How is your profile on Linkedin or WeChat going to drive customers to your homepage? Which of these social channels are better for your China strategy? Will any of this impact your ROI? These where some of the questions raised at Thursday’s “Linkedin or Left out”-workshop in Shanghai hosted by Roberto & Company.

Specialization of Digital Consulting

Keynote speaker Chris J. Reed, CEO and founder of BlackMarketing, a digital consulting firm specializing in LinkedIn as a platform, gave advise on how to improve your Linkedin profile.  Helpful tips of Digital Consulting included the use of key words in your title to increase hits, the importance of posting a professional profile photo, posting meaningful content, posting regularly to drive awareness, and making contacts to boost your LinkedIn network base.

The second speaker, Amirsan Roberto, CEO at Roberto & Company, spoke about the impact WeChat is having on the Chinese consumer. He talked about using WeChat as a portal to access market segments. He presented data to show how WeChat is dominating young consumers’ interactions in China and how brands are using this platform to access data and build a customer base.

In the following panel discussion, hosted by Tatjana Martens-Pearce, Managing Director of globeone Shanghai, attendees were given the chance to delve deeper into the topics by asking questions. The lessons learned from the workshop for Digital Consulting were that Linkedin is an often underrated tool that can generate up to 30% of your sales leads if used correctly, and that it can be a trusted source for your contacts if you provide regular content.  As the only truly global peer-to-peer network, it should be an important part of your global strategy.

Furthermore, attendees learned that WeChat must be a key part of any Digital Consulting in China marketing strategy.  The platform can be a huge data mine and an effective way to reach target customers in China.  Who the winners will be in this attention war remains to be seen but the value of these networks is undisputed as effective marketing tools.