Weibo's 140-word business model

No matter what mode to choose, depending on micro-blog for the future growth of corporate profits, has become inevitable.

140 words to the trader and the hot money has brought a huge profit, but the micro-blogging operators themselves in the end income geometry?

How much energy does Weibo actually have? With the help of Weibo, how does the power of all parties wrestle? What are the practical modes of operation?

The dilemma of traditional mode

At present, China's major micro-blogging brands are still in the stage of cultivating popularity, as the platform of the major sites, it seems not eager to make money, but continue to word-of-mouth marketing, to save popularity, hoarding customer resources, deepen user stickiness. In order to develop customers, the threshold of the major micro-blog registration is very low, as long as the entry of a valid e-mail, within a few seconds can register successfully, get the ID address.

To foster user loyalty, microblogging operators are trying to ingratiate themselves with the needs of users, such as video, small stories, and humorous jokes that are embedded in traditional ads to enhance the spread of the internet and attract popularity. In order to expand the user team, the platform has also widely used the star hype, the star fans into Weibo users. For example, Sina Weibo will Chen Yao, Xiao S, kai-fu Lee and other celebrities to the front desk, to attract popularity. Celebrity each post, there are thousands of fans reprinted, which also greatly increased the popularity of the microblog. In order to stick to users, micro-blogging operators often release new products, with lottery activities such as favors attract users attention, to achieve indirect marketing purposes. Operators also take the initiative to "learn from Lei Feng", find ways to close the user, solve the user problem, accumulate good reputation, in order to achieve the goal of establishing brand image.

A number of microblogging platforms have been afraid to easily put some direct page ads, one reason is to prevent in the homogenization of competition in the marginalization. But with the user loyalty promotion, micro-bo viscosity to a certain extent, micro-Bo will open "Jaws" Swallow silver, collect money to buy road. The first thing you can think of is trying to put in some implantable ads, such as physical images, expressions, or "understandable" promotional materials with commercial symbols.

In early March, Sina Weibo launched its first commercial ad at the Pizza Hut Happy restaurant on its home page. Careful user found that in its personal page in the upper right-hand corner, there appeared Pizza Hut with the home page matching the Pizza Hut ads, but occupy a smaller space. For Sina, it is a long brewing attempt. Netizens are finally seeing Sina's first exploration of the microblogging-earnings model.

However, the main direction of micro-blogging is still to add value to the service, imagine such a large microblogging user groups, even if compared with Tencent QQ user group, will only be even more.

As a network information platform, using its own platform advantages to provide users with some value-added services, basically is the logical thing, this is like QQ, MSN in business success. If users want to beautify their microblog space, the embodiment individuality color, obtains differs from the general user's function--for instance appearance, fictitious identity and so on, can realize only if the expense is not too big, but the formidable user base makes "the trickle" finally realizes each big micro-blogging platform to be able to increase effectively.

However, this is also a dilemma model. On the one hand, making use of the vanity of the users, paying attention to pay for this part of the users, the appropriate fee, through technical means to improve their microblog attention, such a way to make money is certainly worth a try. On the other hand, if promoted, it is likely to overlap with the value-added services of its other platforms, such as the use of micro-blogging to provide music services, on the mainstream of other platforms on the site also have such services, if the platform to grab a business, but the loss.

A new model of Weibo: an open feast

"Sina Weibo platform not only supports its own business, but also wants to carry more developers ' application exploration and bring business opportunities for application development and business development," said Peng Shaobin, vice president of Sina and general manager of Weibo division. ”

This statement implied that the provision of applications to provide a service fee model, Sina Weibo open platform is Sina want to let micro-blog to achieve profits bet treasure. At present, this open platform is quite mature, including the complete API interface document and 7 languages SDK package, and up to now, there are already based on open platform external sharing tools, information synchronization input tools, user binding tools.

The attempt to maximize the value of Weibo, based on an open Platform external resource tool, is now beginning to emerge. The street-side network can be said to be one of the early collaborators of Sina Weibo's open platform. This is a location in the geographical location of SNS (social networking site), since the May 13, 2010 online, only six months registered users reached more than 170,000 people, has accumulated 750,000 users. Sina Weibo and the street side of the network is a mutually beneficial partnership. "Sina Weibo has brought us 30% of our traffic. Liu Davei, founder of the street network, said the rapid accumulation of users in the short term was largely due to the interaction with Sina Weibo's interpersonal platform. Through the street-side network geographic information and Sina Weibo user relations in tandem, users can be anywhere and friends to share, eat, drink, etc. Users just sign up on the street, and his friends will be able to get a sense of where the user is at the moment on Sina Weibo. Through the street network, users can easily let his friends know where he is, if just a friend is passing through here, they can contact. By making the two sides compatible and interconnected, Sina Weibo and the street are making Internet users very convenient, and also gradually to the open platform outside tool this model of the business landscape is clearly depicted.

In addition, Sina Weibo also through the business of E-commerce, or Consumer-to-consumer mode, on the micro-blog to achieve a certain proportion of the transaction, provided that Sina to access a payment platform, or to launch a payment platform of their own.

Similarly, using the open platform, Sina is trying to use a fixed time or one-time charging platform service fee for some commercial application software providers, that is, to play the role of integrated shopping mall property, "You put the counter here, I will charge a management fee, or a profit-sharing."

Weibo new Mode II: "Scarf dating" type of game

In this mode of derivative products, mainly imitate the famous CCTV host Wang on its excellent rice site to engage in celebrity dating, the organization of users and celebrities in the micro-neck face-to-face exchanges, auction celebrity time, by appointment time fees, and so on.

Dating refers to the official website launched daily activities, engage in celebrity micro-blogging sessions, so that micro-blog "bid" to the celebrities to ask questions. Limit the number of questions per activity. To get this quota, you have to "bid", if the others out of 10, you out of 11, you can be selected.

In order to have more scarf to bid, micro-blog can go to "cotton", "weaving", recruitment "weaving collar workers", open "scarf factory", speculation celebrity scarf. Sina, each micro-blog can be free to receive "an acre of land" to "grow cotton." If you want more land to "grow cotton", you can pay to buy "land", can also "steal food", can also "steal cotton." It is noteworthy that the scarf can be used to talk with celebrities, fans and idols, this platform is not a common game to create.

At present, the scarf dating game can bring many win-wins and achieve sustainable development. For example: celebrities can advertise themselves; brands can advertise by sponsoring gifts; micro-blogs can get conversations, auction gifts, and promote their microblog; Sina Weibo is the biggest winner, and it can achieve more wins, such as popularity, Word-of-mouth, profitability, and Weibo development.

Weibo new model three: Marketing user database

In Weibo, a large number of users open the privacy perspective, and these user data and information data are worthy of deep excavation, so you can use micro-blog marketing companies to provide valuable data and information, so that marketers can be a lot of tracking the user's consumption intentions, so that the company to make appropriate market response.

Micro-blog through technical means to different brands, different products of consumer demand for records and statistics, brand or product evaluation classification and statistics, thus forming the relevant monitoring services for the enterprise real-time understanding of user needs and brand reputation to provide dynamic tools. This will also become a more specialised path for microblogging businesses, based on which microblogging platforms profit by selling "real value" reports. For example, Dell monitors its users ' feedback on the company's products through the network monitoring company Visible Technologies on Twitter.

"Companies can use Weibo's user resources to develop new potential users, while leveraging micro-blogging to interact with users to improve customer service, customer retention and customer experience." Li, senior analyst at Analysys International, said. Word, Weibo marketing is really good for businesses.

Many of the users who participate in Weibo have a consumer identity, regardless of product research and development, promotion or brand building, premium and other activities, the market demand tends to show as consumption will, and this in the social media to express the willingness to participate in the production process through the network Word-of-mouth research, etc., is forming a behavior of the same period.

Micro-Blog New mode four: and mobile operators into

Weibo is born with the characteristics of good integration with mobile media, with the proliferation of microblogging users and the prominence of the commercial value of micro-blogging, but also make the major micro-blogging platform and mobile operators to carry out traffic and text message into the possibility.

Into the 3G era, micro-blog to see the mobile operator's mobile advantage. As early as August 2009, Sina Weibo launched a "139 lobbyist" service with China Mobile's 139 companies, its positioning is very clear-"500 million mobile phone users of the microblogging", users can be mobile phones, PCs and other ways to register and login, on the one hand, through the PC and mobile phone messages to let friends "listen" To what you want to say, on the other hand, you can "listen" to your friends ' quotations at any time via PC and SMS.

By contrast, mobile operators have their own advantages in running the microblogging business. And Sina, Tencent, Sohu, NetEase and other portals of micro-blog compared to, although operators do not have a deep network of user accumulation and the strong appeal and cohesion, but the operator has a huge size of mobile phone users. In addition, even if most of the current micro-blog traffic from the PC client, but the real charm of Weibo is its mobility and convenience, to reflect the mobility of this convenience, the mobile phone is undoubtedly the best carrier.

Ideally, every mobile phone user can be a potential microblogging user, and what the operator needs to do is take effective measures to facilitate this transformation. For example, in the mobile phone built-in microblogging client, to strengthen the micro-blog and the existing telecommunications business integration. Once the micro-blog and mobile phone links, when users are accustomed to using text messages, MMS way to write Weibo, then, based on the mobile phone's profit model will be more than the portal's microblogging profit model clearer.

Weibo new model five: Market Circle money

Sources say that Baidu and Alibaba will spend 100 million of dollars on Sina Weibo, which means Sina Weibo 2011 years or will be split listing. If the news is true, Sina will become China's first internet media to split the microblogging market. There is no doubt that the purpose of Sina Weibo listing is to circle the money and enlarge the platform.

However, the market must have the prospect of profitability, Sina Weibo is still in the user accumulation stage, micro-Bo product performance needs further testing, is the so-called stones. If you choose to split the listing, Sina Weibo will face two risks, one is the policy risk, the other is the industry competition brings the user loss risk. It can be said that the outlook is unpredictable. Although the listing schedule is undecided, the weight of Weibo in the minds of Sina executives is unusual. Regardless of the final choice is what, depending on the micro-blog for the future growth of corporate profits, has become inevitable.