What Is WeChat Marketing?

August 27, 2024

WeChat is the major platform leading China’s digital transformation. A “mega app” that encompasses major successful features of most western and Chinese platforms: Blog-like articles, digitally interactive experiences, WeChat Pay, e-commerce & e-booking with WeChat Mini Programs, Moments (a virtual space to share daily updates), Channels (for visual-led content), live streaming, enterprise solutions, even search engine, and more.

This Chinese social media has established itself as a major platform for content creation through articles and channels, now the roadmap for Tencent (WeChat’s owner) is to leverage Miniprogram to boost business growth further, as it has become part of users’ daily life, develop futuristic features on WeChat Pay, and make WeChat Search a user habit. This is a rapidly changing platform and brands need to keep up if they want to stay relevant to Chinese users.

WHAT IS WECHAT MARKETING?

  • Understanding the WeChat Ecosystem:

In the past three years, WeChat marketing and advertising underwent tremendous changes. With the emergence of the new social media apps, it proved that it’s not going away and also managed to strengthen its position by continuously adapting to the new consumer behaviours by expanding its features and consolidated its position as a top app in China.

We have observed new trends emerging while strengthening existing ones. Some of the major trends that took off were: 

  • WeChat channels & Live-streaming, 
  • WeChat work (WeCom),
  • Relevance of mini programs, 
  • Focus on content creators, 
  • Smart targeting.

  • Select the right WeChat Official Account for your brand:

There are mainly 2 types of Official Account: WeChat Service Account & WeChat Subscription Account.

WeChat service and subscription accounts offer very different user experience hence the user journey and landing on the article vary.

WeChat service Accounts have the same priority as a user’s contacts in terms of notification status and appear on the main page in chronological order.

 

WeChat subscription accounts are gathered in a separate folder where accounts are shown according to an algorithm (most often read accounts) compared to the chronological order before.

 

  • Audit of other players & Gap Analysis

Identifying Key Players’ Strategy

Identify the key players in China. To do so, it is important to examine the activity and performance of your competitors on WeChat.

How to do the screening?

  • Quantitative and qualitative data including views, comments, likes, wows to illustrate share of voice of each player to provide a detailed comparison of the landscape
  • Audit of the key content pillars, tone of voice, content formats, and top performing posts from to compile the standard of what’s out there within WeChat
  • Competitors’ menu and overall official account usability
  • Overview of the strategies employed by B2B/B2C companies and their relevance for your brand

Gap Analysis & Key Learnings

Analyzing areas where other key players are lacking, what kind of content or type of information is missing and identifying gaps that could potentially become an opportunity in the future for your brand’s own communication.

  • Identifying your Target Audience in China: 

Chinese Netizens

Understanding who a Chinese internet user is becomes crucial to reach the right audience with the right channels and communication methods. Each Chinese platform, be it Weibo, RED (Xiaohongshu) or Kuaishou is characterized by a different user profile and same goes for WeChat.  

WeChat is used on a daily basis by more than one billion people, it’s a huge and extremely diversified crowd. With precise segmentation, you will be able to reach your desired target audience with the most aligned messaging and maximize the ROI on WeChat.  

Who is your Target Audience on WeChat?

The first task is to define your target audience and understand their main characteristics, social behavior, consumption patterns and what are the key trends among the group. 

Secondly, examine how they behave on WeChat, what kind of content they interact with and what is their peak activity time on the platform to reach them with the right messaging at the right time.

Try to create a very detailed target audience personas to get a full portrait. 

Different Communication for Different Audiences 

We recommend pushing personalized messaging for the different target audiences.

Based on the personas you created, your brand on WeChat can do a backend segmentation or WeChat CRM system can share to a selected audience different WeChat articles at different times. Because everyone likes special treatment, explore how backend tagging and CRM can improve your customers’ user journey.

To do that, analyze your target audience again and what are their key preferences and motivations and define your content pillars based on that. 

Content that is better tailored to users needs and expectations will perform better and decrease the risk of unfollowing by the fans. It would also improve the overall user experience if the users don’t find the receiving content too intrusive or irrelevant. You can also consider sending additional, targeted posts to segmented followers on top of regular communication for all.

  • Define your Content Strategy

WeChat is already a highly saturated space with many accounts pushing quality content on a regular basis, either in the form of posts or WeChat ads. An average WeChat user only follows around 20 public accounts and spends around half an hour per day reading articles. It’s not easy to make it into this within a short period of time. This can be achieved with a clear vision of your target audience and perfectly crafted content. 

WeChat Content 

In very basic terms, WeChat marketing strategy can be divided into content format and content topics. Beyond articles, the WeChat ecosystem offers many components that could be leveraged by brands in many interesting ways – official account menu, welcome message, H5, videos and more. 

We also recommend preparing different content for different target audiences and for fans at different stages of relationship with your brand e.g. new followers, potential customers, repetitive customers.  

WeChat Content Formats

Depending on the goal you want to achieve, you might want to choose different content types or combination of more touchpoints to take your communication to the next level. Top-notch account optimization is a requirement for successful interaction with your fans on WeChat, then you can experiment with different formats and styles of your WeChat articles and campaigns. 

WeChat Content Pillars

What are the most important topics that you would like to share with your fans and what are the topics that are the most interesting to your social personas? Focus on these areas and find a balance between brand and social-led content.

Determine the frequency of each topic and try to stick to it to not overwhelm your audience with similar stories all the time. 

  • Other Features to Leverage

WeChat is much more than articles – Tencent is constantly expanding its ecosystem of features that can be used by brands. In the past couple of years, new tools such as WeCom (previously WeChat Work), Mini programs, WeChat Channels, WeChat Search (Sou Yi Sou) or WeChat Beans have been introduced and we can only expect to see further new updates each year.  

Try to follow the latest WeChat/Weixin news and experiment with new tools to keep up with the changes taking place on WeChat and Chinese social media. 

Take a look at some of the key tools that you can use in your brand communication on WeChat.

  • Interactive posts,
  • WeChat Channels,
  • Mini programs,
  • H5 pages,
  • Surveys,
  • Live-streaming,
  • Coupons,
  • and more.

  • Distribution & Amplification

Because WeChat is a semi-closed platform a thoughtful and well-executed content amplification plan is a must. Every day and every hour, WeChat users are bombarded with articles from millions of WeChat official accounts competing for their attention and clicks. It’s crucial to make sure that your carefully prepared content reaches your target audience in the most effective way. Let us help you to discover multiple touchpoints through which WeChat content can be accessed and understand different methods of content amplification, both organic and paid, to make sure that your WeChat marketing and distribution strategy covers all of them.

48 hours

Lifespan of a WeChat post is extremely short. The most critical time is the first 48 hours after the publication – this is when 90% of reads and interactions happen and the rest usually within total 7 days after the publication. Therefore it’s extremely important to grasp this moment to keep the ball rolling and ensure that the post is 100% optimized for WeChat and checks the boxes of shareability or the ‘wow’ factor.

When you post a new article, WeChat users first see the preview of the post. When your brand secures at least the opening of the article, you can work towards a positive reaction, for example share or ‘wow’.

Organic distribution

By organic distribution, we mean all the promotion methods that you don’t need to pay for and purely utilize your own resources. Keep in mind that these methods can be relatively time consuming and require some effort on your and your team’s end. Some of our favorite organic methods include:

  • Optimized WeChat SEO,
  • Private traffic management, 
  • Backlinking to previous articles, 
  • Internal teams mobilization to spread articles (sharing, wow, Moments),
  • Collaborations with other partner accounts,
  • Linking from WeChat Channels video. 

Paid promotion

Due to the semi-closed nature of WeChat and a more and more saturated environment, especially when it comes to official accounts, organic reach is decreasing with each year. On the other hand, paid promotion like WeChat ads can get you very far and help you to reach millions of new potential customers. 

The main two types of official accounts to get followers and articles views are:

  • WeChat Moments ads,
  • WeChat Banner ads.  

WeChat Moments ads — displayed within user’s friends’ updates on Moments. WeChat strictly limits the number of ads displayed to each user on their Moments and when scrolling though Moments for a longer period of time, the user might come across max. 3 ads. A Moments ad can drive users to a landing page, video, mini program, shop, coupon and more. This type of ad is suitable for big-scale campaigns as the minimum budget required by Tencent is 50,000 RMB (7,500 USD). 

WeChat Banner ads — usually displayed at the end of a WeChat article, banner ads can drive users to follow a WeChat Official Account, view articles, download an app, signup link or to a customized landing page. Much more affordable than WeChat Moments ads, you can start promoting with minimal budget. 

KOL marketing

If you follow Chinese marketing trends closely, then you are probably already familiar with the KOL marketing. KOL, which stands for Key Opinion Leader, is a fastly growing way of promoting your brands with the help of influencers. Brands fell in love with this kind of marketing because compared to Western influencer marketing, KOLs  are perceived as more trustworthy in opinion of the Chinese consumers and this trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. You can choose from a wide range of big and small KOLs across different industries. 

You can adopt various strategies when working with Chinese KOLs.

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WeChat: Your Ultimate Travel Planning Tool

July 6, 2023

WeChat, widely known as China’s all-in-one super app, has revolutionized the way people communicate, socialize, and conduct financial transactions, but now we’ve got yet another sector coming into the ring.

While it was not initially designed as a travel planning tool, recent developments within the platform indicate a growing appetite to venture into the market share traditionally dominated by Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). This shift is particularly notable, given the whirlwind of changes the travel industry has gone through in recent years. After three long years of restricted international travel due to the global pandemic, the world is witnessing a resurgence in wanderlust. As a result, there has been a noticeable surge in travel-related content on WeChat. Users are sharing their travel experiences, tips, and recommendations, transforming the platform into a hub for travel enthusiasts.

Moreover, recent statistics reveal that a substantial portion of the Chinese population is eager to resume their international travel plans. According to a survey published by Dragon Trail Research, an astounding 60% of Chinese individuals have expressed their intentions to travel abroad this year. This renewed enthusiasm for international tourism presents a unique opportunity for WeChat to leverage its existing user base and expand its influence in the industry.

In this article, we will delve into the emerging travel-related features on WeChat and analyze how they position the platform to potentially challenge the dominance of traditional OTAs. We will also explore the implications of WeChat’s growing travel focus, both for its user base and the wider travel industry, as we navigate the new landscape of post-pandemic tourism.

WeChat as a one-stop platform to organize a trip

Mini-programs are the core of any planning tools on WeChat. Chinese Travel Consumption Trends White Paper 2023, released by Tencent Marketing Insight and Tongcheng Research Institute highlight the value and popularity of WeChat mini-programs for Chinese travelers. According to the findings, 61% of respondents said they use WeChat mini-programs to purchase travel products and services while on trips. Additionally, 34% stated that they utilize mini-programs for accommodation, transportation, attraction tickets, activities, and/or F&B, while 24% each use the mini-programs of travel platforms and OTAs.

Brands can leverage mini-programs in many ways. For example by embedding a link within the articles, pin to their official account WeChat menus, and much more.

WeChat mini-programs are simply convenient and don’t require downloading additional apps. On top of that, since they are vetted by Tencent they are also perceived as more reliable.

Mini Programs Travel WeChat

👀 Discover more about WeChat Mini-Programs

WeChat Search is another amazing tool in the WeChat’s arsenal. Users can search for virtually any kind of information from quick results for the weather forecast at their destination to suggested flight routes or accommodations.  In the Search results, users can also browse through official WeChat accounts, video content, mini-programs, and more. Filtering option help them to find relevant information quickly.

One particularly eye-catching feature that can be leveraged by brands is ‘search takeover’ where brands can customize their result card and include buttons driving to different functions like booking.

WeChat Search Travel

🔍 A Quick Guide To WeChat Search

Travel Content on Official Accounts

WeChat Official Accounts, let’s not forget content published on official accounts. They remain the most important source of information and updates for Chinese travelers. That’s why it’s so important to keep them up to date. Menu, which is a close equivalent of a website, should be updated and make it easy to navigate for FAQ. Chinese customers will appreciate responsive customer service and auto-replies.

Articles can serve as a great source of inspiration. Taking into account that 17% of Chinese travelers admit that they use WeChat to plan outbound trips, there is a big chance that they might come across the content that spark their wanderlust within the platform. This rising interest in globetrotting content is already visible. According to Q1 2023 WeChat Rankings Report, average views per post on WeChat rose by 41% for airlines. Similarly, 30% for cruise trips, 42% for attractions, and 15% for hotels.

WeChat Articles Travel Tourists

✈️Reaching Chinese Tourists: Online Travel Agencies and Social Media Platforms [2023]

Last but not least, WeChat Channels can be used to find new inspirations. Viewers can discover hot spots in cities and unknown places worth a visit. With similar to Douyin’s algorithm-based feed, Channels are the must-have hub for visual video content on WeChat. Global and local attractions are already using built-in live-steaming features. Users can also browse content based on their location in order to find new hidden gems. They can also create their own content and raise awareness and promote places through UGC (user-generated content).

WeChat Channels Travel Tourists

🎥 WeChat Channels – How to Post for Success?

Conclusions

WeChat recently published a post on how the app can be used for planning a trip from the scratch. All without the need to download any other apps or leaving the platform. Click here to check it: 微信搜一搜是懂五一的. If you have any questions about leveraging WeChat for tourism, 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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A Quick Guide To WeChat Search

April 19, 2022

WeChat Search called Souyisou (搜一搜) is WeChat’s own search engine, which was launched in 2017 and allows users to research any kind of information. Besides messaging and connecting with others, WeChat offers a search feature that can provide some interesting information about brands and persons alike. It emerged as a competitor to other search engines and is steadily expanding its market position and improving the platform’s search functions.

At the moment, its market share it’s still relatively low but with the access to the search trends of its regular 500 million users. Earlier this year, Tencent confirmed at WeChat (Weixin) Class PRO that Seach will be one of the priorities in 2022.

WeChat Search Numbers

How to Search on WeChat?

To start searching for information on WeChat, you can see the search bar automatically on top of the main page (previously users had to drag it down to prompt the bar but now to popularize the usage of search, it’s an always-on feature). Alternatively, users can access the search option from the Discovery tab or long-press on a keyword anywhere in WeChat and click ‘search’.

How Does the WeChat Search Engine Work?

Previously, WeChat users mainly used search to find relevant keywords in private or group conversations on WeChat. However, with time, WeChat started to index information across almost the whole WeChat ecosystem as well as other Tencent products. 

When you search, the screen will display Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) with filtering options on the top.

Current filtering options are WeChat official accounts, Moments, articles, Baike (WeChat Wiki), Novel, Music, Mini Program, GIFs, Videos, Zhihu, Channels, etc.

For brands to gain traction from all of these categories, it’s important to invest in different kinds of search results. Brands should optimize the official account, but they can also increase search results by publishing posts on Zhihu (Chinese Quora), Sogou Baike (Chinese Wikipedia), and other Tencent-backed platforms.

WeChat Search

What Are the Data Sources for the Search Engine?

The search engine isn’t the same as Google’s or Baidu’s. WeChat Search is a feature that is only available in the WeChat app. Since this year, Tencent has also gradually unrolled it for WeChat PC and Mac users for desktop as well. 

When you search on Google or Baidu, for example, you’ll normally see adverts at the top, followed by the most recent news, and finally the most popular pages. When conducting a search on WeChat, however, you will find that the results are displayed in a different order.  The most recent news concerning the word you’re looking for will appear first, followed by your friends’ use of the word. Then at the bottom, you will find other random articles on the subject.

This means that you’ll be able to find practically everything published within WeChat and only within WeChat. That’s also where you can notice the difference between Google and Baidu, which both show anything that’s been published online.

What can we search on WeChat?

Only information that has been uploaded to the WeChat app can be found using the WeChat Search Engine. The search result will offer you a variety of results; however, you can narrow down your search by selecting one of three categories:

Moments 

This will allow you to search through your contacts’ moments. If one of your contacts published a Moments post in Shanghai, mentions Shanghai in the text of the WeChat Moment, or is a WeChat user with an account in Shanghai, you can find it by typing Shanghai into your filtered search.

Official Accounts

You can discover all of the official accounts relevant to what you’re looking for through your search. It’s a great approach to discovering new WeChat Official Accounts.

Articles

​​WeChat will offer you related articles submitted to the app, ordered by relevancy when you search on a topic. You can also keep filtering and arranging your search by other parameters to get exactly what you’re looking for. You can, for example, see the articles that you’ve read in the past or articles from the accounts you follow. 

Mini Programs

Finally, you can quickly find relevant mini-programs – be it bus tickets QR codes, e-commerce and so on. 

Indexed content

WeChat crawlers index the following types of content: 

  • Posts on WeChat Moments,
  • Articles published by OAs,
  • Official Accounts,
  • Mini Programs,
  • Products and services,
  • Internet content via the Sogou 搜狗 search engine,
  • 3rd party platform content from the following social apps: Zhihu (the Chinese version of Quora), Zaker (news), and more.

See the example of the most important types of content featured by WeChat when searching for ‘Starbucks’ on the app. 

WeChat Search

WeChat Search

WeChat Brand Zone

Brands can also capitalize and literally ‘take over the search page with a customized Brand Zone. Brand Zone is a space on top of the search results page with key information and quick access to the brand’s official account, mini-program, sales channels, etc. It allows users to instantly see the most frequently searched information in one place. 

Check out examples of brand pages here:

WeChat Search Brand Zone

It looks like a brand mini page and its 5 modules are relatively customizable. You can edit the brand logo, contact information, and nearest shop, to attract the users. Companies can set up their WeChat Brand Zone in the WeChat backend however there are 3 types of categorization of WeChat Brand Zone score and visibility based on daily search traffic, WeChat Search Promotion Program and other requirements. 

WeChat Search Brand Zone Backend

How Can You Make Your Account Show Up in Searches?

The longer the official account has been active, the more likely the search engine is to favor pages from that account. However, the system considers the account’s level of authority, such as how many followers it has, how regularly it publishes, and if the articles are original or repurposed content from other sources. Therefore, it is important to keep your account active and up-to-date.

Brands must make sure that keywords appear regularly throughout the text and headline while developing content. The viewer engagement rate helps to assess the material’s quality. The SEO algorithm tracks the number of clicks, impressions, and post interactions, gradually moving the content up the SERP.

Your SEO performance

Check account performance in the backend to see how many average daily views and clicks you have in different categories. Look for how many times a direct link to your official account or specific articles were featured on SERP.

WeChat Search Data

Some tips on building SEO-Friendly Content:

  1. Keyword Research: Conduct a thorough search of the WeChat index to see which keywords related to the article or content pillar are among the most often searched on the platform.
  2. Keyword Optimisation: To maximize searchability and exposure, optimize and focus on where and how to employ selected keywords in the content – titles, descriptions, and headers.
  3. Content Dissemination: Increase the visibility of your content by enhancing its organic searchability and authority by generating views, likes, wows, and shares.
  4. Step Further: Invest in additional Tencent-backed platforms like WeChat Channel or Zhihu to improve searchability.
  5. Avoid image-based articles: Although undoubtedly graphic articles are very attractive for the users, WeChat is not indexing jpeg or png-based content. Keep that in mind when preparing your articles. 

In the tech world, WeChat Search is making waves. Hence, it is important to keep your account search engine friendly to increase visibility and engagement.

If you wish to know more about WeChat search, 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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