At the time of the social media pioneer era, while we are enjoying Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, China is on the contrary as these platforms are blocked. Instead, they have their own social media platform, i.e. Weibo, which was at that time, is Chinese digital world revolving around it. Weibo is like a combination of Facebook and twitter that can create a community and update posts. It has been a platform that foreign celebrities from many countries around the world used as a communication channel with Chinese fans for decades. The world never stops turning and many new platforms have emerged to fulfill what is lacking, in what Weibo doesn’t have, such as WeChat, Bilibili, Douyin (TikTok), Xiao Hong Shu Red, and more. With different strengths of their own platforms, these make Weibo the most used app but not an app that is able to reach out to all Chinese target audiences, with many limitations in the field of digital marketing.
Not everyone uses Weibo
Although Weibo is the most used social media in China. But that doesn’t mean all users in China. With different preferences Some people like to chat with friends, they may visit WeChat the most, or watch short videos, they may visit Douyin (TikTok) most often, or if you watch a Youtube video call, they may go to Bilibili all day and hardly get in. Weibo, this is probably a sufficient reason for the first weakness why Weibo alone is not enough for “China Digital Marketing” because these behaviors depend on different age groups. Statistics show that Weibo holds more teenage users. But most middle-aged and older users are on the archetypal rival WeChat.
The number one platform is highly competitive
With top platform, the cost will be higher as there are more popular. Therefore, if you are planning to invest, you must analyze factors carefully as there may be some channels that communicate with the target audience more efficiently and effectively with lesser spending, otherwise, the budget will vanish quickly with a blink of an eye. It is wise to integrate all channels of Chinese social networks.
Target audience interests
It is a platform that has the strength as a communication channel between world famous people and fans. The content or advertising must therefore be relevant to the interests of the target audience on that platform. According to statistics, the most popular tool marketers use on Weibo and are quite successful are KOL, Influencer and Celebrity, with massive followers. For this reason, it can result in an increase in marketing budget to pay both for KOL and for advertisement, because if it is a typical Micro-Influencer, will have much lesser power to influence, thus, no one will take notice.
The limitations of being Micro-Blogging
Weibo was originally created to be Micro-Blogging is like Twitter that can only type 140 characters, although nowadays it has been increased to 2,000 characters, but when it comes to stringing words into sentences, it was considered quite limited and it was difficult to manage to deliver a complete message.
Most Chinese people use WeChat to pay for goods and services
Although Weibo has an e-wallet function, most Chinese people commonly used it to buy goods and services in China. Some people are more accustomed to texting on WeChat than chatting on Weibo, just like the adults in Thailand who rarely use Facebook Messenger, but rather prefer to message each other via LINE.
For all reasons It can be concluded that for China Digital Marketing, Weibo cannot reach all Chinese target groups. Therefore, the strengths of all channels must be drawn together for maximum efficiency, with different tools and methods to suit the behavior of the user of the applications.
If you are looking for a Chinese Digital Marketing Agency, Weibo Agency, that is familiar with China’s communication social media, V-Click Technology can be your solution as a top marketing technology company and knows China’s target audience well, a JV between iClick Interactive and VGI PLC. Please send enquiry or consult us at sales@v-click.co.th