How to Make the Most of Weibo Advertising

Whether you are new to Weibo or just starting out using the biggest app in China for your marketing needs, the potential is obvious. Known as China’s Twitter, it is the hottest micro-blogging site in China. It’s not really Twitter, though; it is a kind of combination of Facebook, Twitter, and a personal blogging news site. But Weibo does it better, and there are big opportunities here for advertisers from all over the globe. Here is how to better understand Weibo and how to make the most of Weibo marketing.

Potential Success

The most important thing to understand is the potential. There are millions of users, 460 million, in fact, and over 186 million active users monthly. This is where everyone is now, including the advertisers. Weibo is the hottest micro-blogging site in the social media world. Everyone is there, including big-name Western celebrities and brands. Weibo uses demographic targeting to entice and interest customers based on age, gender, and location demographics, as well as on their interests and hobbies. In a time when social media users are using because they want to try to learn or see something new, making Weibo and Chinese social media platforms a part of the strategy is essential, but so, too, is proper understanding. We can’t just commit to Weibo marketing without also committing to getting it right.

Types of Advertising

To use Weibo marketing to its best advantage, and to put a plan in place for a marketing strategy, advertisers and users should be aware of how to handle the four main types of advertising on the site. Like Facebook, they have Display advertising; search engine promotion, but also Fan Headlines and Fan Tunnels.  Fan tunneling is a great option for those who don’t have a lot of followers because the fans can promote a single post or site through all their followers. Fan headlines are similar. An ad or promotion goes above a user post and is distributed across the fan base.

Display advertising is straightforward advertising in which the advertisers place an ad on the site that takes the user to their website with a click. Search engine marketing uses keywords to help potential customers find you. While this seems simple in theory, there is much more to it, of course. Any successful Weibo marketing experts know that success relies on having specific goals, which in turn relies on understanding your audience—and on having a brand that is flexible and willing to grow and adapt as the audience does.

Proper Understanding

In many ways, Weibo marketing is similar to any other type of social media advertising, except for its size and the differences in cultural attitudes, language, and demographics. These are things that users in the West are unfamiliar with, and that is why it is essential to work with a partner who can help to ensure that your brand gets it right. Making the most of advertising in China means working with a partner who understands social media and Weibo marketing to China. Westwin is that partner. Social media is what we do.