Weibo: An Effective Digital Marketing Platform

A Chinese microblogging website that was launched in 2009, Weibo, seemingly took the world of digital marketing in China by storm. Weibo is one of the most popular social media platforms in China. Since Google and Twitter are almost non-existent in China, you can consider Weibo as the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. We all know how fun and useful Twitter is, as a social media platform, but also a way for companies to interact with potential customers. Well, Weibo is the same in China. Weibo advertising (adstochina.westwin.com/weibo-advertising) is a very effective marketing strategy used by many digital companies to establish a bond with their Chinese clientele, and it has proven effective with its many advertising options.

Weibo Advertising: Finding What You Need

What is it about Weibo that makes Weibo advertising quite complex? Well, while it continues to be a very effective digital marketing platform for all companies in China, finding the most suitable for advertising options amongst the choice of three can be tricky. This is rather subjective and no one can make that decision for you: it is based entirely on your brand’s needs. In fact, Weibo advertising is so complex that some consider it a skill to flaunt, having mastered the art of Weibo advertising! This is partly because of the platform’s complexity as well. Let us discuss the various forms of advertising options you have so that you can narrow down the best option for your brand advertising needs. But before that…

Why Advertise on Weibo?

As mentioned earlier, this website was launched more than a decade ago and has been increasing in popularity ever since. Even though most are not familiar with microblogging platforms, the truth is that the complexity of it all might be one of the major reasons Weibo advertising is so successful. Picture Weibo advertising to be like Promoted Tweets on Twitter to get a better understanding. Since the platform has only increased in popularity and continues to expand at a skyrocketing rate, the real question should be “Why NOT Baidu advertising?”

Weibo Advertising: Different Advertising Options?

There are 3 main Weibo advertising strategies that companies use for improved online marketing:

Weibo Search Engine Promotion

If you’ve ever accessed the Weibo website, you’d notice that there is an inbuilt search function. This is useful in finding other accounts, posts, and fan pages. By using the search engine as a good marketing strategy, Weibo marketing offers quite a way to boost your brand visibility with the use of target keyword searches. Needless to say, Weibo is probably the best platform in China to use in order to boost quality traffic on your professional account. Search engine promotion using Weibo focuses solely on spreading the word and bringing your brand into the limelight.

If you’re wondering about Weibo advertising costs, this again is subjective to the competitiveness of the keywords you use for promotions. Keep in mind that even if you pay a little extra, your account will be displayed right alongside the highlighted trending news and hot topics!

Fan Headlines

Yet another interesting Weibo advertising option: this one doesn’t focus on potential customers, but your existing team of followers. Whatever you post will be highlighted at the top of their newsfeed, so you’re guaranteed the top position in their daily browsing. So, it will appear as a popular headline on your followers’ accounts. This ensures your advertisement isn’t lost while glancing through other posts and helps in re-sharing the content. This in effect boosts your visibility amongst your followers. The great thing about Chinese customers is that they’re interested in everything: so your posts will not be ignored as spam. Fan headlines focus on establishing a tight bond with your followers and their connections.

Fan Tunnel

Perhaps the most popular of Weibo advertising options, fan tunneling is your shot at reaching out to new customers in bulk! This strategy takes a single post or your account, and broadcasts it at the top of all Weibo users’ feed: so it’s essentially fan headlines, but with a wider audience. This is the approach taken by many companies that are new in the Chinese market and looking for a way in. Right around this time, they lack followers and need a boost at brand visibility: what better way than to focus on the entire Weibo community as a whole! Needless to say, fan tunneling is the most effective Weibo advertising method.

…So essentially “which Weibo advertising option is best for you?” This is a question only you can answer! Good luck!