Because of the insane traffic on the platform, Tencent’s WeChat always keeps planning to make its user interface better and up to the latest standards for its users. The development team at Tencent has started testing the short video feature on their platform that will make them a direct competitor to ByteDance’s Tik Tok.

This feature will allow users to post videos to an audience outside of their social circle in order to boost engagement.

Importance

WeChat always keeps updating its platform, but recently they have been releasing a series of updates in a matter of months in a bid to step up efforts to lock in more users and boost growth.

• Channels: A feature that allows a few select users to post media to random audiences. It’s quite similar to its Moments newsfeed, where the posts are only visible to the followers and contacts.
• With the help of the Channels feature, WeChat can lure in content creators and short-video influencers onto their platform.

About ‘Channels’

• ‘Channels’ allows you to upload videos up to 1 minute or 9 pictures in succession along with a link.
• The feature is still under the A/B testing phase. It is apparently the company’s “latest exploration” in “providing users with creative ways of expressing themselves”.
• Only a few select people have been included in the beta test. It is unknown whether all users will get access to the feature right off the bat.