Written by Ji De Edited by Ziye The Paris Olympics have ended, but the attention and discussion surrounding the event continue. As a major sports event IP, this year's Olympics has had a significant impact, becoming a new variable for content platforms to enhance their scale. Data released by Weibo shows that during the Olympics, over 93% of participating athletes opened accounts on Weibo, with a total of 230 million followers; 166 Weibo posts by KOLs generated 479 billion related views. These numbers demonstrate the event's influence on the general public. As one of the earliest content platforms to rise and navigate through cycles, Weibo still maintains its distinctive features to capture users' attention, which is no easy feat. In the first half of the content industry, Weibo relied on entertainment and trending content to win over users, creators, and advertisers. However, this unique and hard-to-replicate content ecosystem once caused "growing pains" for Weibo, making it difficult to expand its vertical content ecosystem and limiting its commercial imagination. Today, Weibo has successfully broken through these limitations and entered the second half of the competition. At the recently held 2024 Weibo Super Influencer Festival, Cao Zenghui, Senior Vice President of Weibo Operations, emphasized, "Weibo is already able to precipitate user consumption through its vertical content ecosystem." He mentioned that Weibo's content ecosystem now consists of three parts: the IP ecosystem of entertainment, ACG, and sports; the trending ecosystem of media and social big Vs; and the vertical content ecosystem across various fields. All of this stems from Weibo's proactive adjustments over the past year, from refining its content ecosystem to deepening its vertical categories, gradually finding a commercial solution that distinguishes it from other platforms. 1. Is Weibo making the right decision by firmly taking the "KOL" route? In the era of stock markets, driving existing users and incremental growth through content becomes increasingly important. From e-commerce to short videos and social platforms, everyone aspires to become the birthplace of trending topics and hot content, attracting users' attention amidst the information explosion. Attractive topics can range from high-profile events like the Paris Olympics to global hits like the game "Black Myth: Wukong" or celebrity entertainment topics like Jia Ling losing 100 pounds for her movie "Hot Spicy Scalding." Among various social content platforms, Weibo remains at the center of internet traffic due to its unique trending effect: regardless of whether a topic originates on Weibo, once it becomes a trending topic on the platform, it quickly generates social impact, reflecting mainstream consensus and collective feelings in society. Wu Mo, Vice President of Weibo Marketing, also mentioned this at the conference, "Social issues formed on Weibo attract more users' attention and continuously trigger subsequent social chain reactions." For example, during the Paris Olympics, Weibo users' discussions shifted away from a "gold medal obsession" to focus more on athletes' "relaxed state"—videos of swimmer Pan Zhanle's numerous "complaints" sparked widespread dissemination and viewing among netizens on Weibo. The spread and development of trending topics cannot be separated from the content output and influence of Weibo's big Vs. During the Paris Olympics, Weibo formed a public opinion field consisting of users, big Vs, and athletes (parties), enabling interaction among different roles and multi-directional communication feedback. Based on the characteristics of Weibo's public opinion field and athletes' social influence, the professional content produced by Weibo's big Vs and their influence can be further amplified. According to data provided by Weibo, during the Olympics, over 93% of participating athletes opened accounts on Weibo, attracting a total of 230 million followers; big Vs and gold V users collectively posted 166 Weibo updates, generating 479 billion Olympic-related views. Behind the 479 billion views lies Weibo's proactive content ecosystem refinement over the past year, strengthening the KOL route, and providing creators with more possibilities. In April 2023, the launch of the Golden Orange V Author Operation System marked a significant move by Weibo to undertake an ecological transformation. Nearly a year after its introduction, a clear trend emerges: high-quality content produced by big Vs surfaces in front of users, while low-quality accounts gradually sink to the bottom. On the one hand, Weibo encourages big Vs to produce professional, high-quality content and increases the distribution of professional blogger-generated content through top recommendations and trending searches on the Weibo homepage. On the other hand, Weibo imposes stricter governance on accounts with high follower counts but low engagement, continuously raising standards based on genuine follower rates. As of June, the number of gold V accounts across Weibo's platform reached 18,000, a 50% year-on-year increase; the number of orange V accounts reached 66,000, a 70% year-on-year increase. Notably, to encourage creators to produce more high-quality content, Weibo has comprehensively upgraded its ad revenue sharing plan's distribution mechanism, shifting from a traffic-centric model to an incentive mechanism centered on content and trending topics. This content incentive is more precise and specific, encouraging the production of more positive, high-quality content. Data shows that in the first half of 2024, Weibo allocated 150 million yuan in revenue through its ad revenue sharing plan to gold and orange V creators based on traffic contributions. As more high-quality accounts are promoted and low-quality accounts are removed, Weibo encourages creators to produce high-quality content from the source, thereby attracting tens of millions of users, boosting the platform's popularity, and enhancing Weibo's influence as an all-encompassing, high-quality, and efficient public opinion field. 2. Cross-domain production by Weibo's big Vs: richer personas and more commercial possibilities On Weibo, big Vs are influencers of trending topics and pioneers of cross-domain communication. As internet efficiency improves and algorithmic technologies advance, cross-domain communication becomes increasingly challenging. One notable characteristic of the internet landscape is the trend of online communities becoming siloed, limiting the information received by netizens and potentially trapping them in "information cocoons." Both users, creators, and brands aspire to cross barriers and reach a wider, more diverse audience. Weibo's intertwined and overlapping communication network makes it one of the few social platforms suitable for cross-domain production and expansion. Chen Zhen, who has nearly ten million followers across the internet, is one of the most influential car reviewers today. However, his influence extends beyond his identity as a car reviewer, race car driver, and automotive expert. As his account content gradually diversifies into sports, food, travel, and other fields, his fan base has also become more diverse. Under the #Weibo Traveler# hashtag, Chen Zhen shares his "immersive business trip journal" from a first-person perspective, including experiences like eating at restaurants and not paying the bill until a year later or internet access solutions while traveling abroad. Netizens jokingly refer to him as the "business trip blogger," garnering him even wider range of attention. According to data released by Weibo, Chen Zhen's cross-domain views increased by 332%, and cross-domain interactions rose by 167%. Image source: Chen Zhen's Weibo Over the past period, more Weibo big Vs have found their "second track," effectively leveraging their fan base and expanding their reach. Auto blogger Chu Xiaomin has extended into fashion, beauty, and other fields, diversifying her identity tags. Dr. Zhang Yu has gone beyond medical science communication, also sharing content about sports, fitness, and fashion, successfully establishing a second persona. "Big Vs" have successfully achieved cross-domain communication due to the platform's strategic support behind the scenes. Since May this year, Weibo has experimented with a "Cross-domain Blogger" program, guiding creators in the right direction. In addition to extending into six cross-domain tracks like fashion, beauty, and sports health, Weibo has refined secondary categories, providing creators with more options. Simultaneously, Weibo disseminates high-quality content to interested audiences, helping creators expand their cross-domain reach, grow their fan base, and convert engaged followers. From the platform's perspective, Weibo can replicate the advantages of "big Vs" across different vertical fields, enriching its vertical content ecosystem and achieving exponential growth. Data shows that over the past year, Weibo's vertical ecosystem has added 2,600 gold V accounts, representing a 54% increase and significant growth, matching the pace of IP and trending ecosystems' development. Moreover, vertical domains easily attract user attention and consumption. For brands, collaborating with cross-domain bloggers can more easily bring cross-field influence. Data from Weibo's industry clients supports this trend: as cross-domain operations deepen, different verticals can mutually drive client purchases. For instance, mobile phone industry client purchases have driven purchases by photography and internet bloggers. According to Weibo data, revenue growth in gaming, automotive, digital, and medical verticals exceeded 50% over the past year. In other words, achieving diverse fan demographics through cross-domain development can enhance big Vs' brand carrying capacity and broaden their commercial cooperation horizons. Cao Zenghui emphasized that they will firmly promote the development of big Vs in vertical fields. Looking back at the past year, Weibo implemented the Golden Orange V operation system, intentionally adjusting its platform content ecosystem and leveraging cross-domain strategies to deepen vertical ecosystem construction, increasing commercial opportunities for big Vs. While this action has been effective, it has also given Weibo greater confidence in its future. He predicts that "in 2024, Weibo authors' annual income will reach 1.7 billion yuan, an all-time high." 3. In the battle for consumer preferences, how do big Vs help brands convey value? For any advertiser, Weibo's focus on the big V route and vertical development, as well as its comprehensive governance of the content ecosystem, provides a foundational solution for ad placement. In the second half of the internet advertising era, ad placement competition intensifies. Advertisers aim to accurately target audiences, generate buzz, and drive brand growth and premium pricing, enhancing profits and market competitiveness. As a public opinion field, Weibo can transform trending topics into shared understandings or even consumption trends, helping brands shape their "roles." Numerous influential KOLs on Weibo and their high-quality vertical content significantly impact user perceptions and public discourse. Wu Mo mentioned that KOLs on Weibo are participants and influencers of trending topics. Under their professional guidance, users form objective perceptions of brands, and high-quality content is crucial in brand preference competition. On Weibo, KOLs' value lies more in influencing consumer preferences through original content production. This content marketing strategy is widely recognized by advertisers. According to Weibo data, advertisers with content marketing needs account for 67.5% of the platform's overall advertiser base. However, public opinion shifts constantly, and consumer demands become more nuanced, complicating brand preference building. Conversely, opportunities for brand growth lie in capturing these nuances. In fact, Weibo has established a comprehensive KOL integrated service system that addresses most preference marketing details and can be replicated across multiple vertical fields. For instance, in a marketing collaboration with the mobile game PX5, Weibo accurately identified that one of PX5's main challenges was reaching a wider audience beyond its IP's fame in console gaming. To address this, Weibo designed differentiated trending content tailored to console gamers, mobile gamers, and their highly engaged content, providing content support for brand initiatives. This model can also be replicated in beauty, food, sports, healthcare, and other verticals, enabling brands to achieve precise targeting and enhanced reach. Regardless of economic cycles, Weibo's mature ad placement system built over a decade is well-equipped to navigate the fiercely competitive internet advertising market. The foundation lies in a "good ecosystem." A vast and diverse creator base, a stable user community, and a continuous flow of high-quality content provide the crucial force for Weibo's continuous growth and development. Weibo's commitment to high-quality development strategies will also give it more leverage in the next cycle.