WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin are almost certainly the first platforms that come to mind when it comes to social media marketing in China. While Zhihu may not be as well-known on a global scale, its reputation is unmatched. As one of China’s most reliable, expert-led social media platforms, it is worthwhile to investigate further.

Zhihu, which was founded in 2011, distinguishes itself from its competitors by offering high-quality questions and reliable responses. 

Its name is derived from the classical Chinese phrase 

“Do you know?”. 

The platform’s main feature is that users can ask and answer questions on a variety of topics, from software development to postnatal care

People can rate, bookmark, share, and comment on responses, as well as invite individual users to respond to their queries. Experts and professionals from a variety of industries utilise this platform to offer high-quality thoughts. 

According to the platform’s SEC registration statement, Zhihu is one of China’s “top five comprehensive online content communities.” It has 76 million monthly active users and 43.1 million cumulative content creators who have published 315.3 million questions and answers since it began as an invite-only service (as of 31 December 2020). 

Zhihu Marketing and its Benefits

Any company that wants to reach educated professionals in China with more disposable income should advertise on Zhihu.

However, certain brands will gain more than others from Zhihu marketing. Those in the B2B, IT, or professional services industries, for example, would be in the best position to boost brand awareness by providing true value to platform users. Whereas, fashion and beauty brands, on the other hand, are unlikely to succeed unless they’re expressly targeting the professional market.

Key Benefits 

• Raise brand awareness by organising a Q&A session
  Zhihu is popular among the well-educated. According to studies, 80% of registered users have a bachelor’s degree or more, and 20% have had international educational experience. Zhihu’s user base is made up of people who have a lot of money, a lot of spending power, and a lot of knowledge, and who can talk about more high-level, technical, and premium issues.

• 3rd-Party Mentions Can Help You Build Trust
  Being mentioned on the platform can help your company create credibility and go viral through word-of-mouth within the community because the majority of the users are well-educated. Many people come to Zhihu for in-depth evaluations and research when they need to make a purchasing decision, making it an immensely strong tool for soft-selling and influencing long-term buying decisions.

• A well-educated user base
  Zhihu receives around 26 million daily visits on a typical day. This indicates that it is commonly used by Chinese internet users. As a result, Zhihu is an excellent platform for showcasing your brand to a big number of educated and well-off people. Given a large number of users and the platform’s “Q&A” character, this is a great platform for increasing brand visibility or marketing a new product.

• High search engine authority
  Many popular search engines, such as Baidu, Sogou, and 360.com, rank Zhihu extremely high. It has a Baidu domain authority of 8/10 and a 360 search domain authority of 9/10. This demonstrates that major search engines trust Zhihu material, making it simpler for the platform’s content to rank high in search results.

Conclusion

Asking and answering questions, particularly ones that connect directly to your brand’s expertise is the simplest method to engage with the community. Users don’t respond well to overt promotion, so content should be meaningful and informative rather than brand-focused. 

Additionally, some of the platform’s newer features, such as Zhihu Live, can be used by firms to demonstrate their competence; for example, a cosmetics brand could live stream basic beauty demonstrations.

The company is preparing to develop a national knowledge-based content platform, thanks to some recent investments. It intends to expand spending on content, knowledge services, and marketing, as well as artificial intelligence technology for better content personalization. Therefore, with a large number of high-level intellectual users, Zhihu provides lucrative marketing opportunities for brands and organizations.

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