Apple's Tim Cook Becomes Latest Celebrity to Join China's Weibo
Apple CEO Tim Cook's visit to China shows Weibo is still the pre-eminent go-to platform for communicating with Chinese consumers.
If Apple chief executive (CEO) Tim Cook’s interest is any indication, Weibo should still be a staple of a brand’s social media strategy in China.
Tim Cook is the latest high profile character to use Weibo, after posting a bilingual Chinese-English message on Monday to draw attention to Apple’s environmental initiatives in China.
In 24 hours, his single post has accumulated more than 400,000 followers, 66,000 likes, almost 50,000 comments, and been retweeted 40,000 times.
Many followers welcomed Cook to China, while others made inquiries about the costs and availability of Apple products, proving that many are still glued to Weibo for breaking news, according to Mark Tanner, managing director of Shanghai-based marketing and research agency China Skinny.
“Although Weibo has lost some of its mojo as a way to communicate with friends and every day murmurings, it is still the first-port-of-call for many Chinese seeking news and views and gossip from high profile people,” Tanner says. “Due to its openness and transparency, many consumers still use it for brand and product news and research, making it an important part of the customer journey. This, with the transparent and viral nature of Weibo should be factored into marketing strategies.”
Weibo has 175 million monthly active users (MAU) and an average 80 million daily active users, according to 2014 financial statements. However, user engagement has seen a drop off since 2013, as Chinese ‘netizens’ have migrated to the more private chat-sharing platform Weixin (WeChat).
While it is not new for high profile foreigners to sign up to Weibo, Tanner says the platform is improving which is helping usability. “It is also much easier to set up an official verified account on Weibo as a foreigner than it is on WeChat,” says Tanner. “Tactics for Weibo are quite different from WeChat, but the two are both powerful and complimentary channels for brands in China.”
Previous Apple CEO Steve Jobs was highly regarded in China, says Chris Baker, managing director of digital agency, Totem Media.
“Apple has always been partly defined in China by way of its leader, so this will help to fill that void a little bit better by having Tim Cook step forward,” says Baker.
The decision to open a personal account on Weibo could also allow Apple to create different angles to its communications. “Where the Apple official accounts might focus more on product announcements, Tim Cook will have the scope to create a deeper “relationship” by talking about Apple’s commitment to China,” says Baker.
Earlier this month, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi became the latest international figure to send a message on Weibo in anticipation of his May visit to China.
“Hello China! Looking forward to interacting with Chinese friends through Weibo,” the post read.
His first seven posts on Weibo accumulated more than 46,000 followers.
*Image via Shutterstock
