But first, there’s an overall organic strategy to consider as well. I asked our social team to share some tips and tricks, and here’s what they said.
P.S. Their advice is mostly applied in our strategy for educational institutions, but can be adapted to anyone really.
Do thorough research to learn what your competitors post.
Make a simple brand style guide for both Western and Chinese saudi arabia phone number socials. Are you going to keep a similar writing style, or will you try something new? Make sure to keep your target audience in mind. Do you want to stick to company updates and news, or lean towards a fun/entertaining or even cute style?
Will you write content for your Weibo account from scratch? Or, is there some English-language content you could localise? We also suggest reusing bits and pieces of Chinese content you create for other Chinese platforms.
Review the graphic and video content you have available. Weibo is not a good place for very ‘official’ videos. Make sure you are still able to catch your audience’s attention and entertain them.
Be consistent with the style you choose. It’s good to try out a few, but make sure your followers can rely on your overall style. Weibo users are fast to unfollow accounts they don’t identify with, so if your posts could be easily reposted to a Baike (wiki) page, you may need to rethink your strategy. Choose a more talkative style instead.
Create a consistent posting schedule. Evening posts are often more successful, but the best approach is to A/B test different times of the day.
It’s common to publish at least three original posts per day on Weibo. Our team suggests keeping it to one per day. Ten posts/month is an absolute minimum.
It’s fine to repost common content such as company/university information or the details of your product/programme. Just don’t be too repetitive. Our team said it’s fine to reuse content every three months.
Apart from original updates, make sure to repost content posted by others. It’s easier if people already talk about you and tag your account, but you should also actively search for posts to interact with.
Weibo relies on ‘hot’ topics and searches (also known as hashtags). So, keep track of the trends and leverage them to your advantage. That’s the easiest way to gain more exposure. BUT do it naturally. If the topic doesn’t fit, then let it go; there will be another one.
Do not forget to share your Weibo account on other platforms to drive users across channels. Add it to your website as well! But, sharing Weibo’s logo on other Chinese platforms will result in you being blocked. On some platforms (such as Douyin), you can’t even mention Weibo (or 微博). When referring to the platform, use ‘Wb’ instead.
We like organising ‘online activities’ to increase exposure, and we often encourage users to like and comment on our posts to get a chance to win a prize (such as a school’s mascot, a Starbucks card, or a brand’s product). We also boost these posts with social ads. The aim is to increase the number of interactions. Note: DO NOT ask people directly in the post to share or follow your account.
If you’re physically present in China, take advantage of the localisation feature on Weibo as many users browse local posts (本地) daily.
Weibo Post Formats
Post formats on Weibo