Everyone’s been saying how simple and effective Weibo marketing is. But after opening an account and trying for a few weeks shooting out 1 or 2 posts every day, people would realize this isn’t working. Then they think, maybe they should start going offline promoting their Weibo accounts. But most people don’t know exactly what value they can get out of what kind of efforts, so they are reluctant to think about investing in it.
Well, the THEORY of Weibo marketing is simple. But honestly, it’s not easy to do. A good Weibo marketing campaign requires much time and energy. What you get for reward is quality followers. Not quantity, but quality. And what quality followers mean is awareness and interests. Of course if they really like what you do, they might get even more, like referral from them. So before you can benefit from Weibo, you need to build up the channel itself – you need to have a good Weibo account. So the efforts will be constant, which will be made on both building up the Weibo account itself and promoting through the Weibo account you’ve already successfully established.
Account Positioning and Content
Where do you start? Well, position yourself. Think about it this way: your Weibo page is like a sales landing page. The first impression is very important. Whenever a person comes to visit, they should immediately understand what your business is and what you can do for him/her. You need to have a decent amount of content already before you try to gain attention. Post about 6 to 10 pieces per day and do it every day.This isn’t something you can take a break from. Then they will probably look at your credibility – how many followers you have, how many people are responding to your posts and what they are talking about you. If your account is new and you don’t have much credibility to show, then the quality of your content is even more important. A way to test if your content is good is to see if it’s getting good feedback from your followers.
Getting attention
There are mainly two ways to promote your Weibo – on and off Weibo platform. Obviously, there is the free way to get attention on Weibo platform. You find and follow your potential followers to let them know your existence. There’s a great chance that they will check back on you, and there you have your opportunity. Add as many target people as you can handle every day to gain enough attention, announce your existence. The rest will depend on your page and your actual business. Note here that the people you want to follow shouldn’t just be your target customers. They can be anyone you would like to talk to, such as suppliers, VCs, cooperations, etc.. Some might never follow you back, but you can always try to talk to them directly.
Interacting with your audience
To your followers, your Weibo page isn’t a magazine. It’s a platform for you to listen and to communicate with your followers. So the effort can’t stop after the first “conversion” – becoming a follower of yours. You should’t forget about any of your followers, especially when they are active. Make them feel part of what you do. Give them the attention they need. Let them know you care about them. Visit their Weibo pages, look at what they are doing and comment on/forward their posts. While you are trying to build up your account, try to interact as many people as possible every day.
No one will guarantee a follower won’t unfollow you. But avoid being like a magazine without interaction with your followers. Respond to what they say to you and check up on them from time to time. Spend time building a relationship with your followers. In time you will notice how many business leads/opportunities you receive from your follower’s comments and private messages to you.