DigiTrends Your source for Chinese digital insights

Social Network Marketing on Microblogging Service : Macro Revenues?

As is known to all, Twitter has been testing advertising models such as Promoted Tweets, or micro-blog entries that are highlighted when users search for keywords on Twitter since last year.

Here in China, Twitter’s younger counterpart - Sina Weibo, is still researching potential advertising models, but is currently more focused on building its user base and platform. This might be true, however, just like Twitter , the website has a great challenge to face---turning the popular service into a highly profitable enterprise. This is to say, globally, micro-blogging has yet to be proven as a successful business model.

In most people’s eyes, advertising is the most promising way for micro-blogging service to earn profits. The second most talked about method is subscription—making high-end users pay for their accounts. Actually, most publishers talk about the two common monetization streams so often as if there were no other options.

We have to admit advertising and subscription might be two effective and safe ways to monetize the traffic, but they are so traditional—almost every website can take advantage of them. Micro-blogging service should never forget their unique weapon: social network marketing

The larger microblogging service grows, the more the connectivity between users benefits all. But there is gold beyond the conversations that are going on. The pure connectivity in itself is valuable. While miroblogging service may not run advertising, many companies would love to license the right to target people using what is called "birds of a feather" targeting: identifying a group of people with a common interest and then expanding that target by finding others with similar interests. A number of companies are doing this right now, while honoring privacy; they don't have to know who the people are. You see, companies now hold a powerful marketing tool, and micro-blogging service can get a commission, which could be turned into a large sum of revenues---a win-win deal.

A dozen of companies have already enjoyed the excellence of social network marketing, among them are world-renowned corporations such as Dell and Uniqlo. Maybe more companies, especially small ones, should give it a try.