What is Sina Weibo? Know Your Chinese Social Media!

What is Sina Weibo

What is Sina Weibo? We have all the answers for you!

In this article by China Gravy, we take a deep dive into Sina Weibo, the third-largest social media platform in China by monthly active users.

Table of Contents

So, let’s jump right in.

Know Your Chinese Social Media

To begin with, the number of users of social networking platforms worldwide is rising without an end in sight. The number of social network users is projected to surpass 6 billion in 2028.

With more than 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is undoubtedly the most popular social media worldwide. 

At the same time, the number one Chinese social media platform WeChat alone has more than 1.3 billion monthly active users. This means that almost every Chinese person is using this app and social media in general.

To boost the local economy and to provide politically-correct content for its citizens, China set up the Great Firewall of China and internet censorship. As a result, the top social media platforms in the Western world like Facebook, X, and YouTube cannot be reached in China since 2008. So, today, Chinese social media and e-commerce platforms are booming in China and around the world.

Social Media in China

Generally, the three most popular Chinese social media sites by MAU are:

  1. WeChat (Tencent) – 1.3 billion MAU
  2. Sina Weibo (Alibaba-backed) – 600 million MAU
  3. Douyin (Western TikTok) – 900 million MAU

So, what is this Sina Weibo all about? Let’s find out!

What is Sina Weibo?

First of all, “Weibo” (微博) means “micro-blog” in Chinese. Launched by Sina Corporation in 2009, Sina Weibo, or simply Weibo is a microblogging website and app which compares to X and Instagram. 

In comparison to WeChat, Sina Weibo is mostly used by a younger population. It offers more informational and trending content. Likewise, Weibo allows businesses to set up official and verified accounts to communicate with their followers and advertise their products and services.

What is Sina Weibo - China Gravy
Source: weibo.com

Left menu

  • Popular recommendations
  • Popular list
  • Hot searches on Weibo
  • Mine
  • Hot search
  • Entertainment
  • News

Top menu

  • Popular
  • real time
  • Same city
  • List
  • Star
  • funny
  • weekend

Right menu

  • Hot searches (top 10 related searches)

Next, let’s take a closer look at the main Weibo features.

What’s on Sina Weibo?

Weibo users value these main features:

  • 140 characters limit per post
  • Posting images
  • Instant messaging
  • Following people and official accounts
  • Weibo stories
  • Use (location-based) hashtags
  • “Trending Topics”

In 2013, the Alibaba Group, the largest e-commerce platform in the world, acquired an 18% stake in Sina Weibo. This deal is expected to drive more web traffic to Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace, the largest e-commerce website in China with a consumer focus.

Today, together with TouTiao, Sina Weibo is one of China’s dominant sources of news content. Weibo is also a huge financial success: In the first quarter of 2024 alone, Weibo’s total net revenues were more than 395 million USD.

How You can Benefit from Sina Weibo

Your business can benefit from reaching a wide audience on Sina Weibo, resulting in brand loyalty and increased sales.

The five main ways to increase brand awareness and gain visibility on Weibo are:

  1. Weibo Influencer Campaigns: Working with Chinese influencers, Wanghongs, and Key Opinion Leaders (KOL marketing), allows you to reach a younger population in China.
  2. Weibo Paid Ads: They work similarly to WeChat ads. To attract more followers, there are 3 types of paid ads options available on Weibo Paid Ads:
    • Fensi Tong (粉丝通): this allows more specific targeting options, including interests, gender, location, and devices.
    • Sponsored Post: Promotes content to current followers and/or potential followers.
    • Weibo Tasks: Grow your followers by paying other accounts to repost
  3. Weibo Lottery: Connect with your audience by letting them win prizes.
  4. Cross-Promotion: Sina Weibo is a great commerce platform for B2C promotion. And it also works well for B2B promotion.
  5. Organic Growth: Posts with higher engagement will reach more Weibo users. It is therefore vital to continuously improve the content quality.

Either way, you will have to set up an account first. Let’s take a look at that.

Individual and Business Accounts

Depending on your account verification status, Weibo users can modify their profile appearance and enjoy different privileges. According to their package, businesses can benefit from specific promotions, events, coupons, private messages, data analysis, and social listening.

  1. Individuals: Personal and private accounts
    • Personal users – FREE
    • KOLs – FREE
    • Grass root media – FREE
    • Grass root media partners – FREE
    • Superstar KOLs – FREE
  2. Businesses: Business accounts are suitable for companies, nonprofits, and government institutions. Note that there are different prices for Chinese companies and foreign companies.
    • Basic – 300 RMB (~40 USD) for locals companies / 1,000 USD for foreign companies
    • Medium – 5,000 RMB (~700 USD): additional VIP phone customer service
    • Advanced – 9,800 RMB (1,400 USD): additional annual membership

This brings us to the end of this article.

What is Sina Weibo – The Takeaway

Now you know what Sina Weibo is and you got an insight into the Chinese social media landscape.

China Gravy is here for you, so you can kickstart your business in the “Middle Kingdom”. Our Weibo services for you include:

  • Setting up a Sina Weibo business account
  • Running Weibo advertising, influencer campaigns, lotteries, and cross-promotions
  • Localize your existing website or create a Chinese website
  • China business advice and partnership facilitation

If you are new to the Chinese market, you can benefit from our expertise. We have many Chinese marketing tips for Western companies and we are excited to assist you to develop a strategy to conquer the Chinese market.

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