For Alibaba.com, known worldwide as a powerhouse in global trade, social media isn’t just a channel, it’s how they support and educate millions of entrepreneurs and small-business buyers. But as their user base grew, the volume of questions, comments, and content demands became overwhelming. By early 2025, their social media team was drowning under the messages, manual scheduling, and inconsistent analytics.
“We’re a huge company, and we get so many inquiries across all channels,” recalls Hanna Darnell, Social Media Manager for Alibaba.com’s buyer side. “We want to give one-on-one attention, but manually, it just wasn’t possible anymore.”
That’s when Alibaba.com turned to Agorapulse. The results were immediate and game-changing: a 25% jump in engagement with over 60,000 social interactions in 90 days, 8-10 hours saved each week and a 30% boost in posting volume.
Here’s how the transformation unfolded.
Alibaba.com operates on an enormous scale: their buyer-side social accounts stretch across 6 platforms and 9 profiles (including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and X), reaching audiences worldwide, from startup founders in Europe to resellers in Southeast Asia.
But behind the impressive reach was a fractured and exhausting process:
- Manual scheduling: Every post had to be created, adjusted per platform, and scheduled individually, a tedious, error-prone ritual.
- Inbox overload: On heavy weeks, the team faced over 70,000 notifications across comments, messages, and mentions. Hanna estimates she spent 1 to 2 hours each day just clearing that queue.
- Inconsistent analytics: Reporting meant juggling disparate dashboards. Data varied by platform, making it nearly impossible to get a unified view of performance.
- No time for community building: Because the team was always reacting, there was little capacity for proactive engagement (replying to positive messages, spotting trends, or nurturing community).
As a result, what should have been a strategic asset, a global community of buyers learning from each other, had become a burden.
“We had no way to get through all of it,” Hanna says. “I would have over 70,000 items in my inbox in a week. I wasn’t engaging with positive comments, only dealing with the bare minimum.”
Not only was it inefficient, but it was also unsustainable. The constant pressure to keep up with the volume risked burning out the team. They needed a tool that would help them regain control, standardize workflows, and truly empower SMMs to focus on meaningful, strategic work.
What made Agorapulse the obvious choice for Alibaba.com
Alibaba.com tested several social-media platforms. What made Agorapulse stand out was the balance between sophistication and simplicity, exactly what a fast-moving global brand needed.
“The interface was very straightforward and simple to use, which was a bigger selling point compared to other tools for me,” says Hanna.
What sealed the deal was how well Agorapulse addressed their pain points:
- A centralized Inbox that aggregated every comment, message, and mention across all profiles.
- Shared calendars and cross-profile publishing that turned what used to take hours into a few clicks.
- A collaborative workflow allowing the US and EU teams (10+ users) to work from the same dashboard.
- Automation and moderation rules to filter spam, prioritize messages, and assign tasks.
- A single analytics dashboard unifies results from all platforms, giving marketing leaders a clear view of performance.
And beyond the product, the support made a real difference. Agorapulse’s CSMs are hands-on, available, and focused on helping teams get the most out of the platform. “We have an ongoing relationship with our CSM, Amanda,” Hanna notes. “Whenever I have questions, or if something comes up, she’s able to help right away.”
With that confidence, Alibaba.com decided to implement Agorapulse.
From onboarding to daily adoption: how the team transformed its workflow
The transition was smooth and rapid. Within a week of signing up, the team completed onboarding and began using Agorapulse. First, the US team onboarded, then their European colleagues. Soon, 10 active users were collaborating across time zones.
Publishing made painless
Instead of juggling separate scheduling tools or manual uploads, Hanna now creates a post once, adapts captions per platform, and schedules across all profiles simultaneously. The shared content calendar provides complete visibility into what’s going out, when, and on which channel.
The result: a 30% increase in publishing volume, all without extra effort.
“We can finally get more content out because it’s less tedious,” says Hanna.
An inbox under control
The real magic happened with the Inbox. All notifications, from comments to direct messages, now flow into a single queue. Automated rules filter spam and surface the most important messages. The team can flag urgent inquiries, assign them to the right person, or mark positive comments for response.
What used to take hours now takes just a few efficient sessions per week. With Agorapulse’s inbox filters and moderation rules, the team no longer had to sift through all 60,000 messages and notifications. Instead, the tool filtered out nearly 80% of the noise, allowing them to focus on the roughly 10,000 meaningful comments and messages that actually required attention.
For the first time, the team began engaging their audience with positive comments, building relationships rather than just firefighting.
Data that makes sense
Gone are the days of jumping between platform dashboards. With Agorapulse’s unified analytics, Alibaba.com now tracks performance across all platforms to measure engagement rates, content reach, comment volume, and even campaign comparisons.
This consistent, reliable data means smarter decisions. Which content resonates? Which campaigns deliver results? Where should the team double down or pivot? The answers are finally clear.
What changed? Higher engagement and a faster, smarter workflow
The transformation was rapid and the impact was lasting. Within 90 days, Alibaba.com saw dramatic improvements:
- +25% overall engagement thanks to faster, more consistent replies and more frequent publishing
- +30% more posts, the company was able to get more content out without increasing workload
- 8-10 hours saved per week, freeing time for strategic planning and creative work
Perhaps most importantly, Alibaba.com’s social media presence became a true community engine rather than a burden. For the first time, they could nurture relationships, respond to positive feedback, and treat their following as an engaged global community, not just a customer-service headache.
“We want to be the leading platform and educational hub for sourcing, and Agorapulse is helping understand what people want and need, especially through listening”, says Hanna.
What social teams can learn from Alibaba.com
Managing global social operations was chaotic until Alibaba.com centralized everything with Agorapulse.
One inbox. One calendar. One dashboard.
Automation cut noise. Analytics clarified performance. Collaboration improved. Time once lost to manual tasks was reclaimed for strategy and growth.
“My experience with Agorapulse has been seamless,” Hanna shares. “It’s helped my daily workflow, my reporting, and our entire social media strategy.”
Today, Alibaba.com leads conversations with confidence, and social is now a growth engine for the tech giant.
Want to see how Agorapulse can take your social media operations to the next level? Consult with one of our experts for personalized guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Alibaba.com manage 70,000+ social media messages per week?
Alibaba.com centralized all messages across platforms using Agorapulse’s unified inbox and automation rules.
How did Alibaba.com improve social media engagement?
By centralizing publishing, inbox management, and analytics with Agorapulse, leading to a 25% engagement increase with over 60,000 interactions in 90 days.
Why did Alibaba.com choose Agorapulse?
Because it offered a simple, powerful interface that unified their workflows across platforms and teams.
How much time did Alibaba.com save using Agorapulse?
The team saved 8–10 hours per week thanks to automation and streamlined workflows.
What was the impact on Alibaba.com’s posting volume?
Publishing increased by 30% without adding workload, thanks to Agorapulse’s centralized calendar.
