In the past, when the University of Michigan (U-M) hosted a reception in Shanghai for admitted students and their families, about 80 people attended. Last year, the university used its profile [2] on the popular Chinese microblogging site, Sina Weibo, to promote the event and 200 people showed up. With 400 million users, Weibo is similar to Twitter.

The U-M's Sina Weibo account has more than 5,000 followers and is part of the institutions comprehensive social media strategy. U-M even has a "full-time Chinese content producer – Zhang Xiaoxi, a graduate of U-M’s School of Information Science – who posts daily in Chinese." When Chinese students asked about Chinese restaurants in Ann Arbor, Sina Weibo was used [3] to poll current students.

Because access to Facebook and Twitter is restricted in China, US institutions are using Sina Weibo as a way to connect and engage with prospective students and alumni. Other US institutions that have an active presence on Sina Weibo include Duke University [4] and Yale University [5]. Duke University has even developed a formal Chinese social media strategy [6].

How is your institution using Sina Weibo? Does your school have an international social media strategy?

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