Introduction
One of the most widely used communication platforms in recent years has been social media. This has been made possible by both the ease of use and the advancement of technology, particularly the internet. As a result, many people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities have subscribed to the feature in order to communicate with others from various backgrounds. Companies are embracing the platform to sell their goods and improve client contact, showing that business has not been left behind. The one on one interaction allows them to generate effective feedback which is vital in the overall improvement of sales. Therefore, one can easily conclude that the rise and development of social media, save for a few disadvantages, has been generally good for the use of the different groups of people that directly or indirectly depend on it.
Social Media Usage in Different Countries
However, the use of social media is different in various countries. Local laws and authorities have limited the use, thus creating fundamentally significant issues amongst them. In this case of the United States of America and China, there exist different aspects if the form of communication which members of the countries can specifically relate to (Tsai, 6). This has affected the way they conduct certain operations with regard to the use of the media. Additionally, as the paper will explain, it has become difficult to adopt cross functional mechanisms which can help in the process. Nevertheless, there are also certain similarities which cut across most of the countries relying on social media, especially with regard to freedom of expression and the freedom of press.
Social Media Landscape in China
The Chinese social media landscape is the most dynamic, unique and influential in the world. It boasts of a huge number of users, therefore, providing a viable market base for various organizations and companies wishing to engage with the customers. In the country, some of the popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are not regularly used with some areas even censoring them. They have developed their own sites such as WeChat which have grown popular and adopted by companies operating in the areas as advertising platforms. The factor also necessitated China to develop Weibo as an answer to Twitter (Zhou, 8). This reiterates the Chinese desire to build their own brand which will enable companies operating in the area to develop effective digital marketing strategies which they can use to reach their target audience who mostly use the sites. The aspect is different from the United States where most of the companies do not rely on social media to advertise their products. Even though the prevalence of the use is high, it is not a fundamental requirement that the companies adopt a digital marketing strategy. Moreover, in the country of widespread consumers, the population target is not so important. Hence, it leads to the companies in the United States taking up general marketing concepts which do not have a specific target audience.
Social Media Usage and Popularity
However, the two countries, in this regard, have widespread users of social media. Most of the citizens rely on the aspect to conduct operations such as online businesses. The development of logistics companies has aided in the factor and led to ease of conduction of operations via the platform. Chinese population of close to 1 billion, thus, translates to a higher social media base compared to the United States. The country boasts of close to three hundred million active social media users which is almost the population of the United States of America. Moreover, they also spend 40% of their time online engaging in various transactions when compared to the USA citizens who spend about 30% of their time online. This translates to more interaction and exposure to a lot of content while online. This puts them at a better position to evolve and change according to the specific trends that may be presented in the case of the technological developments. The factor, hence, fuels the fact that companies operating in China have to be more reactive to adapt to the demands of the customers as compared to those that operate in the United States where the overall internet concept is different.
Different Goals of Social Media Usage
The two countries also differ in social media usage with regard to the fundamental goal of the sites. Studies have revealed that most of the USA citizens use the social media sites for entertainment as compared to ecommerce purposes. Facebook users in the US are more likely to be spending their online time watching videos than shopping. This also extends to YouTube where 60% of the users watch videos and other entertainment activities as compared to constructive business (Saw 10). A mere 30% of them engaged in Amazon and other online business platforms. This is not the case, however, in China where a huge number of the social media users tend to visit the online business platforms common in the area. It can be explained that most of them use the internet and particularly the social media to engage in online transactions through the various existing sites such as Taobao and WeChat.
Different Devices and Language Barriers
In China, additionally, most of the users access the sites via their mobile phones as compared to the United States where most of them are through their laptops (Chiu, 4). This means that the Chinese users can easily get notifications regarding various occurrences in the course of their normal activities. The portability and ease of use of the mobile phones put them at a better situation of facilitating the online interaction with the organizations. This allows them to generate proper feedback when they are interacting. Feedback is an essential part of a business as it helps the organization understand how best to improve the product to meet the demand of the customers. The customer's opinion is vital in the organization. It assists in building a brand that augurs well with the market as well as aiding in the establishment of a distinctive area which takes into consideration the different aspects associated with the advertisement and the general sale of the product. Thus, companies in China try to ensure that they collect as much information as possible from the consumers. However, when using PCs and laptops, one requires a physical station of operation. Essentially, the users in the United States become disadvantaged in a particular way due to their choice of gadgets. They may not be able to keep up with the evolving and changing trends.
Government Control and Freedom of Expression
The use of social media in China may also translate to a lack of trust in the mainstream media, especially regarding some of the sensitive topics. China is a predominantly conservative country; therefore, certain aspects are prohibited from public debate (Chiu, 5). The attribute, hence, has made it difficult for most of the citizens to discuss freely some of the sensitive subjects as they are censored. In this regard, they resort to social media to allow effective debates on some of the issues. The government has, however, tried to limit the aspect through active monitoring of the discussions that take place in the forms of media. This greatly limits the freedom of the people, especially when they want to vent their anger and frustrations regarding some of the issues that directly affect them and influence the government's responsiveness to them. For instance, in 2014, the Chinese government proposed election reforms for Hong Kong. Since there was no other way to communicate their grievances, a group of students established a platform on the popular social media sites that would help in the airing of their problems. They gathered under the Umbrella Revolution which helped in their cause. The students used social media tools WeChat and WIEBO to communicate their position and gather protesters in demonstrations that ran night and day. However, the Chinese government quickly contained the situation and banned the gathering before they could cause any real problems. The factor reiterates the government control and limitation of the use of social media in China.
The case is different in the United States where communication and discussions are not censored. The public is allowed to engage in some of the sensitive debates with a view that it allows them to develop their perception of some of the issues that affect them. Therefore, social media is just a bonus where they can continue with the discussions. The public trust in the mainstream media is also high as they are allowed to take sides and even criticize the government on the various issues. It depicts a country of mature democracy where freedom of expression as well as that of the press is effectively adhered to by the government. There are fewer cases of confrontation regarding the issues being discussed, hence, making it easy for them to properly understand the aspect of social media.
Language Barrier and Use as an Information Source
Mandarin, the popular language in China, is also a problem for many app developers, hence, making some social media sites unavailable in the country. LinkedIn, for instance, a popular employment site, has 3 million users in the country. This has been due to the fact that it does not support the Chinese language, therefore, limiting the number of users in the country. However, the English language, used in the United States, is popular on various other social media sites. Hence, a language barrier in their case is not a problem. Most people can easily sign up for different other social media platforms without worrying about a failure to grasp the language used. This is not the case with China where Mandarin is still a problem for other people. Therefore, there is a need for the development of the language and its adoption in the markets to aid in the overall improvement of its use.
Conclusion
Social media is used in the two countries as a means of information, with different individuals relying on it to get fast news on the different issues that face most of the people in the country. It has been identified as an important attribute in the dissemination of information that requires swift action. As a result, most of the people in both countries rely on the platform as an important factor in the analysis of information. This has been backed up by the fact that the mainstream media, in some cases, relies on social media for some information. This has led to the increase in the number of users of social media in the two countries with a desire to stay informed and even participate in public discussions. Trending topics such as those available on Twitter have made it easy for one to know and understand what is going on in the area. The site has an option of tailoring the news to the local area; therefore, putting one at a better position of knowing and understanding the current events that are taking place around them.
The paper, therefore, points out to various differences in the use of the social media platform in the United States of America and China. These have led to a difference in the development and reception of change. The situation mirrors that shown by various other countries with cases of censoring and even total closure common in countries of struggling democracies, especially during elections. Even though it has its own disadvantages, social media use in countries is a vital concept that needs to be encouraged to enhance effectiveness in the different areas that are directly affected by it.
Works Cited
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Tsai, Wan-Hsiu Sunny, and Linjuan Rita Men. “Consumer engagement with brands on social network sites: a cross-cultural comparison of China and the USA.” Journal of Marketing Communications 23.1 (2017): 2-21.
Zhou, Lijun, and Tao Wang. “Social media: A new vehicle for city marketing in China.” Cities 37 (2014): 27-32.
