An Examination of Social Media Marketing in China: How do the Top 133 Hotel Brands Perform on the Top Four Chinese Social Media Sites?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to evaluate hotel companies’ social media marketing efforts using the “6Is” social media monitoring framework. More specifically, in this study we set out to understand how hotels disseminate information, engage with consumers, and distribute products through social media. We investigate the presence of the top 133 hotel brands in China on the top domestic Chinese social media sites in order to identify to what extent the hotel industry in China recognizes the potential of this marketing tool. The findings indicate that the majority of the hotels actively and consistently use the Sina Weibo and Wechat platforms for their social media marketing.

KEYWORDS:

• Social media marketing
• 6Is evaluation framework
• hotels
• China

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Basak Denizci Guillet

Basak Denizci Guillet is Associate Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR (E-mail: [email protected]).

Deniz Kucukusta

Deniz Kucukusta is Assistant Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR (E-mail: [email protected]).

Lu (Lucy) Liu

Lu (Lucy) Liu is MSc Student, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR (E-mail: [email protected]).