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Do the terms ‘Generation Z’ and ‘digital natives’ ring a bell? If not then it’s time to read up as this demographic are more than likely to make up a huge portion of your customer base in years to come. Generation Z, or those born between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, are a generation that have grown up using the internet, smartphones and social media every day of their lives. Making up 32% of the global population as of 2019, it’s unsurprising to learn that this generation is behind the rapid surge in online activity especially in Southeast Asia in recent years. Research shows that countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar have seen huge growth in their overall social media usage in the past year alone. As digital marketers it is becoming more and more important to understand their online motivations and behaviours so that we can capture their attention and market goods and/or services to their tastes.

Short Attention Spans Influence Content Strategy

Digital Natives have often been described as having a short attention span, but are arguably able to absorb information faster than any previous generation. This is something that businesses and savvy marketers should take into account when planning their ad campaigns. According to inc-asean.com, in APAC the average number of social media platforms used by Gen Z individuals is 3.4. Whilst this means that they are easy to target online, in an age of constantly refreshing home pages it is crucial to attract their attention swiftly before they move on to something else. Studies from Singapore’s digital giant Econsultancy, in collaboration with Dentsu Aegis Network, show that 86% of the Gen Z buyers in Southeast Asia see the products they want to buy online first. However, 86% said they wouldn’t continue to use an application or website which loads slowly or is difficult to navigate.

As digital marketers it is becoming more and more important to understand their online motivations and behaviours so that we can capture their attention and market goods and/or services to their tastes.

Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with the internet, so the marvel of digital marketing is no different to them than traditional advertising. Having seen their parents and older generations fall for online marketing gimmicks and with the overbearing presence of ‘fake news’, this generation values authenticity. When marketing to them, it is important to provide transparency and a genuine promise that your product or service is worth their time and money. According to the Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019, both Gen Z and Millennials are showing more confidence in ‘emerging markets’ such as China, India, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand to name a few. The same can’t be said for more ‘mature markets’ such as those in Europe, the study claims.

Socially Conscious Consumers

Alongside recognizing the desire for authenticity, marketers must also appreciate that Gen Z embraces individuality and celebrates diversity. They are much more likely to buy a product or service that comes from a company that aligns with their personal values. They are also the most environmentally and socially aware generation. Their attention on social media has shifted away from the likes of Facebook towards Instagram and Snapchat (and more recently TikTok), showing that they are a much more visually-driven generation who enjoy content that is aesthetically pleasing, intellectually stimulating and of course, entertaining.

It’s important to always stay one step ahead in marketing. Gen Z is both the present and future of our society. They are predicted to make up almost half of the entire consumer population by 2020, so factoring them into your ad campaigns is a no-brainer for the vast majority of businesses. Understanding your audience is the first step when it comes to planning and executing an effective digital marketing campaign. At Neat Interactive, we develop a unique strategy for all our campaigns which pairs the needs of the client with a deep understanding of their audience. Learn more about what we do at Neat and how we can help you today.

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As of the 31st of July 2019, Facebook will be terminating all Video View campaigns that are set up with the old 10-second video view optimization in order to make way for ThruPlay – a newer video views optimization option that Facebook believes will benefit you more, whether you’re a business looking to showcase your product or service or a Facebook user scrolling through your Timeline. ThruPlay in a nutshell targets audiences that Facebook believes are more likely to view your entire video, or at least 15-seconds of it if it’s longer. It is very similar to the 10-second video view optimization in the way it targets viewers, however the extra five seconds is supposedly what makes all the difference by filtering out the passive viewers and encouraging better quality views and content. Not only is it an optimization choice but it also means that other than the other option of paying per impression, it gives advertisers the option of paying for the ad if it’s been viewed either in its entirety or for a minimum of 15-seconds, potentially cutting costs on wasted views.

What significance does the extra 5 seconds have?

With the vast amount of data that Facebook produces on a daily basis, it inevitably must change and adapt to what it thinks its users will benefit from the most – whether they are consumers, advertisers or businesses. After experimenting with the 3 to 10-second video view optimizations, it became apparent that it wasn’t enough time for the businesses and/or advertisers to tell their full story to the best of their ability. Unless the content was truly gripping, it was unlikely for the viewers to watch the whole video. For the storytellers, the extra 5 seconds will give a sufficient amount of time to tell their full story and also gives them the incentive to produce 15-seconds of quality content, rather than a longer video of a lesser quality. The increased demand of short-form content paired with the rise of prosumer technologies means that there is a lot of competition when it comes to making great video ads, and Facebook has factored this into their logic behind this change.

ThruPlay is therefore encouraging quality over quantity, challenging advertisers all over Facebook to produce short-form video content that not only reaches their target audience but guarantees that their audience has properly consumed and understood the message behind the advert - hence being more likely to act on it.

Facebook’s purpose and how it reflects in its tactics

Facebook is a social media platform founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerburg with the initial purpose of connecting family, friends and colleagues online. Over a decade later, the commitment to unite individuals remains at its core whilst the technologies continue to advance and countless of updates are made to optimize the billions of users’ experience. With this in mind, Facebook looks to prioritize content that it believes will connect or reconnect you with people you have on your friends list – a connection could be established in many forms, whether it’s a share, a comment or a like. To put it briefly, it means that Facebook will prioritize more eye-catching content such as videos and photos than text posts for example. As a business looking to sell or advertise your product or service, keeping this in mind can be valuable when planning your ad campaigns.

How does ThruPlay fit into this?

Video advertisers in particular have always believed in the 3-second rule: that if your video doesn’t capture your target audience within the first 3 seconds your audience is lost. This is where ThruPlay comes into the picture – as it encourages advertisers to create that gripping content in the first 3 seconds, and make the audience stay for 15 instead. Doesn’t seem like much to ask does it? But it’s certainly a challenge in an age of instant gratification.

Making short-form video content is not only easier to consume, but it’s easier to share and generate views. At a time where web pages take less than a second to load and almost everything is at your fingertips on your mobile phone, it makes sense that shorter videos appeal more to larger audiences. With so many users now moving over to social media platforms like Instagram due to being over-faced with ads on Facebook, this change hopes to reclaim its credibility and quality of content that Facebook is providing to its billions of daily users in an age of online uncertainty and the proliferation of short-form video content. 

If you have any ongoing 10-second video view ad campaigns do make sure to change them to ThruPlay before the end of the month or have a browse as to what other campaigns are available to help you achieve your goal.

Finding it difficult to keep up-to-date with the countless optimization algorithms that keep emerging online? Well that’s why we make it our priority to be one step ahead, ensuring that we can provide our clients with the most current strategies in order to optimize their brand’s online presence. Contact us today for a free consultation or check out our website for more information on how we can help you.

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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!