Sina Weibo strengthen marketing support service for corporate users. Can these services become also the foothold of their monetization?

As I explained before, Sina Weibo already started some activity of monetization on their platform. And they recently started some marketing support service for corporate users, so I would like to introduce typical 3 services.

1. Advertising Center

This service is a one of promotional tweet, and is similar to the service that Twitter or Facebook already provided. This service is a one of promotional tweet, and is similar to the service that Twitter or Facebook already provided. 

I asked its cost to the customer center of Sina Weibo, but they said that its cost will be decided after Chinese new year. But the calculation method of its cost is already decided, and there are two calculation method as follows.

CPM : The number that was read of relevant tweet

CPE : The number that was forwarded of relevant tweet, or the number that was clicked link in relevant tweet, etc.

2. Wei-task(Micro task)

This is like a matching service between corporate users and general users who would like to earn money on Weibo.

Corporate user give the task(such as forwarding the relevant tweet or post the relevant contents) to the general users, and its cost will be decided on the basis of the followers number that the relevant general users have or other factor.

3. SMS marketing

This service have three type of sending the message to general users.

1. Register the phone number that already knows.

2. At first post the recruitment messages (such as "Please become a target user of sending SMS announce. If you will become it, then you have a chance to get the luxurious prize", etc. ) on the Weibo.

3. Using the list of advertisement agencies.

In case of this sample, the cost of one message is 0.6RMB(= 0.1 USD) per a person.

As I explained before, SMS is the most popular communication method of mobile devices in China. And this is also the effective method to reach the user who rarely login to Weibo.

Of course, Sina Weibo would like to accelerate their monetization, but I think that these service are also good for the company who would like to strengthen marketing activity to Chinese market on Weibo. 

Source => Sina Weibo

Sina Weibo upgraded their corporate user page to ver.2.0.

Sina Weibo prepared corporate user page on their weibo last June, and now they updated it to ver.2.0.

This ver.2.0 mainly have 5 topics as follows:

   1. Users can define its wallpapers as they like.

    

2. Users can define favorite links with text or links with picture on their page.

  3. User can define some topics(text/picture/video) on the top of their page.

  

  4. Upgraded page and follower management feature.

  

  

User can manage not only the total number of followers, but also how much active users there are.

  5. Enhanced its user guide page

  

Now, Weibo already be a powerful tool for corporate marketing, its version will be more helpful tool for corporate accounts.

2012 is a year that will many companies start using the Enterprise Social Network for their business in China.

As I reported before, Weibo users reached 250 million people and SNS users reached 235 million people in China on the end of 2011.

In China, there is a trend that a service much expand to the consumer market will also expand business market area in China, such as instant messenger 'QQ'.


In the recent business seen, it's needed not only 1:1 or 1:n communications, but also N:N one. So, it can be said that 2012 is a year that will start using Social Network for their business scene in China.


It is a one of evidence for such a trend that big consulting company in China "CIC" added to their most recent report "Enterprise Social".

And actually, some enterprise social network products are started to provide from some vendor in China as follows.

1. Crowdroid for Business (Anhui Opensource Software Inc.)

It's a Weibo style enterprise social system that supports accessing from PC or mobile devices, and it supports 3 languages (English, Chinese and Japanese).


2. Kingdee Weibo

Kingdee is a big company that is providing business management softwares, and they also provide Weibo style enterprise social system that supports PC and mobiles.


Famous enterprise social system provider in the world, such as Yammer or Salesforce Chatter, have not entered to the Chinese market, but they probably come to the Chinese market in near future.

On the other hand, some big Weibo and SNS provider, such as Sina, Tencent and Renren, may also start providing their system to business users for getting revenue.


From the words above, I think that it can be said 2012 is a year that will many companies start using the Enterprise Social Network for their business in China.