Content Provided By:


------------
Zen Soo
zen.soo@scmp.com

As the number of social media users continues to rise in China, the country's internet companies have embraced a so-called Social+ business model that leverages people's penchant for social media, entertainmen, shopping and learning.

Here are some examples of Social+ in China’s tech industry:

Social+ Gaming

Honour of Kings

Based on Chinese historical characters, Tencent’s Honour of Kings is a fantasy role-playing game with more than 200 million registered players, making it the most popular game of its kind among China’s young mobile gamers.

Players log in via their WeChat or QQ account, which then shows how many of their contacts and friends are online playing the game. Users can team up to battle others, and scores are displayed on a leader board, ranking players against their WeChat or QQ friends.

When players encounter each other in the game, the system also shows their relative distance from each other in the real world, giving the game more of a social aspect.

Tiao yi tiao

Roughly translated as “Jump Jump” in English, Tiao yi tiao started off as a mini-game application from Tencent that could be accessed via the WeChat platform. Tiao yi tiaoplayers move a hopping black figurine from one platform to another by tapping on the smartphone screen, with a point scored for each successful jump.

Players need to the tap the screen longer when the jumping distance between platforms is greater. After each round, a leader board is displayed indicating how players scored relative to their network of friends. The simple jumping game acquired 100 million daily active users within a month of launching in December 2017.

Soon after, McDonald’s and Nike placed advertisements within the game, displaying product images when the figurine lands on the platforms. Companies can customise the platform with advertisements for 5 million yuan (US$791,000).

Continue Reading