Micromarketing: The Emerging Marketing Model of the Future

May 2006, as blogger pioneer blogger. When com co-founders El Williams and Jack Dorsey founded Twitter, the initial dream was simply to make it a social networking site that could share life experiences at any time. No one thought that it is now one of the world’s largest social networking sites with 175 million registered users and a market value of US$4.1 billion (as of April 2, 2011). At the same time, Twitter's unique social model and advertising marketing features have triggered a new round of “microblogging revolution” after the “blog revolution” on the Internet.

On August 28th, 2009, Sina.com, as a leader in Chinese Internet companies, took the lead in promoting microblogging business in China. In the past two years, the Weibo business has entered various major portal websites in the country, and on the basis of attracting a large number of users in various forms, it began to explore the emerging mode of “microblogging marketing”. So far, the number and organization of research on microblogging marketing have increased substantially. Master of Economics of Shenzhen University, Hu Weixi and Song Yi are among the two who are keen on Weibo marketing research. Their book “Microblogging Marketing: Relocating Enterprises to Weibo” provided a detailed introduction and research on the functions and marketing steps of microblogging marketing, and also explored comprehensively and systematically on different industries and scales. How companies use microblogging tools for marketing.

In this book, the author uses the latest marketing theories, wet marketing, 4C theory, integrated marketing, viral marketing, and direct marketing, to authoritatively explain Weibo marketing. They believe that integrated marketing is a natural platform for Weibo communication based on the convenience, interactivity, and immediacy of Weibo. For viral marketing, the fissile effect of word-of-mouth communication is a powerful means for enterprises and consumers to interact. However, due to the limitations of the theory itself, the author did not analyze the defects of various marketing theories. In terms of viral marketing, viral marketing can use the fission effect of propagation to quickly increase brand influence, but its devastatingness is also fatal. Because consumer demand is limitless, and corporate services are limited, excessive viral marketing may eventually betray oneself if it comes to consumer dissatisfaction or public opinion scandals. You must know that the opposite of "satisfaction" is not "not satisfied" but "not satisfied." The most typical case of viral marketing is sea fishing. From the end of July, the "fishing fish" marketed by Weibo was born with the omnipotent service that "humans have been unable to stop sea fishing" until August 22th. The scandal, which lasted only 52 days, shattered the myth of sea fishing, leading to complete disillusionment with the last pure land of the catering industry.

In general, most companies (especially the service industry) can engage in microblogging marketing activities. However, some companies have poor direct interaction with business activities. For example, companies such as foundries and raw material processing manufacturers have little influence on marketing. To make good use of Weibo, a media tool for marketing activities, it is bound to recognize the function of Weibo marketing. So for the microblogging marketing function, there are usually several points: market research and product development, brand marketing and new product promotion and release, comprehensive customer relationship management, public opinion monitoring and crisis public relations and so on. In addition, when the company officially enters Weibo, it must understand the marketing strategy of Weibo. Adequate marketing planning preparation and team division and collaboration are the prelude to Weibo marketing. In terms of its strategy, according to the "media as information" point of view, "microblogging marketing, content is king" is the key, and the main purpose of marketing is to directly or indirectly transmit information to (potential) consumers. According to the content of information, it can be divided into enterprise product information, internal news release, industry latest development, and enterprise-related entertainment information. In addition, corporate microblog marketing strategies include interactive strategies and integration strategies.

After understanding the marketing strategy of Weibo, the next step is the practical steps for the company to implement Weibo marketing. The author thinks that the work of Weibo marketing is not fundamentally different from the general marketing work of other classic marketing theories. It can be divided into four points: the formation of a Weibo marketing team, the establishment of a Weibo marketing plan, and the implementation of Weibo marketing activities. , evaluation and feedback of microblogging marketing results. However, the completion of these does not guarantee the smooth operation of microblogging marketing. Because Weibo marketing is still a preliminary stage, various functions and third-party applications are constantly improving and increasing. While the company is carrying out microblogging marketing, it is also necessary to innovate microblogging marketing activities. The core of microblogging marketing innovation is to provide consumers with continuous value.

Microblogging marketing has advantages that cannot be matched by traditional marketing models. Low-cost investment, high participation, strong interaction, and real-time monitoring are the emerging models for companies to make full use of the superiority of social networks for marketing. However, due to various insecurity factors, Weibo Marketing may have unpredictable business risks. In general, inappropriate remarks, dissemination of false information, arrogant public relations attitudes, and account security are the main types of risk. The author of the book “Innovator Facilitator” believes that “the three basic principles of the security application wave of technology, that is, the network application must identify the identity, keep in mind that they are employees of the company, correct mistakes, and take responsibility”. Compared with the "Innovator Promoter", the author also put forward three suggestions in this book: understand the new changes in social media to marketing risk, do a good job monitoring microblogging marketing risks, and strengthen employee microblogging management.