China’s extremely popular social media platform Weibo, dubbed the Chinese twitter, is close to a cross between Twitter and Facebook. An overnight success story in itself, there are more than 300 million registered users on this platform. Imagine the kind of exposure you can achieve by being an active member of such a popular forum.

There are four main types of Weibo advertising can take place-

a. Display Adverts: These are old-school advertisements in various dimensions that display in various parts of a user’s home page.

b. Weibo Search Engine Promotion: Weibo has a specific search engine that allows users to search for particular products or brands. By strategically choosing relevant keywords, you can ensure your presence on these searches.

c. Fan Headlines: Catering to your existing fan base by adding new headlines that show up on their feed. Almost 65% of users share between 1-3 posts a day.

d. Fan Tunnel: This system allows you to choose your consumer base. By selecting the characteristics of the ideal consumer, Weibo will advertise your brand on users fitting the criteria.

Weibo not only serves as a medium for social networking but is a very lucrative platform for business advertising. Weibo advertising strategies have been known to be one of the most popular ones in China and has even started to spread globally. Household names like Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Louis Vuitton are verified account holders on Weibo, giving them a place to connect with their customers, up and personal.

Here’s how can you successfully incorporate Weibo into your digital advertising strategy:

1. Making an account

As with any social media platform, the very first step in joining the herd is by actually registering with the account. This gives you access to the various facilities that Weibo advertising provides and, of course, your target audience- the potential customers.

2. Make yourself appealing to the masses

In order to stand out and capture the interest of your target consumer, you need to spark their curiosity. Catchy and updated slogans, engaging videos, pictures, and use of gifs help get that traffic started. It is important to remember that while the advertising can be rich and enticing, your product or service must do it justice once the consumer is in. It is also important to come up with fresh content on a regular basis to ensure you are active on the platform. Commenting and interacting with the potential customer base helps form a communicative relationship that in turn, into a loyal consumer-base.

3. Purchasing targeted onsite advertising campaign

In order for your brand to really stand out, Weibo advertising allows the purchase of targeted onsite advertising campaign. This will ensure to boost your brand’s visibility on the pages of your target audience. The more visible it is, the more the chances of getting customers talking.

4. Staying relevant

It is important, especially in this day and age, to stay relevant and tuned in on the latest news. People tend to prefer brands that incorporate current issues into their own brands. Show that you are interested in a world outside your brand by staying aware of current issues. Vocalizing support for the causes you stand for can definitely get your brand the good press you need.

5. Weibo Influencer Campaigns

Weibo advertising allows a straightforward promotion method- Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) promotions. While the conventional advertising methods see brands collaborating with celebrities, KOL promotions have brands working with social media influencers to get the word out about them. This has proven to be a much more lucrative way to spark a conversation because influencers are considered more relatable than a celebrity, albeit a more celebrated one. These collaborations can occur in exchange for money of gifts. The use of special coupons and access to Tmall and Taobao on the influencer’s page has made it even easier to get exposure to your consumer base through KOL promotions.

6. Cross Promotion on Weibo

Weibo advertising is not only a great channel for B2C promoting but also for B2B promoting. This form of cross-promotion allows a company to target and affiliate with similar or symbiotic buyers and thereby sharing a mutual advertising strategy.

7. Organic growth

Organic growth on Weibo by definition, can not be controlled or managed. However, with continuous and consistent sharing and posting of relevant content, the brand is on an upward tangent with regards to organic growth.