5 Reasons Your Marketing Plan Needs to Include Sina Weibo

After sharing information on luxury branding on Chinese social media and Canadian politicians on Sina Weibo, LAT recently organized its first meetup entitled “Get Started on Chinese Social Media”#VMMCN. We shared insights about Chinese social media and showcased some successful marketing campaigns on Chinese social networks with our audience. Here are the highlights:

1. Huge Population of Chinese Netizens

Did you know that China has the largest online population in the world? If you’re not engaging these people then you’re ignoring 564 million internet users! Furthermore, this number only represents 40% of the population in China, leaving incredible potential for future growth.

2. Government Censorship

Using mainstream social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to interact with Chinese internet users is ineffective because they were shut down by the Chinese government after the Xinjiang riots in 2009.

However, this does not mean that social media is inaccessible in China; they have developed their own social media platforms that allow people to exchange news and express ideas. The government allows the use of these social media platforms so long as the conversations are monitored and filtered. For more information, check out this TED talk by Michael Anti about the Great Firewall of China.

Chinese social media networks may seem intimidating, but they are not as unfamiliar as you might expect. Almost all of the popular mainstream social networks have a Chinese equivalent: Twitter is replaced by Sina Weibo, Facebook by Renren, YouTube by Youku, etc.

3. Go Mobile

Smartphones are increasingly becoming the most popular way to access the internet in China. According to China Internet Network Information Center, there are more people accessing the internet from their phones (74.5%) than from a desktop (70.6%).

When creating your social media strategy for China, it is key to take into account the importance of mobile platforms

4. Marketing Campaigns on Sina Weibo

Sina Weibo, where you’ll find many Global 500 brands, is the most popular Chinese microblogging site for businesses. Sina Weibo is useful for setting up your online social media presence and launching marketing campaigns.

Companies are choosing social media campaigns over traditional marketing campaigns because the latter gained a bad reputation in China after a series of scandals, the most well-known of which involved Sanlu toxic-powdered baby milk in 2008.

Consumers no longer trust TV commercials and instead turn to social networks for transparent information. They are looking for platforms that allow them to have direct communication with brands. In other words, these consumers want you to connect and engage with them.

5. The Great Power of Online Shoppers

China has 242 million online shoppers – the largest number in the world. Research by We Are Social shows that last year alone there were $190 billion USD worth of transactions. It is worth mentioning that half of this amount was spent by just 17% of online shoppers, a small majority known as the “golden shoppers”.

How can you reach these powerful consumers? The majority of them are active on many Chinese social media networks, including Sina Weibo. Getting your brand onto Chinese social media is the first step towards engaging this huge market.

Chinese social media is also relevant for marketers who wish to reach local customers because recent and ongoing waves of Chinese immigrants coming from Mainland China continue being active on Chinese networks after they move. They love to share images and news from their North American life.

In our next meetup, we will be discussing Chinese mobile platforms and WeChat in particular. Interested in learning more? Join our meetup group for more information.

Interested in Chinese Social Media and Sina Weibo for your business? Contact us for a free consultation: