Keywords

1 Introduction

In the world, there are 4.62 billion people who use social media. We cannot negate the effect of social media advertisements because there will indeed be many reaches. Companies’ sales will steadily increase when attracting more customers on social media. China and the US have unique social media platforms to conduct marketing strategies to help companies to improve their brand awareness and product sales; however, their marketing methods will include their domestic businesses, but are not limited to these because all platforms help international businesses also.

Facebook uses seven marketing steps: setting goals, knowing the audience, engaging proactively, scheduling content, determining strategies, encouraging employees, and tracking & analyzing results. Companies on Instagram create a relevant and interesting range of their products, reach the target audience, interact with customers, and check progress regularly to ensure efficient advertising. Running audits, using hashtags, engaging with users, and finding voices are methods for Twitter marketing. In LinkedIn, the social media strategy will be sharing helpful information, perfecting company pages, interacting with users, and buying ads. Little Red books mainly have two marketing types: selling through official accounts and selling through Red Mall. Companies on TikTok create exciting videos and advertisements to reach their target audience. WeChat has 5 steps to help companies succeed in marketing their products: competitor analysis, target audience definition, WeChat official account type selection, WeChat marketing tools picking, and WeChat promotion & advertising. Zhihu not only works with Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) like other social media marketing strategies in China, but also uses pop-up advertisements, newsfeed advertisements, and display advertisements to increase sales (ByLorenzoBrizzo et al. 2022). Firms use social media to perform business actions because they can increase brand awareness, grow revenue, and increase mentions in the press (Lua 2021).

This research paper mainly uses data collection and an observational approach to study social media marketing strategies in China vs in the United States.

2 Social Media Marketing Strategies in the US

2.1 Facebook

Facebook is owned by Meta Platforms, an American company, which is an online social media and networking social service. Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes founded Facebook in 2004. They pick its name from the face book directories often given to American university students. Facebook users were limited to Harvard students at first; later in 2006, anyone over 13 years old was able to use it. In 2010, Facebook became the most downloaded mobile application. In 2020, Facebook had 2.8 billion monthly active users, ranking fourth in internet usage worldwide.

According to the enormous number of users, Facebook meets the requirements of being an excellent social media marketing place for multiple companies. There are seven marketing steps on Facebook: setting goals, knowing the audience, engaging proactively, scheduling content, determining strategies, encouraging employees, and tracking & analyzing results (Chen 2022). To start with, companies need to set specific goals of what they want to do. In the 2018 Sprout Social Index, 34% of people who use Facebook to advertise wished to increase their brand awareness; 21% wanted to increase community engagement; and 11% wanted to increase sales and lead generation. Secondly, knowing who is one company’s target audience enables that company to determine which Facebook marketing methods it should conduct. Like other social media, the third step is communicating and networking with customers because Facebook serves well as a communication platform to increase engagement. In addition, on Facebook, there are many content creation and curation options: from stories to status to group posts. From the 2018 Sprout Social Index, customers indicated the content types that they wanted brands to use, which were 30% linking to more information, 18% of graphics and images, 17% of produced video, 11% of text and conversations, and 7% of produced or edited photos.

Furthermore, advertising on Facebook is simple but not easy because companies need to pick the right advertisement strategies for themselves. Focusing on two points: cost effective and relevant is helpful for firms to select the accurate and creative content on Facebook ads campaigns. One thing to remember is always to keep Facebook ads fresh. The sixth step is to encourage employee advocacy because 72% of people reported feeling positive and connected with one brand when they were able to see the company’s employees post something related to that brand on social media. With this element, one brand will succeed easily. The last step of Facebook marketing strategies is to keep an eye on the results: fan growth and how Facebook content is performing. Overall, Facebook is an efficient way of advertising products.

2.2 Instagram

Instagram is owned by Meta, which is a photo and video sharing social networking service founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. This application allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. In 2021, there were 1.21 billion active monthly users on Instagram.

To set up an advertising account on Instagram, people should switch to a business account and pick a photo or video for the ads. Like Facebook, people should find the target location, audience, budget and duration. When the advertisement is ready, via tapping “Create Promotion”, people will be notified when your ad is approved and ready to run. More specifically, companies should create content that favors audiences such as exciting photos, videos, and customers’ real feedback to increase their followers. In addition, a couple of posts with the right hashtags is also vital because this will help companies to send the correct information to their target audiences. Although the hashtag upper limit is 30, companies should follow the “less is more” rule.

Establishing brands’ website links on Instagram, posting advertisements regularly at the right time, and interacting with customers is significant for succeeding and increasing sales on Instagram. According to the data from Sprout Social, the highest engagement time globally on Instagram is 5–6 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, around 11 a.m. on Thursday, around 3 p.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday, and about 4 p.m. on Thursday (Barnhart 2019). Thus, companies should post advertisements on Thursday because many people view Instagram on that day. Catching the chances and sharing stories is what companies need to learn. The last thing to mention is to show the latest and different products through posts at distinct periods, which helps people to follow the news of one brand. Many customers like to comment on their ideas and questions under one position, and the brand needs to answer and appreciate the feedback.

2.3 Twitter

Twitter, Inc., founded on March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, and Noah Glass, is an American communications company based in San Francisco, California, which operates the microblogging and social networking service Twitter; Vine short video app and Periscope live streaming service were their previous businesses. It has a website: twitter.com with 69.3 million active users in 2021.

There are 8 steps to creating marketing strategies for brands on Twitter. The first step is to run a Twitter audit to distinguish what is working and what is not working on the Twitter profile (Twitter Marketing: The Only Guide You Need to Succeed 2022). Through this check, companies can find out what posts the audience is most interested in, which helps the company decide on the content they will post in the future. The second step is to find a Twitter voice. Although unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter’s posts can be more playful and casual, positions still need to be consistent and authentic with the brand voice. Thus, an engaging brand voice is vital to appeal to more customers. The third step is to use Twitter hashtags and trends because this will help the brand double the engagement. The fourth step is to utilize Twitter advertisements. Using paid ads will be more direct than non-paid ads because promoted tweets will expand and reach the audience quickly and do not need to wait for organic reach. The significant difference between paid and no-paid ads is that users will see the “paid ads” mark on the Tweets. In addition, like on Facebook and Instagram, finding the right time to tweet will increase the brands’ popularity. According to the Sprout Social data, the highest engagement time on Twitter will be 9 am to 12 p.m. on Tuesday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday.

Furthermore, scheduling tweets ahead of time will make sure the maximum reach. The seventh step of Twitter's marketing strategy is to interact with the audience; like on Facebook and Instagram, encouraging customers to comment and message under the brand posts is vital because this action boosts engagement. The last step will be setting measurable goals to ensure everything about the advertisements is on track so companies can keep or change their marketing strategies efficiently.

2.4 LinkedIn

LinkedIn (functioning via both website and mobile application), an American business and employment-oriented online service, was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Vaillant, and Allen Blue in Mountain View, CA. This professional networking and career development platform allow job seekers to post their educational and professional experiences and employers to post hiring opportunities. In 2021, it had 774.61 million active users. Although it might not have as much attention as Facebook and Instagram, as a favored network platform for business, it still serves a vital role for firms operating in the B2B sector. 40% of its members visit LinkedIn every day.

There are 9 steps to craft the perfect LinkedIn marketing strategy. The first step is to set the marketing goals which are expected to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely such as increasing brand awareness, building leads, engaging with the target audience, and selling products (Geyser 2021). The second step is to know the audience through their taste, interests, and what they describe on their LinkedIn pages, ensuring that the company advertises to the target audience. Thirdly, perfecting the company page by telling positive stories attracts customers more. Fourthly, when the company gets the chance to promote a brand, it should take the chance because if more people become followers, it is easier for companies to sell products. In addition, creating and sharing helpful content enables people to remember one company. The sixth step is to use various forms in the content.

Furthermore, people must be active on LinkedIn to communicate with their target audience efficiently. Plus, buying ads is also an efficient advertising approach. Finally, like other social media, companies cannot neglect the importance of checking progress regularly because it ensures that everything is on track.

3 Social Media Marketing Strategies in China

3.1 Little Red Book/Xiaohongshu

Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), founded in June 2013 by Charlwin Mao Wenchao and Miranda Qu Fang, is a social media and e-commerce platform described as “China's answer to Instagram.” As of 2019, it had over 300 million registered users. In 2001, this company had over 100 million monthly active users. Plus, the female users reached 90.41% of total users in Little Red Book in 2021. Xiaohongshu serves as an online shopping guide by providing customers with real experiences, which helps people to choose the right products for themselves. Not only has Xiaohongshu local business in China, but also this platform creates Red Mall for selling international products and brands such as Gucci to customers.

To be specific about marketing strategies in Xiaohongshu, there are two types: selling through accounts and selling through Red Mall (AdChina.io.: A Brand's Guide to Selling on Xiaohongshu in China 2022). If companies want to sell through Red Mall, they need to register in Xiaohongshu enterprise’s system and provide company information: financial status, company overview, and brand qualification. After submitting information, staff in Xiaohongshu will review the application and let companies sign contracts and complete professional training. After all these steps, companies are authorized to sell products. On the other hand, companies want to sell through an official account. The first step is to open a brand account. Secondly, reaching out to KOL, Key Opinion Leaders, helps companies to increase their popularity. In addition, companies need to invest in Xiaohongshu advertising to reach more target audiences. Following all these steps, companies’ sales will generally increase.

3.2 TikTok/Douyin

TikTok (Douyin in China), founded in September 2016, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese company Byte Dance, which consists of a variety of short-form user videos such as pranks, stunts, tricks, jokes, dance, and entertaining content around 15 s to ten minutes. TikTok in 2021 had 1 billion users and is expected to have 1.8 billion users at the end of 2022.

Due to the large size of users, succeeding in marketing on TikTok will be helpful for the company's sales. The first step of advertising products is using accurate hashtags and following TikTok's current trend to produce videos viewers like to watch (Geyser 2021). Be careful on video length and clear description, people should essentially maximize the vital information about products included in one video. Setting hashtag challenges is also an effective way of getting more attention and fitting the advertisements under the right Effects tab, which are Trending, New, Interactive, Editing, Beauty, Funny, World, and Animal categories. Because TikTok has a personalized video selection, it is easy for the target audience to see the advertisements that companies want them to see through different types. In addition, incorporating TikTok influencers in campaigns and posting regularly and frequently attract more followers. When one company gets the customers’ attention under one post, that company should encourage users to comment their opinions under the post so that everyone can see it. Increasing interaction between customers and one brand boosts the selling of products. The last thing to mention is blending in branded content. One company cannot always advertise their products and must keep producing interesting content to grab users’ attention. With a certain amount of followers, they can post some advertisements regularly.

3.3 Zhihu

Zhihu, founded by Yuan Zhou, Shenshen Li, and Jixin Huang in Chengdu, Sichuan, Mainland China, is a question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by the community of its users. On January 26, 2011, its website, zhihu.com, was created. According to the latest data, there are about 6.9 million monthly active users in Zhihu. It has over 120 million answers, forming the largest knowledge-sharing community in China. Previously to advertise on Zhihu, forming a positive brand image is essential. By opening a Zhihu enterprise account, the company needs to answer actively, ask questions, and post articles & feeds.

Due to knowledge sharing purposes on Zhihu, the company should advertise its products and produce professional learning materials for users to acquire knowledge. Diving into advertising, marketing strategies on Zhihu are similar to other social media. Working with KOL is significant because this enables the company to increase its credibility and reach (Wan and Wan 2019). Knowing whether the selected KOLs will work for advertising or not, is indispensable for companies to focus on the KOLs’ image, audience, expertise, engagement rates, and several followers. Furthermore, Zhihu has three advertising packages: pop-up advertisements, newsfeed advertisements, and display advertisements (AdChina.io. 2022). Adding a “click here” button on pop-up advertisements will grab users’ attention and attract some users. Although this strategy hurts the western world, it is popular in China. Newsfeed advertisements provide detailed descriptions and are more accepted by users. Display advertisements are shown on the internal search pages, which boost the viewership efficiently. When advertising products, companies should choose the most suitable types for themselves.

3.4 WeChat

WeChat, founded in 2011 in China, is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent, which became the world's largest standalone mobile app in 2018. According to the latest data in 2022, WeChat has over 1.28 billion monthly active users. Plus, this application is available in 17 different languages. WeChat is essential for everyday business, especially in China, because around 80% of Chinese use this application. When users are unable to find companies’ information and get their company related questions to be answered through Google or LinkedIn, they would love to search and understand some information through WeChat because many authorized companies will post their information through WeChat Official Accounts, and users know this information is accurate due to business licenses checking system in WeChat.

There are 5 steps to a successful company's market: competitor analysis, target audience definition, WeChat official account type selection, WeChat marketing tools picking, and WeChat promotion & advertising (DeGennaro and DeGennaro 2019). The first step is vital because a company can avoid competitors’ mistakes through competitor analysis to develop a more profound and accurate marketing strategy. The second step looks easy, but the truth is that defining the target audience will be very difficult due to the large population; thus, some companies will work with market research or consulting firms to get a clear idea. The third step is to select an official account type between a service account or a subscription account. Most businesses will choose a service account because this enables companies to own many advanced tools; however, service accounts are only allowed to post 4 times per month, containing up to 6 pieces of content each post. Brands with the demand for posting contents, running frequent sales, or unrequiring the advanced functions provided by service accounts choose to work with subscription accounts. The fourth step is to conduct the right marketing tools: WeChat Customer Relationship Management (CRMs), Social Media Listening (SML) and Social Media Monitoring, and The WeChat Index. Each serves vital functions for marketing. The last step will be the promotion part. KOL is the most efficient strategy to increase sales. In addition, WeChat group and WeMedia content syndication boost the engagement between customers and brands. Plus, WeChat advertising is also an effective marketing strategy. Still, it is not recommended for limited budgets and sensitive industries because these advertisements will only last from 12 h to 5 days, and it is costly, around 7463 dollars per ad.

4 Conclusion

In a nutshell, firms who use social media to perform business actions mainly because of increased brand awareness, growing revenue, and rising mentions in the press. By targeting the right audiences, the popularity and sales of brands will boost efficiency. No matter the social platforms in the US or China, they all serve similar functions that help companies succeed. In the future, with social media’s help, many companies will perform well in selling products.