(MENAFN- TimesNewswire )
Reference Think Tank and CRC index jointly released the“Chinese Cities with Strongest Communication Impact Index on Overseas Social media (September 2024)” recently. This index covers a monitoring period from September 1 to 30, 2024, encompassing 133 Chinese cities. The data collected encompasses four overseas social media platforms: Facebook, platform X, Instagram, and YouTube.
During this monitoring period, the primary strategy employed by Chinese cities on overseas social media was the continuous output of content to build and accumulate influence. Some Chinese cities actively set topics and utilized diversified methods to promote their unique features. Additionally, some Chinese cities maintained high-frequency interactions with overseas audiences, actively exploring effective solutions for the international communication of Chinese cities, and achieving notable results.
TOP 10 of Chinese cities with strongest communication impact index on overseas social media (graphic: CRC Index)
I Situation
In terms of comprehensive communication impact, the top ten cities are Nanjing, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Suzhou, and Cangzhou, in order.
TOP 10 of Chinese cities with strongest comprehensive communication impact index on overseas social media (graphic: CRC Index)
Culture serves as the soul of a city and is a crucial component of its soft power. Additionally, culture plays a significant role in international communication, and establishing distinctive cultural brands is essential for enhancing a city's international competitiveness.
During this monitoring period, Beijing's accounts exhibited distinctive performance. As the capital and a leading international metropolis, Beijing has consistently been at the forefront of cultural promotion among Chinese cities. For instance, on September 30, it posted on Facebook showcasing the design style of a Beijing subway transfer station that blends classical and modern elements, making it highly attractive. As of the date of our statistics, the post had garnered 19,000 likes.
In addition, sports-related topics emerged as an effective means for Beijing to promote international communication during this monitoring period. During the China Tennis Open, Beijing's account on Platform X utilized the hashtag #ChinaOpen on September 30 to introduce the intense match scenarios, along with the experiences of athletes and tourists in Beijing. This attracted the attention of overseas Internet users and contributed to enriching Beijing's overseas city image.
Screenshots of relevant posts from Beijing's account on Facebook and X
II Impact of Chinese Cities on Overseas Social Media
(I) Facebook communication impact index of Chinese cities
In September 2024, the cities with relatively higher Facebook communication impact index in China are: Nanjing, Beijing, Xiamen, Chongqing, Chengdu, Qingdao, Jining, Yantai, Hangzhou, and Weihai.
TOP 10 Chinese cities with strongest communication impact index on Facebook (graphic: CRC Index)
Cultural and entertainment activities reflecting traditional Chinese culture and local characteristics are more likely to become hot topics on overseas social media, helping cities build their brand for communication on these platforms. During this monitoring period, Nanjing's accounts stood out on Facebook, with its rich and interactive cultural and entertainment activities effectively boosting its overseas social media attention.
For instance, Nanjing's“Discover Nanjing” account used the hashtag #BridgesofHarmony to launch a series of posts titled“Bridges: A Cultural Intersection”, including a bridge-guessing interaction and the Dialogue Across Time and Space event. Centered on the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge and world-famous bridges, the activities explored the significance of bridges as cultural carriers. Officially launched on World Tourism Day, the event solicited creative works and cases on the theme of“bridges” from global cultural institutions, international organizations, and youth groups, encouraging netizens to share the unique role of bridges in cultural exchanges and urban development. These posts not only demonstrated Nanjing's cultural strengths but also successfully built a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries through the unique theme of“bridge”, further enhancing Nanjing's international influence. During the period when the posts were published, as of the date of our statistics, they received over 1.08 million exposures and 70,000 interactions.
Screenshots of relevant posts from Nanjing account on Facebook
(II) Communication impact i ndex of Chinese c ities on Platform X
In September 2024, the cities with relatively higher communication impact index on the Platform X in China are: Nanjing, Xiamen, Beijing, Yantai, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Nantong, Chengdu, Changzhou, and Fuzhou.
TOP 10 Chinese cities with strongest communication impact index on Platform X (graphic: CRC Index)
Music, as an ideal medium for cross-cultural exchange, transcends cultures and borders, resonating with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Currently, music has also become an effective topic for Chinese cities to promote cross-cultural communication and an important means to tell the stories of Chinese cities well. For example, Xiamen's account posted a concert preview on September 27, using the hashtag #LifeisXiamen to showcase the city's culture and lifestyle, creating a strong sense of atmosphere and artistry.
Nanjing's account focused on the theme of the“2024 Nanjing Forest Music Festival”. In the early stages of the event, it successfully attracted initial attention by posting the main visual poster of the“2024 Nanjing Forest Music Festival” on the Platform X. At the same time, it released warm-up promotional videos, festival posters, and song previews themed around the festival's 10th anniversary, creating a warm atmosphere for the festival. After the event, Nanjing's account also published in-depth reports and summary posts, comprehensively reviewing the highlights of the festival and deepening the global audience's cognition and emotional connection with Nanjing's urban culture. During this communication process, some posts even received likes and retweets from Zhang Heqing, a diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan. As of the date of our statistics, the series of event posts received over 2.64 million exposures, 150,000 interactions, and 198,000 plays.
Screenshots of relevant posts from Xiamen and Nanjing accounts on Platform X
( III ) C ommunication impact i ndex of Chinese c ities on Instagram
In September 2024, the cities with relatively higher Instagram communication impact index in China are: Nanjing, Beijing, Chengdu, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Harbin, Chongqing, Shanghai, Huangshan, and Fuzhou.
TOP 10 Chinese cities with strongest communication impact index on Instagram (graphic: CRC Index)
Technology has long been a popular topic on overseas social media platforms, playing a significant role in enhancing a city's international communication impact, persuasive power of discourse, and public opinion guidance.
As a Chinese new first-tier city, Hangzhou's technological development is particularly noteworthy. During this monitoring period, the Hangzhou account achieved 84,137 interactions with an interaction rate of 1,122, marking a substantial increase compared to the previous monitoring period. In September, the Hangzhou account made significant efforts in the field of technology-related topics, yielding positive results. For instance, on September 26, the Hangzhou account posted a video of a robot joining citizens in dancing square dances, which not only effectively showcased the positive and energetic demeanor of the citizens, but also provided a vivid interpretation of the city's technological advancements. This helped position“technological prowess” as a“new calling card” for Hangzhou.
Screenshot of relevant post from Hangzhou's account on Instagram
(IV) Communication impact i ndex of Chinese c ities on YouTube
In September 2024, the cities with relatively higher YouTube communication impact index in China are: Guangzhou, Nanjing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Beijing, Cangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Jiujiang.
TOP 10 of Chinese cities with strongest communication impact index on YouTube (graphic: CRC Index)
Traditional festivals, as typical representatives of traditional culture, serve as effective hitting points for Chinese cities to promote international communication; meanwhile, practical information catering to overseas tourists constitutes meaningful communication content. Combining these two elements can help cities achieve multiple effect in international communication. During this monitoring period, Guangzhou adopted the aforementioned strategy. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Guangzhou's account released a video titled“A Tour of the Flower City During the Full Moon Mid-Autumn Festival”, introducing relevant tourism information about Guangzhou during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was very charming and received a positive response. Based on the effective application of the above strategy, as of the date of our statistics, Guangzhou's account had a total of 199,014 video views in September, with an average of 39,803 views per video, marking a significant increase compared to the previous monitoring period.
Screenshot of relevant post from Guangzhou's account on YouTube
III. Research Notes
The“Chinese Cities with Strongest Communication Impact Index on Overseas Social Media” takes the main official accounts of Chinese cities as the subject of index evaluation. Based on multi-dimensional communication data from multiple overseas social media platforms, it calculates the index score for cities' international communication effectiveness through an index model. Platform weights are dynamically set according to factors such as each platform's global user scale, activity level, and relevance of impact, and the weighted calculation of indices across different platforms forms a comprehensive communication impact index. The algorithm for the international communication impact index system consists of both qualitative and quantitative components, with quantitative indicators accounting for 80% of the weight and qualitative indicators accounting for 20% of the weight.
Data acquisition method for this index: The official accounts of Chinese cities that engage in communication on overseas social media platforms are selected and included in a big data monitoring system. The system collects data on the communication behavior of these official accounts, including but not limited to: content creation data (Generate); interaction data (Interactive): data generated by actions such as sharing, commenting, and liking. user information utilization data (Utilize): data generated by actions such as subscribing/following and browsing. The design of the index model and the creation of the graphic are provided by CRC Index.
Research team members:
Reference Think Tank: Zhang Cheng, Zhang Luyu, Chong Shen, Zhang Weiwei, Li Qian
CRC Index: Liu Zhiming, Zhang Xi, Xu Shanshui, Liu Yang
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