Cities 37 (2014) 2732

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Cities
j o u r n a l h o m e p a ge : w w w.e l s e v i e r.c o m / l o c a t e / c i t i e s

Social media: A new vehicle for city marketing in China

Lijun Zhou
a
b

a,b

, Tao Wang a,

Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, Wuhan City, Hubei Province 430072, China
Economics School, Kunming University, Kunming City, Yunnan Province 650214, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 19 May 2013
Received in revised form 19 November 2013
Accepted 20 November 2013
Available online 6 December 2013
Keywords:
Social media
Microblog
City marketing
City branding
China

a b s t r a c t
Following global trends, cities, like companies, across the world are under erce competitive pressure. To
compete and promote city brands, various levels of Chinese governments have begun to integrate multiple marketing tactics to promote cities. Social media has gained global popularity since 2008. Utilizing
social media for city marketing is being applied in the Chinese cities. This paper introduces the application of social media for city marketing in Chinese cities. Based on several cases of social media use for city
marketing in major Chinese cities (e.g., Guangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing), this paper suggests that using
social media is an appropriate tactic to promote cities because of the participative, interactive, open and
transparent nature of social media.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Following the development of internet information technology,
the development of social media has
transformed the
communica- tion styles of billions of people. Through internet and
mobile tech- nology, social media has fullled the need for
increased interaction between organizations, rms and people.
Social media is ideal because it reects participative, interactive,
open and transparent attributes (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009;
Mangold & Faulds, 2009; Mayeld, 2007; Wigmo & Wikstrm,
2010). Because of the large number of users and the rapid
propagation of social media, more organizations and businesses
have recently begun to explore the potential marketing capacity
of social media. Cities, like companies and products, have their
own target customers (i.e., investors and visitors) (Cao, 2011).
Cities can utilize a marketing mix to promote themselves (Guo &
Liu, 2006; Kavaratzis, 2004; Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005;
Kotler, Asplund, Rein, & Heider, 1999). Generally, the primary
players in city marketing are local governments, resi- dents, and
rms (Cao, 2011). The traditional measures employed in city
marketing include TV, radio, newspaper, magazines and mega
events (i.e., tourism festivals and sports events) (Levinson, 2011).
These approaches share information through the vertical transmission system imposed by governmental departments (Mu, 2013).
However, traditional media is a one-way transmission platform
Corresponding author. Address: Economics and Management School, Wuhan
University, Bayi Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province 430072,
China. Tel.: +86 13807168884.
E-mail addresses:
(T. Wang).

junzi588@hotmail.com (L. Zhou),

wangtao@whu.edu.cn

0264-2751/$ - see front matter

2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2013.11.006

that lacks participation, efcient feedback and communication

from and among stakeholders, including city residents, local rms
and other players in cities.
Since 2009, microblogs have become immensely popular in China. On August 7, 2012, the Chinese Xinhuanet reported that, under
the concept of Microblog for all people, ofcial government
microblogs were in a stage of rapid development. It was also
reported that Guangzhou City, the capital city of Guangdong
Province, opened a new stage of Microblog-Governance. To promote the citys image, Hangzhou City, the capital city of Zhejiang
Province, highlighted the interaction between city government
and customers using an ofcial microblog (Xinhuanet, 2012). On
January 18, 2013, the Chinese Ifeng website stated that Nanjing
City, the capital city of Jiangsu Province, had integrated microblog,
microlms and online mobile App games for city branding (Ifeng.,
2013). The widespread popularity of social media has resulted in
more and more Chinese cities employing social media (e.g., ofcial
city microblogs, city tourism websites, city BBS websites) to
establish city brands and promote city images. To satisfy the needs
of urban customers and build city brand identication, social media can prove advantageous in city marketing. What is the current
state of social media utilization in city marketing, given the rapid
development of social media in China? What are the specic
social media marketing practices employed by Chinese cities?
What are the challenges to social media integration into city
marketing?
This paper explores the current social media practices
employed as marketing tactics in Chinese cities. Based on the analysis of current social media practices in China, this paper suggests
the appropriate utilization of social media to provide advantages
in city
marketing. Although social media
provides a
convenient

28

L. Zhou, T. Wang / Cities 37 (2014) 2732

dialogue platform for the general public to participate and express

opinions on city promotion and improvement, city marketing cannot ignore online public opinions. How to effectively manage and
direct online public opinion to mainstream city marketing practices remains an important challenge for cities.
This paper is structured as follows. The rst section reviews the
current literature on both social media and city marketing. Based
on current research, the next section introduces the present city
marketing applications of social media in Chinese cities. Several
typical cases of social media application in the main Chinese
cities, such as Guangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing cities, are
reviewed. The nal section discusses and suggests future research
for the utiliza- tion of social media to address city marketing
matters.

feedback from the general public (Xu, 2010). There are three social
media strategies used in the public sector (Mergel, 2010). In addition to traditional internet-based methods, a push strategy creates an additional information platform to announce information
to the public. To avoid the loss of control on information, a pull
strategy attracts the audience to the formal and comprehensive
ofcial government department websites (Mergel, 2010). The last
strategy, called networking strategy, highlights the interaction
between the public sector and common social media users (Mergel,
2010). Currently, the networking strategy has seen limited use
for public sector issues (Mergel, 2010). There are more practical
social media marketing tactic cases than studies of city marketing.

City marketing
Social media
Social media is an interactive community built on internet and
mobile platform technology (referred to as Web 2.0). It is a technological platform that allows people to write, share, evaluate and
discuss content that creates User Generated Content (UGC) (Cao,
2011; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009; Mayeld, 2007). Social media fullls the need for interactive dialogue among organizations, communities and people. It embodies participative, interactive, open
and transparent attributes (Mangold & Faulds, 2009; Wang,
2012; Wigmo & Wikstrm, 2010; Yu, 2011). The term social media appeared in the 1990s, based on the development of computer
and internet technology. It has gained global popularity since 2008
(Cao, 2011). It is also referred to as new new media, to differentiate social media from the other two types of media (Levinson,
2011). As Levinson summarizes, old media includes TV, newspapers and magazines. These types of media highlight the top-down
control approach; they are produced and managed by professionals. The second type is called new media, which includes email,
websites, online message boards, chat rooms, etc. As a result of
internet technology, new media transcends the time and space
of old media. Finally, new new media includes blogs and
microblogs (e.g., Twitter), Wikis (e.g., Wikipedia), picture sharing
sites (e.g., Flickr) and video sharing websites (e.g., YouTube), BBS
(e.g., Tianya in China), SNS (e.g., Facebook, MySpace) and internet
communities (e.g., Maopu in China) (Cao, 2011; Levinson, 2011).
Because the users are not media professionals, all of the information and resources from social media are free for users (Cao,
2011; Levinson, 2011). Additionally, although old media cannot
be replaced by social media because all of the information is free,
social media remains an economical tool for promoting brands
(Wigmo & Wikstrm, 2010).
Word-of-mouth marketing through social media can signicantly affect consumer behavior (Chen, 2012). More specically,
the 21st century is a new era of technology experiencing an explosion of internet-based messages transmitted through social media
(Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Social media has played a major role in
inuencing consumer behavior, providing awareness, information
acquisition, opinions, attitudes, purchase behavior, post-purchase
communication and evaluation (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). As a
result of the robust development of social media, more companies
and professionals have begun to explore the marketing capacity of
social media. Social media strategies have been widely utilized in
the studies and practices of companies, brands and public sector
marketing (e.g., Chen, 2012; Mergel, 2010; Yang, 2012; Yu, 2011;
Zhang, 2011; Zhao, 2010). Currently, several researchers are
applying social media strategies to public sector administration
(e.g., Mergel, 2010; Xu, 2010; Zhao & Yin, 2012). Social media
provides opportunities for policy makers (Xu, 2010). Governments
can employ social media as a dialogue platform to publicly discuss
policies, share thoughts of decision makers and receive efcient

The promotion of urban places can be traced back to the 19th

century (Ward, 1998). Today, sharp competition among cities
motivates city governments to utilize marketing methods for city
promotion. Promoting a place using marketing approaches is both
an additional method for the public sector to manage places and a
principle of place management (Ashworth & Voogd, 1994). Like
other entities, such as rms, products and services, cities can also
employ marketing tactics for specic target markets (Kavaratzis
& Ashworth, 2005). City marketing, or place marketing, is a process
of planning and designing cities to satisfy the needs of city customers, also called city target markets (Guo & Liu, 2006; Kavaratzis,
2004; Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005; Kotler et al., 1999). The
primary players in city marketing implementation are local
governments, rms and residents (Cao, 2011; Guo & Liu, 2006;
Qiu, 2005). City governments take the lead role in promoting cities,
enabling the cooperation of all governmental departments, such as
tourism, public relations and economic development. However, the
power of local rms cannot be ignored because they also directly
benet from the city marketing process (Cao, 2011). City residents
may include present political celebrities, entrepreneurs, notable
researchers and scientists who can also contribute to city marketing (Ashworth & Voogd, 1988; Guo & Liu, 2006; Qiu, 2005; Zhao,
2010). Similar to rms and organizations, a city has its own customers who are the stakeholders directly and indirectly beneting
from city marketing (Kotler et al., 1999; Qiu, 2005). The city
customers include city visitors, investors, potential residents and
other related organizations and institutions (Guo & Liu, 2006;
Kotler et al., 1999; Qiu, 2005). City products consist of the city
environment (e.g., political, economic, cultural and residential
environment), facilities (e.g., infrastructure, public transportation
and medical facilities), brands and images (e.g., city brand, government image) and human resources (e.g., talent and labor force)
(Guo & Liu, 2006; Kavaratzis, 2004; Qiu, 2005; Zhao, 2010).
As one of a citys products, the city brand can be a vital element
in distinguishing one city from other competitive cities (Guo & Liu,
2006). In addition, city branding can contribute to the image of a
specic city (Zhao, 2010). A branding strategy can establish a product or service as an exclusive identity, with a mix of functional and
symbolic characteristics (Hankinson & Cowking, 1993). The city
brand can thus be dened as the core identity that integrates the
geographical, natural, historical, cultural and industrial attributes.
The city brand provides a conscious, reliable commitment to city
customers to enhance the city image (Trueman, Klemm, Giroud,
& Lindley, 2001; Zhang & Zhang, 2006; Zhao, 2010). City branding
is thus one of a few widely used city marketing strategies to
strengthen the relationship between a city and its customers and
establish a good image of the city among its customers (Kavaratzis,
2004). In general, city branding should convey both the intentions
of city authorities and the experiences of common people (Zhang &
Zhao, 2009). Consequently, city branding, as one of the city

marketing vehicles, must establish a long-term relationship with

its customers and promote the identication. Social media provides a bilateral benecial vehicle for mutual communication between a city and its customers, and it allows customer
participation in city marketing campaigns because of its participative, interactive, open and transparent nature (Mangold & Faulds,
2009; Wang, 2012; Wigmo & Wikstrm, 2010; Yu, 2011). Numerous city marketing studies have focused on specic areas of economic activity, such as tourism, retailing, cultural activities and
sporting events (Hankinson, 2004). For example, Beijing was promoted as a tourism destination and utilized the Beijing 2008
Olym- pic Games mega-event to create a city brand (Zhang & Zhao,
2009). However, there is less robust research on combining both
city mar- keting and social media tactics for city promotion.
Although there are some references that explore social media
strategies in the public sector (e.g., Chen & Cao, 2012; Mergel,
2010; Zhao & Yin,
2012), few scholars have focused on social media applied to city
marketing or city branding.

Social media for city marketing cases

Traditionally, the primary players in city promotion are the
municipal departments, such as the News and Tourism sectors
(Qiu, 2005). In the past, these city marketing participants
generally utilized traditional media (e.g., TV, magazines and
newspapers, etc.) as part of the city marketing mix to promote
cities (Sun,
2004). For example, there are numerous city advertisements, such
as city image videos and mega-event publicity that are frequently
broadcast using traditional media. These approaches can increase
the popularity of cities but at a high cost and with limited
feedback from the audience (Cao, 2011). Traditional media
provides one- way
communication between cities and
customers; the lack of interaction and participation during the
communication is a bar- rier for city marketing (Cao, 2011).
Additionally, because of time and space limitations, traditional
media reduces the effect and width of propagation (Zhang, 2011).
Although the city government or other ofcial departments can
also employ new media (e.g., ofcial websites and email) to
develop a city marketing mix that enhances the openness and
transparency of city marketing, it remains a government-lead
marketing approach that lacks interaction and participation from
other shareholders (e.g., local rms, communities and the general
public).
Unlike traditional media, social media fullls a publicprivate
partnership approach for city marketing that enables a more
interactive and participative platform. Social media enhances
satis- faction and identication of city customers because its
content is generated by both governmental agencies and any
common user (Xu, 2010). Social media can also fulll the need
for a two-way communication vehicle to promote the products
and services of cities, unlike a one-way promotion method
(Zhao,
2010). Because of the large number of information
categories users can access, social media signicantly increases
the network exposure and awareness of a city, without the
limitations of time and space (Cao, 2011). These social media
strengths allow for a multi-net- work system of city marketing
at a relatively reasonable budget. Thus,
compared with
traditional media, social media can expand the inuence of city
customers in city marketing because of the participative,
interactive, open and transparent nature of social media.
Currently, there are 300 million social media users in China. The
social media registration rate of Chinese urban residents is approximately 95% (McKinsey, 2012). One survey conducted in 2012
indicated that 91% of the Chinese interviewees had logged onto
social media in the past six months, compared with 30% in Japan,

67% in the USA and 70% in South Korea (McKinsey, 2012). These

social media users have enabled China to become the largest

social media network in the world (Chen, 2012). According to
Ogilvy China (2011), there are three new categories of social
media in China: Groupon (e.g., Meituan and Manzuo websites),
Q&A (e.g., Tianya and Baidu Q&A) and More Tencent (one of the
pow- erful social media companies in China producing popular
social media software, such as the mobile chat application
WeChat) (Chen, 2012). All of these new new media have
capacity to handle the thriving development of social media in
China. In that paper, Chen also indicated that the coverage rate of
microblogs is up to 97%, followed by 70% for SNS (Social
Network Site) and
10% for LBS (Location Based Service) in China. This indicates that
the microblog is the most popular type of social media in China.
Microblogs in city marketing
The widespread use of microblogs, with a nearly 97% coverage
rate of 300 million users, provides marketing opportunities for
rms, organizations and governments at various levels (McKinsey,
2012). As an important information communication platform,
microblogs have played a major role in the daily life of the
Chinese people (Chen & Cao, 2012). An increasing number of
specialists and professional organizations are
exploring the
potential marketing capacity of microblogs.
In western countries, Twitter (microblog) and Facebook (social
network site) are often utilized by business and government, as
exemplied by the social media strategy of the London 2012 Olympic Games. However, Weibo, a Chinese microblog platform that
integrates the functions of both Twitter and Facebook, is more popular than Twitter and Facebook in China (Chen & Qiu, 2013). This
advanced microblog, launched by famous Chinese web portals
(e.g., Sina and Sohu), fullls the need for an interactive and vivid
communication platform for users to upload and share pictures,
videos and music; it provides services for discussions, virtual
meet- ings and instant message sharing (Chen & Qiu, 2013). On
August 2,
2012, during the London 2012 Olympic Games, the CNN website
reported Forget Twitter, in China its the Weibo Olympics, proving the popularity of microblogs in China (CNN, 2012). In China,
various levels of Chinese city government opened their own
ofcial microblogs using the multi-functional Chinese Weibo
platform. These Chinese government microblogs have produced
an interac- tive microblog network to market Chinese cities with
a tremen- dous propagation effect. Microblogs labeled with the
name of a Chinese city have been particularly successful. They
have attracted fans and promoted the overall image of cities with
advertising and the promotion of full-scale city information,
including city news, scenery, foods and other sources. Wei
Chengdu is a typical exam- ple that incorporates a city name; it
has gained nearly 4 million fans since March 2012 (Wei Chengdu,
2013). Since 2011, the Chi- nese Weibo platform for city
marketing has also enabled some foreign government users, such
as the Korean Tourism Organiza- tion and the Singapore Tourism
Bureau, to open their own ofcial Chinese microblogs to promote
their cities (Zhang, 2013). The per- vasive utilization of the
Weibo platform has enabled a microblog network to market both
Chinese and foreign cities in China.
Social medias participative, interactive, open and transparent
nature has created an effective channel for city marketing, particularly for implementing a city branding strategy to build city
uniqueness and commitment among its customers. Sun (2004)
suggested that there are two types of tactics for city branding.
One tactic involves constructing the overall brand image of a city
that integrates the political, economic, cultural and natural factors
to dene core city advantages. Another tactic is to build the tourism brand as a functional tactic to promote the exclusive tourism
attractions (e.g., natural scenery, cultural customs) of a city (Sun,
2004). Social media provides the platform to build and promote

the overall brand image of a city. The government image also contributes to the city image; numerous city government microblogs
promote the images of both the government and the city (Wang,
2012). Therefore, government microblogs interactively implement
an e-governance strategy using the popular and people rst
method by building a professional full-scale information platform
to present the new look and overall brand image of the city (e.g.,
redevelopment conditions, mega-events, news of city, etc.). Social
media also establishes the tourism brand of a city by promoting
the city as a tourism destination (Yu, 2013). Microblogs, along with
other types of social media, such as SNS (social network site), LBS
(location based on service) and review (i.e., online comments)
websites, can facilitate the tourism brand of a city. The unique
UGC created from social media creates a platform for city customers, particularly visitors and tourism investors, to acquire and
share information about a city.
Microblogs for launching e-governance platforms
Since 2009, microblogs have grown in popularity in China. After
two years of development, 2011 was called The year of MicroblogGovernance in China. The number of government microblogs
reached 20,000 (McKinsey, 2012). On October 22, 2012, the Chinese People website calculated that the number of governmental
microblog changed to 50,561 in 2012, increasing nearly 776.58%
since 2011 (People, 2012). Government microblogs are launched,
managed and owned by various governmental departments. They
are the new communication and dialogue-oriented platforms connecting the public sector and the general public. The popularity of
government microblogs can be attributed to three factors (Chen &
Cao, 2012). First, governments can employ a microblog to interactively communicate with the general public. Second, because of the
participative, interactive, open and transparent nature, UGC can
be a suitable source for the government to collect public
opinion (Chen
& Cao,
2012).
Third,
the
microblog
governmentcitizen interaction can
inuence government
decisions. The general public can participate in policy decisions
and provide recommendations or
suggestions for
the
government through the microblog. The public can even
receive a
timely response from specic govern- ment
departments (Xu, 2010). A microblog is also a channel in which
a government can publicize its image. Hence, the govern- ment
microblog is a new e-governance approach for Chinese governmental departments to market themselves (Zhao & Yin, 2012).
Numerous Chinese governmental agencies have recently launched
ofcial microblogs to pursue public-friendly images. For example,
on August 7, 2012, the Chinese Xinhuanet reported that Guangzhou launched the Guangzhou ofcial microblog. It was also reported that Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province in
southwest China, highlighted local ecotourism in its ofcial
microblog. To promote a good image, Kunming utilized the ofcial
city microblog to fulll the interaction needs of the city government and the general public (Xinhuanet, 2012). On August 7,
2012, the Xinhuanet announced that the ofcial microblog of
Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, provided aspects of
city news to the public, which enabled this microblog to become
the most popular government microblog in China (Xinhuanet,
2012). The city image is a reection of the city governments image.
Through a microblog, a city government can maintain and improve
upon good relationships with the general public and promote an
advantageous city image to its visitors, investors and other potential customers. To some extent, microblog utilization has changed
the traditional promotional approach of cities. As a social media
tool for the public sector, a microblog is both an ofcial information publishing platform and a networking vehicle that connects
a city with its customers and other cities (Chen & Cao, 2012;
Mergel, 2010; Zhao & Yin, 2012).

Microblogs to promote the city brand platform

As discussed above, a government microblog is an interactive
platform for city government and general public communication.
To promote a favorable government image, a microblog also affords a wide range of applications to promote the city brand. The
city brand is an identity with both functional and symbolic aspects
(Hankinson & Cowking, 1993). Because of the convenience, speed
and economic advantages, some Chinese cities have advertised
their city brand through microblogs. For example, Chengdu named
its ofcial city microblog as Wei Chengdu; it presents an information platform of cultural, historical, geographic and other city
characteristics for public audiences. For Wei Chengdu, a high
microblog forwarding rate among its visitors has resulted in a wide
transmission of the Chengdu brand (Wei Chengdu, 2013). The government of Xian used its Bell Tower as a logo and launched its
microblog, which attracted nearly 25,000 fans as of late 2012
(Mu, 2013). The Bell Tower is a famous landmark located in central
Xian. People forwarding the microblog of the Bell Tower also promote the brand of Xian City and enhance the awareness of Xian
(Mu, 2013). On August 17, 2011, the Ifeng website reported that
Wuhan City, the capital city of Hubei Province and the central
transportation hub of China, conducted a Wuhan city image poster
campaign through microblog transmissions that attracted both
local residents and outside visitors to participate in the event
(Ifeng, 2011). Celebrity microblogs can also contribute to city
brands. For instance, on August 7, 2012, the Chinese Xinhuanet
reported that Mr. Wu Hao, a political celebrity from Hani-Yi
Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe, Yunnan Province, opened his
personal microblog to interact with people and introduce them
to the characteristics of the Honghe Prefecture (Xinhuanet,
2012). Celebrity microblogs produce high forwarding rates that
also benet the citys promotion and reputation. People can also
present and discuss various interesting city topics on microblogs.
For example, on February 14, 2012, the Chinese Xkb website
started a creative microblog event named What is the character
of your city?, labeling Shanghai as a royal sister, Xian as an elder
uncle, Hangzhou as a fair lady and Guangzhou as an old grandmother (Xkb, 2012). These characterizations led to a heated discussion. People participated in this microblog debate and actively
forwarded the microblog all over the country. High forwarding
rates led to an increased awareness of the city characteristics and
images through the microblog. Microblogs, as the most widespread
social media category in China, provide a convenient, economical
and swift dialogue platform for use by Chinese cities in city branding and marketing (Cao, 2011; Wang, 2012; Yu, 2011).
Using social media to promote tourism destinations
In addition to microblogs, there are numerous other social media categories in use in China (Ogilvy China, 2011). Although the
popularity of microblogs enables the widest coverage rate in Chinese urban areas, other social media, such as professional SNS (social network site), LBS (location based on service) and review (i.e.,
online comments) websites, also promote cities as tourism destinations. Social media has a signicant inuence on city marketing,
particularly in promoting cities as tourism destinations (Yu, 2013).
It is also a suitable platform for enhancing the experience and loyalty of city visitors. Some Chinese municipal departments have
integrated ofcial tourism microblogs and websites and released
promotional videos of the city through video sharing websites
(e.g., Tudou, Youku websites in China). These Chinese cities have
also launched online mobile networking games to promote tourism destinations. For example, on November 8, 2012, Nanjing,
the capital city of Jiangsu Province, which is hosting the Youth
Olympic Games in 2014, declared through its website that Nanjing

was going to employ social media, such as online mobile SNS,

games and videos, to promote Nanjing as a tourism destination
(Wmnj, 2012). The Tourism Bureau of Shandong Province,
proposed Hospitable Shandong as a tourism slogan to market
Shandong cities using social media, including ofcial tourism
microblogs and online tourism community websites (Yu, 2013).
The UGC from social media can also contribute to the
promotion of cities as tourism destinations. There are several
online review websites, tourism communities and LBS (location
based on service) sites that exist in China. Through these media,
social media users can share their own tourism comments
about specic places, upload pictures and tourism plans and offer
strategies on tourism community websites. Users can also review
particular places on online review websites. For example, an
online tourism strategy community called Honeycomb has
launched the online mobile
Tourism Review software (Zheng, 2012). Honeycomb integrates information on tourism routes, places to shop, local snacks,
public transportation, hotels, interesting places and even tourist
comments on a specic city or place (Zheng, 2012). Users can easily
search specic Chinese city tourism information on this website.
All of the information from this online community is generated
by users, a characteristic that embodies the main attributes of
so- cial media (Zheng, 2012). There are other types of social media
that contribute to the tourism in Chinese cities, such as LBS
websites (location based on service). One typical LBS website is
Jiepang. It is a new SNS community based on the real location
(i.e., cities) of users that combines the real and virtual lives of
citizens. Users can upload their own city life stories and record
their footprints about their living cities. Similar to
the
Honeycomb community,
Jiepang provides a platform for users to introduce the food, interesting places and experiences related to their own cities (Baidu,
2012). These new types of social media, as discussed above, can
provide suitable channels to promote Chinese cities as tourism
destinations. Unlike ofcial government microblogs, these new
types of social media, such as LBS websites and SNS communities
based on a specic city, have content generated by common users,
and they more conveniently satisfy and promote identication of
city customers. Therefore, new types of social media can also contribute to the promotion of cities as tourism destinations.

Conclusions
This paper explores the present developmental level of social
media in China, particularly the application of social media tactics
by Chinese cities for city marketing. Social media, as the new new
media with numerous advanced forms, is becoming more popular
globally. Firms, organizations and governments can employ this
new new media to market themselves. Compared with traditional media, social media provides a more convenient, participative, open, transparent and interactive dialogue platform for the
general public to express their ideas. Similar to companies and
organizations, cities have their own customers and can employ
marketing approaches to promote themselves. As a result of the
increasing utilization of social media in rms and the public
sector, social media is a new promotional instrument that can also
be ap- plied in city marketing. Microblog platforms are the most
wide- spread social media category in China, and they have
played a vital role
in city marketing. Ofcial
government
microblogs are ful- lling the purpose of promoting both the
government and the city image. Microblogs contribute to the
publicity of city brands, in part because of high forwarding and
transmission rates. This paper also reviews how some new
categories of social media, such as LBS, SNS, online tourism
communities and online review websites, can promote Chinese
cities as tourism destinations. Unlike the gov- ernment

microblogs, the information transmitted from these new

platforms is generated by users. Based on word-of-mouth communication, they can enhance the satisfaction and identication of
city customers.
However, some new problems have arisen, such as how to
deliberately manage and direct public opinion using this new
new media. Because of the rapid social media transmission rates,
it is a serious challenge for the Chinese public sectors to handle
negative information during city marketing. For example, negative
information is usually the result of people writing about a tourism
experience. If one person, particularly an opinion leader, uploads a
negative tour experience and comments on a microblog, it will
damage that citys image and brand. In addition, the reliability of
information from social media can also present problems. Some
types of social media, such as SNS and LBS websites, are launched
by third party rms. What are the effective governmental department policies to deliberately manage and integrate social media?
Moreover, social media as a new new media cannot easily replace traditional media for city marketing. Because of the wide
use of social media, this channel is popular among people who
can afford the necessary instruments (e.g., smart phones and
com- puters) and access to social media. For disadvantaged
groups, with low income and poor education, it is difcult to
afford and access the necessary instruments; consequently, they
are not familiar with social media. Social media cannot entirely
replace traditional media in China,
particularly for the
disadvantaged groups. How to integrate both the traditional and
new new media into city mar- keting strategies needs to be
further studied. Future studies should further explore the
integration framework of both traditional and social media in city
marketing. It is also necessary to make a more robust empirical
analysis of practical city marketing social media cases.
Acknowledgments
This paper is nancially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71272226) and the Post-70s Scholars Academic Development Program of Wuhan University, China.
The authors thank Dr. R. Edward Grumbine, Kunming Institute of
Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Prof. Dequn Zhou, Kunming University of Science and Technology; and Mr. Will Feinburg,
IES Kunming Center, for their comments and grammar
improvements.
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