Taylor Swift and Joseph Gordon-Levitt among those endearing themselves to followers on Chinese social media
To his 679,817 followers on Sina Weibo, Hollywood heartthrob and erstwhile star of international blockbusters Inception (2010) and 500 Days of Summer (2009) Joseph Gordon-Levitt is affectionately known by the nickname jiongsefu.
The Chinese character jiong ( 囧 ) means "frustrated" or "depressed," while sefu is a phonetic translation of the "seph" in Joseph. Gordon-Levitt was given the epithet after some fans cheekily noted that the actor's face resembled the pictogram for jiong.
To their delight, Gordon-Levitt acknowledged the nickname in a message on the social media platform in July 2012. It not only showed that he was in on the joke, but helped endear himself further to his legions of Chinese-speaking fans.
According to Mao Taotao, a marketing employee for Weibo, there are currently more than 2,000 international public figures who have accounts on the social media platform, from famous entertainers such as Taylor Swift and James Blunt, to high-profile names in finance and public policy like Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
"More and more international celebrities are recognizing the importance of the Chinese market, and are joining Chinese social media to interact with Chinese fans and build their popularity in China," said Mao.
Mao said that global stars like Gordon-Levitt were using Chinese social media in increasingly sophisticated ways to establish a closer relationship between themselves and their followers.
"They mix English and Chinese in their posts, and interact with other celebrities [on Weibo] to boost each other's popularity," said Mao. "They also post their personal lives to create a closer connection with Chinese fans…some of them even post about cultural trends or jokes that are unique to China."
Fandom across borders
Last year, Sina Weibo set up a department specifically for the purpose of handling matters concerning international celebrity accounts, said Mao.
The department's tasks included organizing online interviews with the overseas stars to discuss popular trends, and providing opportunities for the public figures to interact with their followers online.
A number of digital marketing and PR firms have also stepped in to help overcome cultural and language barriers and facilitate communication between international celebrities and their Chinese fans.
One of the largest, FansTang, represents around 200 such celebrities, including Paris Hilton, who has more than 5 million followers on Weibo, and Taylor Swift, who has over 3 million followers.
According to an earlier Global Times report, FansTang is responsible for translating celebrities' posts on Twitter and Facebook into Chinese, and re-posting their comments on Chinese social media platforms, including Weibo and WeChat Moments.
The agency, which has offices in Los Angeles, Beijing and Shanghai, also selects and translates comments from Chinese fans for their clients to respond to.
One of the most popular international celebrities on Chinese social media is the retired English footballer David Beckham. With over 5 million followers on Weibo, each of Beckham's posts are commented on and forwarded thousands of times.
Beckham even has an online fan club in China, founded in 1998 by then 18-year-old Zi Yan (pseudonym).
Zi said that one of the reasons for Beckham's online popularity in China was because of his willingness to share aspects of his private life with his social media followers.
"He always posts [pictures] of his regal-looking wife Victoria and of his cute children, especially of his youngest daughter. The posts about his life make us feel closer to him," Zi said. "[Beckham's] fans are mainly made up of girls born between 1990 and 2000. They admire his family a lot - the fact that he is handsome but also a responsible husband and [father]."
