When new data on internet usage was published in July, even experts were surprised: 388 million Chinese prefer to use their cell phones, 380 million a PC.

One group of the population is primarily responsible for the boom in mobile internet: China’s young people. The proportion of mobile internet users among them is particularly high. According to a study by the management consultancy Labbrand, most Chinese young people prefer smartphones because they allow them to “be reachable at any time”. Labbrand chief strategist Kevin Gentle sees another reason in the price: for many teenagers, desktop computers are simply too expensive.

Older users use the internet primarily to emphasize their social status by following luxury brands on microblogs and drawing attention to themselves with comments there. However, this is usually not enough for Chinese young people: They are increasingly interested in “telling their personal stories”: Where do I like to meet up with friends? Which fashion labels do I like the most? What is my favorite song on the Internet?

Labbrand bases its findings on comparative data from research institutes, such as Resonance China and China Internet Watch, and an online survey of Shanghai students. The Shanghai agency interviewed 100 teenagers aged between 12 and 16 at the beginning of September.

What does the boom in mobile Internet mean for companies?

According to Gentle, companies must develop apps that young people are particularly interested in: the heterogeneity of the under-20s presents companies with enormous challenges. Corporations are increasingly forced to place sophisticated content on their corporate accounts and enter into partnerships with stars from the film and fashion industry. Gentle warns, however: “Many corporations still lack a well-thought-out strategy for getting celebrities on board.” It is not enough to print star photos on posters and publish them on social networks and cites the China Merchants Bank with Yao Ming as a cautionary example.

The Labbrand chief strategist believes it is at least as important to include “normal” bloggers with a large number of followers in the PR strategy because they often have a greater influence on young people than stars. When selecting social networks, companies will have to be more flexible in the future and also take less frequently visited portals such as Weixin or Douban into account: “Almost all respondents expressed negative opinions about Sina Weibo.” “Too crowded,” “too loud” — that was the unanimous verdict.

To get young people excited about brands, greater efforts are needed on the part of companies: more elaborately designed websites, appealing apps, additional social media channels, and better integration of influential bloggers into the marketing concept.