Have you faced challenges in the launch and maintenance of an official page on Weibo or tik tok?

Answers by companies using Weibo or TikTok

Creating a following on Weibo or TikTok is a considerable challenge to small and medium-sized companies. An interviewee who is a manager of a small Chinese company said that the voice of his company was too weak to be heard on Weibo or TikTok when compared to the view commanded by large local and multinational corporations. He added that the company had managed to gain just 230 followers after six months of launching its Weibo official page. Most of the followers were company employees or friends.

Some participants lamented that the number of followers declines and that a lot of resources are required to attract new followers and convince the passive ones. Another respondent said that Chinese consumers were less loyal to local brands and products and were attached to brands and products made by western multinational companies. Further, he regretted that it was hard for small and medium-sized companies to convert Chinese social media users to be loyal to Chinese brands and products.

Most of the Interviewees agreed that the problem of consumer data protection was a challenge during the launch and maintenance of a Weibo or TikTok marketing strategy. They claimed that employees of their companies had to sign a confidentiality agreement to show their commitment towards protecting customer data in their duties of maintaining/managing the social media strategy. However, most participants added that they let their employees make ethical decisions regarding issues relating to customer data. Most of the representatives also said that their companies preferred hiring social media marketing strategy managers who work from home or remotely. This gives companies the advantage of maintaining a social media presence with minimal utilization of financial resources.

Most of the answers given by the company representatives indicate that most of them considered negative publicity as a challenge in the implementation and management of a Weibo or TikTok social media marketing strategy. Some of them mentioned that rival companies go to the extent of hiring freelance users who pretend to be consumers of a particular brand product and post defaming harmful content on their Weibo or TikTok page. One participant urges consumers to be able to ignore rumors and attacks of competitive brands and remain loyal to their brands.

Other interviews also mentioned that unauthorized access or disclosure of information was a significant concern. If the employees managing the social media strategies transmit customer data knowingly or unknowingly to unauthorized people, they risk tarnishing the public image of their companies. This would have the effect of reduced customers, sales, and hence profitability. Additionally, two of the participants were worried that corporate privacy might be compromised by the staff, which would give their competitors an advantage. They all agreed that the activities of staff on the official Weibo or TikTok pages should be carefully controlled to ensure that companies’ secrets and strategies do not end up with competitors. However, some of the representatives said that getting a negative comment on their Weibo or TikTok pages meant that the managers were doing an excellent job of being able to receive direct feedback from the consumers. One of them added that after finding a negative comment regarding a particular product or brand, the customer who complained is contacted to follow up on what had dissatisfied him/her.

Answers by companies considering launching a Weibo or TikTok marketing strategy

Answers from most of the participants show that very few companies understand what entails a Weibo or TikTok social media marketing and its role in the Chinese market. Three of the participants acknowledge that it is a necessary tool for dealing with intense competition among companies in the Chinese market. This has made companies rush into the implementation of Weibo and TikTok marketing strategies that are copied blindly. This yields negative or uncertain results that hinder the performance of a business.

Most of the participants also mentioned time as a significant challenge. One of them knows that implementing and maintaining a Weibo or TikTok social media marketing strategy would be time-consuming considering that both platforms have a large number of users, and therefore, a broader target audience for marketing campaigns. He reiterated that six months were not enough to see the full benefits of a social media marketing strategy based on the two webpages. He added that more resources would continue being consumed before the significant benefits of social media marketing strategies are realized.

A majority of the­­­­ interview agree that it is wise to hire professionals to manage their Weibo or TikTok marketing projects. However, they insist that professionals must assure them that their social media marketing strategies will yield positive results. Most respondents also agree that social media marketing Professionals should be well rewarded to ensure that they do not have incentives to jeopardize customer data or sensitive company information. Representatives of small and medium-sized companies are of the contrary opinion because they have a limited marketing budget. These companies prefer to hire freelancers to reduce the financial pressure that hiring a professional manager would exert on them. Some interviewers also said that training marketing staff who are only conversant with the traditional methods of marketing to manage a social media strategy effectively. Training and skill development programs are both times consuming and expensive. The representatives urged employees to upgrade their marketing skills more often to stay up to date with the rapidly developing digital marketing environment in china.

How did the outcome of the social media marketing strategy differ from your expectations?

Answers by companies already using Weibo/TikTok

It is usual for companies to have high expectations for a marketing campaign before its implementation. Some of the interviewees said that after launch, the project is demanding. One said that his company’s Weibo marketing strategy became more robust and balanced within eight months. He said that their marketing team became more experienced step by step and began considering the needs of their customers and their complaints. He added that the company then had over 5000 followers, with 15% being active. This has had the effect of increasing the profits generated through online sales by 9% over three months. One interviewee lamented that his company had spent more in the launch, implementation, and maintenance of a Weibo marketing strategy, but added that the benefits were worth the investment.

5.0       CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

5.1       Advantages of a Weibo or TikTok Marketing for Companies in China

5.1.1    Brand Awareness

A majority of the interviewees mentioned that Weibo and TikTok provided them with a platform to share creative content that can attract more followers. The followers give a target audience, which mostly consists of young people who are challenging to reach using traditional marketing techniques (Zhang & Negro, 2013). The content is meant to create a sense of association with the company’s brands and products. The majority of the participants agreed that Weibo and TikTok were a perfect example of social media platforms in china that play a crucial role in helping companies build customer loyalty. This is in line with the assertion Ansar et al., (2016). that social media supports businesses by enabling them to leverage the sharing of creative content and engaging customers. The interviewees also agreed that the best way to guarantee the success of a social media marketing strategy in the highly competitive Chinese market was to ‘think outside the box.’

The study also proved that Weibo or TikTok marketing strategy plays a crucial role in building up the brand awareness of a company. Some of the respondents also said that their goal of implementing a Weibo or TikTok social media marketing strategy was to boost the awareness of their companies’ brands and products in the Chinese market (Zhang & Negro, 2013). Representatives of small and medium-sized businesses/companies also mentioned that they opened official Weibo or TikTok pages even before establishing their operations in china to create brand awareness. According to Weber (2009), brand awareness is the most significant advantage of social media in marketing. Further, the author adds that customer engagement is crucial in creating strong brand loyalty. This postulation is echoed by the responses of a majority of the interviewees, who said that they ensure that queries and complaints posted by customers help strengthen the awareness of the brand and company position in the highly competitive Chinese market (Xu et al., 2019).

Most of the interviewees whose companies had not yet implemented a Weibo or TikTok marketing strategy said that they were optimistic of the results provided that they had the opportunity to engage consumers directly and to encourage them to make a habit of leaving feedback, positive or negative, about their brands and products. The representatives said that their companies were very enthusiastic about implementing a Weibo or TikTok marketing strategy due to the immense potential that comes with the two platforms. The formation of online communities and networks on Weibo was cited as one of the methods through which brand awareness is created.

The results of This study also support The snowball effect as described by chandler. There are brand experts in communities formed on social media sites such as Weibo or TikTok, who can instill a particular mindset in fellow users, thus influencing their purchase decisions (Biggeri & Sanfilippo, 2009). Such people are also able to influence other users to share feedback, thereby encouraging others to engage in the discussion. A majority of the interviewed said that a large number of passive followers make it challenging to achieve the snowball effect in Weibo or TikTok marketing campaigns. Such followers behave like observers, always up to date with the company’s activities, but never engaging in activities related to the company’s brands and products. Besides this, the interviewees all agree that social media marketing has proved more effective than traditional marketing in creating brand awareness and loyalty. The brand awareness created by a company’s social media activity can be developed slowly to a purchase intention.

5.1.2    Lead and Traffic Generation

Through building strong customer relationships and creating brand awareness, social media has proven that it plays a crucial role in lead and traffic generation. The interviewees agree on this aspect, although they realize that it is not an easy task. It takes a lot of effort, financial resources, and time to convert social media followers to loyal customers. However, Weibo is equipped with WOM, which works by followers and loyalists of a particular company’s brands or products urge fellow users to share content that is related to the company, thus creating more leads. Most of the respondents said that they were eager to try other features such as buzz marketing. Buzz marketing generates a lot of web traffic and attracts a lot of attention on social media within a concise period.

To add to this, some participants insisted that companies should not be bent on attracting a large number of followers but instead should focus on building permanent relationships with their customers to ensure continued success. According to Zhang & Shi (2016), all companies aim to create a relationship based on trust with their customers and adds that leads are an indication that many customers trust a particular companies’ brands and products. Further, many of the participants maintained that it was in the best interest of companies wishing to implement and maintain an active social media strategy to hire experienced professionals in social media marketing and analytics.

Other interviews were of the opinion that posts on their social media marketing pages should provide credible and transparent information. They argued that truthfulness plays a vital role in the establishment of relationships based on trust with consumers. The interviewees were unanimous in acknowledging that Weibo and TikTok improve traffic to their official company websites, thereby cementing the claim by angeloya that social networking platform is major traffic generators to company websites. Other participants stressed the need to link social media with official corporate websites ­­­to increase the chances of converting leads into business deals.

5.1.3    Competitor and Market Monitoring

Based on the responses of most of the interviewees, it is clear that the implementation of Weibo or TikTok social media marketing strategies is largely influenced or inspired by competitive rivalry in the Chinese market. Companies implement their marketing strategies with the aim of building awareness of their brands and outdo their competitors. Weibo and TikTok offer such companies the opportunity to conduct marketing companies on the same platform fairly. Companies also make use of the social media market to monitor the activities of their rivals through the analysis of their marketing activities on social media. Also, the respondents agree that by analyzing the online marketing activities of competitors, companies can identify weaknesses in their marketing strategies and correct them before it is too late. Other interviewees insisted that companies with limited financial resources forego monitoring their competitors and focus on building their brand image to bolster sales and generate more profits.

5.1.4    Customer Engagement, Loyalty, Feedback.

Most of the participants acknowledged that Weibo or TikTok marketing strategies could be used to build customer loyalty and commitment to a brand. The process of sharing creative content and making friendship connections with customers are essential in creating relationships that have the potential of turning into brand loyalty in the long run. The new social media era is focused on less advertisement and more customer engagement. Scholars argue that online communities based on the commitment to a particular brand are directly related to brand loyalty. New customers trust the word of the so-called ‘brand professionals’ when they share their opinions and experiences of a brand in the online communities, more than the information provided in the advertisements. Additionally, companies are interested in getting feedback from the experts in order to devise ways of attracting them to their online brand community. If the feedback of the experts is positive, there is a higher likelihood that many potential customers will choose that particular brand or product.

Other participants of the study reiterated that companies have to gather all the information regarding feedback given by a customer, whether positive or negative, before engaging them in a conversation. They added that the response to the customer on a social media platform was a key determinant of whether the customer makes a decision to purchase the company’s products or not. Basically, what they meant was that employees in charge of social media marketing campaigns should listen more to the consumers and give precise and applicable responses.

5.1.5    Optimization of Costs and Marketing Expenses

All the participants in the study were appreciative of the fact that Weibo and TikTok do not charge users any fees to open accounts or pages. This is a significant advantage, especially to small companies that do not have enough financial resources to invest in sophisticated digital marketing strategies. One interviewee said that his company considered the Weibo marketing strategy because it could launch and implement a social media strategy that can reach a broad target audience for little or no money. This is in line with the assumptions outlines by Shi (2012) about the importance of the cost efficiency of social media as compared to the traditional methods of marketing and advertisement. This is another indicator of how marketing in the Chinese market has changed in the social media age in china.

Many small companies are facing a lot of challenges in maintaining a social media presence with their limited budgets despite the fact that Weibo and TikTok marketing is much cheaper than the traditional methods of marketing that many companies in china relied on the past. Many interviewees agreed that for the potential benefits of a social media marketing campaign to be realized, a team of creative individuals should be hired and be well remunerated. This is a massive challenge for SMEs as they cannot pay the employees the number of salaries that befit their responsibilities.

Most interviewers agreed that companies should diversify their online marketing strategies and not rely on just Weibo or TikTok because they are the most popular in china. Besides, online marketing, companies should continue carrying out the conventional marketing strategy that they cover a broad market area, considering differences in demographic characteristics.

5.2       Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing for Companies in the Chinese Market

High employee expenses were one of the problems that were adversely mentioned by the participants of the study. A lot of financial resources are spent on the training and development of employees to make them adapt to the change in marketing strategy. The training is also essential in making sure that the employees are equipped with the necessary skills to engage customers, respond to their queries promptly and effectively, establish relationships, and achieve the goals of the social media marketing campaign. As noted by Ali & Malik (2017), all change comes at a cost. Companies are often forced to exceed their budget when implementing and maintaining their Weibo or TikTok marketing strategies. Extra funds are spent on the recruitment and remuneration of professional social media campaign managers as the companies in question have to optimize their social media marketing strategies to align with their investment goals. However, SMEs try to recruit interns and freelancers as they have limited financial resources.

Some of the interviewees were of the opinion that the implementation of a social media marketing strategy leads to loss of productivity in the workforce. It is worth mentioning that professional social media managers rarely spend time on their private pages and therefore dedicate their efforts and time to the social media pages of the company. If anything, the productivity of the employees is bolstered as social media managers are willing to work even on weekends.

The interviewees stressed that employees dealing with the management of the social media marketing project should not only be incentivized but also closely supervised to ensure that they are discharging their duties effectively and efficiently. Other participants said that the human resource policies of their companies relied on trusting employees and allowing them to make decisions concerning their area of work. They argued that this made them more willing to steer the companies’ social media marketing projects in the right direction to achieve the desired results as they were considered key players in the companies.

Many of the participants voiced their concerns with issues regarding the protection of customer data and corporate secrets. They were worried about corporate espionage and surveillance and unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information regarding their followers or their business strategies. Many companies in China are still concerned by the rising cases of unauthorized access to corporate Weibo and TikTok profiles. Some of the interviews mentioned that employees are sometimes coerced or bribed to divulge sensitive information by competitors who are out seeking any information that could give them a competitive advantage over their rivals. This is the reason why most of the participants said their companies required employees to sign non-disclosure agreements before beginning their duties in the social media marketing department.

Negative publicity, privacy risks, and the vulnerability of social media platforms to hackers and viruses and worms were other disadvantages of the social media marketing that were mentioned by the participants. These findings are also in line with secondary research conducted on scholarly publications by professionals in the field of social media marketing. The study also provides insight into the methods that have proven resourceful in the mitigation of some of the risks associated with the implementation and maintenance of a social media strategy. However, it is worth mentioning that malicious attacks rarely happen since Weibo is one of the social media platforms that are significantly watched by the government of China. The Chinese government has also strengthened its cybersecurity mechanisms to ensure that they provide businesses with an opportunity to conduct their online marketing campaigns smoothly, provided they are compliant with the law.

Table 1: Overview of the findings.

6.0       CONCLUSION

The aim of these changes was to investigate the change in social media marketing in the Chinese market in the social media age. The study, which included 13 participants, who were representatives of small, medium, and large companies in China, were interviewed either directly or through online methods. The study participants were selected from companies in China that had launched, maintained a  social media marketing strategy based on Weibo, TikTok, or both, and companies that were considering implementing a social media marketing strategy based on both either of the two largest social media platforms in China. The research was successful as results key to answering the research question were obtained. An analysis of the results yielded information that led to the conclusion that marketing practices in the Chinese business environment have changed tremendously in the past decade and a half. The reason why marketing practices have had to change is the rapid rate at which social media has replaced the way people communicate, interact, and share content with each other.

The young generation represents a large percentage of consumers in the Chinese market. The preferences of the young generation are in line with social media technology. Since they can communicate, share content, and interact with each other effectively and efficiently through web 2.0 based social media platforms, they have made it a tough task for companies in China to reach them. This has forced companies to blend their traditional forms of marketing with social media marketing methods to reach a –wider audience. Companies have turned to social media marketing platforms that have a large number of users and influence on social media for diverse reasons, all of which are meant to increase sales, growth, and profitability. This is the extent to which marketing in the Chinese market has had to change due to the advancement in social media.

7.0       RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The research, which sought to investigate the changes in marketing in the Chinese market in the current social media age. Thirteen company representatives were selected for the study due to various reasons which vary from the size of the companies they represent and the marketing strategies they implement. The study involved companies that had already implemented a Weibo or TikTok social media marketing strategy and those that had not implemented but were considering doing so. The review of the answers provided by the research participants made the results difficult to analyze. This is because some factors were not considered in the study since the respondents held back some information that could have proven useful in the analysis and interpretation of the findings. However, the analysis showed that return on investment and matters public relations are areas that are not well researched. The lack of sufficient reliable information makes it difficult for companies to implement and maintain social media platforms that are able to suit their needs in this digital era. Research findings regarding the changes in marketing in the digital age in different market environments should be considered to provide a more reliable insight into the whole issue. This will make it easy for companies of all sizes to design, implement, and maintain social media marketing strategies that well within their budgets and that suit their corporate goals.

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