REACHING WOULD-BE STUDENTS VIA MADE-IN-

CHINA SOCIAL MEDIA SITES: A STUDY OF CHINESE

STUDENT PERCEPTION

Student Name
Literature Review: Made-in-China SNSs

Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 3
Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 3
Literature Review................................................................................................................................ 4
Social Support Network ............................................................................................................ 5
Social Networking Sites & Chinese Students in UK...................................................... 5
UK Institutions and Social Networking Sites .................................................................. 6
Made-In-China Social Media Sites............................................................................................. 7
Institutional Use of Made-In-China Social Media Sites in UK .................................. 10
China and Social Networking Sites..................................................................................... 11
Social Media Significance and Effectiveness ................................................................ 14
Chinese Social Networking Sites and Chinese Students ........................................ 15
Chinese Social Media Effectiveness & Western Social Media .............................. 18
Recent Surveys of Institutional Use of Social Media ............................................... 18
Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................ 20
References ........................................................................................................................................... 21

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Introduction

In recent years, due to the rapid growth and extreme popularity of SNSs a unique chance of
enhancing interactions amongst students has been provided so that they can deeply understand
different cultures and knowledge. Many of the international students in UK prefer seeking
information from friends rather than depending on institutional support in campus. The western
social media sites such as Facebook. YouTube, Twitter, Myspace etc that are widely used
worldwide and are popular for the applications and information sharing among its users
providing greater opportunities to get in touch are banned in China. Therefore, the Chinese
students cannot access the Western social media sites and have developed their own versions of
Western social media sites that quickly growing their popularity in the mainland of China.
However, the institutions in UK can handle this problem through providing the marketing
initiatives to the made-in-china social media sites such Kaixin001, Sina Weibo, Youku, Renren
etc. The purpose of the current research study is to explore the perceptions of on-campus Chinese
students regarding the social media sites through reflecting the university application process of
their own. The objective of this research study is to analyze the potential and effectiveness of
Chinese social media for recruiting potential Chinese students so they can study in international
universities. In this regard, the current section explores the significance of social media for
students as well as Chinese social media significance for Chinese students. Moreover, the
potential of Chinese social media sites is investigated in order to examine the effectiveness
Chinese social media in the mainland of China as well as in UK. The research study also intends
to find out the reasons for selecting Chinese social media by UK universities in targeting
potential Chinese students as well as Chinese students’ use of Chinese social media sites in UK.
In addition, the research study is also aimed at identifying potential Chinese social media sites
and their growing popularity among Chinese students in China and abroad.

Research Questions
In order to investigate the effectiveness of Chinese social media for recruiting Chinese students,
following research questions are designed to move on the proposed research study

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 Which Chinese social media sites play effective role by UK universities to interact with
Chinese students?
 To what extent the Chinese social media sites are effective in targeting the potential
Chinese students?
 What are the potential of Chinese social media sites in providing assistance to Chinese
students in international universities (UK perspective)?
 How effective are the Chinese social media in terms of mobilizing with potential Chinese
students?
 What role do Chinese social media and SNSs play in Chinese students’ interaction in UK
universities?

Therefore, in terms of relating the current study with the previous research studies it is essential
to examine the previous work done in this research area that will help the research to conduct the
research study more effectively and on similar line of previous work. In this respect, the
researches of different researchers are discussed and analyzed below in terms of critically
reviewing the existing literature.

Literature Review

According to the research study conducted by Zhang & Shaw (2012), it is reported that in terms
of assessing the role of SNSs in China it is significant to look at its role in bringing democratic
arena into the country. Although its role has not be much remarkable but it has foster the
incremental political liberalization. The Chinese government has blocked access to the
international social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. According to a
recent survey report by Internet Development in China, approximately 50% of the 513 million
internet users in China participated into SNSs (micro-blogging) by the end of 2011.

Chinese students make significant educational contribution to UK as Chinese students have

become the biggest group of international students studying in UK institutions. The Chinese
students have a tradition that is basically different from the academic culture of UK. Therefore,
they found many difficulties in order to adjust in the challenging environment. The difficulties

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usually they face are; adjusting to different customs & values, difference of educational system,
language difficulties, and the most significant difficulty is the loss of developed made-in-china
social networking sites in recent years. A significant research studies are done in this regard, but
the need for focusing upon Chinese student’s perceptions regarding made-in-China social media
sites is essential to explore. According to a research study conducted by Chao et al. (2012) the
social networking sites (SNSs) have been attracting huge following rapidly in recent years. The
social relationships of Chinese international students can be influenced through social media
sites as from the perspective of SNSs a set of actors and their relations are involved. Ina research
study by Ye (2006) illustrates the view that online communication assists in promoting the
development of ties among people and the theory of social networking is implacable to examine
the social support networking of international students. But the relationship between Chinese
students in UK and SNSs is known little. The made-in-China social media sites can play a
significant role for the Chinese students in UK to manage their online social networking
(RenRen, Youku, Kaixin, and Sina Weibo). It can assist the Chinese students to manage their
previous connections and foster their new connections during their transitions.

Social Support Network

According to a previous study by Ingman, the Chinese students significantly reports high level of
social anxiety than the British Students. War (2004) found in his study that 23% of Chinese
respondents reported of having no UK friends and they were more likely to approach Chinese
international students regarding problems in study.

Social Networking Sites & Chinese Students in UK

Over the past few years, the social networking sites have gained a unique opportunity to increase
the interactions of students for a deep know-how of different cultures. Most of the students in
international institutions seek support from their friends rather than looking for institutional
support from the university. During the stay of Chinese students in UK, most of the students do
not care for the formal organizations (students unions & international student associations) but
they prefer to interact with the students through personalized channels (instant messaging,
emails, phone calls, social networking sites in terms of managing the social ties with their peers.

According to a survey by Lin (2010), 68% of Chinese students in UK institutions use SNSs at
least 1-2 hours per day. The activities that the students are involved in SNSs range from

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interacting with the existing friends or looking for new friends, to sharing information & views,
and joining new communities & channels. The social networking sites provide a forum to the
students to interact informally regarding the educational (institutional) as well as the personal
issues. In this regard, the impact of social networking sites for the international students is
viewed to be beneficial as they are able to exchange their view points and indulge in educational
debates. According to Bowers-Campbell (2008) such mechanism of SNSs can be provided to the
Chinese students in UK institutions as well to promote the multiculturalism interaction between
the Chinese international students and other international students. The international social
networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace etc are the examples of the
highly popular sites among the international students. According to the research study by Huijser
(2008), social networking sites can provide great potential in supporting Chinese student for their
better learning the higher education institutions internationally. The research study by Ellison et
al. highlights a positive correlation between the users of social networking and social capital.
According to Magro et al. (2009) the social networking sites for the Chinese students can help
them learn from the international students as well in terms of enhancing their social capital. The
research study by Lin et al., also reported a positive link between SNSs and the social
adjustments of Chinese students. The more time the Chinese students spent of social networking
sites provided to them in the international institutions to interact with the UK friends, the more
social adjustments those students can enjoy (Huijser, 2008).

UK Institutions and Social Networking Sites

The institutions in UK are making efforts to set up into the Chinese social media sites such as
RenRen & Sina Weibo. In the University of Kentucky the number of Chinese student’s
enrollment has been gone from 350 in 2000 to 600 in 2010. The institutions of UK are looking at
how they can best connect with the Chinese universities and Chinese students as well as with the
on-campus Chinese students. The objective behind making these efforts is to maintain a long-
term connection with Chinese students & universities (Lukoff, 2011). Moreover, the UK
institutions are trying to utilize social media sites as a tool for recruiting Chinese students so that
it can lead towards more direct collaborations (students’ exchange).

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Made-In-China Social Media Sites

The Chinese Netizens use a number of applications for social media interactions further the local
companies has a dominant hold on the Chinese social media sites rather than the international
social interaction platforms.

Figure No.1. Graphical Illustration of Social Media Scene among Chinese Netizens

Kaixin001 is considered as the middle class & business class social networking site while Renren
is considered as the highest class social networking site in China. Renren is the social media site
in China that is usually coined as a Chinese Facebook clone due to its huge similarities with
Facebook. Renren is highly popular among the Chinese students and it has captured the limelight
as compared with other made-in-china social media sites. According to the confirmation system
of Renren, 32000 universities are available at this social media site (Yu & King, 2010).

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Figure No.2. Screenshot of Renren (Made-in-China Social Media Sites)

Due to the fact that the international social networking sites are banned in China therefore the
indigenous versions of these social networking sites have obsessed millions of Chinese users in
China. Kaixin is known as the happy network of Chinese Facebook-style social media website
that has approximately 90 million Chinese users. The Twitter-style Chinese clone is known as
Sina Weibo which is being used by 40 million Chinese users according to a report by the official
news agency. These clone social websites are gaining huge popularity in China as the 420
million Chinese users have embraced the social media sites as a trendy style to connect with their
friends and stay up-to-date with their social interactions. Facebook & Twitter cannot be accessed
in China due to the opposing gesture of the government. Many research studies have been
conducted to examine the structure of social networking sites in China. According to the research
study by Mislove et al. (2007), the study was aimed at measuring the SNSs at large-scale and the
results showed that relationship between the in-degree and out-degree distribution channels of
the user nodes. The researchers have tried to analyze the structure of made-in-China social media
sites. Xu et al. (2004) found that the social interaction platforms can assist in developing
aggressive & non-aggressive attitude among the Chinese students. The Chinese internet industry
has been developed over the last decade impressively. Moreover according to a latest survey
conducted by CNNIC (2010), the cyberspace of China has been dominated by the urban Chinese
student ranging from the age of 18.

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Figure No.3. Age Distribution of Chinese Social Network Sites Users.

The social media sites has been the dominant part of the Chinese internet culture and the netizens
are organizing themselves through discussion boards, blogs, social media platforms in order to
engage them in exchange viewpoints topics. Sina Weibo was considered the largest web portal in
2009 and after Twitter got banned in China Sina Weibo has become the leading Twitter clone
website (Yu & King, 2010). The social networking landscape in China is very diverse and no
single social media site is dominant in the country like Facebook is in US. In addition, different
websites are being utilized by the Chinese students for social interaction purposes. The following
diagram illustrates the social media sites landscape in China.

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Figure No.4. Social Networking Sites Landscape in China

Institutional Use of Made-In-China Social Media Sites in UK

Several surveys have been conducted to examine the institutional use of social media sites by the
universities in UK such as analyzing the use of Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace & YouTube. A
small number of UK universities have been using the make-in-China social media sites such as
Sina Weibo, Renren, and Youku & Kaixin. According to the survey conducted by Kelly (2012),
20 universities of UK are using Sina Weibo. The universities of UK are trying to take advantage
through utilizing other domestic social media sites in order to provide better channels to its
international students. Though, these universities are been reported of taking slow advantage in
terms of using the regional social media sites. The survey concluded that Sina Weibo is a
Chinese micro-blogging website that is being used by 30% of the Chinese internet users that is
more likely to the penetration of Twitter in US. The findings of the report suggested that the
University of Huddersfield posses the largest number of followers. The funding models of UK
universities are providing them with great focus upon ways to market and engage with the
credible students from overseas. The clear use of social media sites can bring a more cost
effective mechanism for such interaction. Moreover, in order to maximize the advantages for
UK’s higher educational institutions it is essential to identify the best practice within the sector
of social networking sites.

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China and Social Networking Sites

China is considered as a country that can make everything and even the social networking sites
have not got escape from the invasion of Chinese cloning. People around the world are fond of
the social platforms such as Facebook & Twitter but the Chinese uses their own social media
sites to keep themselves engage with each other. Fozzard (2011) describes that the most
attractive part in this regard is that the Chinese people have not only one social media site but
several Chinese social networking sites. Following is the table showing the top ranking of made-
in-China social media sites in China.

Table No.1. Top 15 Social Networking Sites in China

According to a report by the China Internet Network Information Center, the usage of internet in
China has been increased in recent years with an increase of 5.2% reported in 2009. The internet
population of China is considered as the biggest internet population in the world than the entire

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population of Middle East. According to a latest China social network report, it is indicated that
the 54.7% of netizens in China visits blogs while 47.3% of the netizens have one or more social
networking sites accounts. The majority of the netizens in China are made up of the youth.
Students are accounted as the 33% of the internet population of China. The average time that the
Chinese netizens spend on internet is 4-5 hours. Almost seventy percent of the Chinese internet
users are under the age of 30 having majority of the students as compared to UK the average
netizen is 38 years old in UK

The western social networking sites desire to enter into the market of China but the made-in-
China social networking sites are aimed at opening up themselves into the rest of the world. The
made-in-china social networking sites are do not banned or blocked outside the country but the
matter is that those sites are not available in English language. This is the hurdle that the non-
Chinese users face in terms of registering them onto the services of made-in-China social media
sites. This is the obstacle that cannot be removed or resolved through using Google Translator.
The extent to which the western social networking sites intend to appeal the 513 million internet
users the same the social networking sites of China desire to the tap the billions of internet users
from around the globe. The made-in-china social media sites are well developed in their home
country rapidly in recent years and most of these sites have successfully listed them in overseas
stock markets. Although, the success and development of made-in-china social media sites is
remarkable yet they still deal with several challenges that can impede their further advancement
such as the censorship regulations. Unlike Facebook the major social networking sites of China
are small-scale in terms of the numbers of users. It is due to the factor that none of these social
networking websites singularly dominate the Chinese internet industry like the presence of
Facebook in US and many other countries worldwide.

In China, the censorship requirements had made it difficult for the foreign companies to enter the
Chinese market and penetrate such as Facebook. Whereas, the localization of Chinese social
media sites go far beyond the translation and the focus of these sites is upon the local trends and
practices bothering the Chinese users. The reason for the failure of lot of western social
networking sites in China is that those companies were not local enough. Youku is the Chinese
clone version of YouTube and the youth in China spends number of hours watching videos on
Youku unlike the US citizens watching videos on YouTube. Therefore, in light of the researches

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conducted by many researchers it is evident that if a company plans to enter the Chinese market
they need to better understand the working of made-in-china social media sites (Qualman, 2011).

According to Zhangand & Brunton (2007) the Chinese students can easily access and use the
social networking sites in English but the non-Chinese students cannot use the made-in-china
versions of western social networking sites in the Chinese language. Therefore the made-in-china
social media sites need to add the language change options for the international students as well
so that they can interact with the Chinese students on their Chinese social networking accounts
easily (Andrade, 2006). Therefore, according to the previous research studies the western social
networking sites are more dominant in the UK institutions whereas due to the cultural and
language difference as well the censorship restrictions the social media sites of China cannot be
commonly used among the non-Chinese students. Sina Weibo and Renren is reported to be more
actively used by the institutions in the UK and the measures taken by the universities to provide
social networking access to the Chinese students in UK universities is also apparent for these
made-in-china social media sites (Chu & Choi, 2010).

The made-in-china social media sites can be successful through not only utilizing the active
number of users but also through the social graphs that these social media sites hold. The
Chinese students use their mobile phones and Personal Computers in order to access the social
media sites. Despite of the fact that the social media sites in China are in progress of growing,
these social media sites have already gained their presence highly on a global scale. The potential
of the growth of Chinese social media sites in China is unseen due to the digital age but the
developments may occur autonomously within the social medial landscape in China. According
to Li (2005) China acts upon its own trends and culture, and is less worried about the western
developments therefore the probability of Chinese adoption of language translation is unlikely to
occur in social networking sites model from UK (Clarke, 2007). China has been developing to
the niche social media activities that are unique for its netizens within the Chinese social media
landscape. But if the international social media sites want to captivate the Chinese students for
application process they cannot do it through pushing & translating across the learning’s of
western social media sites but though developing a social media within the traits of current
Chinese digital age and the cultural intensity of Chinese users.

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Social Media Significance and Effectiveness

According to Tapscott and Williams (2007), defines the significance of social media in terms of
that the young generation is not content to be passive users and they increasingly satisfy their
needs for convenience and control by designing and distributing information to themselves. Such
description is usually applied to users of all ages at large. Mostly, the change is linked with
social media that is viewed as distinct generational conditions. For many Chinese students, the
increased presence of social media in international universities is significant in order to
reconnect with the university. According to Yu et al (2010), social media is being widely used by
universities as alternative spaces wherein the international students can adapt to the lifestyle of
university by interacting online with peers and faculty. Many of the universities now manage
groups and profiles on social networking sites (Western and Chinese social media sites) in order
to provide interaction between students and faculty. According to Mason and Rennie (2007),
shared community spaces as well as inter group communicators are considered as enormous part
of what excites the students therefore it should be contributed to their persistence and motivation
to learn. In any form, social media can be fit comfortably to the students to make them engage in
academic discussions. Therefore, the use of social media involves, for instance, that students
should be active co-producers of information rather than passive users of content. Moreover Lee
and McLoughlin (2010) argues that learning needs to be a participatory social process that can
support the personal life goals as well as needs of students. Certainly, Shirky (2008) states that
the majority of social media users are most accurately defined as constituting ordinary stuff life
rather than avowedly inventive and convivial activities. Currently, little evidence exists
regarding social media applications utilization for majority of the users in interactive, innovative
or participatory ways (Jones et al, 2009). According to a recent empirical research study of
students using social media, highlights the lack of what needs to be considered authentic or
useful participative learning activity. Certainly, a number of research studies report lack of
advanced use of social media applications among the international university students (Waycott
et al., 2010; Nicholas et al., 2009; Lee and McLoughlin, 2010). According to Crook (2008), the
engagement of a number of students can lead towards low bandwidth exchange of knowledge
and information.

Due to the complex web censorship project known as ‘Great Firewall of China’ prevents the
access of ‘Western Social Media’, it is becoming inaccessible for international universities to

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target the huge group of Chinese students. Because Chinese students widely rely on government-
approved social networks such as Sina Weibo, Youku, and Renren that are similar to Twitter and
Facebook. Therefore, Zinch China (part of Zinch that is an online social network helps
connecting students with opportunities such as scholarships, colleges, graduate schools and study
abroad programs) has announced a partnership with Sina Weibo that is a leading Twitter and
Facebook like Chinese social media. Zinch China intends to help graduate and undergraduate
programs in UK, Canada, US, Australia as well as in other major countries and also manage
verified accounts of Sina Weibo. According to a recent research on how Chinese student select
among overseas study options. This research study revealed that 80npercent of Chinese college
and high school students use Weibo while 42 percent uses every day. While, the 31 percent US
college students use Twitter and 20 percent uses daily. More than 700 universities in China have
set up official accounts on Sina Weibo over past six months in order to help recruit Chinese
students. Zinch China has developed a trustful relationship with overseas universities in order to
make them learn taking advantage of Chinese technologies. Zinch China is helping more than
250 overseas universities to interact with its 230,000 members using messaging services and
language profiles services. Moreover, the partnership of Zinch China with Sen Weibo will help
overseas universities to easily target the Chinese students directly through the huge platrform
Weibo of SINA (online media company serving China as well as global Chinese communities).

The social networking site is defined as an online service that is based on reflecting social
relations among people having common interests (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). The main feature of
social networking sites more common in China is they enable the users to develop a profile
within website to portray themselves as well as permit users to interact through instant
messaging (Papacharissi, 2009). The basic difference between the use of social networking sites
and internet in China is lack of access to western social media sites. The government of China
promotes the use of Chinese social media that is controlled and monitored by the government
therefore the use of Chinese social media is basically different than the use of western sites.

Chinese Social Networking Sites and Chinese Students

Due to the fact that the access to western social networking sites is restricted for Chinese
students and population by the government therefore the country has developed its own versions
of most popular western social media sites. Renren is the social network and a Chinese version

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of Facebook therefore students can access Renren from any location but it is essential to read
Chinese characters in order to immerse into this community. Renren is considered as following
the open strategy that is simply driven by money (So, 2011). Sina Weibo is another popular
micro blogging network in China containing million of users that are located in China and are
able to post in Chinese language. Sina Weibo is more likely Twitter and is a discussion platform
for users to share their files. But there is reluctance from university students in China to use these
social networking sites in order to conduct open communications with their friends and families
because of perceived government monitoring (Lokman, 2005). The university students across the
world are seeking knowledge and information irrespective of cultural backgrounds and attitudes.
The Chinese university students therefore believe that globalization of China is on a rapid incline
and such web restrictions can harm their potential to develop education networks as well as
becoming part of China’s growth worldwide. The Chinese students have to expand their online
networks and communities of different cultures in order to exchange information on social
community issues and educational topics that can help them in gaining desired information
(Deng and Moore, 2004).

According to a research study that observed students, 94 percent students use internet and 77
percent uses social networking sites. They are of the view that they learn technology skills from
using social networking sites and communication skills. The significance of these social media
sites is due to universities and companies seeking to engage increasingly target online audience
using social media for information and education or product decisions.

Regarding the social environment and effectiveness of social media sites for international
students in UK, they face several issues in adjusting to new social set up. Therefore, such issues
create barriers for the students in their academic success and social adaption. In this regard, the
use of social media sites can help them better interact with peers and students for assistance in
education and studying. In respect of Chinese students, they have a special Eastern culture as
well as communist ideology they face challenges. Moreover, the convergence of social media
and globalization has shrunken the world into smaller interactive field (Chen & Zhang, 2010).
So, the Chinese students in UK face adjustment issues and through social media they can help
overcoming challenges. So, the Chinese social media sites can help the international universities
to interact with Chinese students in mainland China as well as in international universities for

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educational purpose. The Chinese students have language issues therefore they are more
comfortable in interacting in Chinese language on social networking sites and consider their
home country versions of social networking sites more significant. According to a research
study, the Chinese students were approached to get better insight of the challenges and issues
they face in social adjustment and to what extent social media has helped them overcoming those
challenges. In response, the students revealed that through using social media they have become
more integrated into new culture with social groups online. Therefore, the social media sites help
understanding cultural differences as well as daily routine of international students. In addition,
the social media was used by the students to help them understand English language through
interacting with classmates. It is because the Chinese students feel more comfortable reading in
Chinese and though they may read English but they want information accessible to them.
Therefore, in this regard many students are not able to access English websites through using
Chinese search engines and social media. They need to have interaction with university for
helping them get the opportunity of using Chinese social media sites in order to make a more
suitable environment for them abroad. Many universities don’t believe in or have the money to
hire overseas agents. An emerging option is to use social media to recruit international students.
Having an active presence on Chinese social networks will create brand awareness and help you
find Chinese students. Some universities have already begun to do this, but the vast majority has
not. Now is the perfect time to get a jump on the competition. Here’s a starter guide to
understanding the basics of social media in China.

In the perspective of Universities, due to the fact that Chinese students have no access to
Facebook, Twitter or Youtube therefore they are not much familiar. So, they need to use Chinese
social media sites such as Renren (Facebook), Sina Weibo (Twitter), and Youku (Youtube) in
order to recruit Chinese students in their universities. In order to recruit Chinese students, the
interested universities can set up a digital recruiting campaign and in this regard the on-campus
Chinese students can be a useful tool. The recording of on-campus Chinese students regarding
their experience at the university can be posted on the Chinese social media sites to gain
attraction of Chinese students and look at their response. The universities can develop a Chinese
language website, translate brochures and set a school up on Chinese social networking sites as
well as search engines (Chen & Zhang, 2010). EIC specializes in Chinese social media and can
help universities to develop their presence online in China through Chinese social networking

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sites. Zinch China is also helpful in finding Chinese students for the institution as well as
provides best practices to recruit Chinese students in international universities.

Chinese Social Media Effectiveness & Western Social Media

Weibo, Renren and QQ are some of the most popular Chinese social media sites although the
UK and U.S. may not have heard about these sites. The Chinese social media sites are closely
linked with the daily social networking of Chinese students in mainland China and abroad. The
Chinese social media is booming though it is not very advanced to be compared with Western
social media. The ultimate purpose of Chinese social media is to obtain joy and variety of other
interesting applications along with online store for decorating own blogs. Moreover, the Western
social media tends to have simple purpose of absorbing content that meets the goals of users such
as online job searching and academic discussion (Hu, 2011). The Chinese social media sites
contain similar functions and applications therefore they look alike whereas the Western social
media consists of different functions and applications that appeal certain types of people with
certain requirements. The Chinese social media has an ‘one-on-one’ model that gathers particular
ranges of people sharing similar level of social values and information altogether in terms of
making progress and acting in their best interest. The Chinese people are more concerned about
what other think about them rather than what think about themselves. The Western students are
well aware about how to use social networking for job or internship opportunities as well as
writing blogs that includes their resume and portfolio. But, the Chinese students are not aware
how to use social media in order to develop careers and taking academic advantage of these
online tools (Hu, 2011).

Recent Surveys of Institutional Use of Social Media

A number of research studies have been conducted to examine institutional use of social media
by UK universities including several surveys of using social media and links to social media
services. These surveys are helpful in terms of evidence gathering to identify patterns of usage
and information policy-making. Regarding the use of social media by UK universities in other
countries, a small number of UK universities uses China’s Sina Weibo social media site.
According to the survey analysis, more than 20 UK universities were using Sina Weibo.
Moreover, it is evident that UK universities are slow in taking advantage of regional social
media. Another research study provided evidence of ways in which UK universities are using

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Weibo social media service. Sina Weibo is a microblogging website of China. It is regarded as
one of the most popular Chinese social media site using by over 30 percent of internet users. The
website was launched by SINA Corporation in 2009 and it consists of more than 250 million
registered users in 2011. The nineteenth of twenty universities in the list of survey contain a
branded URL on Weibo service. The UK universities have been now following several changes
to engage with potential students from overseas and to put greater focus on new ways of
marketing. It is evident that the use of social media needs to provide a cost effective mechanisms
for engaging students online rather than physically transporting people and publications to the
mainland of China. Moreover, in order to accelerate the advantages to UK universities at large, it
is essential to identify and share best practices across the sector. Therefore, due to the rapid
growth and extreme popularity of SNSs provides a unique chance of enhancing interactions
amongst students so they can deeply understand different cultures and knowledge. Many of the
international students in UK prefer seeking information from friends rather than depending on
institutional support in campus. In this regard, the Chinese students in campus don’t care
regarding formal organizations and have more interest in engaging personalized networking
through social media in terms of maintaining social ties with several selected clusters. The
university students spend a remarkable amount of time on social media sites in terms of
socializing and interacting. Therefore, social media provide an effective tool for students to
develop and maintain their social ties. The social media facilitate a connection between
instructors and students as well as provide mechanism for developing peer assistance among
international students. According to a research in English speaking countries, it was reported that
international students face issues due to lack of social ties with local students. In addition, the
Chinese students face difficulty in making ties with domestic students. It was argued that
students having similar cultural background are more likely to group together and interact
socially. In this regard, it is significant to provide a mechanism for developing social ties
between students from different backgrounds for social support that will ultimately enhance their
chance of success in academic institutions. The fact about Chinese social media is not known in
Western countries that is the fastest growing Chinese social networking services in the world.
More and more universities and companies are utilizing Chinese social media for their marketing
activities. Therefore, the popularity of these social media tools is moving the weight away from
traditional communication tools towards digital means of communication. Moreover, the Chinese

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academic recruitment is highly visible on Chinese social media as compared with Western
academic recruitment on Western social media.

Theoretical Framework

Following diagram illustrates the theoretical framework for conducting the current research
study.

Made-in-China
Social Media Sites
Western SNSs

Cultural Traits

Censorship
Regulations

Language
Translation

Figure No.5. Theoretical Framework Model

Therefore, the theoretical framework illustrated above diagram clearly identifies the independent
and dependent variables of this current research study. These variables are developed according
to the the previous research studies briefly discussed in the literature review that will help
finding the relationship of these identified variables.

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