THE POWER OF WECHAT

You would be forgiven for not considering implementing the use of WeChat on your next marketing campaign, but let me convince you otherwise!

First of all what exactly is WeChat? 

WeChat or Weixin is a social media hybrid app developed by Tencent, a Chinese tech conglomerate, but not just any social media app, it boasts over 1 billion active monthly users and they don’t just use the app to send messages. You can pay bills, book hotels, book taxis, and even book flights! In fact, because of its unique feature of enabling apps within the app, you never actually need to use anything else. In China, WeChat has left nothing out, and has become many apps rolled into one ‘Super’ App. 

The success of WeChat lends itself to the fact that it integrates so effortlessly into our lives, the app is able to keep us online through its countless built in apps. From your morning breakfast to your taxi home from work. WeChat has a built in service for all of it! And your business could be next.

WeChat has brought the use of QR codes to the mainstream, you can add friends via your own personal QR code. Shops from local vendors to restaurants to national brands accept payment by simply scanning their QR code in-store via your WeChat app.

All of this is made possible with its built in ‘WeChat Pay’ Simply connect your bank account to the app, and away you go! It works much like PayPal and Alipay, and is fast becoming a payment format even in English stores!

Why is this good for my business?

WeChat users literally don’t need to leave the app, this translates into more usage time, which leads to more exposure to brands and promotions. 

There are two ways in which to get your business up and running on WeChat. The first is to open a personal account and advertise your products and services using the ‘moments’ feature. This is only really suitable for artisans and small produce businesses. You are easily able to do this via the app store, downloading the western version named ‘WeChat’ creating your account, and then adding promotional images to your ‘moments’ 

It must be noted however that WeChat isn’t a public forum. Only those that follow you or have accepted you as a friend will be able to see your posts.

The other method involves using the Chinese run ‘Weixin’ this increases your exposure exponentially, the main reason being that the western ‘WeChat’ doesn’t come with as many features as Weixin and so you could limit your potential.

When working on Weixin you have the option open either a Service account or a Subscription account, depending on the size and type of your business.

Subscription Account

Are you a travel or food blogger? Or a media format looking for Chinese exposure? Or even a social media influencer looking for international recognition? This would be the perfect account for your venture. Giving subscribers daily content that is featured at the top of their feed depending on how recently you publish.

Service Account

More of an ‘official’ account for your business, with added services from WeChat to improve yours and the users experience.
One feature that businesses love about service accounts are the push notifications, this basically means that when you publish a recent launch or promotion, all subscribers will be notified!
Your account will also be able to accept payments within the app, using WeChat pay.
Take your venture one step further and apply for the famous blue tick, verified account. Your business will gain the trust and loyalty from WeChat users.

Now that you know a little more about what WeChat is, and more importantly, how it can benefit your ever growing business, you should be considering your options for entering the Chinese market via this one stop application. There has never been a better time to immerse yourself or your company to a brand new audience.

Here at CWD we specialise in allocating you an official WeChat account, using Weixin to reach an unprecedented demographic. We provide translation services for your marketing materials, and we can even manage your account for you!

Don’t miss out on such a vast new market, China is increasingly more open to foreign goods and services, and customers can be extremely loyal when they know and trust a brand.

Would you like to take your business to the next level using WeChat to reach new demographics? Reach out here. Subscribe to our mailing list today to receive more blog posts and free marketing materials.

Is there something you would like us to discuss for our next blog? We would love to hear from you contact us at chris@cwdickinson.com