WeChat Marketing

WeChat is probably by far the closest messaging app which comes close to Facebook in the social media realm. After all, it is the most used app in China and if you are a market leader in anything in that country, you may as well be one of the largest players in the world.

What’s the buzz about WeChat?

Naturally, anyone would want to know what makes WeChat such a popular tool and where it stands among its competitors. This is where the messaging app brings with it some very impressive statistics which include:

1. within 4 years of launching, it has breached the 1 billion mark in terms of registered accounts
2. there are an average of more than 960 billion active WeChat users each month
3. Each day, there are more than 760 million active WeChat users
4. China is the top country with the highest percentage of WeChat users
5. Besides China, 70 million other users are from other parts of the world
6. more than half of WeChat users open this app more than 10 times each day
7. slightly more than 80%of WeChat users make online purchases

WeChat Marketing

WeChat is basically a messaging app which means that you can message those in your contact list quite easily and effortlessly. If you know how to use one messaging app, chances are you will have no problem using WeChat. However, WeChat has many other things that you might not be aware of which might include:

1. Share moments like photos and videos on your wall (like the Facebook timeline)
2. make purchases like calling a cab, buy tickets and even top-up credits
3. Send and receive money

Most of these functions are currently available in certain markets which means that as a marketer, it is ready to use if you want it for your campaign. So, what could you do with WeChat which can leverage on your marketing campaign?

Official Accounts

WeChat allows you to create what they call the Official Accounts which you can then use for your campaign. Use it to promote your product, a brand or your corporate image. It is quite the same as Facebook pages where you can then allow people to follow you.

This will in turn send notifications. What you get out of this you can now engage your customers through another social media platform which happens to be the second largest today. For these Official Account to work, you might want to consider the likes of:

1. Enterprise accounts – Commonly used only for communication within an organisation and might not be too useful for marketing in this context
2. Service accounts – through this, you will appear as friends where you can then send out 4 messages each month
3. Subscription accounts – Usually categorized into a certain folder. It allows you to send 1 message out each day

Sell, sell, sell

One thing that sets WeChat apart from other messaging apps is that you can sell on this platform. Among the options you can consider include:

1. Creating your own website – when you do this, you can make use of the super functions of WeChat. The store typically is a website which has been designed to use WeChat and its functions. By integrating the WeChat API into your online store, you become part of the entire network which then will allow your customers to buy direct from you.
2. WeChat shop – this is where you make use of the available platforms in the market to create a WeChat shop.

Capture your target audience

Capturing your target audience requires a lot of planning and it is one of the most challenging tasks for any marketer. Through WeChat you can do this by offering the right type of content. Ensure that your contents are:

1. Relevant – Be consistent about your content. It must be very good or your followers will stop trying to read your stuff each time you post something. Useful content is among the most important factors for followers to like your brand. Besides that, your content should be current and interesting as well.
2. Use media – Video is definitely the current buzz in any marketing campaign. If you can use video in any of your connections, why not? After all, video is the main thing that goes around on social media. When you are on the social network, use as many videos as you possibly can
3. Text – Although it is a text messaging app, you might not want to over-use this. Text messages should be posted only once a day. And when you do, ensure that it is brief, easy to understand and short. Find out when is the best time when other social networks are not posting messages and that is your inroad. Ensure too that your content is original
4. Traffic – Make sure that you generate enough traffic to your WeChat account. There are many strategies available and viral marketing could well be your ideal tactic

What are the marketing opportunities?

Besides letting you talk and chat with each other, WeChat provides you with a full mobile commerce payment function. This simply means that the user scan link their bank accounts through WeChat and make purchases. This function alone makes the tool extremely attractive for sales and marketing.

Showrooming

– This is perhaps one of the most exciting functions on mobile networks today. You can show off your products in Weshop, a new marketing feature implemented by Wechat.

Rewards and Points

– Through WeChat, you can now allow your customers to collect rewards, points, discount vouchers and even any ongoing promotions that you are running. With this, your marketing campaign becomes a lot more engaging.

Payment

– We can help you to engage your customers for purchases immediately.

In-Store Payments

– Cashless payments and transactions become a lot more interesting and interactive. Your customers in your retail store can now point and pay without having to take out their wallets.

There is no denying that WeChat is used by a lot of consumers in the Malaysian market and that in itself poses a large potential and pool of customers alone for any marketing effort.

The use of data-based communication tools have already taken the world by storm. This is so evident so much that not only are mobile users and consumers using the likes of Whatsapp, LINE and WeChat for communication and staying in touch, they are being touted as one of the most effective marketing tools to exist ever since the internet came about.