Made in China. Three words everyone in the Western world knows. Language, a UK-based branding agency, is launching a new service to translate that into reverse success for British companies. It assists those seeking access to the emerging youth market prevalent on China’s social media sites.

July 2012 saw an 8.7 per cent drop in foreign investment in China as a response to the ailing economy, particularly among luxury brands. Language is attempting to change that by helping British companies engage with the lucrative Chinese youth market via social networking sites.

With 300 million users and 100 million posts per day, Weibo, the Chinese answer to Twitter and Facebook, has been a largely unmined resource. Around half of China’s population engages in microblogging, 17 per cent higher than the global norm.

MD of Language, Ben Hui says, “Our team of specialists understand how brand communication works in their native China and this makes all the difference when it comes to communicating with potential customers. Get it right and you could be a Weibo celebrity. Get it wrong and you run the risk of damaging your brand’s reputation in the eyes of hugely influential consumers.”

Social media, which has become a prerequisite for marketing campaigns in Britain and the United States, should be at the forefront of any Chinese investment, according to Language.