Only a couple of weeks ago, the China government officials interviewed the editor-in-chief of Sina Weibo. The circumstances are severe in response to the recent occurrence of information prohibited by laws and regulations from publishing or transmitting on Sina Weibo and its accounts.
The government ordered Sina Wei to rectify immediately and seriously deal with those responsible. Sina Weibo got a huge fine – $470,000, which was the 45th fine for the company in 2021, and Sina Weibo has paid over 2 million US dollars fine in that year alone. 2022 and beyond, the Chinese government’s regulatory might has had significant impacts on industries ranging from finance and tech-sectors to gaming, entertainment, and private education.
Just take a look at this incidence. March 2021, the famous LinkedIn, owned and operated by Microsoft, was punished by China government for not carefully filtering ads on its platform. China then banned LinkedIn for one month. Afterward, Microsoft did not take this warning seriously. Microsoft seems to have been too comfortable with its success in the past. But this is China, an utterly different territory from the rest of the world.
A bitter and painful result that Microsoft has to face is that LinkedIn has been defunct since December 17, 2021, after losing its social media function in China. Now Linkedin is no more than a job search site. If this trend continues, LinkedIn’s development in China can be slower and harder. For job search, Chinese always can turn to more popular local brands like 51job.com (前程无忧, NASDAQ: JOBS), Zhaopin.com (智联招聘), MaiMai (脉脉）or Lie Pin（猎聘). According to the latest survey on brand recognition for 83 job search websites in China, LinkedIn is not within the top 10. It is revealed by Maigoo.com – a research firm dealing with brand recognition from a wide range of business sectors.
It is imperative for those who have eyes on China’s lucrative to understand that to develop your brand in China, we have to abide by specific rules set by China government. Sometimes we have to send your ad order to Weibo 6 times before it gets approved so tens of thousands of Chinese worldwide can see your brand，
Regardless of the stricter regulations, we are determined to blaze the trail for you. We will send you newsletters like this once in a while to inform you of the current potential opportunities and risks for branding.
With stricter scrutiny from China’s officials, your branding has a new beginning for a Chinese-speaking audience.
