Early Sina Weibo Traffic Dividend
Register massive niche accounts (comedy, astrology) and post viral content daily.
Preparation
In late August 2009, secure invite codes for the Sina Weibo beta. Prepare multiple email addresses and phone numbers to register dozens of accounts.
Execution Steps
Niche Selection: Name your accounts with broad-appeal titles like "Selected Cold Jokes", "Astrology Secrets", or "Classic Quotes". Content Sourcing: Copy and paste viral jokes, stories, and tips from older forums like Tianya, Mop, or translate from Twitter. Operations: Exploit the early chronological feed. Post high volume daily. Cross-promote your accounts using retweets. By 2010, as the platform explodes in users, your grassroots accounts will naturally gain millions of genuine followers.
Exit Strategy
Monetization: Between 2011-2014, sell sponsored posts and affiliate links (Taobao). A single retweet ad can yield tens of thousands of RMB. Exit: Sell the entire account matrix to emerging MCNs around 2014-2015 before platform organic reach declines.