Chinese digital marketing platforms are quite unique in that they operate behind China’s “Great Firewall” without foreign competition. With all non-Chinese social media platforms blocked inside of China, overseas companies looking to enter the Chinese market have no option but to accept that the online marketing strategies they have been implementing in other markets are not valid in China.
One of the leading social media networks to emerge in 2009 was Sina Weibo. Today, with 300 million registered users across 190 countries, Sina Weibo is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, especially in Mainland China. The platform resembles a mix of Facebook, Twitter and LINE. Known simply as “Weibo”, the social media network offers a number of great marketing features for businesses which make it an essential channel in any online marketing strategy in China. Overseas companies looking to expand their businesses inside China should take the lead of other big brands and learn to make use of Weibo. Doing so can help a brand gain exposure and increase its customer base.
Weibo Strategies and Challenges
Account Categories & Registration
Weibo accounts can roughly be divided into two categories: the official verified account and the individual or personal account.
The official verified account, also known as a “Blue V” account because of the badge official accounts receive, are normally used by organizations, companies, and government agencies. To obtain a Blue V account, the overseas account registrant party must provide a series of documents for verification and pay a fee. The fees and procedures required will be different based on the country where the registrant is located. For example, a Chinese company can register an official account for a fee of RMB 300 (about USD 500), but an overseas company will pay a minimum of USD 1,000 and the fee can be as high as USD 2,000.
In the personal account category there is a VIP account, also known as a “Yellow V” account, which can be used by influencers and celebrities.
Weibo Content Development & Strategy
Weibo launches new official accounts on a daily basis, most likely many of your competitors are already on Weibo. So how will your brand stand out from your competitors? The first step is to develop a strategy based on measurable objectives. This step requires knowing what metrics Weibo provides (speak to an experienced agency for details). The next step is to develop the content and campaign strategy that will enable you to reach your objectives. Regardless of your industry, you will want to make your content media-rich with videos, animation and multiple images. As your audience begins to interact with your content, you will begin gathering data that enables you to further refine your strategy. The list of what to do is very long, but the list of what not to do is exemplified below.
In Nov 2018, Dolce & Gabbana (D&G) released a video series through its Weibo official channel to promote its upcoming Shanghai runway show. Inside the video they use a young Asian model in a red sequin D&G dress, appearing to have trouble eating Italian foods with chopsticks. The content for the video is, “How to use the small stick-shaped tableware to eat the great Italian traditional Margarita pizza”. The video narration also deliberately uses the “Chinese pronunciation” and an arrogant tone, making people suspect that it is deliberately demonizing China. A few hours after the video was released, Chinese Weibo users began to collectively protest against D&G, demanding that the brand remove the video and apologize. However, D&G did not take this matter too seriously, just deleted the videos, but did not give any official response for the apology. The anger spread so quickly across the platform, even Chinese celebrities began announcing one after the other that they would not attend the D&G show. The folly spread from online to offline, and D&G’s reputation and merchandise sales suffered the consequences.
This case shows the power of Weibo communication and speed with which a message can spread. Localizing content and being respectful of Chinese culture will lead to good brand awareness which can also spread quickly.
Weibo Ads & KOLs
Posting content on Weibo is just the beginning of managing your Weibo account. Every second, Weibo will have hundreds of thousands of posts. Like Facebook, if you do not buy ads, the impressions and reach of the post will be very minimal, reaching only a tiny fraction of users, including a tiny fraction of your fans (remember, Weibo, Facebook, and all social media platforms make their money from ads and won’t give you much exposure for free).
Thus, paid ads should be part of strategy development, otherwise the results will be very poor. Brands that do not budget for ads are wasting their time on Weibo. Some brands will blame their agency after a few months of poor performance, but they have not provided the agency with the resources to achieve favorable results. Weibo is no different from any commercial running media platform, such as Facebook or Google. If you want exposure, you need to pay. (if you are looking for an agency who has a lot of experiences of Chinese digital marketing, contact us)
Using bloggers, influencers or key opinion leaders (KOLs) to grab more attention while increasing engagement is another widely used strategy. Especially in the beauty, travel, fashion, and food areas.
You need to grow your presence by posting content regularly, responding to comments, and by just being active on the site. Engage with your audience more, and consumers will get to know your product or service as well as your company values. Engagement is the best way to reach out to your audience directly. However, if you just registered your account, with limited fans or brand awareness, you will not be able to get as much engagement as you want.
Using KOLs will help you gain what you want through their page and bring the traffic from their page to yours. For common KOLs’ release form, there are two ways: post or repost. Content form can be video/content/ long articles/images.
The influencer market is a relatively new business with huge demand and a lack of standardization. Inside Weibo there is no standard fee for KOLs, and it can be difficult to communicate with them when you need to use many over a long period of time. Most of the communication is done one-on-one and terms are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Most importantly, brands need to be wary of working with fake KOLs. Find an agency who has experiences of KOL management will saves you lots of money and troubles. (if you are looking for an agency who has a lot of experiences of Chinese digital marketing, contact us)
Attempt to Understand Your Audience & Your Social Media Performance
In social media marketing, it is crucial that you know your audience. A good digital marketing campaign will tend to the wants and needs of the market that you are attempting to target. Don't assume that what works in the West will work in Asia. Learn about your target audience - their wants, needs, preferences and what they are generally interested in on a day-to-day basis.
You will need to approach China differently than how you advertise to Western consumers. Get to know locals by using insight from data and analysis of user profiles. Hire a specialist who knows how to use the correct tools to help with online marketing to Chinese audiences. They will have access, experience, and insight for everything you might need to know about marketing to a local audience. This person can be extremely valuable to any Western company looking to market and extend their businesses overseas in the most effective manner. Understanding your Chinese audience will be critical in expanding your market and will increase your knowledge of marketing to different demographics.
In the West you may able to use Google Analytics or other tools to analyze the success of your social media investments, but inside China, most of these tools are blocked by the “Great Firewall”. For Weibo the best option is to use Weibo’s analysis function. However, as most things in China, it is not free. The free analysis function only delivers the past 7 days of data, showing only fans, impressions, and reach. If you want an in- depth understanding such as fan distribution, features, performance per post, competitive accounts performance and data beyond 7 days, then you will need to pay an annual fee. Weibo has different packages for this, based on details of data, the price will be different.
Should You Be Using Sina Weibo in 2019?
Absolutely. Are you looking for help with your Sina Weibo marketing? Get in touch with Neat Interactive today! We specialize in helping businesses expand into China. Contact us today for a free consultation!
