B2B Archives - The WeChat Agency

Innovative Content Formats for Industrial Brand Storytelling

March 5, 2024

In today’s digital era, capturing audience attention amidst China’s competitive landscape is crucial for brands. To stand out effectively, they must harness innovative storytelling and content formats that engage Chinese audiences in compelling ways. This also applies to business-to-business brands which until now were known for a rather conservative approach to digital marketing.

However, in the super-saturated world where attention span is getting shorter, developing high-quality, informative content that addresses the specific needs and interests of the B2B audience is crucial. One of the top goals for B2B companies is to position themselves as an industry authority by sharing valuable insights, expertise, and thought leadership content. Many brands already have an existing library of assets that can be repurposed for the Chinese market. In other circumstances, they can create new localized content. This could involve contributing guest articles to industry publications, participating in webinars or podcasts, and engaging in meaningful conversations on social media.

Brand Storytelling in Manufacturing: Building Connections

One of the most important aspects of the B2B strategies is brand storytelling. Among often niche and complicated industries humanizing the brands is what can truly make an impact. The benefits of brand storytelling is that it differentiates brands and fosters meaningful connections with audiences, enhancing brand awareness and trust. Understanding audience motivations and crafting authentic narratives are key to creating compelling brand stories that resonate with audiences. In the B2B realm where the topics are often complex, structured and smart communication is very important.

Find Formats that Work Best

Producing content that is informative, visually attractive and engaging is the key to grabbing and maintaining your audience’s attention. Visual representations make complex data more accessible to a broader audience and help readers understand the story better. In this case more advanced WeChat articles or infographics can be a good choice to inform about new product launches or to showcase existing products in interesting ways.

On the other hand, more bite-sized content can include carousels, image messages for WeChat or short videos. The latter surely deserves special attention in the Chinese market with outlets such as WeChat Channels which are interconnected with WeChat.

Why not engage the readers even more with interactive quizzes or small contests?

Content that Converts

B2B buyers are often looking for information to help them make informed decisions. Educate your audience through educational content, product demonstrations, and tutorials that showcase the value of your offerings. Social media content can also serve to clarify main pain points and handle clients’ objections.

Behind the scenes from your headquarters or factories can be a great way to reassure potential customers that your product is of top quality. Of course, there are many factors that a B2B audience needs to consider before making a purchase but social media content can be one the final touch in their decision making process. Not to mention, more and more often social media such as WeChat, RED or Zhihu serve as discovery platforms even for relatively niche and specialized industries.

Leverage Offline Events for Online

Offline events are one of the major marketing channels for B2B brands in China. Since China’s reopening last year, we can observe a significant recovery of offline exhibitions and activities. CIIE, China International Import Expo, being the major one takes place annually in Shanghai. During offline events thanks to the QR code exposition, brands can gain hundreds of new followers.

Most brands however miss on the opportunity to leverage offline events for their social media channels. Companies can produce a significant amount of content that they can then reuse in different formats for their social platforms. Brands like Groz-Beckert chronicle their presence at major industry trade shows and share short but engaging interviews with their brand representatives or clients visiting their booth. More and more often, B2B decide to live-stream their conferences and key events.

Live streaming B2B China Groz Beckert

New Frontiers for B2B brands

Most B2B brands are already quite familiar with the WeChat ecosystem and some are ready to explore new platforms. One of top choices for brands will be Zhihu.

Zhihu, often dubbed the “Quora of China” is a leading Chinese question-and-answer platform founded in 2010. Zhihu serves as a knowledge-sharing community where users can pose questions, provide answers, and engage in discussions on a wide range of topics. Brands typically open their own official accounts to spread brand awareness and industry knowledge. They can either publish their own articles or respond to questions already asked by the public.

Another interesting platform for brands to explore is RED (Xiaohongshu). B2B brands more and more often venture into platforms to increase their brand awareness and generate leads in unexpected places.

If you wish to know more about marketing in China, 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 at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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Key Steps to Strengthen the Impact of Weibo in B2B Marketing

January 25, 2024

In the dynamic landscape of digital marketing, Weibo stands out as a powerful platform that extends its reach beyond personal connections to provide immense opportunities for B2B marketing. As a result, this social media giant has become an invaluable tool for businesses looking to establish a solid online presence and engage with a diverse audience.

Delve into key strategies for leveraging Weibo in B2B marketing, focusing on building your presence, participating in industry events, and unlocking the potential of Weibo Ads.

📱 Weibo & Twitter: Are They Comparable?

Building Your Weibo Presence

Establishing a robust presence on Weibo is the first step towards making a lasting impression in the B2B realm. Above all, begin by crafting a compelling profile that accurately reflects your business identity. Use a professional profile picture, a concise and informative bio, and ensure that your contact details are readily available.

Regularly share relevant content that resonates with your target audience. This could include industry insights, thought leadership articles, and updates about your products or services. The key is to strike a balance between promotional content and valuable information that your audience can benefit from.

Leverage hashtags strategically to increase the discoverability of your posts. For instance, research popular industry-related hashtags and incorporate them into your content. This not only expands your reach but also positions your business as a key player within your sector.

Participating in Popular Industrial Events and Campaigns

Firstly, Weibo is not just a platform for broadcasting; it’s a dynamic space for interaction. Actively participate in popular industrial events and campaigns to enhance your visibility and credibility within the B2B community.

Secondly, keep an eye on trending topics and discussions within your industry. Join relevant conversations by commenting on posts, sharing your expertise, and building connections with other businesses. This not only boosts your engagement but also positions your brand as a knowledgeable and approachable entity.

Thirdly, Collaborate with influencers and thought leaders in your industry. Influencer partnerships can significantly amplify your reach and lend authenticity to your brand. Identify influencers whose audience aligns with your target demographic and explore collaboration opportunities.

Weibo Ads Introduction and Successful Campaigns

Weibo Ads present a potent avenue for elevating your B2B marketing efforts. Craft compelling and visually appealing ad creatives that resonate with your target audience. Whether it’s promoting a new product, announcing an event, or showcasing industry insights, Weibo Ads allow you to tailor your message for maximum impact.

Segment your target audience based on demographics, interests, and behavior to ensure that your ads are reaching the right people. Moreover, Weibo provides robust targeting options that enable you to tailor your campaigns with precision.

Analyze the performance of your campaigns regularly

Weibo’s analytics tools offer valuable insights into the reach, engagement, and conversion metrics of your ads. Use this data to refine your future strategies and ensure that your B2B marketing efforts on Weibo are continually evolving.

In conclusion, Weibo has emerged as a game-changer in the realm of B2B marketing in China. By strategically building your presence, actively participating in industry conversations, and harnessing the power of Weibo Ads, you can unlock the full potential of this platform. As you navigate the intricacies of Weibo marketing, remember that consistency and authenticity are key. By staying true to your brand and actively engaging with your audience, you can position your business for sustained success in the competitive world of B2B marketing.

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Ignite Your B2B Brand in China with the Power of Live-streaming

July 19, 2023

Welcome to the captivating world of live streaming in China, where businesses are transformed, lives are changed, and B2B can join in on the fun. Live-stream can sound like a daunting and stressful task for more traditional industries, but it doesn’t have to.

In this article, we will explore the incredible impact of live streaming for businesses and individuals alike. From revolutionizing B2B brands to boosting foreign trade, we’ll delve into the exciting realm of live streaming platforms and their role in shaping the Chinese market. So, get ready to embark on a thrilling journey that combines entertainment, education, and limitless opportunities.

Live Streaming: A Modern Twist to TV Shopping

Globally, live-streaming has breathed new life into TV Shopping, offering a contemporary twist that captivates audiences worldwide. It generated sales of $480 billion in China last year that are likely to jump 30% this year.

B2B brands, usually considered to be on a more conservative side, are leveraging this dynamic medium to expand their reach and engage with customers on a whole new level both in China and beyond. In a survey conducted among Chinese B2B brands, 56% said that they plan to increase the budget for live-streaming video in the coming months.

By harnessing the power of live streaming, businesses can showcase their products and services in an interactive and immersive way, leaving a lasting impact on viewers.

Live Streaming Channels

🤳 Check out our Introduction to WeChat Channels Live-Streaming

Boosting Foreign Trade through Live Streaming

Chinese manufacturers have discovered the immense potential of live streaming platforms in boosting foreign trade. Platforms like Alibaba.com, a leading global wholesale trade platform, have witnessed steady growth in cross-border business-to-business (B2B) trade through live streaming.

In fact, during a recent trade event organized by Alibaba over 60,000 Chinese businessmen used cross-border live streaming to promote their products, attracting more than 700,000 foreign buyers. Viewers can witness the production process, product testing, and interact with hosts who speak multiple languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Arabic.

This seamless communication and access to international markets eliminate constraints of time and location, fostering a truly global business environment. This trend has significantly contributed to the rebound in China’s foreign trade.

Can Western brands leverage live-streaming and reach their potential customers and partners based in China?

💼 10 Ways for a B2B Brand to Generate Leads on WeChat

Breaking Barriers for B2B Brands: Virtual Tours and Multilingual Experiences

Travel restrictions during COVID-19 seriously impacted the possibility of face-to-face meetings, trade show participation and factory meetings not only among overseas brands but also internally. That’s why Chinese companies acted fast and quickly adapted to obstacles. Virtual tours, industry conferences in metaverse, live-streaming shows and webinars quickly entered Chinese digital space and are here to stay.

Since China’s reopening earlier this year, visitors can come freely to China. Nevertheless, new tools developed helped to break down geographical barriers and enabled brands to start and continue conversations online at their fingertips.

Live-streaming: What To Stream and How?

B2B brands can captivate their audiences through engaging live-streams on a myriad of topics. Whether it’s industry insights, product demonstrations, or thought-provoking discussions, live-stream events can offer a dynamic platform to connect, educate, and foster meaningful connections with clients and partners.

Themes:

New products and explanations of new features and functionalities
Frequently asked questions
Case studies
Tutorials
Behind the scenes: virtual tours, production process
Interviews
Trade shows

Because the Chinese digital ecosystem is vastly different from the global one, user behavior also varies considerably. However in this case it will work in your favor.

Why WeChat Channels?

In China, users often don’t need to switch between different platforms and apps. Therefore if they already follow you on WeChat, you can send them a notification that a live-stream will take place and remind them just before it starts. It’s very convenient and helps to maximize effort.

B2B Live Stream WeChat Santoni

Since most B2B brands build their brand hub on WeChat it’s the best choice to start live-streaming there as well (click here to learn more about WeChat for B2B sector). Thanks to the multitude of functionalities like live comments, customer service connection, and more, brands can bring their communication to the next level and truly get in a conversation with their followers. On WeChat live-streams can be saved and watched later by your followers and newcomers. Recently our Head of Strategy, Miriam Dabrowa, shared her insights on how luxury brands can leverage WeChat Channels for live-streaming with JingDaily, you can read the full article here: A Luxury Brand Guide To Using WeChat Channels. Although, the article is dedicated to luxury brands, B2B brands can also learn and apply the key takeaways.

B2B Live Stream WeChat Santoni

⚠️Live-streaming from trade shows outside of China require applying to Tencent beforehand. You can contact us to support you on this.

🎥 See how you can get started on WeChat Channels – Guide for Beginners

The Fun Side of Live Streaming: Engaging and Entertaining

Live Streaming isn’t just about serious business—it’s also a realm of entertainment and engagement. This kind of content can seriously increase your credibility with authentic live content. Of course, professionalism should always be a priority but audiences look for valuable and interesting content first.

The rise of live streaming in China has revolutionized the way businesses approach marketing and engagement. It has become a driving force in boosting foreign trade and facilitating cross-border business transactions.

Live Streaming not only breaks down barriers but also provides an entertaining and immersive experience for viewers. English-speaking WeChat users can now dive into this exciting world, where education, entertainment, and endless opportunities converge.

So, embrace the power of live streaming and unlock a new realm of business growth and engagement. Don’t miss out on this incredible journey that awaits you in the captivating world of live streaming in China. Also, don’t forget to check out article on Top 5 alternatives for LinkedIn in China you need to know now. For additional information, please contact at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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WeCom: The Essential Chinese Business Communication Tool for the Online Era

June 9, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards online business for businesses around the world. As a result, WeCom, a communication and collaboration platform developed by Tencent, has become increasingly popular among businesses. It offers video conferencing, instant messaging, and file sharing, making it a valuable tool for remote work.

Moreover, it has also helped businesses adapt to new customer behaviours and preferences, such as online shopping and virtual events, and stay connected with their customers in the absence of face-to-face interactions. Online communication tools like WeCom have become essential for companies looking to stay competitive in the current business environment.

Let’s get to know this platform in more detail in this article.

What is WeCom?

WeCom, developed by Tencent, is a business communication and collaboration app. Formerly known as WeChat Work, it offers features like group chat, video conferencing, file sharing, and task management.

It integrates with email, calendar, and CRM systems. It’s popular in China, supports multiple platforms and languages, and allows larger group sizes and more contacts compared to WeChat.

It also enables interaction between WeChat and WeCom users. Certain features may be restricted based on user settings and permissions.

How is it different from WeChat?

WeCom is targeted for business communication needs whereas WeChat can be used to post articles, run ads and get connected with potential customers. Some of the significant differences between these apps are

WeChat allows an individual account to create a group with up to 500 members, while its business equivalent allows up to 10,000 group members for an organizational group and up to 2000 members for other groups. The organization can use it to invite customers, vendors, suppliers, and partners to join its groups for more accessible communication. Similarly, a WeChat account can add up to 5000 “friends,” but an individual WeChat Work account can add up to 50,000 “friends.

Besides, a WeChat account can send up to 200 messages to friends, while the other account has no limit for bulk messages.

Another feature that makes it more business-friendly than WeChat is that professional accounts can share the information of their “friends” (e.g., customers) with other professional members, which makes for seamless work handover or workflow support.

Moreover, these powerful features can be beneficial for business networking as well as operations management. Users of both platforms can interact with each other, as both platforms are developed by Tencent and are integrated with each other. This means that users of WeChat can send messages and make calls to WeCom contacts, and vice versa. Similarly, users of WeCom can also interact with WeChat contacts by adding them to their WeCom contacts list and sending messages or making calls through the app.

Additionally, WeChat Work provides various APIs to allow organizations to access and integrate it with other applications, including those of the WeChat ecosystem and third-party partners.

APIs – Application Programming Interfaces

Tencent provides a range of APIs that developers can use to build custom integrations and extensions for the platform. Here are some of the most popular APIs:

Chat API: This API allows developers to build custom chatbots and integrations for chat feature, enabling users to interact with third-party services and applications directly within the platform.

Directory API: This API provides access to user and group information within, making it easier to manage users, groups, and permissions.

Event API: This API allows developers to receive real-time notifications for various events, such as message send/receive, user login/logout, and group chat creation/deletion.

Contact API: This API allows developers to manage and synchronize contact information between the platform and external systems.

Authentication API: This API provides secure authentication and authorization for third-party applications that need to access features and data.

Drive API: This API enables developers to build custom integrations for cloud storage and file sharing features, allowing users to access and share files directly within the platform.

🌏 Why should brands use CRM Integrations on WeChat?

These are just a few examples of the APIs available for WeCom. Developers can access the full API documentation and resources on the WeCom developer website.

WeCom Usage in China & How Covid-19 Influenced Its Usage

WeCom, Tencent’s dedicated product for business communication and office collaboration, reached 180 million active users with more than 10 million companies and organizations last year.

When Covid-19 hit and everyone was forced to work, tools like WeCom made the transition easy for people to keep up with their work and business. WeCom facilitated remote work and virtual events during the pandemic.

WeCom helped with:

Increased Adoption: As businesses and organisations shifted to remote work and online collaboration, there was a surge in the adoption of WeCom. According to Tencent, the company behind WeCom, the app saw a 200% increase in usage in China during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020.

Hybrid Work Model: As China emerged from the pandemic and returned to work, many businesses adopted a hybrid work model, with employees working both in the office and remotely. WeCom played a key role in facilitating this model, as it allowed employees to communicate and collaborate seamlessly regardless of their physical location.

Virtual Events: With the cancellation of in-person events and conferences, many organisations turned to virtual events to connect with customers and partners. WeCom’s video conferencing and group chat features made it a popular platform for hosting virtual events.

How B2B Brands Can Use WeCom

Customer Support: B2B brands can use WeCom to provide customer support to their clients. They can create a dedicated customer support group within WeCom and allow customers to contact them via chat, voice, or video calls. This can help businesses provide faster and more personalised support to their customers.

Sales and Marketing: B2B brands can use Wecom to communicate with their potential clients and partners. They can create groups and invite prospective clients to join them to provide product information, answer questions, and share marketing collateral. This can help businesses build stronger relationships with potential clients and generate leads.

Collaboration: B2B brands can use Wecom to collaborate with their external partners, vendors, and suppliers. They can create groups and invite external parties to join them for discussions, document sharing, and project management. This can help businesses streamline their supply chain management and enhance collaboration with external parties.

Event Management: B2B brands can use Wecom to manage their events and conferences. They can create groups for attendees, share event schedules, and send notifications to keep attendees informed about the latest updates. This can help businesses enhance the attendee experience and engage with their audience more effectively.

💼WeChat for B2B sector & 10 Ways for a B2B Brand to Generate Leads on WeChat

How B2C Companies Can Use WeCom

WeCom can be used by B2C companies to enhance their communication with customers and improve their overall customer experience. Here are some ways B2C companies can use WeCom:

Customer Service: B2C companies can use WeCom to provide customer service to their customers. They can create a customer service group within WeCom and allow customers to contact them via chat, voice, or video calls. This can help businesses provide faster and more personalised support to their customers.

Marketing: B2C companies can use WeCom to promote their products or services and engage with their customers. They can create groups and invite customers to join them for product launches, promotions, and other marketing events. This can help businesses build stronger relationships with their customers and increase customer loyalty.

Sales: B2C companies can use WeCom to facilitate sales with their customers. They can create groups and invite customers to join them to provide product information, answer questions, and place orders. This can help businesses enhance their sales processes and provide a more convenient shopping experience for their customers.

Feedback and Surveys: B2C companies can use WeCom to gather feedback and conduct surveys from their customers. They can create groups and invite customers to participate in surveys or provide feedback on their products or services. This can help businesses gain valuable insights into their customers’ needs and preferences and make data-driven decisions.

Overall, WeCom can be a valuable tool for B2C companies to enhance customer communication and engagement. It improves customer service, and increase customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Setting Up WeCom for Your Business

Employers can create a WeCom account by following these steps:

Firstly, go to the WeCom registration page: https://work.weixin.qq.com/
Secondly, enter your company information, including company name, industry, and contact information.
Create an administrator account by entering your email address and creating a password. This account will have full access to your company’s WeCom account and settings.
Verify your email address by clicking on the verification link sent to your email.
Set up your company’s WeCom account by following the prompts provided by the platform.
Once your account is set up, you can invite employees to join by providing their phone numbers and email addresses.

Note that there may be additional steps required for verifying your company’s information and setting up specific features within WeCom, such as third-party integrations or customer support channels. Be sure to consult WeCom’s documentation and support resources for more information on how to customize and optimize your account for your business needs.

🗣️Top 5 alternatives for LinkedIn in China you need to know now

Conclusion

WeCom has revolutionized business communication in China. It provides an efficient and secure platform that empowers organizations to thrive in a fast-paced and interconnected environment. By leveraging the features and capabilities of WeCom, businesses can enhance their productivity. They can also foster collaboration, and build strong relationships, ultimately driving growth and success in the dynamic Chinese market.

If you want to know more about the Chinese market contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their networks among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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What is Whitelisting and How It Can Help Brands Boost Collaborations on WeChat?

December 5, 2022

All WeChat content creators and marketing managers will agree that getting organic views under their articles is getting tougher year by year. In the highly-saturated space as WeChat is, ads are of great help but do you want to know how to reach new audiences through organic content? That is possible by collaborating with so-called hot accounts (industry accounts with a big reach and strong reputation) and influencer accounts on WeChat.

We saw a lot of our clients partnering with other accounts to promote their brand but despite sometimes high fees, these sponsored articles didn’t generate any additional traffic or new followers for the client’s account. Did it happen to you too? Learn how to avoid these mishaps in our article and which methods will work towards your particular goals.

What is Whitelisting?

So what is exactly whitelisting and how to share content on Wechat using this method?

Whitelisting is the method of allowing access to resources created and posted by your account to only authorized parties. When it comes to WeChat as a social platform, whitelisting can be very beneficial for users and businesses alike. By leveraging whitelisting your brand can reach new audiences who are already curious about your industry and potential customers.

Shortly, you can allow other accounts to reshare or as WeChat call it, reprint, your articles on their accounts.

Content that can be redistributed in this way must have the ‘original content’ mark meaning that you’re the owner of the content.

Content producers can click the “original content declaration” button in the backend when publishing to claim full ownership of the content. In order to do so the articles must be at least 300 characters long. Note that articles without this designation can be easily copied and redistributed without your knowledge. It’s always good to tick the ‘original content’ box! Find requirements for accounts that post mostly visual-based content and can’t read 300 characters on the official WeChat / Weixin website.

Types of sharing content in WeChat

By default, all accounts can reshare articles from other accounts on WeChat. However, this function is not very popular. It doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing or attractive. You can see it below.

There are two main types of authorization for third-party partners to reprint your content.

First of all, the authorization can be granted for individual articles or for all content posted on your account (global reprint permission 全局可转载帐号). The second option means that the whitelisted partner will be able to share all our articles at any time.

In both cases, you will have additional options to consider when allowing other accounts to reshare your content. You can:

Require a partner account to display a link to the original official account: You can require always have a link to the original article visible. This will enable the readers to visit the original article and potentially
Give permission to edit: You can grant the resharing account permission to edit the article; otherwise, the article will be forwarded in its entirety.

Whitelisting

As you can see you can choose different options depending if the relationship with the partner is to be a one-off or a long-term one.

Secondly, keep in mind that if you don’t require the partner to show the link to the original article you’re losing the chance to redirect the fans to your account. Having a contact card tile with the link to your account or a QR code is a must if your goal is to drive traffic to your account.

Reprinting – how is it displayed on WeChat?

Sharing WeChat B2B

As you can see in the 3rd option, users will see right away the original source of the article and they can click to follow your account. Your partner on the other hand can add a short note about why they are reposting this article or any other comment or introduction.

New option!

Just recently, we spotted a new feature in the WeChat backend. This new option, ‘quick repost’, means all accounts can repost your new article. This option comes with some limitations but it’s a good way to get your content spread. It gives you less control on who can share the article but on the other hand, accounts won’t be able to remove the source or modify it.

According to WeChat:

When quick repost is on, the source will always be displayed when this article is reposted, and cannot be modified.
Quick repost does not affect the repost authorization of whitelisted accounts. The format is as follows.

Interesting thing:

Reprinted articles cannot contain internal WeChat links.

Collaboration and mutual distribution

WeChat’s official accounts can work with other accounts in a variety of ways to spread their content among a chosen target audience. This can be done either by providing a ready-to-use article to partners that will be shared via a whitelisting process. You can also opt to create a new, original article.

It is critical that sponsored content maximizes efforts and truly directs readers from the partner account to the original content on your account. For example, a QR code or contact card at the end of the article will help users to reach the original source.

Similarly, if your brand has several official accounts, the most effective way to cross-promote would be to mutually whitelist each other and regularly reshare key content across.

Collaborations with KOLs in WeChat

Collaboration with KOLs (key opinion leaders), your industry experts, or hot accounts from your industry can be very beneficial. After that, publication brands can work with KOLs to direct traffic from these accounts to your account.

Brands that cannot advertise on WeChat

Accounts belonging to restricted industries can also greatly benefit from whitelisting as a key method of promotion on WeChat. Since there are stringent regulations for certain sectors it’s often impossible for these brands to advertise on WeChat.

But brands in these sectors can only grow organically on WeChat and actually thrive. This is where a carefully planned collaboration strategy helps. Because of that collaborations can help reach new audiences, and with whitelisting facilities, organic content from these brands can get better visibility.

⛔️ Learn who can’t absolutely advertise on WeChat. Does your brand fall within one of these categories?

Case study on magazine collaboration

Let’s observe the advantages of collaboration with one of our clients.

Client: AkzoNobel International Marine Coatings

Industry: B2B Marine & Protective Coatings for the shipping industry

Target Audience: Major shipping companies

Objectives: build brand awareness and brand equity

Solution: Collaborate with expert magazines from the industry to publish content from the brand on their WeChat account.

Results: Magazine articles surpassed by 80% and 125% the brand’s best-performing owned article of the whole year among the relevant target audience

Whitelisting Sharing WeChat B2B case study

These PR-style collaborations also serve as backlinks for WeChat SEO, boosting the brand’s ranking in the WeChat search results. These collaborations produce results both in the short term (by providing brand visibility to magazine followers). In addition, in the long term, it improves the WeChat search index ranking.

🚢You can see the full case study here: Case Study: AkzoNobel (B2B Management)

Conclusion

Collaborations, be they with KOLs or partner brands, are crucial to expanding customer bases by reaching new audiences. In conclusion with whitelisting, you can reach high-quality followers with organic content. This is especially helpful for brands that cannot advertise on WeChat and solely rely on organic content to reach their potential customers.

If you want to know more about collaborations and content sharing on WeChat, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their networks among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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Why should brands use CRM Integrations on WeChat?

October 27, 2022

CRM or even sCRM is not something completely new. However, when store foot traffic dropped dramatically when the pandemic first appeared in China, brands were no longer able to rely solely on their offline sales. This pushed brands to step up their game and drastically improve their presence online. We can say that even though Chinese audiences were no strangers to private traffic before, COVID-19 really boosted this phenomenon. Clienteling, especially with the help of WeCom (previously WeChat Work), became one of the biggest trends in Chinese retail but B2B can leverage it just as well.

Learning and understanding consumer data, user journeys, and content consumption patterns are very important for a successful marketing strategy. This is where customer relationship management (CRM) plays an important role. CRM can help connect brands with their customers. With more users becoming selective about what they read and view, it is crucial for brands to have a solid CRM strategy.

There are two types of CRM,

The traditional CRM
The social CRM or sCRM

Traditional CRM includes mails, emails, phone calls, etc whereas sCRM is customer relationship management through social media platforms like WeChat in China.

To learn more about WeChat CRM, as well as how to begin using WeChat for marketing, continue reading.

Advantages of CRM

Before going deep into the world of WeChat CRM, let’s see the advantages of using CRM in the first place. How it actually adds value to your business:

CRM systems enhance better customer service
Helps to identify new potential customers
Helps to scale up the business
Simplifies marketing and sales process
Improves the customer loyalty
Provides detailed analysis of customers
Helps to observe the most resonating topics and adjust content strategy accordingly

CRM in China is different from Western CRM. So, it’s a great option to choose WeChat CRM for businesses that are targeting Chinese customers. WeChat is more than just a content-pushing platform. Brands can really improve their interaction with their followers – clients or potential leads – thanks to a deeper understanding of their preferences and behaviors.

WeChat sCRM

WeChat CRM is a powerful way for brands to connect with Chinese consumers, but it can be difficult to get started. CRM platforms give customers a user experience that goes beyond an impersonal buyer-merchant relationship. This leads to better conversion rates and more potential customers.

WeChat generates data whenever a user interacts with a brand. The data gives a picture of a customer’s platform behavior because it includes information on the content checked and interacted with. The data also provides useful information on how a customer interacts with a brand on WeChat. However, as every marketing manager working on WeChat and checking the backend is aware, the data offered by WeChat is very limited.

We can only see the follower’s avatar and display name (not a WeChat ID)
We only get overview data like age, gender, location, system
There is no way that we can connect this information by using only WeChat’s built-in functions

It’s possible to create tags and segregate followers manually however it’s a very laborious task. Based on that we can also do a very simplistic targeting when we publish a new article but only limited to country, gender, or our own previously created groups.

WeChat Segmentation

Upgrade your WeChat presence

It’s a very different situation if we connect a sCRM API with our WeChat account. A brand can more effectively engage customers on WeChat thanks to the data produced by the customer’s WeChat activity. Through the use of sCRM platforms, businesses can create campaigns and strategies that are more specifically aimed at high-value leads. In the end, this increases conversion rates and results in satisfying user experiences.

🇨🇳Before proceeding with any sCRM integrations on WeChat, make sure to be aware of the latest China’s latest Personal Information Law.

How to integrate CRM into WeChat

Integrations in WeChat are not the same for all brands. Brands have to understand their business needs to pick the best tool that works for them. These will not be the same for B2C or B2B brands. While lifestyle brands will focus more on selling through WeChat, B2B brands are more likely to leverage WeChat CRM to generate and collect leads. E.g. brands that have offline shops and offer WeChat payments to their clients will be able to connect the store data to their WeChat.

💼10 ways for a B2B brand to generate leads on WeChat

Target audience plays a huge role in determining the best integration tool based on their demographics, technology usage, and more. By knowing your audience, brands will be able to make better-informed decisions about their integrations.

It’s worth mentioning that only service accounts can use API and 3rd party tools to do segmentation.

Salesforce and WeChat

Many foreign companies entering the Chinese market already had rich databases on Salesforce.

Now, they can also link it with WeChat as it’s optimized for China. Salesforce allows tracking not only article interactions but also menu clicks, mini-programs logs, and more. There are some challenges to connecting both but it can be very rewarding and optimize user experience for your followers in the long run.

For example, Salesforce has some more advanced functions than Hubspot.

Other integration tools for WeChat

Here are some of the other WeChat integration tools available on the market with locally-developed solutions:

Youzan

Youzan offers a simple data analytics system and a user-friendly WeChat library for managing shop operations. With almost 100 different tools to improve the user experience, this platform was specifically designed for WeChat. For businesses looking to sell products, Youzan is a good option.

Key features:

Order management system for WeChat shops
Able to connect to Weibo
Simple WeChat backend operation
Schedule posting time
Auto-reply feature for web page articles

Drip

Drip has seamless integration with Wechat and a user-friendly backend. You can easily integrate WeChat accounts with Drip for customer management, posting articles, managing QR codes, and other basic functions.

Key features:

Personalized campaigns
Basic WeChat backend functions
HTML5 slides
API is flexible
Receive customer messages directly on WeChat

Parllay

Parllay manages clients with thorough profiles, and provides client analysis, precise group messaging, and multiple enterprise APIs. It’s a platform that focuses on big data and is an expert at spotting significant data trends. It has numerous e-commerce integrations like QR-based checkout and payments.

Key features:

Tracks WeChat user behavior effectively
WeChat QR code tracking
Multi-channel engagement
User tag automation
Predictive segmentation

Conclusion:

CRM can be a little daunting and finding the best solution is hard as there is no one size fits all. It is very important to understand your brand needs and pain points to choose the best one out there. Social CRMs are popular now and WeChat CRM is very crucial for any business that is entering the Chinese market. It helps to manage WeChat contacts and marketing activities effectively. Your brand can experience higher conversion rates and be in a position to always stay ahead of the competition by fully understanding WeChat sCRM.

If you want to add a CRM integration to your WeChat account or wish to know about other marketing techniques in China, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their networks among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us at contact@thewechatagency.com.

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10 Ways for a B2B Brand to Generate Leads on WeChat

March 29, 2022

Lead generation in China, and especially for the B2B sector, might seem a bit challenging at first but doesn’t have to. In the past, many Western brands relied on LinkedIn when reaching out to new prospects in China, but since the platform transformed itself into CareerIn late last year and removed its social interaction component, it became quite obsolete in terms of lead generation.

If your company has an official WeChat account registered on WeChat (the biggest app in China) then you’re on the right path. WeChat, contrary to Western social apps which are largely used for personal communication, is used for both private and business purposes by Chinese users. This difference can be a big advantage for B2B brands in China (WeChat for B2B sector). Because emails or website are not top of mind for brand communication, Chinese users expect to find detailed information and receive updates from brands on WeChat. Staying within the WeChat ecosystem can actually make it even easier to guide your lead through an exciting and successful brand discovery journey – see our previous post-WeChat Marketing vs Website Marketing.

In the B2B lead generation on WeChat and nurturing funnel, it’s vital to figure out how to grow your visibility as a B2B player, automate the processes while also allowing customer care and sales reps to better identify and close deals. Let us walk you through some of the most relevant tactics depending on the stage of your relationship with your leads on WeChat.

Lead Generation – How to Grow Your Exposure?

Since WeChat is a semi-closed platform, meaning that non-followers don’t receive updates from your brand, it’s not always easy for brands to immediately grow their fanbase. However, depending on your budget or time, you can try different approaches to grow your exposure on WeChat among users who haven’t connected with your brand yet.

Tencent’s WeChat advertising allows businesses to place promotional messages on users’ timelines, WeChat Official Account articles, and even third-party mini-programs. Brands can use WeChat ads to increase the number of followers on their official accounts, boost traffic to their official website or mini-programs. Cost-per-fan for a B2B brand can get quite high with sometimes approx. 70 RMB (USD11) and is not without some industry-specific restrictions but it is still a great way to get exposure and unfollow rate for industry accounts are significantly lower than for B2C brands.

WeChat advertising has 3 major types – How To Promote Your Account On WeChat?

Whitelisting

A great way to gain your visibility is working with your industry hot accounts. We can compare this cooperation to KOL (Key Opinion Leader) influencer marketing but on a B2B level. A bigger account with sizeable exposure and authority reshares your article directly. There are two other whitelisted sharing options:

1. Displaying a link to the original Official Account: At the end of the article, as the original content creator, you can request (or not) to provide a link to your official account (the link will be automatically added).
2. Permission to edit: The original material created may grant permission to edit the article to the partner account (otherwise it will be forwarded exactly as the original version).

You can also reshare articles from other official accounts. Please note that some restrictions for international accounts might apply.

Channels – for brand discovery

WeChat Channels is a video platform within WeChat that allows users to produce and share short video clips and photographs to their own WeChat Channel. It was released for beta testing in early 2020 and two years later it’s becoming one of the most important WeChat components actively improved and promoted by Tencent. Check out our Beginner’s Guide to WeChat Channels.

Thanks to hashtags it’s much easier to discover new content on WeChat than before. Also, because WeChat is the first choice for professional communication it’s only natural that B2B visual content has a much higher chance to gain traction there than for example on Douyin (TikTok).

Only this month, Tencent introduced a new set of features that B2B brands can enjoy right away on WeChat Channels. Brands can now add service menus to the WeChat Channels main page greatly improving user experience and adding new functionalities to the account. WeChat added also new options for WeCom and Channels integration.

WeChat Channels

WeChat SEO-friendly articles

Yes, WeChat has its own search engine (SouYiSou, 搜一搜) and it’s getting more and more precise to index content across the whole Tencent ecosystem. To have your content featured in search results publish articles with a focus on keywords with regularity. Content authority is important too so don’t forget to encourage the right engagements. Leveraging the rest of the Tencent ecosystem like WeChat Channels can further improve your results.

WeChat, like other search engines, prioritizes the most relevant content. It is critical for brands to use keywords in article text and headlines when developing content. The viewer engagement rate is another parameter that WeChat search looks at. This covers impressions, clicks, and post-reactions. A higher interaction rate means a better ranking in the WeChat search results.

QR codes

Not to forget, QR codes are the lifeblood of the platform on WeChat. Ideally place them on your physical product, marketing materials, and online.

When a user scans a code, it can land on your official account directly. A code that also leads to a mini-program or a mini-site within the WeChat ecosystem. These may be readily customized to display your most critical information (much like a landing page). Since it does not require users to install any third-party programs, this direct presentation of information has been able to deliver a smooth customer experience for businesses.

Nurturing Your Prospects – Maintain Meaningful Relationships

WeChat users are already actively interested in your brand and landed on your official WeChat account welcome page. This is a great situation and you can leverage it. With account optimation, regular articles, and other tools you can reach out to your fans and keep in touch. It’s your turn to meet, or ideally exceed their expectations.

Welcome message and menu

When new users start to follow your official account, they are automatically greeted with a welcome message. This micro-moment can help them to understand your brand better and encourage them to take the next steps if your welcome message is optimized to give them the details and information they need – apart from the text you can add links, images, mini-programs, and more in there.
WeChat Channels Menu
The menu is another element brands shouldn’t overlook and you might even decide to allocate more effort to it. Treat menu as always-on content. We talked more about what the menu is and why is it so important and how to optimize it in our previous posts.

Basic segmentation

If your business has many departments and clients are interested in different topics it’s a good idea to segment your followers. This way you can send them articles relevant to their departments. Ask users about their preferred departments in the welcome message and manually label them in the backend. This method works when you have a relatively small fanbase and only if followers reply.

CRM integration

More advanced segmentation and targeting require a proper CRM (Customer Relationship Management). To maximize the impact of the WeChat unified ID, brands must establish a link between WeChat OA and CRM. If you want to run more complicated campaigns, you may need to connect them to a marketing cloud. Take, for example, Salesforce CRM and Marketing Cloud.

💼 Why should brands use CRM Integrations on WeChat and how about Salesforce?

WeCom

Tencent’s (WeChat’s parent company) version of WeChat for businesses, previously known as WeChat Work, is gaining traction among businesses.

WeCom is a business communication and office application that offers the same communication experience as WeChat. At the same time, it offers a broad set of open-source applications connected with the WeChat ecosystem.
It can assist businesses in connecting internally, with ecosystem partners, and with customers. It’s also worth noting that WeCom has an API that allows you to access and combine WeChat’s capabilities with other apps.

WeChat WeCom

Private traffic

The use of private traffic is another element of WeChat B2B lead generation marketing. Setting up, monitoring and activating a WeChat group can take time. It’s a really great way to keep in touch with the followers and clients in real-time and initiate meaningful discussions.
Essentially, this is direct communication with lead segmentation. The scaling effect might convert more deals from a promotion campaign in the private chat group as more leads opt-in.

WeChat – A Great Tool for B2B Brands

As you can see, WeChat is more than just a social media platform. With its multitude of customizable tools, it offers a great approach to engaging with customers and increasing brand awareness. Bridging the gap between online and offline with a segmentation strategy and CRM can truly enhance communication with your prospects.

Though WeChat lead generation has its challenges, it is a worthwhile process. If you want to get into the Chinese market, don’t miss out on this opportunity.

If you require further support with setting up your account or generation on WeChat, 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.

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Alternatives for Linkedin

Maimai

Maimai is a China-based career and social networking platform with over 80 million users. Lin Fan established the platform in 2013, and it is now China’s most popular professional social networking site, surpassing LinkedIn.

You may acquire access to relevant firms, clients, and investors by using MaiMai instead of wasting time on other random and foreign platforms looking for the right partners. And since China’s corporate structure is so complex, such platforms make it easier to communicate directly with the company’s decision-makers.

Angelist

Unlike LinkedIn, Angelist focuses on entrepreneurs and industry newcomers interested in pursuing a new career path.

If you’re wanting to invest in a startup, raise capital for your own startup, or recruit professionals for your firm, AngelList is the place to go.

Xing

Xing is a European-Asian version of Linkedin, with over 200 countries represented and a multi-language (over 16 languages) interface to aid networking in a culturally varied world.

Another appealing feature is the opportunity to attend events organised by Xing’s “Ambassadors,” where professionals may network, share ideas, and seek business guidance.

Hired

Hired is a great place to look for a job if you’re looking for one. They’re a two-sided marketplace that connects cool companies with tech talent while also providing free professional profile hosting.

Meetup

Meetup is the most preferred LinkedIn alternative because of its corporate features, social features, easy registration procedures, and new “virtual interview” tool for speeding up recruitment processes.

Meetup will keep you up to date on any events that may be of interest to you and are strongly recommended when applying for jobs at startups. It is used by 16 million people in 196 countries throughout the world.

Conclusion

Overall, it is critical to emphasise the significance of networking in China. Many contracts and economic ventures are agreed upon based on people’s contacts. So, if you want to flourish in the very competitive Chinese market, you’ll need to make some “good friends” who can assist you and your company.

So, regardless of which platform you choose to join, social business networking is important and may assist you in developing these contacts, which can help you grow your business in China.

If you require further support with setting up your 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

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WeChat for B2B Sector

October 4, 2021

We’ve always heard that WeChat is a wonderful tool for marketing to customers. But what about B2B marketing on WeChat?

B2B Marketing on WeChat

Since the B2B e-commerce sector began to flourish in 2013, B2B businesses have had to adapt their marketing strategies to stay up with the ever-changing channels and platforms. Because marketing methods vary swiftly in China, western approaches may not produce the best outcomes for B2B companies. As a result, determining the best platform for building relationships and generating leads is crucial.

Tencent’s Super App, WeChat, provides the ideal ecology for B2B businesses. WeChat, which has over 1 billion monthly active users (MAUs) and 80 million public account followers, may help businesses expand if used effectively. Many Chinese people no longer carry business cards to networking events, meetings, or conferences. They merely scan each other’s QR codes on WeChat.

Businesses may conduct one-on-one direct conversations with their customers, as well as one-to-many messaging possibilities inside groups, multimedia communication, and mobile data sharing, all of which make WeChat a useful and successful corporate communication tool.

WeChat also has a multitude of built-in features, such as stock ordering and administration, quizzes, and lessons, to name a few. To get the most out of this platform, make use of as many relevant features as possible. Furthermore, the WeChat app makes any work-related information more engaging, fascinating, and enjoyable. As a result, every company’s marketing efforts should include WeChat B2B platforms.

Types of WeChat accounts

First and foremost, you will require a WeChat official account. Businesses can use a WeChat official account to communicate with customers and boost brand awareness.

The 3 types of WeChat official accounts are subscription, service, and corporate.

Both subscription accounts and service accounts are appropriate for B2B marketing.

Since it allows organisations to maintain direct relationships with clients, a service account is preferable for service-oriented enterprises and after-sales departments. Only service accounts have access to CRM, custom menus, payment integration, and mini websites.

💼 Why should brands use CRM Integrations on WeChat and how about Salesforce?

What Are Some of the Beneficial Features of WeChat for B2B Marketing?

WeChat Web Analytics Tool
Businesses can utilise WeChat web analytics to see how customers engage with their websites and gather feedback on their performance in order to enhance their products or services.

WeChat Translation Tool
Businesses will benefit from WeChat’s in-app translation service, which is available for iOS and Android users. When doing business in China, you must be completely immersed in the culture. Poor translation will result in poor marketing outcomes and harm your brand’s image. It also aids firms in gaining a better knowledge of the demands and needs of their target audience.

WeChat Template Message Tool
Official accounts can utilise a template message to deliver crucial service notifications to their customers, such as a message informing them that a purchase has been completed successfully.

WeChat Communication Tool
Official documents, contacts, excel sheets, videos, and plans can all be sent over WeChat. The B2B segment allows businesses to communicate swiftly with one another via messages.

WeChat Group Message Tool
You can send gender and location-based group messaging to your target audience. This function allows you to reach the proper target audience while avoiding annoying other groups of people who aren’t interested.

Other features available include an automatic reply tool, a personalised menu tool, and many more.

Conclusion

WeChat B2B marketing is a wonderful tool for businesses looking to market their goods or services to Chinese customers. To create the best marketing strategy, you must not only use all of the features of WeChat B2B, but you must also understand your opportunities and challenges.

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5,000 followers on WeChat in 48h with no media nor influencers, how Groz-Beckert & KRDS did it?

June 29, 2017

Launching a new brand on WeChat is serious challenge. Specially when your client is strong B2B player but with little awareness in the general public eye.

So on June 6th, Groz-Beckert launched its official account. 48 hours later, they recruited over 5,000 followers without using any media, KOL, events or third-parties promotion.

How KRDS helped Groz-Beckert achieve such results?

Identify and rely on your strength

The short answer to this question is that Groz-Beckert was able to achieve this feat by relying on the people they trust best – Groz-Beckert staff and sales teams.

Before looking outwards for KOL or media solutions, brands must remember that WeChat is a customer servicing platform first that can be turn into an excellent and effective marketing tool. Therefore, to be successful on WeChat, you must ensure you are actually recruiting your clients first. The rest will come much easier, as your clients have the most authority spreading your brand message among their community.

So, the questions is, who better than your on-site sales people and staff that can successfully interact with your clients and welcome them on WeChat? No one.

Will they do it out of the blue? No. Sales people are busy and if you do not create the right tool and incentive to push them to promote your company they will not do it. Period.

Build the right tool and campaign

To answer this challenge, we created a WeChat connected APP where every Groz-Beckert staff could log in easily to generate a unique personal QR code.

This unique QR code was connected with each staff which enabled us to live-track how many followers they recruited individually making sure they are unique users.

To spice up the competition, a penalty was also given if the user unfollowed the account later.

Using this simple mechanism, the staff were able to recruit followers and the competitive spirit made them want to recruit more number of followers.

To aid this, a leaderboard was created that displayed the individual performance, and the top staff on the leaderboard will walk away with big rewards and recognition from Groz-Beckert.

Segment and collect data about your community

Furthermore, the structure allowed us to understand how followers were recruited through different staff departments and provided us more insight into the client’s interests,

This mecanism helped Groz-Beckert and KRDS to compartment and target specific audience to push relevant content to them in the future.

If you have been following KRDS closely, you would know that we shared the same success story with BNP Paribas a few months ago with a similar approach.

So the only question pending is when you will get in touch with us to help you implement a similar winning strategy for your brand on WeChat!

ABOUT GROZ-BECKERT

Groz-Beckert is the world’s leading provider of industrial machine needles, precision parts and fine tools, as well as systems and services for the production and joining of textile fabrics. All around the world, the products and services support the textile processes of knitting and warp knitting, weaving, felting, tufting, carding and sewing.

The company, founded in 1852, employs around 7,700 people and turned over about 665 million euro in 2016.

All of the threads come together at the headquarters in Albstadt, Germany. The family-owned company also disposes of other production sites in Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Portugal, USA, India, China and Vietnam. Scores of sales affiliates and sales partners top off the international presence.

Groz-Beckert offers its customers a comprehensive partnership – without boundaries and on site in over 150 countries.

ABOUT KRDS

Incorporated in 2013, KRDS Shanghai, the social and mobile agency has been ideating and producing digital content and social media campaigns, on Weibo and WeChat, for many local and international clients, to name few Club Med, Louis Vuitton, Air France, BNP Paribas, Biotherm …

ABOUT AURELIEN FERRIE:

In China since 2010, Aurelien FERRIE joined KRDS in 2013 as General Manager – Greater China.

With KRDS, he is helping international clients (Air France, Club Med, Louis Vuitton) to grow their visibility on Chinese social media platforms.

With a strong experience in sales and marketing, Aurelien quickly became an expert of Chinese social media platforms, especially WeChat, that he consider to be one of the most innovative platform in the world. His ambition is to keep growing his digital expertise and experience to keep offering the most innovative online solutions to brands in China and in the world.

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