2017 projects to be a year where social and content marketing make a major leap forward. Social is swiftly moving into the center of marketing plans for brands in China. In 2016, there were a number of important developments that inform the year ahead, including; the rapid emergence of live video, further integration social with ecommerce, and increased investments into social ads and KOLs. In this social marketing preview of 2017, we have highlighted 10 trends that will prove to be critical for marketers. The trends represent the most current conversations taking place with brands and agencies in China. These trends are placed in the context of China as a digital-first market - with hot competition between Alibaba and Tencent for dominance.