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Maybelline’s Sina Weibo and Renren Marketing Strategy

This article was first published at WaveMetrix, a social media analytics firm based in London.

Sina Weibo appears to be the social media platform of choice for most brands to stage their engagement with consumers in China, whilst fewer brands have exploited the potential of Renren, a Facebook-esque social network. Maybelline, however, has used a two-pronged marketing approach using Sina Weibo as their brand’s main platform and Renren as a complementary hub for product-specific campaigns such as B.B. cream. WaveMetrix analysis shows that Maybelline’s approach is effective in approaching different types of users. Sina Weibo proves most successful in engaging owners, whilst the B.B. cream page on Renren attracts users who are interested in the product (potential owners). However, WaveMetrix analysis shows that whilst Maybelline’s Renren page generates higher product engagement than Sina Weibo, the majority of discussion focuses on the celebrities which Maybelline post pictures of.

Sina Weibo proves most effective at engaging owners: Maybelline’s Sina Weibo page attracts more owners than its Renren page: 75% of discussion on Maybelline’s Sina Weibo page is from owners, reflecting the brand’s success in engaging its existing consumers. They are prompted to share their Maybelline experience and also to provide tips for others on how to use the products. Through sharing its range of products and campaign roll out, Maybelline successfully uses Sina Weibo as a hub to engage its users. Only a quarter of discussion on Renren has driven current or potential owners: Maybelline uses Renren in a time-specific manner and focuses on new product launch. The brand manages to create engagement with potential owners who say “looks good” and “want to try it” about its newly launched B.B.. However, discussion from potential and current owners only makes up around 25% of buzz, indicating that most engagement comes from general consumers

Maybelline’s Renren page attracts more general discussion than brand or product-specific buzz: Consumers on Renren engage with the brand in a general manner: Reflecting the low proportion of potential and current owners, Maybelline’s Renren page attracts a very low proportion of product and brand buzz. Almost 90% of discussion is general in nature as consumers talk about the pictures of the celebrities and entertainment events which Maybelline posts about. This highlights that Maybelline isn’t as successful as it could have been in engaging users around a specific product