WeChat which is known as Weixin (pronounced way-shin) in China is the country’s killer app, a highly addictive social networking tool that allows smartphone users to send messages and share news, photographs, videos, and web links, similar to WhatsApp in the United States or Line in Japan.
Every year, WeChat organizes the annual conference “Open Class Pro” aimed at WeChat creators to find out what that number means for small businesses and what other new plans the networking giant has in the works.
WeChat Open Class Pro Highlights
1. On January 4th, 2022, at the annual event promoting the app’s new functions and strategies, a group of middle-ranking Tencent executives dubbed “WeChat lecturers” worked together to persuade Chinese users, including content creators and merchants, that the app would continue to be an important tool for entertainment and business in China with its mini-programs and short videos.
2. One of the main takeaways from the event was that the number of mini-programs – primarily created by third parties – has been gradually increasing, with 450 million daily active users expected by 2021. WeChat users visited small programs 32% more frequently in 2021 than the previous year, according to the Shenzhen-based tech giant.
- In 2021, according to Lake Zeng Ming, CEO of Tencent’s Weixin Open Platform, more than 700 million individuals used pandemic-related services such as Covid-19 testing and vaccination appointments via WeChat micro-apps.
- Tencent also stated that over the next three years, it will pay 10 billion yuan (US$1.57 billion) in subsidies to small merchants to encourage them to modernize their digital infrastructure.
3. Tencent also held a special session at the event on Channels, the app’s own short video service that will launch in 2020 and compete with Douyin, which has over 600 million daily active users in China.
Tencent has taken a step-by-step strategy to promote Channels, giving video content a more prominent position on WeChat. Channels had amassed 200 million users as of June 2021, according to the most recent data from Tencent, but WeChat has not given updated user counts since.
4. Weixin’s annual conference in Guangzhou also highlighted advancements in the app’s payment and search functions, as well as the commercial version. But it was the app’s “channels” feature’s short videos and live streams that grabbed the Internet by storm.
Social Impact Methods in Empowering the Vulnerable
- Weixin has included a new option for older users called Easy Mode, as well as an improvement to the Parental Control Mode for underage users, further boosting connections with age-specific updates.
- Weixin launched a scheme for over 60,000 Shenzhen sanitation workers that allow them to eat for only 0.01 yuan a week at roughly 1,000 restaurants throughout the city. To assist gather funds, more than 20,000 eateries and their customers in China joined the philanthropic project.
- In another case, Weixin developed the Star Knows campaign and used the Mini Program to enlist the public’s love and support in order to expand the number of books available to rural children.
- Weixin also employed the Mini Program to assist Chinese users in becoming more environmentally conscious. Weixin launched the country’s first educational mini-program dedicated to the science of carbon emissions to raise public understanding of climate change.
The 2022 Open Class PRO conference went all out to achieve net-zero emissions, with speakers and guests wearing clothing made entirely of recycled plastic bottles. According to professional calculators, this event established a balance between emissions created and emissions removed from the environment
Weixin stated that it will continue to improve its products and provide support to developers, content creators, and partners in order for them to survive in the dynamic ecosystem and collaborate to provide more people-oriented innovative services.
How Did Small Businesses Benefit From Weixin Mini-Program?
Case study
Xiao Mian, a popular street meal from China’s southwest serves hot, tingly, and mouth-numbing dishes. Su Xuxiang, on the other hand, sees a lot of potential for delicacy across the country. Weixin’s noodle business has grown to 150 locations nationally in the last seven years, thanks in part to his mini-program feature.
Benefits
Yujian Xiaomian, co-founder of SU XUXIANG stated “Weixin was the first platform we used for orders and payments. We opted to employ the mini-program features two years ago. It not only improves our service, but it also allows us to better understand our clients. With the users’ permission, we can see what foods they prefer and where on the menu they spend the most time. It has also aided us in attracting six million people’’
Mini programs are less expensive and easier to develop than standalone apps, making them perfect for low-budget start-ups.
Tencent’s Weixin, or WeChat, claims that 450 million people used its mini-programs on a daily basis in 2021. These mini-programs are WeChat-based services provided by third parties.
According to Weixin, small and medium-sized firms created 90% of new mini-programs in the previous year.
Tencent’s XU YANGYANG Catering and Life Services Business Weixin Open Platform is a platform created by Weixin. “COVID-19 cases continued showing up all over the place in 2020, wreaking havoc on dine-in services. That’s why, in addition to catering, we encouraged contactless ordering in barbershops and laundry services. The number of mini-programs and daily active users had doubled a year later. Most crucially, the number of transactions increased by a factor of five. We believe we’ve improved the efficiency of enterprises and society, which will lead to a stronger economic recovery.”
Conclusion
- If you’re targeting higher-end customers, WeChat Mini-programs will almost certainly remain an important element of your marketing ecosystem. This is because they make it easier to convert new users.
- Users that try out services through the WeChat Mini program are considerably more likely to upgrade to a Native App.
- They’re a powerful tool because of their capacity to transform WeChat content into e-commerce.
If you require further support with setting up your WeChat account, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong
Sources:
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-01-07/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDYxODQ1/index.html
https://chozan.co/wechat-vs-weixin/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weixin
https://recordtrend.com/industry-information/all-highlights-of-2021-wechat-open-class-pro/
