CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SHORT VIDEO MARKETING: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TIKTOK AND DOUYIN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37231/apj.2025.8.2.827Abstract
Abstract: This paper explores the differences in the short video consumption across platforms by comparing TikTok and Douyin in a case study of Chinese restaurant brand Haidilao. Although the two are under the same parent company, they are culturally different settings that influence content strategies and reactions by the audience. The research, conducted through a mixed-methods approach, incorporated descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, Spearman rank-order correlations, and cross-tabulations to determine Fisher's exact tests. The results show that Douyin demonstrates higher performance than TikTok in core engagement metrics, including views, likes, comments, and shares. The greater engagement on Douyin is significantly linked to culturally ingrained content, emotional sentiment and professionalism of production, which are characteristics of the high-context and collectivist communication in China. Conversely, TikTok interactions are more based on humorous content, popular melodies, and casual looks, which align with the interests of individualistic low-context cultures. These findings provide empirical support for Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory and Hall's high-context versus low-context communication framework. The results also demonstrate the role of platform affordances in shaping content performance, suggesting that brands must develop culturally adaptive, platform-specific strategies to optimize audience engagement. Although limited by sample size and focused on a single brand, this study provides valuable insights into cross-cultural digital marketing. It lays the groundwork for future research on global content optimization.
Keywords: Content strategy; Cross-cultural communication; Cultural adaptation; Digital engagement; Platform affordances
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