Weibo Groups and Guanxi!

Continuing last Weibo article, which mentions that Weibo is more versatile with multiple social networking functions, this article digs deeper on Weibo itself, strengthening the increasingly important role for Weibo in China by identifying the very difference between Weibo and Twitter.
Besides videos, pictures, and gaming applications, “Weibo Groups (微群)” is another function that brings this platform closer to social networking business.

About Weibo Groups
Weibo Groups are social clubs divided in 8 major categories (celebrities, industry, interests, culture, lifestyle, housing, old friends, and cities), with over a hundred subcategories. Within these categories users are allowed to create their own groups with specifically defined interests. Each group is limited to 500 users and each user is limited to 10 groups. There are both open groups (anyone can join) and closed groups (requires approval to participate as a member, but anyone can read).
What does this mean to us?
• Multiple promotional ways on Weibo itself: not only setting up accounts for our characters, Weibo Group is another place to spread the word and generate subscribers.
• Similar promotions among Weibo and other SNS: while it is clear that Weibo is a competitive threat to SNS, it is also clear to us that it’s a necessary platform that we should include in our promotional efforts, knowing that Weibo has more social networking function, our promotional practices will have more direction accordingly. Weibo has 70 million users, Renren self-reported to have 160 million users. Sina Weibo Group has launched ahead of Renren Group

How much does it cost?
While full promotional rate is not available yet, from communicating with one blogger I outreached this week, the promotion within Weibo groups that have over 10,000 fans cost minimum 500-700rmb ($75-$105)/day. These groups will promise on avg 50 RT and 50 comments.
Payment cannot always guarantee premium account, what else? Guanxi!
From former research we mentioned “verified account” on Sina Weibo, which allows over 2,000 following and is supposed to be distributed only to celebrities and business. However, from communication with industry people, “Guanxi”, “personal relationship” in Chinese, with editors enable non-celebrity figures like Xiaoxi to have verified account access as well. Is Guanxi important? Of course!
However, there are also examples showing that payment without Guanxi can guarantee everything, including subscribers. Exactly why is that? See my next article for details.

Note: Weibo is Chinese Twitter, literally means microblog.

Additional reads:
http://www.techrice.com/2010/11/27/sina-weibo-launches-groups-threatens-chinas-social-networks/
http://www.techrice.com/2010/11/07/sina-weibos-4-steps-to-dominance-in-china/

First Look at Weibo

In order to find out Weibo’s role in campaigns, I examine three effective Weibo campaigns that happen recently, and identify the followings:
• Weibo+ event is most often utilized in campaigns
• Most campaigns focus on a variety of social media sites including SNS, VSS, and Weibo, intead of aiming solely on Weibo as a single platform.
• Weibo is becoming an increasing effective way to go viral. Weibo is becoming the main channel for online community to voice opinions and engage with brands. Source shows that 45.9% online users voice their opinions through Weibo during the World Cup Season. According to DCCI, China’s Weibo users will expand to over 100 million.
• Sina Weibo (t.sina) continues to be the leading Chinese microblog platform.

Furthermore, I examine the general differences between Weibo in China and the microblog in the US.
• Weibo has a focus on verified account, which is given to all celebrities and brands. “V” appears by every verified user’s Weibo entry. Weibo’s verified accounts have to be celebrities or brands.
• Weibo has multiple functions. That happens with other social media platforms in China as well. A Sina Weibo game named “Adoption”, which was launched in October, attracts 30,000 users and 100,000 Tweets in two days.
• Different to Twitter, Weibo embed pictures and videos which can be viewed without leaving the page. This is this handy for the user and provides opportunities for marketing, as brands can more easily associate visuals with entries.
• Business people on Weibo are as popular as entertainment stars. According to a blog article, In Twitter’s top ten there is not one business person; in Weibo’s there are three. Successful businesspeople are seen more like celebrities.
• Weibo has the backing of Chinese giant, Twitter doesn’t. Major Weibo is developed by major portal sites therefore are in very strong position in China.
• Top Weibo users have over 1 billion followers. According to first-hand source, it takes about 500-700 rmb/day to promote on a Weibo fans group that has over 10,000 fans. This type of fans group enable about 50 Retweets and 50 replies daily


Note: Weibo (微博) is the Chinese pronunciation microblog. Equivalent to Chinese Twitter. Therefore Weibo is sometimes called microblog.

Tech updates-iPad delays int'l sale, Twitter goes to ads

Two News to share with you:


IPad's sales once again prove that we should never underestimate Steve Jobs vision and Apple's marketing. According to New York Times, Apple Delays its international release to May 10 due to the "surprising" U.S. deman--the company has shipped more than 500,000 iPads during the first week and expects 1.25 million for the quarter ending in June. Do you own iPad, what's your experience?


Facing the pressure of how to turn online influence into profit, Twitter, for the first time, attempt to make money from its service--in Tuesday, Twitter launched an advertising service called Promoted Tweets, which allows advertisers display their tweets in the top of the search result. Twitter's this ad model is not foreign to users. Google's search ads allow companies place small text ads above and beside search result. Yet this move is different than Google's model. Promoted Tweets must have a higher standard, baring in mind that they are not ads, they are tweets, according to Starbucks's spokesman. Thus, company's Promoted Tweets should resonant with users, which encourage them to retweet, replay, and discuss.