Huge attraction for business

Roland Gerke, chief executive and president of Bosch-Siemens Home Appliances (BSH) China, feels that micro blog is more suitable for branding rather than marketing and also help in client service and crisis management. His company's official micro blog, Siemens Home Appliance, has started testing operations in January this year and attracted more than 4,000 followers.

"Compared with traditional communication channel, such as TV and print, micro blog is more interactive and instantaneous. Thus, we can not only release brand-related information, but also respond or interact with our fan better," says Gerke.

What impressed him most was a question brought up by a customer on the micro blog, asking whether or not a roast duck can be done in an oven. "The feedback is important for us. Maybe we could consider collect information and inspiration here and see how we improve our product to adapt to Chinese consumer needs," he says.

Though there is no solid evidence suggesting that micro blog has a direct link with the increase in sales, many analysts feel that with the platform getting more and more mature, micro blog marketing will have a promising future.

"Micro blog marketing is still in its infancy. More users the platform gets, the more powerful it will be," says Dong Xu, an analyst with Beijing-based research firm Analysys International. The company estimates that the number of micro blog users in China will reach 145 million by the end of 2011, and soar to 240 million by the end of 2012.

Liu Dongming, director of Electronic-Integrated Marketing Communication (E-IMC) Center with China Electronic Commence Association, says that companies cannot afford to underestimate the business opportunities created by micro blogs.

"The platform helps companies to reach out to a large number of potential consumers at low costs or sometimes without any cost at all," Liu says. Unlike traditional advertisements on TV or in print media, which can easily run into several thousands of yuan, any company can open a micro blog account at negligible costs, says Liu.

Neither Nokia China nor BSH China has invested heavily on their micro blogs. The mciro blogs are maintained by the public relations or marketing departments of these companies and also does not involve any additional hiring.

Li Jianxiong, a press officer at Vancl.com, one of the pioneers of micro blogging in China, says that his company plans to spend around 1 billion yuan on advertising in 2011. "We mainly advertise on portal sites, subway stations and bus stations. No budgets have been earmarked for micro blog advertising," he says.

"But what is worth noticing is that customers generated by our micro blog is twice as many as those generated through traditional advertising channels," he says, adding his company's micro blog was attracted more than 100,000 followers on Sina. "Micro blog is a bridge connecting companies and consumers, which helps the two sides to communicate deeper and faster," he says.

Liu Dongming from the E-IMC Center admits that the good performance on the low cost platform will spur more companies to start micro-blogging.

"It will be more challenging for companies to attract followers on micro blogs. Unlike those uninvited ads on TV or on print, which can hardly be avoided by TV watchers and newspaper readers, micro blog users have the right to decide whether or not to click their mouse, to forward your posts, or to become your followers," he says.

"So companies need to think more about the contents on micro blog. It has to be smart and subtle, and it cannot look like traditional advertisement."