Last February, guest blogger, Weidong “Jim” Zhang wrote this very popular article for the FastPivot blog: U.S. Businesses Need Face On These Top 5 Chinese Social Media Places. It seems George Bush’s brother and others like him were listening, based on this recent PaidContent.org article: George Bush’s Brother is ‘Tweeting’ in Chinese on Weibo. Well, it’s a bit of a stretch to claim credit for Bush’s activity on Weibo, but the point is U.S. businessmen like him are apparently seeing more value in Chinese social media than the likes of U.S. platforms like Twitter. Bush’s Weibo-to-Twitter follow ratio was reportedly nearly 45,000: 44!! ( after all the recent news/blog coverage, Bush now has over 75k Weibo followers)
But why would an American business tycoon like Neil Bush need to bother with Chinese social media? To drum up business of course…
PaidContent.org writer, Robert Andrews, goes on to say:
Neil has several oil interests including as chairman of Houston-based TX Oil. According to this week’s unflattering Salon profile, The Return Of Neil Bush, “Chinese firms hire him to try to open doors in Africa, and U.S. companies retain him to do the same in Central Asia.”
According to this Chengdu Living article, other U.S. notables on Weibo include Tom Cruise and Bill Gates. Many Americans are probably joining Weibo because it’s a novelty, but casual pleasure seekers who create Weibo accounts may discontinue their activity when it hits home that knowing Mandarin is a requirement (which takes just a few minutes of desperately searching for a translation button). For the more serious American businessmen, like Neil Bush, who start Weibo accounts, the motivation to stay in the game, despite the Mandarin barrier to entry, is simple: Access to a new and gigantic consumer base! (The same reason we see factories moving operations to China when labor costs are rising–access to the Chinese market!)
The best way to start a Weibo account for business is to contact a Chinese social media expert to help position and manage your brand in China. But like with U.S. social media, don’t expect to be rushed by thousands of followers unless you already have clout in the real world–otherwise, plan to give it a year or two before expecting a return on the investment.
Also, expect different risks , than what you would find in the U.S., to accompany your Chinese social media investment as well: What is allowed to be said and what isn’t can be a bit ambiguous. And China’s consequences for censorship / rule violations can include account termination and deletion, or much worse if you’re on “Mainland” soil, so it’s ALWAYS best to avoid political rants or negative sentiments in general if you’re reaching for business from the flagship of the Far East.
