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Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

Influencer marketing is evolving, and so is the way brands measure success. That’s why Meltwater is proud to announce a new partnership with YouTube, integrating YouTube’s Creator Partnerships API directly into our Influencer Marketing platform.

Introducing Verified YouTube Data in Meltwater Influencer Marketing

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

In the world of public relations, marketing, and social media, every mention of your brand has the potential to provide valuable insight and opportunity. But in order to fully harness this potential, you need to locate and interpret these mentions.

Why is this such a challenge? Because, while we've seen the relative decline of print, TV has remained a staple in the daily routines of global consumers, with the average person watching between 2 and 5 hours of TV every day. At first, monitoring mentions of your brand in broadcast media might seem like a straightforward task, but considering there are approximately 22,000 television networks, 44,000 radio stations, and over 4 million podcasts, do you really have the time to find, filter, and interpret this data manually? 

Instead, you can use a network broadcast monitoring tool like Meltwater to handle the legwork and find relevant mentions as they appear. But before we get into those details, let's explore what the broadcast media landscape looks like today and how media monitoring can help you tap into the insights it offers. 

The Benefits of Using Broadcast Monitoring Software

Comprehensive Broadcast Media Monitoring: A Quick How-To

All-Encompassing Broadcast Monitoring from Meltwater

Today, the definition of broadcast media goes far beyond the platforms it's hosted on. It is a hybrid of smart TVs, internet devices, and social sharing - creating a new kind of network that blurs the lines between traditional and modern broadcasting. There is two-way feedback on content, some of it generated by users, and levels of interaction that simply weren't possible before.

And, while "Americans have been spending more time looking at their mobile device screens than they’ve spent watching TV since 2019", according to eMarketer, TV has also found its way onto those mobile devices, further perpetuating this hybrid trend across device borders. So how does this help PR and comms professionals define the current state of hybrid broadcasting? Let's briefly take a look at a few examples:

Also known as Smart TV, this technology is powered by the Internet and gives marketers and advertisers exciting new opportunities to embrace multimedia. Esther Maguire, SVP of Marketing for VideoAmp hails Connected TV as "a powerful medium for connecting the dots between awareness and attribution in 2021" because "it’s important to reach people when they’re most receptive to consuming ads". In this way, TV news monitoring remains a powerful tool for savvy marketers who want to stay in touch with consumer reactions and brand mentions. 

Digital audio has blown up over the course of the last few years. There are now thousands of internationally recognized podcasters. The shows they create, often accompanied by a video clip for each episode, are streamed on global audio platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Tip: See the best PR podcasts, social media podcasts, tech podcasts, finance podcasts, SEO podcasts, e-commerce podcasts, retail podcasts, marketing podcasts, and branding podcasts

On the opposite (but related) end of TV news, engaging, short-format video is all the rage on social media. In fact, 74% of marketers said that video had a better ROI than static images, according to a 2021 survey released by Biteable. 

When social giant Instagram launched its video segment, Reels, in late 2020, they created a way for users to produce their own 15-second video content. Today it is used by everybody from Louis Vuitton (7 million views) to the NBA, showcasing its ability to facilitate two-way social broadcasting with impact. 

Tip: Learn more in our Instagram Reels guide, and learn how to schedule Instagram Reels

TikTok then soared into the stratosphere, offering Covid house-bound teens a haven of entertainment. TikTok quickly blossomed into an extremely popular app for all ages, providing brands a unique opportunity to connect with wider audiences. 

Tip: Get more information on the best times to post on TikTok, the most followed TikTok accounts, and using TikTok for business.

Digital or online news broadcasting brought journalism to the world stage in a more global way. Now consumers have regular and instant access to news stories from around the world. This can be broadly categorized into two groups: traditional journalists appearing on news channels or promoting their own work on sites like Substack, and the newer school of citizen journalists, using the power of the internet to piece together the news as it happens.  

These are just a few examples of platforms that generate broadcast news content on a regular basis. But one things for certain: it has created an interwoven environment that is impossible to monitor manually. 

As marketers, this presents us with complex challenges in terms of reaching consumers, managing communities and measuring the impact of our messaging. To address these challenges, we recommend tapping into the power of a media monitoring software.

Network broadcast monitoring tools are essential for staying on top of your brand mentions. You can be alerted in real time when sentiment shifts occur, when unusual spikes in mentions happen, and much more. From this information you can:

Have access to all mentions of your brand 

Find out how consumers feel about your media content by analyzing media coverage

Use AI to avoid human error and get more accurate results

Analyze broadcast trends alongside your news and social media coverage

Quickly generate media monitoring reports that clients will love

Want to get a free demo of our media monitoring solution? Fill out the form at the bottom of this blog and we'll be in touch!

With the right broadcast monitoring system, you can make quick work of finding relevant insights from global coverage. There's no need to rely on ancient methods like using a clipping service, manually filtering through media, or relying on time-intensive research methods. It's become a simpler and more efficient process for marketers with access to the right broadcast monitoring software. Let's explore how.

1. Establish objectives. While goal-setting is typically a good place to begin any research project, you'll need some context in place before you identify your main objectives. Your first task is to get a sense of the current digital broadcasting landscape through social listening, and use this research to spot the gaps you aim to address. This can be done at a broad level or refined to give you more granular detail. 

Tip: Check out our Social Listening for Benchmarking Guide for more info.

2. Identify trends. Once you know what you're looking for, you can segment your monitoring strategy into phases to identify key trends in your mentions. With social listening, you can follow range of channels to understand how consumers feel about your brand using sentiment analysis, find out which of your partnerships are paying off, and use these insights to improve your overall marketing strategy. With Meltwater's broadcast monitoring, you'll also be able to download your captured clips so that you'll always have a copy of the brand or news mention. 

All-Encompassing Broadcast Monitoring Services from Meltwater

Choose Meltwater for a centralized solution that gives you full-fledged functionality and deep insight into the network broadcasting world online. Our AI-powered media and PR tools crawl billions of data points to help you understand the virtual reality your brand operates in. 

Use a broadcast monitoring service to analyze consumer reactions and perceptions about content shared on every channel, from TV stations to burgeoning social media platforms, and even in speech-to-text and closed-caption text scenarios. 

Set a real-time alert in our app to find out every time your brand is mentioned. Know your target customer better than they know themselves. And, most importantly, prepare your brand for future changes and adaptations in a digital landscape that is at best promising but volatile and at worst, a breeding ground for crises.

The Meltwater platform really is the gold standard for communications professionals who want to create data-driven strategies and better understand their worth and network.

Interested in learning more in a free demo? Fill out the form below to connect with our team.

With broadcast monitoring, you're spared from watching every network broadcast, documentary, kid's cartoon, and news cycle in case your brand is mentioned. Forget manually mining through hundreds of hours of media in pursuit of real-time data. 

TV & Radio Broadcast Monitoring with Meltwater: Everything you need to know

Note: This blog is based on the Global Digital Report 2025 (Digital 2025 China) – produced in partnership with Meltwater and We Are Social. See Simon Kemp's article about The Essential Guide to the Global State of Digital in 2025. Download the Global Digital Report 2025 for free.

China has the world’s second biggest population at 1.42 billion, with 1.11 billion people online (+1.9% or +20 million). Social media usage continues to expand, now covering 1.08 billion user identities in the country, up 2.5% from last year. The biggest and most notable shift, however, is in mobile: cellular connections have risen by 108 million, reaching 1.87 billion or 132% of the population. This moderate increase reflects how China continues to scale its digital infrastructure, with technology becoming more embedded in the daily lives of its people.

What's ahead for social media in China in 2025?

China’s demographic profile reflects scale and digital readiness.

With a total population of 1.42 billion, China remains the world’s second most populous country behind India (1.45b), even after a slight year-on-year dip of -3.2 million (-0.2%). Its gender split is relatively even at 49.1% female, 50.9% male. Additionally, the median age is 40.1, placing China in a similar bracket to Thailand (40.6) and Australia (38.3), but significantly older than young populations like Malaysia (31) and the Philippines (26.1). Literacy rates remain high: 97% overall, with 95% literacy among women and 98% among men.

Urbanisation stands at 66%, which is lower than some might expect for a country that’s established itself as highly advanced in digital technology. The reason is simple: China’s massive land area supports a large rural population, as millions of people live outside major cities. Despite this, many still participate in digital life through their established mobile connectivity. With a population density of 147.5 people per km², brands must look beyond Beijing and Shanghai and create strategies that reach users across both their urban centres and equally connected rural areas.

China’s population is concentrated in its working-age core, with fewer young people coming up behind.

The largest age demographic in China sits between 30 and 59, with each five-year bracket between this range having more than 90 million people. The peak is in the 35–39 and 55–59 ranges, with 122 million (8.6% of the total population) and 117 million (8.2%) people, respectively. These segments represent the backbone of China’s consumer base.

Meanwhile, China’s under-20 segment is relatively small: only 6% are aged 15–19, and just 5.6% are aged 20-24 years old. This points to a maturing population with slower generational turnover than neighbouring markets like Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. For marketers, this signals a need to prioritise strategies that target middle-aged consumers while potentially building long-term brand relevance with a relatively smaller Gen Z base.

China remains one of the largest online populations in the world, with consistent growth still underway.

As of January 2025, 1.11 billion people in China are online, a +1.9% increase from last year, adding 20 million new users. Internet penetration is at 78% of the total population, with usage continuing to expand across both urban and rural areas.

Nearly all internet users (97.1%) go online using mobile phones, with daily internet usage averaging 5 hours and 35 minutes, up by 2 minutes or +0.7% from the previous year. With continued gains in both reach and screen time, China remains a highly active and deeply connected online market.

Chinese people experience a majority of their time on the internet using their mobile phones.

Of the 5 hours and 35 minutes that Chinese users spend online daily, 3 hours and 32 minutes happen on mobile phones. That gives smartphones a 63.3% share of total daily internet time, which is nearly two-thirds of all screen activity.

Meanwhile, computers and tablets make up the remaining 2 hours and 3 minutes, showing that while desktop still plays a role in Chinese internet usage, mobile is the primary means for most browsing, streaming, and scrolling.

The main reason Chinese people go online is to stay in touch with friends and family, cited by 56.5% of users. This is followed by watching videos, TV shows, or movies (51.8%), and keeping up to date with news and events (48.5%). Finding information comes next at 45.6%, while general browsing and filling up spare time round out the top five at 43.2%.

These internet usage habits reflect a digital culture in China rooted in both function and entertainment, while also highlighting how people increasingly use the internet to gain knowledge and skills such as education and study-related purposes (36.3%), learning how to do things (34.7%), researching places, vacations and travel (32.4%), and exploring products and brands (28.9%). For marketers, this suggests that Chinese users often go online to solve problems, making educational content, practical guides, and product discovery important strategies for connecting with them.

China’s most-used apps are powered by social connection, video, and digital payments.

Topping the list of apps in China with the most monthly users is Douyin (ByteDance), China’s version of TikTok. Weixin, developed by Tencent, which is the equivalent of WeChat internationally, comes in second, highlighting its central role in everything from messaging to mobile payments in China. Third is Kuaishou, a local competitor of Douyin, which is another short-form video platform that reflects the continued dominance of content-based social media.

Outside of social and entertainment, Alipay ranks fourth, highlighting how digital payments have become a central way for people in China to transact. Pinduoduo, Taobao, and JD.com also make the top 10, showing that shopping and transactions are integrated into the mobile experience.

For brands, these apps show how content, communication, and commerce make up the internet routine of people in China. With users actively consuming, sharing, and shopping in the same digital spaces, brand success depends on crafting content that’s designed to perform within platform algorithms and social behaviours.

China’s social media usage is both massive and steadily growing.

As of early 2025, China has 1.08 billion social media user identities, a +2.5% year-on-year increase that adds 27 million new accounts. This figure represents 76.5% of the total population, and more importantly, 98% of internet users in China. With social media reaching nearly all internet users in China, the scale of the audience offers brands a wide pool of potential customers to reach with the right social media strategies.

But, despite the expanding number of social media identities in China, daily time spent on social media has dipped slightly to 1 hour and 54 minutes, down by 3 minutes from the previous year. Meanwhile, gender distribution is nearly even, with 51.4% of identities male and 48.6% female.

In China, social media is just as much about e-commerce as it is about keeping connected.

The top three reasons users in China turn to social media are keeping in touch with friends and family (45.4%), filling spare time (36.5%), and seeing what’s being talked about (30.3%). These reflect the same social and entertainment behaviours seen in broader internet use, but the fourth most common reason marks a shift in intent, and it’s one worth watching for the brands and the marketers in China.

28.8% of internet users in China say they use social media to find products to purchase, which is nearly one in three users actively browsing platforms with buying intent. Add to that the 26.3% who watch livestreams, and you get a clearer view of how China’s influencer-driven online ecosystem is connected to digital marketing and e-commerce. On top of that, there’s also 23.1% who use social media to find inspiration for things to do and buy, further connecting content consumption and online shopping habits.

In short, social media users in China aren’t just scrolling to kill time: They’re looking for what to buy next. And as we’ll see later in this report, brands are taking note by investing heavily in influencer marketing and digital media ad spend to reach these intent-driven users.

The most-used platforms among Chinese internet users aged 16+ reflect a balance of utility, entertainment, and discovery. At the top is Weixin (WeChat), used by 91.8% of internet users, which does not come as a surprise, as it’s the default app for messaging, payments, and more. Douyin follows at 83%, as it’s the backbone of China’s short-form video and influencer economy with its algorithm-driven, commerce-friendly design. Whether Chinese users are filling spare time or researching what to buy, Douyin serves as the central hub that meets many of the reasons Chinese people go online in the first place.

Third is QQ (63.4%), Tencent’s older messaging platform developed back in 1999, which still draws a loyal base. Baidu Tieba (60.2%) offers a search-driven community experience similar to Reddit, where users engage in groups about their common interests. Rounding out the top five is Xiaohongshu (56.3%), a lifestyle-focused app often described as a mix between Instagram and Pinterest, known for product reviews and curated, aesthetic feeds. It’s especially popular among younger women looking for inspiration on what to buy and how to style themselves, with content often presented in a lookbook format.

You may be wondering where the typical social media platforms are. You know, the ones you often see at the top of these kinds of charts. As you can see, there’s a clear pattern among the top platforms we just mentioned: they’re the Chinese equivalents of global apps. Others we haven’t discussed yet but are also among the most used in China include Weibo, a commentary and opinion-sharing platform with a blog-like vibe similar to X. Then there’s Kuaishou, which, as mentioned earlier, is a short-form video platform similar to TikTok - known in China as Douyin (the Chinese app that the globally-used TikTok is based on). And of course, Weixin, which is known internationally as WeChat.

Nearly 8 out of 10 internet users in China use social media for brand research.

With 79.1% of internet users in China aged 16+ using social media platforms to learn more about products and companies, it’s safe to say that having your brand visible on social media already puts you in front of a highly motivated audience. For companies looking to enter and grow in the China market, investing in a social media presence isn’t just something to consider; it’s one of the key ways to improve brand visibility and drive engagement.

WeChat and Weixin have an established social media presence in China, adding over 46 million users over the past year.

As of early 2025, WeChat and Weixin have a combined global user base of 1.38 billion, growing by +3.4% year-on-year, with an additional 11 million users joining in the most recent quarter alone. Together, they now account for 24.8% of all internet users in China and 16.9% of the global population. Gender distribution remains fairly balanced, with 52.2% male and 47.8% female users. Additionally, over a fifth of the people in China aged 13 and up (21.4%) use it, showing how it’s a part of daily life for both middle schoolers chatting with friends and China’s predominantly older users staying in touch with colleagues.

Out of the 5 hours and 35 minutes that users in China spend online daily, 3 hours and 32 minutes are spent on mobile. That’s over 63% of all internet time happening on a smartphone. It’s always a good idea to optimise content for mobile usage in China, whether it’s websites, ads, content, or shopping links that branch from social media platforms. To keep it simple: if your content doesn’t load quickly, scroll smoothly, or grab attention, it risks being ignored and wastes your digital marketing spend.

On top of being heavily used for internet access, mobile connections in China are still growing. There are now 1.87 billion cellular connections, a +6.1% increase from last year, adding 108 million new lines, which means mobile connectivity stands at 132% of the population. If there’s one takeaway from these previous two sections, it’s this: if your brand strategy isn’t prioritising mobile optimisation in China, you’re likely already a step behind the competition.

E-commerce in China is growing rapidly and at scale, with over 80 million new online shoppers added in the past year.

In 2024, a total of 946 million people in China purchased consumer goods online, amounting to a +9.3% increase year-on-year. This increase in the number of online shoppers in China helped push total e-commerce spend on consumer goods to $1.47 trillion, up +17.1% or $214 billion from the year before. On average, each shopper spent $1,553, marking a +7.1% increase in annual revenue per user.

With the rise of mobile usage in China comes the rise in spending using them: 53.3% of all consumer goods e-commerce spend came from purchases made via mobile phones, an increase of +7.1% from the previous year. With 31.2% of total retail value now coming from online channels, up +11.4% year-on-year, it’s clear that digital shopping is a major trend to watch in 2025 and beyond.

Physical media tops China’s e-commerce categories, with a tech-savvy twist.

Surprisingly, the #1 e-commerce consumer goods category in China is physical media, with an annual spend of $333 billion. At first glance, this might seem unexpected in a digital-first era, where almost anything can be accessed and paid for with a tap. But, many of these physical purchases include scannable QR codes or bonus access to digital content, merging traditional ways to consume media with China’s high-tech culture.

Coming in second is food, at $284 billion, reflecting the growing integration of e-commerce into daily needs for the Chinese people. Fashion follows at $237 billion, solidifying the role of social media platforms in shaping how consumers look for clothes and accessories online. DIY & hardware and tobacco claim the fourth and fifth spots, with $148 billion and $122 billion, respectively, while electronics rounds out the top notable e-commerce goods categories at $116 billion.

In China’s e-commerce landscape, savings and social proof drive conversions.

Consumers in China are more likely to purchase things online if they’re cheap and highly rated by others. Free delivery tops the list at 36.3%, standing out as a key priority, highlighting how shoppers are actively looking for ways to cut costs. When relying more heavily on e-commerce for daily needs, these delivery fees stack up, especially on goods from different sources. Close behind are coupons and discounts at 29.3%, pointing to the strong influence of seasonal promos and app-specific deals. It’s clear that e-commerce in China is highly price-driven when its top 2 priorities point to this.

Social likes and comments come in third at 25.5%, just ahead of easy returns policies at 24.8%, followed closely by customer reviews at 23%. This backs the idea that what fellow shoppers say, whether friends or strangers, plays a major role in the final purchase decisions of consumers in China. For marketers, that means savings will always be the top priority, with social proof potentially tipping the scales in your favour.

Digital payments have also been on the rise in China, as its mobile-first lifestyle continues to influence how its masses shop and spend.

With mobile usage in China rising, internet access happening mostly through phones, and e-commerce accelerating, digital payments have followed suit, also climbing quickly in China. Nearly everything can now be paid for with a smartphone in seconds, often via WeChat or Weibo’s QR code system, which links directly to users’ savings accounts. 

This transformation is echoed in its numbers: 908 million consumers in China made digital payments in 2024, up +10.6% or +87.2 million, while the total annual value of digital payments skyrocketed to $3.74 trillion, a +13.6% or $449 billion increase. All this has resulted in a per-user annual spend of $4,120, showing just how big a part of daily life mobile is in China.

Brand discovery in China may seem fragmented, but it all leads back to social media.

At first glance, you might think social media doesn’t top the chart, but a closer inspection reveals otherwise. Word of mouth leads at 28.4%, but word doesn’t spread on its own: It travels because people see brands first through social media. It’s no coincidence that social media comments rank high too, at 25.7%, matching the percentage of users who rely on search engines to find new products. These comments act as testimonials and help validate purchasing decisions, which, as we saw earlier, play a huge role in converting casual browsing into action.

Meanwhile, social media ads (23.6%) and mobile app ads (21.7%) continue to be some of the most straightforward ways to place your brand in front of the right audience. The numbers might be spread across multiple touchpoints, but with Chinese users spending most of their time on mobile and scrolling through platforms like Douyin or Xiaohongshu, social-led digital marketing strategies remain one of the most direct and effective routes to drive action.

Brands in China know how important digital ads are, with allocated budgets climbing fast.

China’s total advertising spend reached $233 billion, and the majority of that went into digital ads at $200 billion, marking a +10.3% increase year-on-year. This is $18.8 billion more than the year before, as digital now makes up 86% of all ad spend. Brands in China are ramping up their online campaigns to become relevant and stay visible in a mobile-first market, where consumers are easily influenced nowadays to make purchases even during their downtime.

All roads lead back to social media in China, as its ad spend surges with brands chasing attention where it counts.

Social media marketing has continued to gain ground in China, with annual spend on social media ads capping at $84.7 billion, up 16% from the previous year. It now makes up 42.3% of total digital ad spend, growing by +5.1% year-on-year. These figures signal precisely that marketers are putting their money where consumers are spending their time.

Influencer marketing takes centre stage in China’s social media strategy.

As social media marketing continues to grow in China, influencer advertising has become one of the main ways brands promote themselves on these platforms. Ad spend on influencer campaigns hit $19.2 billion in 2024, a jump of +14.3%, adding $2.4 billion to the previous year’s total. It now makes up 9.6% of all digital ad spend in the country, with its allocation growing by +3.6% year-on-year.

This format is working precisely due to how consumers in China are highly tuned into recommendations, especially from creators and influencers they trust. It’s about credibility as much as it is about visibility in China’s current social media advertising landscape. As the year comes to a close, this is a key trend worth paying attention to. In a market where social proof drives buying decisions, choosing the right influencer might be your most important marketing move you make.

Social media in China is developing and expanding fast, shaping a smoother customer experience from discovery to conversion. Similarly, as mobile usage rises, the connection between brands and consumers is becoming more direct and seamless. Here’s where brands should keep their eyes in the months ahead:

Mobile will continue to drive strategy
With over 63% of internet time spent on smartphones and 132% mobile connectivity, mobile-first experiences need to be prioritised. Brands that fail to optimise content, checkout, and ad formats for mobile will fall behind the competition.

E-commerce and social media have become a joint package for consumers in China
Nearly 1 in 3 Chinese users browse social media platforms to shop (28.8%) and research brands through social media (79.1%); this behaviour is being matched by rising digital ad spend (+10.3%). Expect more influencer livestreams and creator-led shopping formats to dominate the e-commerce landscape in China - and don’t forget to follow suit.

Social Media Statistics for China [Updated 2025]

In recent years, QR codes have become staples in numerous consumer settings, from replacing paper menus and bills in restaurants to decorating the corners of ads. At the same time, the emergence of QR code-based scams, known as “quishing” and broader privacy concerns may have dealt a serious blow to trust in this once-novel technology. 

As our Global Digital Reports show, monthly use of QR codes was increasing steadily for two years before decreasing nearly 5% at the end of 2024. Nevertheless, as of July 2025, 16.2% of internet users aged 16 and up still use QR codes provided by companies and brands at least once a month, with the highest rates of usage among those aged 65 and up.

Download our 2026 Global Digital Report to access the full collection of data on digital marketing, consumer habits, and more.

We used our social listening and analytics solution to dig into the discourse on QR codes today.

Our analysis found that, across all sources, mentions of QR codes and trust are up 116% over the past six months compared to the six months prior. This increase was significantly driven by the launch of the United Nations’ initiative to standardize digital product passports and discussion of QR codes’ potential use in that capacity.

Similarly, our data shows that the much larger general conversation about QR codes also grew, though much less dramatically, by 18%. This increase was primarily driven by discussion around the use of QR codes in functions requiring public trust. This includes elections, with US President Donald Trump’s May executive order banning bar codes and QR codes on ballots. And it also includes transparency in public infrastructure, a discussion sparked by a viral post on X suggesting that roads should feature QR codes linked to information about their construction.

This Reddit post about Labubu authenticity generated hundreds of responses, featuring several mentions of using QR codes for verification.

Interestingly, QR codes have also emerged as a talking point in one of this year’s biggest pop culture sensations, Labubu dolls. The top Reddit channel for discussion of QR codes over the past six months is r/Labubu, where the technology has been mentioned more than 4,700 times. Since becoming a global phenomenon, Labubus are a highly faked and counterfeited item. The QR codes on the dolls’ tags and packaging are key to confirming their authenticity. This discussion, as well as the continuation of the UN’s previously noted initiative, hints that QR codes’ use in consumer goods manufacturing and retail will likely continue to be a hot topic in the months ahead.

Learn more about counterfeiting and consumer trust in our Consumer Insights: Luxury Fashion Resale report. 

What the QR codes discussion means for marketers and brands

Overall, our analysis didn’t uncover evidence that public trust in QR codes is waning. It did, however, suggest that trust in QR codes will continue to be a hot topic for both public- and private-sector organizations to pay close attention to. Marketers, take note:

QR code use is evolving, not disappearing. Monitoring the discussion around it can help you see early cues of how to use QR codes strategically, if at all, in different realms.

Trust is central. Pay attention to the latest alerts around QR code scams to learn how to better protect and educate your customers and audience. 

Consider your audience. Older consumers are much more likely to interact with branded QR codes than younger ones. Precise link tracking and social listening, though, can give you a better understanding of where your particular audience stands.

Do Consumers Trust QR Codes?

The 2025 Philippine General Election was a campaign unfolding on two fronts: While candidates went around the country on campaign trails, a significant and equally intense effort was simultaneously underway online. A mix of satire, outrage, and hope converged in real-time through the 245,000 election-related posts, which had a potential reach of 5.9 billion. 

With more than 29 million engagement actions during this campaign period from April 15 to May 14, 2025, online feeds played a role in the election that was as significant as that of in-person rallies. 

The most visible content during the election period was satirical: Humorous posts associated with the #Bonggos hashtag reached over 12 million. These posts were characterised by memes and comedic formats that revolved around current Philippine Senator Bong Go. Although many of these posts were intended for laughs, the attention highlights how any kind of publicity can drive visibility; as a whole, he led all senatorial candidates with a total of 19,784 posts about himself.

Humor, in this case, served as a way for Philippine social media users to express their personal views. These come in many shapes and forms: sometimes extremely critical, and other times light-hearted, but consistently influential in extending reach and driving engagement. 

On the other hand, there was also a ​​more traditional political discourse that revolved around the potential return of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidency, and concerns about electoral integrity, all of which generated significant online chatter. This mix of satirical and serious conversation characterises the way Filipinos engage with politics across digital platforms.

Beyond all the heated debates, funny memes, and trending topics, the general election period marked a moment where the Philippines’ younger social media demographic rallied together with a shared message. Filipinos encouraged each other across social media to be informed about the candidates, understand relevant issues, and simply to vote. Top hashtags like #Halalan2025, #yourvoice2025, and #bilangpilipino2025 served as rallying cries for people to come together and make a difference. 

Advocacy organisations, everyday citizens, and even some of the candidates themselves did their best to make the process feel less intimidating and more empowering. These keyphrases constantly reminded people that a little bit of effort to vote can go a long way and translate into tangible real-world impact. In a system where people typically feel that a single vote doesn’t make a difference, the viral nature of these hashtags helped turn participation into something people believe could be powerful.

The Digital Campaign Trail: From the Streets to the Feeds

Once dominated by traditional forms of advertising, such as print ads and broadcast media, today’s political battles in the Philippines are increasingly won through news feeds. During the election period, social media penetration continues to drive high-impact engagement, especially towards the country’s highly active online population. Political posts surged across platforms such as X, Facebook, and Reddit, with some candidates turning to TikTok to tap into viral trends that connect with and relate to younger voters.

Using Meltwater’s social intelligence platform, we were able to map how candidate visibility online closely aligned with voter behaviour. The results speak for themselves: those who dominated engagement, measured by post volume, reach, and interactions, were the same names that secured Senate seats in the 2025 election.

A distinct pattern can be seen in the bubble chart, which plots candidates according to Engagement Actions versus Estimated Reach: Bam Aquino, Bong Go, Imee Marcos, and Kiko Pangilinan were the front-runners on social media. Each of them secured a seat through their online platforms, demonstrating that their online momentum could be an indicator of actual results rather than just noise.

Our data reveal that corruption, education, and public safety were the most discussed issues during the recent Philippine General Election. Not only were they trending buzzwords for this campaign period, but they also defined the discourse of the top-performing candidates.

Bam Aquino’s strong showing in the polls, which even he admitted was unexpected, is one of the clearest examples of how social media engagement can align with real-world results. He credits much of his popularity to youth voters, which makes sense given that millennials and Gen Z are the most active demographics on Philippine social media.

His alignment with anti-corruption reform and education, two of the most talked-about issues during the campaign season, helped drive his visibility. His online presence grew steadily, whether it was through natural discussions or issue-based content. As his candidate-leading 3.96 million engagement actions increased across platforms, so did his momentum heading into Election Day.

In addition to gauging popularity, Meltwater’s social listening platform allows you to learn where audiences are active and which narratives are going viral.

The 2025 Philippine General Election underscored the growing significance of internet engagement and demonstrated the potential for social media to influence public opinion. Those that showed up where it mattered, aligned with the key issues, and engaged in the relevant conversations were the ones who came out on top.

Online chatter, whether in the form of a meme, a hashtag, or a trending topic, sparked curiosity and helped mobilize a generation of voters. When analyzed, this engagement can reveal patterns and insights that may help to gauge public sentiment and inform public strategy. This analysis is not just a message for politicians, but for anyone trying to connect with an audience. The same insights that may help shape election outcomes can guide brands, institutions, and communicators to know when to act, where to engage, and how to make their message resonate.

In a fast-moving digital landscape, real-time social intelligence is not just helpful. It is a valuable tool for gaining an edge. Because, as this election showed, social media is a critical arena for shaping narratives and gaining support, though it is not the only factor that determines the final outcome.

Want to uncover similar insights for your industry or next campaign? Contact us today to learn more about Meltwater's social intelligence solutions.

The Meltwater Blog

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Social Media Statistics for China [Updated 2025]

Do Consumers Trust QR Codes?

Philippine Election 2025: Digital Insights & Social Media Impact

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