Chinas Twitter, largely unknown in U.S., has hundreds of millions of users

January 24, 2012 WASHINGTON, DC The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) continues to expand its social media footprint withthe addition of Sina Weibo. NFI is now the U.S.s largest seafood trade association with a presence on Sina Weibo, the most popular microblogging website in China with more than 400 million registered users.

NFI is already onFacebook,Twitter, LinkedIn,Pinterest and Google+ as well as several blogging platforms. NFIs social media strategy both promotes seafood to consumers and addresses policy and regulatory issues important to the seafood community.

Having a presence on Sina Weibo will allow NFI to directly interact with the Chinese seafood community at large, said Lynsee Fowler, NFIs Communications Coordinator. It provides NFI with the opportunity to share information and resources with an audience of trading partners and potential partners in China, who we wouldnt be able to reach as quickly without this platform.

Sina Weibo is a major presence in China where nearly 90% of those active on social media follow the microblogging service. According to the BBC, it was founded 3 years later than Twitter and by summer 2012 had 324 million users in China alone. Twitter only has 500 million users worldwide. Business Insider says there is reason to think it will grow further and eventually dwarf Twitter.

Well be posting in Chinese and on the Weibo English platform, said Fowler. China plays an important role in global seafood and Weibo will undoubtedly help us communicate with that market.

Follow NFI on Sina Weibo and Weibo English under the name USAFish.

For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.

Contact Information

Gavin Gibbons
(703) 752-8891
ggibbons@nfi.org