How to be a Good Frand in China: an Exploratory Study of Effective Social Media Behaviours for Foreign Brands

TL;DR

This study explores how foreign brands can effectively engage Chinese consumers on social media by framing brand interactions as online friendships, providing insights for better marketing strategies in China.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of 'franding' as a metaphor for social media brand engagement and evaluates its relevance through qualitative interviews with Chinese consumers.

Findings

Online friendship behaviors influence brand engagement.

Effective social media strategies resemble genuine friendship behaviors.

Conceptualizing brand relationships as friendships aids in strategy development.

Abstract

Many foreign companies see social media as a low cost marketing space for entering the vast Chinese market. This is fraught with complexity, requiring an understanding of social media behaviour, social media marketing, and the Chinese context. In this exploratory pilot study, we develop the notion of franding (online freinding of brands) as a unifying metaphor, and suggest that effective social media brand strategies resemble effective online friend behaviours. Based on this we develop some propositions and evaluate them qualitatively in interviews with young Chinese consumers. Our study suggests that conceptualizing brand social media relationships as a type of online friendship can assist in harmonizing disparate literature and provide useful insights for organizations operating in this complex area.