A brand and communication agency in the UK, Language, is positioning itself to market its “insider” experience to the UK education industry, enabling universities and private education institutions to market directly to the Chinese market via social media platforms such as Weibo.
With Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all banned in China, their equivalents – Weibo, Renren and YouKu – are becoming increasingly powerful marketing tools.
Language works with businesses, including education providers, to establish how they can make best use of Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, to communicate with Chinese students. This could be anything from study locations and accommodation choices to preferred social activities. Weibo is an ideal platform as it is immediate, intuitive and already hugely popular.
Last month, Language’s MD, Ben Hui, spoke at an event hosted by Junior Chamber International (JCI) in Manchester, alongside Philomena Chen, Head of Asia Pacific for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).
“Over 80% of college and high school students in China use Weibo so it’s an incredibly effective platform for marketing directly to young people,” explained Hui, a native of China himself and ex-international student.
“Get it right and you could be a Weibo celebrity”
“Our team of native Chinese specialists know exactly how to use it effectively which makes all the difference when it comes to communicating with potential customers. Get it right and you could be a Weibo celebrity. Get it wrong and you run the risk of damaging your reputation in the eyes of hugely influential consumers.”
Speaking at the same event, Chen at UKTI, spoke about the significant investment into China that stakeholders in UK HE is already making: “Many UK universities have already set up campuses and Research & Development centres in the China and Asia Pacific regions and this looks set to continue. We’re also seeing a move away from traditional ‘recruitment’ towards long-term relationship building between students, institutions and local businesses in China.”
