Newegg: the best solution for buying a computer online in China
 
China keeps on breaking records. The latest count, according to the 25th report of the CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center), shows that the country had 384 million internet users at the end of December 2009, a user rate of some 28.9% of the Chinese population.
 

Chinese B2B e-commerce company Alibaba.com has announced that its new online wholesale website, 1688.com, was formally launched on March 9, 2010, and the wholesale traffic reached a whopping 6.39 million people on the first day.

Happy Chinese New Year! It's hard to believe we're already halfway done with March .

I am a keen proponent of using Social Media Marketing (SMM) in digital campaigns as part of a multi-channel approach. However, I am often surprised by some of the comments from clients suggesting they see this channel a niche or the edgy side of digital marketing. I know that the Internet is littered with firms and individuals touting themselves as social media 'experts' and just like the "snake-oil salesmen" of the old wild West, we will see this segment go through a period of rapid growth as many jump on the social media bandwagon.
 

In what is not going to be a surprise for most of us in the Marketing space is the announcement by WPP Group that their  like-for-like revenue was down 8.1% for 2009. In branding and identity, healthcare and specialty communications group, which includes its direct, digital and interactive agencies, they announced revenue declines of 6.2% for 2009 compared to the year before. 
 

Baidu.com changed their policies on its Baidu Alliance Program this week and the result will be a reduction in the number of publishers being able to leverage the Baidu ad content. The reports on the local media suggest the members affected are mainly non-contracted website navigation sites and the traffic involved is about one million daily visitors.
 

Ambush marketing can be defined as a tactic whereby a company attempts to ambush or undermine the sponsorship activities of a rival that owns the legal rights to sponsor an event; often involves creating the sense that they, and not the actual sponsor, are associated with the owners of the event or activity.
 

 
Chinese online travel website company eLong Inc. reported its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009. Total revenues at eLong.com for the fourth quarter increased 18% year-on-year to CNY106.9 million and net revenues increased 18% year-on-year to CNY100.9 million.
 

It has been tough in 2009 for marketers working within the travel and hospitality sectors in China (as in most sectors last year). However, it appears that the year of the tiger has started with a roar as the marketing spend for the travel sectors looks to be returning to pre 'Global Downturn' levels. Further, interest by hoteliers, airlines and tour operators is increasing in marketing areas like social media and search marketing... not as discrete channels but integrated into a single campaign.

It is widely acknowledged in the travel and hospitality sectors (as well as others) is that brand awareness will affect consumers’ purchasing intention. Therefore, with potential revenues at stake, a large number of hotels are spending a tremendous amount of capital on enhancing their brands and brand awareness. In particular, multi-national hotel companies are expanding their business in China at a rapid pace, opening new hotels and expanding into new business areas such as food/beverage, event room hires and conference facilities.
 

And what a start to the year it has been. Wherever I turn recently I am being bombarded with news that many of the UK’s largest retailers enjoyed a roaring, and in some cases, record Christmas trade. The likes of Next, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Gap and House of Fraser are just some of those reporting some mind boggling trading figures.

Just before Christmas I had the honor of being best man to one of my life long friends. Of course with that honor came an equal measure of paralyzing fear as I considered how I would deliver a best mans speech to remember; fear that was compounded further by an earlier showing as best man a few years ago where I still to this day cringe at just how much I fluffed it.

So everything we have learned about building communities online can now be thrown out. I have visited a new site called, Chatroulette. A site developed by a Russian guy that is so simple in it's concept that it has become hugely trafficked and could re-define the way we look at 'engagement' from a sociological perspective online. Basically, you can run your camera in one window then click a button to randomly be partnered with someone else in another window.  A new face-to-face video conversation with a random stranger.

Have you ever wanted to know where the Chinese social media sites are located? - from Blogs to SNS and everywhere in between. Here is a great super link list from around the Chinese blogosphere for you to get a fast snapshot of the websites and their URL.

Recent figures indicate Travel will be a significant vertical for digital marketers in China in 2010. According to the China Internet Information Center (CNNIC), 30 million Chinese booked travel services and accommodations online last year, representing a 77.9% increase over 2008.
 

There is much written online about the role of influencers in a social media marketing context. Actually, Wikpedia has a great overview as does DoshDosh. However, I think it is interesting to take a number of ideas and theories then use them to formulate an approach that can be used by practitioners.
 

Like many in our industry, it was with a sense of great relief that I watched the clock tick over into 2010. I was happy to see 2009 vanish – a year that brought little to our profession. It was a year that saw agencies downsize, creativity slump, and media outlets collapse. Unfortunately, we also saw many marketeers demonstrate expertise in the recessionary duck-and-cover maneuver.

My belief that the Chinese are indeed incredulously sales savvy was reinforced once again today. As you would know, we are in the Spring Festival period having moved into the year of the Tiger yesterday. So given it was a New Year (Chinese that is) -  I though it would be good to get a new hair cut.
 
I headed down to my local hairdresser but was surprised to find the price had more than doubled from a few days before... I had to find out why and the answer I got was surprising and interesting for me.

The digital marketing space is becoming much more sophisticated as digital marketers learn more and explore ways to apply their skills in one area of digital marketing to another. I mean, take SEO and apply to SNS. What do you get- potentially, highly visible personal profiles, companies and/or product/services.
 

Brian Solis has scoured the web and brought together a series of visual graphs, maps and statistics that seek to explain the “social web”. He calls it the State of Social Media Around the World 2010.