

good reputations as a result of the what is being said about them on social media sites, making high

quality content marketing all that more important.

The official corporate website should be where the corporate communication starts and ends. Companies

are moving from outbound marketing to inbound marketing . They need to take the audiences that they

have grabbed through content marketing and guide them to the official website.

Take a holistic approach in content optimization strategies. The core value of corporate messaging on the

internet and new media era lies in creation of interesting content in line with the demand of the target

audience, linking stories associated with the corporate brand through storytelling, high-value brand

information and content planning, while, at the same time, making your content easier to share, easier to

find in search engines and continuously being exchanged between yourselves and your target audiences.

Companies need to fully and rationally use various channels including new and traditional media to

choose the most effective media channel for regular content marketing through well planned out and

optimized content distribution policies and with the addition of richer multimedia including images

and videos. They also need to use professional tools to achieve targeted reach, and to track, monitor

and evaluate the feedback concerning their content. This will allow companies to constantly confirm

the interest of and guide their audiences, listen to and monitor their audiences’ opinions, and interact

with complementary brands to stimulate communication between companies, target consumers and

investors, in a move to improve the sales conversion ratio. By doing this, public relations and marketing

become integrated.

Trends and Suggestions

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Business Value, Zhisland, Green Herald Magazine, ZDNet, Global Entrepreneur, Imp-Exp Executive Magazine, Analysys International, Money Talks (Qianjing) , ChinahrKey, FTChinese.com, Shichangbu.com, 31huiyi.com, Zero2IPO, TFM&A, cn.wsj.com, chinapr.com.cn, 5iPR.cn, williamlong.info, 199 IT, huxiu.com, and DoMarketing content marketing Insight.

Special thanks to:

Thanks to the following media for their early support for this survey report:

Thanks to the following corporate and institution respondents for their interview support for this survey report:

Unilever, Deutsche Bank, GeekPark, Germany’s Häfele, Ambow Education Group, Crystal Education, Canada Wood, Boehringer-

Ingelheim, Stanley Black & Decker, BlueCurrent, Weibo.com, Coca-Cola, leho.com, NTA innovative communications agency, SIG

Independent New Media, and New Media Institute, Communication University of China.

(The above name list is ranked in no particular order.)

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Documents

2012 Survey Report on Content Marketing and New Media ... · on the current status of content marketing and application of new media by Chinese companies in China. This report delivers