With WeChat user figures now approaching 900 Million – yes, that’s right, 900 Million users! That’s almost 3 times the population of the US! It’s no surprise that a number of Western companies have been utilising WeChat to tap into the Chinese market.

Equally, the number of brands with official accounts is also at staggering levels (well over 12 million), therefore how to create standout amongst the WeChat noise ?

There are some obvious things you can do to promote your account, such as putting your WeChat QR code on key comms, creating interesting, regular articles, using KOPs, running competitions etc, however, how  can you really own your brand within WeChat? One of the ways is to create  a WeChat mobile site A.K.A a WeChat Mini-Site, here are some of the reasons why your brand can benefit from a WeChat Mini-Site:

• Your branded content organised in an aesthetically pleasing template, simple for users to understand and use.

• A way to house content including striking imagery, offers, videos and targeted copy in Mandarin.
• The Mini-Site will be bilingual with two entry points – for Mandarin and English – some of your customers will be comfortable with the English version.
• Non-Mandarin speaking Marketing Managers have more control since all the content is in English and Mandarin so original content and changes can be created in English and then translated into Mandarin.
• Chinese people are comfortable using Mini-Sites, they have come to expect content to be available and organised in this way.
• “Accounts are all the same” was the reason 50% of people gave for unfollowing official accounts. Make yours stand out.
• Your Chinese audience already  know how to use WeChat Mini-Sites and will be more likely to use/buy from their company if they have a QR code posted in their window.
• A WeChat account provides you with a free channel to send out content informing of discounts, offers, exclusive events and updates and content organised in a Mini-Site gives your brand a stronger presence in the channel.

• Accounts with a Mini-Site are more likely to be shared amongst friends, family and fellow travellers whilst visiting the UK.
• The DongXi Marketing Mini-Site  template is industry standard for businesses that want to utilize WeChat as a communication platform

The list goes on, you  might be thinking, that all sounds great but our WeChat budget won’t stretch to a bespoke mobile site… DongXi Marketing can help, we’ve developed a robust, well designed template which can be customised for your business. Get in touch today for a dedicated proposal…

For many Western Marketers, WeChat is a relatively new and sometimes unknown platform, we know we need to be on WeChat as that’s where our customers are but where to start…

It is important to first define what you need your WeChat account to do, is it to sell products? Send daily updates? Or bring your target audience into a content rich immersive brand experience?

There are different accounts and a number of possibilities within WeChat, most importantly; select the right account from the off and make your account work for you.

The two main account types are Service and Subscription accounts, they both have their own features and functionality, here’s a quick overview on the main difference between Service and Subscription Accounts:

WeChat Service Accounts:

Generally speaking Service accounts offer brands more advanced features such as mobile payments and more flexibility to adapt the interface. Service account messages are displayed alongside a users contacts messages, encouraging, potentially greater brand interaction.

Service Accounts only allow up to 4 broadcast messages per month, however, users receive notifications and can reply to Service Account holders, allowing for a two-way dialogue between the brand and its customer, with the Service Account holder having the ability to reply directly to messages within 48 hours.

One of the key features of the Service Account is the ability to create a mobile site within the WeChat platform in the form of a Mini-Site.

However, please bear in mind, this is also possible with a verified Subscription account.

WeChat Subscription Accounts:

Subscription Accounts are allowed to broadcast one message per day. Although, Subscription accounts are all grouped into one tab on the users message interface so a user will not receive a notification of an update or article release, they would need to browse their subscription accounts to view updates for each brand they follow.

This would therefore limit the ability for a brand to fully engage their users unless of course the daily updates are regarding news, offers or discounts.

Although the Subscription account does have less functionality than a Service account and it doesn’t accept payments, it may be the right account type for some brands, also a verified Subscription account can house their content in a WeChat Mini-Site.

Contact DongXi marketing for free advice on the best account for your business or to set up a WeChat account or Mini-Site.