Weibo is a handy tool for marketers who are interested to enter in Chinese digital marketing area. For advertising on Weibo, you need to master various ad functions and options. This blogpost will guide you about different ads on Weibo through its functions. Although China’s social space is no longer dominated by Weibo, it is still growing fast and Weibo marketing is an important tool for businesses wants to gain visibility in China.

Web Influencer Campaigns

They are the most efficient way of carrying promotions on Weibo and are affordable. The use of a simple KOL (Key Opinion Leaders) promotion: gift or pay influencers in exchange for exposure. There are special features that make the platform efficient for KOL marketing – integration with Tmall and Taobao. A user can click on a coupon or product link displayed in a Weibo influencer post and is directly redirected to the relevant page on Tmall or Taobao.

Weibo Advertising

It has a powerful advertising back-end enabled for displaying ads in the user’s news feed and we will discuss some sections for Weibo advertising.

• Fan Tunneling

It is the best way of attracting new followers and customers in large numbers. With this Weibo marketing strategy, you can either promote your account or a single post. This technique is effective for new brands when they do not have followers and focuses on the full Weibo community and not only your existing followers.

• Fan Headlines

They focus on targeting existing followers and their connections. Here your account or post will be displayed at the top news feed of your followers and their other connections. It helps to re-share the content and boosts the visibility among your followers.

• Weibo Search Engine Promotion

Weibo is a smart platform having an inbuilt search feature that allows searching posts, fan pages, and accounts. Weibo marketing provides an effective method for boosting visibility to users making target keyword searches. The main function is to increase the visibility of your account. The cost of Weibo advertising depends on the competitiveness and the popularity of the keywords that you are using for promotions. When the user will hit the search bar, your account will be highlighted on the top list result page.

• Display Advertisements

They come with different dimensions depending on the mobile and web version. When the user clicks on an ad, they are directed to the advertising homepage. With selected keywords, you get a targeted approach for more visibility when the user searches for something.

• Demographic Targeting

Advertisers want to advertise more precisely and set up more than one of the targeting features. There are various targeting options like geographic region, gender, age, competitors list, hobbies and interest (education, health, food and drink, IT, etc), device (tablet, mobile, desktop) and follower relationship. An account with a big community gets a V-verified account stamp near the account image. You can target these accounts during your marketing campaign for reaching al larger community of fans. The right time for targeting is also crucial. Usually, users use the platform in the evening and morning rush hours. It is best to run your ads during these two time periods.

Weibo Lottery

Weibo has a feature for designing lotteries for users to win gifts. Although many Chinese users may not trust the authenticity of a lottery as it is completely organized by the brand, Weibo allows designing contests where users get the permission to take actions (share, like, etc.) and rewarded in a transparent manner.

Cross Promotion

For B2C and B2B promotion, Weibo is a powerful channel. By cross-promoting with other accounts targeting the same group, you can build high-quality followers.

Organic Growth

By definition, it is not easy to manage or control. For generating significant organic growth, proper A-B testing of posts content (to increase re-sharing and engagement) is important. Weibo does not follow the rule of displaying all the content in chronological order to its account holders. Like on the news feed of other social platforms, content having a high engagement rate will be displayed to more users. Therefore it is vital to refine content quality (even if it requires posting at a lower frequency) on a consistent basis.

As your eSports agency can attest, eSports is big business—big like the NFL, NHL, or even the NBA. The only difference is that we are talking about gamers here, people who devote their time and resources to video games. Simply put, eSports involves individuals that compete in organized video gaming. Imagine players from different teams who face off playing the same games that are so popular at home, games like the infamous Fortnite, League of Legends, Call of Duty and Madden NFL, just to name a few. Just like the ‘big sports,’ people watch esportsTV.

What is eSports?

eSports is the official name given for competitive gaming. Unlike video games of the past that involved playing solo, video games today are multi-player and can be very lucrative, for the best of the best. Quite simply, eSports are organized competitions where players—often referred to as ‘athletes’—face off against each other in multiplayer video games. An eSports agency can help athletes negotiate complicated contracts, ensuring fair treatment and compensation.

eSports and education

eSports is becoming so popular that even the NBA hosted a draft launch of its new eSports league that centres around the popular video game, NBA 2K. The draft launch saw 102 professional eSports players selected in a similar fashion to the actual NBA draft. As the popularity and importance of eSports grows, eSports agencies are starting to see colleges get in on the action. Today, more than 50 colleges in the Unites States offer eSports programs that are recognized by the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE). Each year, the NACE hands out thousands of dollars in prize money for recipients to use towards their education.

eSports is a big business

Like the big athletes we all hear about today who are represented by big brands, such as Nike and Adidas, eSports athletes also must strengthen their brand in order to capitalize on their marketing potential.  There are many ways for professional eSports competitors to financially capitalize on their brand and likeness, such as through promotional events, endorsement deals, sponsorships, and product placements, for example. A reputable eSports agency can help with strategy, branding, and promotion of an eSports athlete, which in turn can result in a lucrative eSports career.

Why is an eSports agency so important?

eSports agencies combine the function of a sports agent with the brand creation of a marketing expert. Hiring the right eSports agency can help you build your brand around your eSports athlete or team, and that will help you achieve the all-important brand awareness you need to become recognizable among different platforms of audiences. Just like with any ordinary brand, your reputation is what attracts and engages your audience, and you need to make sure the image and message your eSports athletes project aligns with the message your audience wants to receive. An eSports agent can help ensure that you are sending the right message through all of your eSports athlete’s interactions and representations. That’s how you gain sponsorship opportunities and endorsements, and it’s how you build a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with your fans.

eSports in numbers

CNN reported that eSports revenue, according to research from Newzoo, was predicted to reach $906 million worldwide in 2018. By 2019, that number was expected to surpass $1 billion. Tournaments can boast millions of dollars in prize money, which is typically split between the players on the winning teams. That means the world’s top players can easily earn seven figures in a year. Teams and event organizers also benefit from tickets sales for these competitions. Players also earn money from sponsorships, endorsements, and league salaries. Newzoo reports that brands will invest $694 million in eSports ventures this year alone. An eSports agency can help athletes capitalize on their talent and build their brand.

 What else can eSports agencies do?

Brands looking to create an eSports experience that involves individuals from the world of eSports can hire an eSports agency. Top agencies will be connected to popular YouTubers, pro gamers, and video game influencers that can provide an amazing experience for your brand.  eSports agencies also can help with improving brand awareness by reaching new audiences and helping brands connect with the most beneficial sponsorship opportunities.

Assembling a team in-house to carry on digital marketing efforts isn’t something that all businesses can afford to do. It is also something that may take a longer time to show results, considering the learning curve that the team will need to surpass. A knowledgeable digital marketing company in China can help you with such needs and allow you to grow your business by letting you focus on other important tasks at hand. Here is a look at some ways in which these companies make a positive difference.

Improve brand recognition and build loyalty

Connecting with your customers or audience at the right time, with the right communication and through the right medium can contribute immensely to building brand awareness. A knowledgeable digital marketing agency is equipped with all the right tools and strategies required to reach your target audience in an appropriate manner and at the exact time needed. Also, they do this is a consistent way while ensuring that the right messaging is communicated to the customers. Thus, such companies help your brand become more popular among users or potential customers.

Enhance customer life cycles

There are two parts to a business relating to customers – acquiring new ones and retaining current ones. Both of these require concerted efforts, and knowledgeable digital marketing companies know just how to do that. By pushing content and ads that appeal to current users as well as new ones, the agency helps you engage with customers in a meaningful and personalized way, while also getting them to come back to your business every time. These efforts, over time, helps you improve customer retention rates and life cycles.

Open up new sales channels

It’s not unusual for businesses to have inquiries or sales come in from a single channel or two. Digital marketing, with its multi-channel approach that includes SEO, paid ads, content promotions, social media marketing, video marketing, and the like, helps open up new channels for your business. Some that you may not even be aware existed. The company that performs these tasks employ organic growth tactics and also uses paid promotions to reach out to a vast number of potential customers who live out there in the digital world. A simple example can be that of a local salon business. By going the digital route, you can target users in your locality with ease. Search results pop up your business name every time someone searches for a keyword related to your business. Or consider entering a new market in a different country like China. When you are unsure of what strategies to employ or the legalities that need to be followed, a knowledgeable and experienced digital marketing company in China can help you reach out to more potential customers and make your brand more visible among the people there. In this manner, the company can help bring in many new customers who may otherwise have been unaware of your presence.

Provide analytics

A knowledgeable digital marketing company knows very well that strategy and implementation is just one part of the game, and that measuring your performance is equally important. For this reason, professional agencies also provide analytics for digital marketing efforts. This allows you to make informed, data-backed decisions about what is working and what isn’t. Analytics, like all digital marketing activities, needs to be performed on an ongoing basis. When done right, such tools can give you valuable actionable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and many other aspects that can potentially drive sales and improve revenues.

Give better returns on investment

A major advantage of digital marketing is that it gives you better ROI as opposed to traditional marketing methods. A knowledgeable digital marketing company can make this possible for you by tapping into the immense potential that lies within the digital world. Promotions done online can be adjusted and fine-tuned on a real-time basis. The agency can thus, help you pump in more money into campaigns that work and scrap others that don’t see results. Thus, by fine-tuning marketing efforts on a continued basis, knowledgeable digital marketing agencies ensure that you put your money where it matters and make the most of it.