Chapter 304: How to Fight? The Boss Steps In to Boost Traffic

January 4th, the Weibo Goddess competition kicked off in the regional rounds.

After several days of buildup and promotion, nearly 5, 00 people had signed up or been nominated, and Weibo's total user base had surpassed 500, 00.

As soon as the regional rounds began, a massive voting war erupted.

Most of the top four in the eight regions were female stars, but there were some exceptions.

Yet as voting progressed, it became a stage dominated by beautiful, high-popularity female celebrities.

Beijing, a certain apartment.

Hu Siyan gathered the Teddy Sisterhood members in Beijing to carefully analyze the current situation.

She wanted to make an appearance in the Weibo Goddess competition.

She didn't dare dream of the championship—Hu Siyan had some self-awareness; her popularity and beauty weren't particularly outstanding.

So her goal was to break into the top 32, and as far up as she could go, the higher the better.

Hu Siyan was so enthusiastic because the event had drawn considerable attention and was a good chance to gain fame—she loved the spotlight.

Another reason was that Hu Siyan realized Weibo's importance to her, so whenever Weibo was involved, she had to be more active and engaged to gain more benefits.

Among all the female stars who "voluntarily entered" the competition, Hu Siyan was the first to publicly post a Weibo plea for votes.

Because she publicly campaigned and was highly active on Weibo, she had a decent fanbase, and currently ranked fourth in Region Four, barely making the top 32.

Don't think that's low—you have to see who her opponents are.

In Region Four, first place is Liu Tianxian, second is Lin Xinru, third is Jiang Qinqin, and fourth is her.

Below her are Huang Yi, Chen Zihan, Zuo Xiaoqing, Sun Feifei, Han Xue, Tao Hong, Ning Jing, Zhong Liting, Ye Xuan, Cai Shaofen, Cao Ying, and others.

Hu Siyan was lucky—her region didn't include Zhu Yin, Wang Zuxian, Li Jiaxin, or that generation of Hong Kong golden-age goddesses; otherwise, it would've been a nightmare.

Those women were active in the 1980s and 1990s and are still the childhood goddesses of many people today, with immense nostalgic appeal.

So now, those Hong Kong goddesses are dominating the regional rounds, accounting for at least one-third of the top spots.

Even better, the Weibo Goddess format targets Chinese and overseas Chinese audiences and doesn't include Japanese, Korean, or Western stars—otherwise, competition would've been fiercer.

Hu Siyan seized the early advantage and had a semi-home-field edge, barely securing fourth place, while Huang Yi and others were closing in tightly.

The regional rounds still had several days left; if things continued like this, she might get pushed out.

So Hu Siyan invited all her sisters, asking them to help her gather votes.

The Teddy Sisterhood was one of the more active celebrity groups on Weibo, each with their own fanbase—combined, they were not to be underestimated.

People like Xiong Naijin, Gan Wei, and Ying Cai'er were easy to persuade—they had too little popularity to make the top 32 anyway, so they'd happily lend a favor.

The tricky ones were Ma Yi and Li Xiaolu; as rising stars, though they hadn't made the top 32, they were close and had a real chance if they pushed hard.

The Weibo Goddess event had stirred some interest in both of them.

It was a good chance to prove their popularity and beauty—not aiming too high, but they couldn't afford to be too low, or they'd lose face.

Especially Li Xiaolu—she also loved the spotlight; Hu Siyan wanted the top 32, and so did she.

And then there was Qin Lan!

As a popular Qingyi actress, Qin Lan also had a shot at the top 32; if they were to campaign, they had to support the boss first—Hu Siyan had to rank behind Qin Lan.

This was too disunited!

Hu Siyan was anxious—the Teddy Sisterhood had strong strength, Weibo was a semi-home field, and if they went all out, they could definitely secure a top-32 spot, and even challenge the top 16.

But everyone had their own agenda, making votes split—once votes split, even entry might be impossible.

"No matter what, at least one of us Teddy Sisters must make it to the main stage—otherwise, where's our face?"

"Principally, we should support Sister Lan, but I checked her region—top four are Xiao Yanzi, Zhu Yin, Zhou Huimin, and Gao Yuanyuan, plus Yang Cai'ni, Yin Zhao, Xiao Songjia, Yang Xue, and others—the competition is brutal."

"Compared to that, my region is relatively easier, and I've already broken into the top four."

"Pick the low-hanging fruit first—I think instead of spreading out, we should concentrate our strength and secure me first, then consider the other sisters."

"Of course, if we really can't spare the effort, we can always wait for next year—Brother-in-law said they'll likely hold it again next year; if I don't enter next year, one sister can take the spotlight—it'll be fair."

"..."

Hu Siyan went on and on, mainly trying to persuade Ma and Li.

Ma quickly backed out—she had some interest in Weibo Goddess, but wasn't that enthusiastic.

Hu Siyan hinted she'd speak well of her to Yan Li and Qin Lan, and Ma Yi agreed to withdraw.

Li Xiaolu was harder to deal with—she really wanted the spotlight, and ordinary favors couldn't sway her.

Hu Siyan talked herself hoarse, finally pulling her into the bedroom for a secret plan, and finally got Li Xiaolu to agree.

"Phew..."

Hu Siyan sighed in relief—only Qin Lan remained.

She already had a plan to handle Qin Lan—simple enough: if Qin Lan entered, she absolutely couldn't compete with Fan Xiaopang, who was famous for beauty and popularity.

If Qin Lan made the top 32 while Fan Xiaopang won the championship or reached the top four, Qin Lan would be humiliated.

If they were unlucky enough to meet in the group stage or elimination round, face-to-face, and Qin Lan got eliminated by Fan Xiaopang's own hands, the embarrassment would be even greater.

From what she knew, Dong Xuan hadn't made the top ten in her region—she didn't know if Dong Xuan had similar concerns, but using this as a reason, Qin Lan would likely withdraw and support her.

With the entire Teddy Sisterhood behind her, even the top 16 wasn't out of reach.

Thinking of this, Hu Siyan gathered her sisters to strategize and glanced at her regional ranking.

She was only 200 votes behind fifth-place Huang Yi; second and third weren't far ahead—there was still hope to climb higher.

Only first-place Liu Tianxian had votes nearly equaling the combined total of second and third—she led by a landslide.

And not just in her region—Liu Tianxian was also among the top five in the overall regional rankings.

The other four were Xiao Yanzi, Fan Xiaopang, Zhang Baizhi, and Cai Yilin.

Fan Xiaopang had been heavily marketed for her beauty over the past two years, and with Weibo as her home field, she'd be the top favorite for Weibo Goddess—if she hadn't deliberately held back.

Xiao Yanzi and Liu Tianxian were both nationally popular—this kind of popularity-based voting favored them greatly.

Zhang Baizhi had long been a top idol promoted by Hong Kong—high exposure, high popularity, and even as a mother, she remained formidable.

Cai Yilin, as today's most popular diva in the music industry, had an enormous fanbase and excelled at this kind of voting and ranking game.

These five were currently the strongest contenders—though not guaranteed top four, they were all serious challengers.

Weibo Goddess was a battle of fans first, and public favor second.

The former mattered more, because voting was fixed daily, stable, and could be mobilized by recruiting others.

Like those Hong Kong movie goddesses—Qiu Shuzhen, Zhu Yin, Li Jiaxin, Zhou Huimin—or Jia Jingwen, Jiang Qinqin, Gao Yuanyuan, Chen Hao—widely recognized as beautiful within the industry.

They might have excellent public favor, but they were either past their prime or lacked sufficient fan numbers—making the main stage was possible, but winning was too hard.

Meanwhile, the "Four Dan and Two Bing" stars currently in their prime—even with some controversy—had strong fanbases and decent public favor, securing them solid top-32 spots.

Even beyond Fan and Zhao in the top five, Zhou and Zhang were in the overall top ten, Li Bingbing ranked twelfth, and the lowest-ranked Xu Caivn was still nineteenth.

Thinking of this, Hu Siyan felt sour and checked her overall ranking.

She'd dropped another spot—now twenty-ninth—and the one above her at twenty-eighth was... Wang Ou?!

When did this little flirt climb up?!

Hu Siyan panicked—she wouldn't make the top 32, but she wouldn't let this flirt surpass her—she had to vote, immediately.

Zhichun Road, Weibo headquarters.

"The overall ranking idea was good—add a bonus later."

Yan Li watched the bustling Weibo, pleased—originally, the plan was only regional rankings to select the top 32.

One employee suggested adding an overall ranking outside the regions, selecting fifty, with the top thirty-two names bolded and enlarged—this instantly raised the competitive atmosphere by more than one level.

Fans and gossip netizens now didn't just care about who broke through regionally—they also paid attention to the overall ranking, voting and campaigning desperately.

Meanwhile, the overall ranking made things more intuitive and gave extra exposure to high-ranked celebrities.

When Zhang Baizhi topped the chart, Hong Kong media even reported it, and Weibo followed up by contacting Zhang to open her account.

That's right—if performance was good enough, even artists previously uninterested in Weibo would open or reactivate their accounts.

Backend data showed that Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Young Master, both in the top ten, frequently logged in to lurk—Zhou even voted for herself daily.

"Keep negotiating with Cai Yilin and Liu Tianxian—they must register accounts for the top four and top eight, even if they don't use them."

Yan Li gave the order—he didn't demand all top 32 register, but high-ranked ones absolutely had to.

Otherwise, when doing interviews or award ceremonies, there'd be no account to @—that'd be embarrassing.

If they still refused to cooperate, Yan Li wouldn't hesitate to pull strings.

He cared about Weibo—he didn't want to promote his own people to avoid self-indulgence, nor did he want to fawn over a Weibo Goddess who didn't want to be one.

"If necessary, contact Yi'an—they can apply some pressure."

Yan Li's words were practically an order: if Weibo couldn't persuade them, Yi'an would—with threats.

Female stars might ignore Weibo, a fledgling platform, but they wouldn't dare offend a rising film and television giant.

Yan Li was slightly disappointed in the Weibo Goddess event—though influential, it hadn't yet reached the breakout level of a hit variety show.

That was understandable—Weibo still had few users, limited reach, voting was weaker than talent shows, and it was the first edition.

This year, build the reputation; next year, continue.

As Weibo grows and the event's influence spreads, each edition will be stronger—perhaps becoming Weibo's key traffic weapon against competitors.

"Hmm, has someone been sent to Liu Tao's wedding?"

Yan Li checked the time and asked; someone replied: "Went yesterday—besides the normal arrangements, there's also a documentary-level filming crew."

"Good."

Yan Li nodded: "Release footage as soon as you get it—don't wait. Weibo values immediacy; the documentary crew can be edited into a special later."

"Don't worry—preheating and streaming have been active since yesterday."

"Good, I'll add a bit more heat for you."

Yan Li smiled, stood up, and put on his coat: "Pick a few good-looking photos when you send mine, or I'll deduct your bonus."