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WeChat

Chinese social media differ completely from social media in the rest of the world, but they have become very important for marketing a brand in the world’s second largest economy.

For most companies in the West, it has become natural to use social media such as Facebook and Twitter as part of their marketing platforms. However, in China both these and other Western social media are blocked by the government and the Chinese have created their own social media that marketers in the West need to use to build their brand in China.

WeChat – or Weixin in Chinese – is, by far, the most successful and important, with 889 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter of 2016. It is the primary source used by Chinese consumers to follow and interact with their favourite brands.

WeChat was launched in 2011 by the technology company Tencent as a messaging app, and was in its early stages described as a Chinese equivalent to WhatsApp.

However, today WeChat is much more than a communications app; it is a platform that enables the user to do almost everything online in China, such as transferring money, hailing a cab, buying train or air tickets, ordering food, checking news and managing your credit card bills.

Businesses can establish a presence on WeChat by opening an official account on WeChat to promote their company or brand, communicate and even directly sell their products and services. This connectivity between B2C and B2B companies and their customers has been an important part of WeChat’s huge success.

The versatility of using WeChat to broadcast messages in a country where everybody is on their mobile phone all the time has meant that WeChat is the No 1 medium for mobile interaction between companies and their customers.

Companies in China use WeChat to continuously to interact with their customers by publishing interesting and engaging content, providing offers, and so on. A mobile newsletter can reach an unlimited number of readers instantaneously.

For B2B companies, content on WeChat can include customer case stories, order news, new solutions and products, industry trends, time-critical news, and so on. Sales people also use WeChat to communicate with customers, one-on-one or in group chats.

There are several options for businesses looking to launch a WeChat official account. It can be either international or Chinese; subscription or service; verified or unverified. A WeChat account can also be promoted in different ways in order to try to acquire and retain quality followers.

Through our partner agency in Asia, Bamboo Business Communications Ltd, Pyramid can help its customers to find the best solution for WeChat marketing in China.

We can help out with the registration process for an official account, set up the actual account, carry out content planning, writing, editing and translations, as well as publishing, monitoring, reporting and more. Contact us and we can tell you more.

“WeChat is the No 1 medium for mobile interaction between companies and their customers.”