Often dubbed the "super app" of China, WeChat is far more than a messaging platform. With over one billion monthly active users, it combines social media, payments, content marketing, e-commerce, customer service, and internal communications into one seamless experience. Whether you're connecting with friends, reading the news, shopping, or interacting with your favourite brands, you can do it all without ever leaving the app.
For marketers asking, “what is WeChat?” and why it matters, the answer is simple: it’s the most important digital channel for engaging Chinese audiences. In this blog, we’ll explore WeChat’s key features, the different types of Official Accounts and its role in the marketing funnel to understand how organisations can use it to engage an audience in China.
Table of contents:
- Why is WeChat such an important social media channel?
- WeChat Official Accounts
- WeChat’s key features for marketing
- WeChat’s role in the marketing funnel
Why is WeChat such an important social media channel?
- WeChat has 1.38 billion monthly active users
- Approximately 54% of WeChat users spend up to 30 minutes engaging with content from Official Accounts.
- Nearly 49.3% of users follow between 10 and 20 Official Accounts, while 24% follow fewer than 20 accounts, and 20% follow between 20 and 30 accounts.
- In September 2024, WeChat’s Mini Programs had 954 million monthly active users, which means over 90 percent of the WeChat users were using the services.
WeChat Official Accounts
For organisations looking to use WeChat for marketing, WeChat offers two official account options to choose from:
- Subscription Account
A Subscription Account is where organisations can post messages on a regular basis, ranging from one to eight articles a day. However, the account provides less content visibility as all subscription accounts are combined into one folder within WeChat and users would need to watch for a notification on the subscription folder making visibility a challenge.
- Service Account
Service Accounts concentrate on building rapport, fostering loyalty and facilitating interactions with WeChat followers. Service accounts have better content visibility than Subscription Accounts, however, users can only publish a maximum of four messages per month. Furthermore, this account provides advanced tools to help produce content and establish connections with WeChat’s users.
Need help creating your official account? Check out our how to set up a WeChat Official Account blog to learn more.
WeChat’s key features for marketing
WeChat is extremely popular among Chinese users because it offers a wide range of features within a single platform, allowing users to do more without needing to switch between different apps. For example, WeChat Wallet lets users link their credit or debit cards, making it easy to make online payments and transactions. Another popular feature is digital red packets, which allow users to send money to friends or family. When someone receives a red packet, the amount is automatically added to their WeChat Wallet. Here's a quick look at some of WeChat's most popular features and how they can be used for marketing.
.jpg?width=2706&height=1497&name=wechat%20features%20(2).jpg)
One-to-one communications
WeChat messaging enables followers to send text and voice messages to Official Accounts. However, Official Accounts only have 48 hours to respond, so it's important to act on a message within this time limit or you will be unable to respond to this enquiry. Moreover. WeChat’s message history is only accessible for 30 days, after which it will also be deleted.
This can be problematic for brands that want visibility into how customer enquiries are answered. However, for organisations using the Sinorbis Experience platform, the conversations are stored permanently (though you still need to respond within the 48 hour window to be able to engage in a conversation).
This means you will have both the conversation history so you can see how your team is following up with these enquiries, but also gives visibility into which enquiries have not been responded to allowing you to address gaps in your sales and marketing efforts.
One of the benefits of having this type of visibility is to get feedback on what types of questions your team is facing so you can get insights into your audience in China to further improve your efforts in the region. This also allows you to start to think about which type of enquiries you can start to automate via Sinorbis' powerful suite of automation tools.
Auto translate
WeChat can translate incoming messages once users add an interface language in settings. The user presses and holds on a message until a menu with a “Translate” option appears. This feature is not available via WeChat’s backend which is how most official accounts are managed — and it doesn’t translate responses. However, if you are using the Sinorbis platform to manage your account you can auto translate both incoming and outgoing messages.
Customised menus
At the bottom of a WeChat Official Account Chat, there are three customisable headings, which can expand to include up to five sub-headings. These allow you to add navigation links similar to what you might find on a website, providing users with easy access to more information about your brand.
WeChat Sites and Forms
WeChat does not natively support lead capture, however WeChat Sites and Forms can be created using the Sinorbis Experience Platform to collect this information. These pages can be linked directly to your WeChat Official Account’s menu and are fully optimised for accessibility within China, unlike most Western websites and forms, which typically do not work properly in China.
The forms can be seamlessly integrated with CRMs like Salesforce, enabling automatic syncing of data from WeChat. This allows for efficient lead follow-up, nurturing, and reporting, without the need for manual data entry.
Additionally, forms can be connected to WeChat welcome messages and auto-responses, allowing you to automatically engage and nurture followers as soon as a form is submitted.
One-to-many communications
WeChat articles
WeChat articles are typically long form content comprised of graphics, design elements and typed details, similar to a blog post or a marketing email.
Group chats
WeChat groups can have a maximum of 500 users in a chat and can be used to develop an online community and build engagement.
WeChat Moments
WeChat moments are similar to Facebook’s newsfeed where users can share status updates, photos, videos and WeChat articles with their contacts. This means your followers can share your content on their Moments feed which can be a great way to spread the reach of your content beyond your existing followers.
WeChat search
Users can search for various programs on the platform’s search bar such as finding articles, mini programs, official accounts, short videos, contacts, music, and shopping. The search results can vary among users based on their contacts and the accounts that the user follows. The search is powered by Sogou, a Chinese search engine which is also owned by Tencent. Because of this, searches for content outside the WeChat platform are limited to Tencent-backed sites.
WeChat Channels
WeChat Channels is a short form video sharing and live streaming sub-platform which can be found under WeChat Moments in the discover section. The feed is based on a user’s engagement, contacts, and geolocation. Like TikTok, users can like, comment on, or share posts, as well as follow specific Channel accounts. Channel content can also be shared on WeChat chats, including group chats, and Moments.
WeChat QR code
In China, scanning QR codes is commonplace, thanks mainly to WeChat. Users can scan each other’s WeChat QR code to add as contacts, join a group, and facilitate online payments. This can help prevent frustration and save time when typing and searching on phones. These codes are vital for online-to-offline (O2O) and vice versa marketing tactics. For example, if you are holding a physical event in China, you can include your Official Account’s QR code to gain new followers from the event.
WeChat Mini Program
WeChat Mini Programs are smaller, less data intensive apps that exist solely within the WeChat ecosystem, so users don’t have to leave the platform to access their features. They can be accessed by scanning a QR code, by directly searching for it, or via “Mini Programs Nearby”. Mini Programs can allow WeChat users to play online games, shop online, book public transport, order food, track stock market changes, and more.
WeChat ads
Ads on WeChat are generally used to gain new WeChat account followers, generate leads, send online traffic to an account or website, or to achieve a specific call to action, like downloading an app. There are a variety of advertising options available on WeChat and they can be targeted using a range of demographics. Want to learn more about WeChat advertising? Check out the blog for more details.
WeChat’s role in the marketing funnel
WeChat is a powerful tool for full-funnel marketing in China, offering features that create touchpoints across every stage of the customer journey. However, its key strength lies in its ability to nurture and engage existing audiences. WeChat Official Accounts allow brands to create content through WeChat Articles, share this content to followers, and drive traffic to convert on Chinese websites or landing pages. Moreover, with the introduction of WeChat Channels, the platform’s ability to generate brand awareness is strengthened as brand content can be pushed to target audiences organically based on their interests. This provides marketers with an opportunity to organically grow brand visibility on the app, beyond relying on Key Opinion Leaders and paid ads.
WeChat is far more than just a messaging app, it’s an all-in-one digital ecosystem that supports social networking, content marketing, customer service, e-commerce, and internal communication, all this makes it the king of apps in China. With its wide range of features, it offers brands an unmatched opportunity to engage with Chinese consumers across the entire marketing funnel. Whether you're building awareness, nurturing leads, or driving conversions, WeChat provides the tools to do it all within a single, powerful platform. As China’s most dominant app, it’s an essential part of any digital marketing strategy targeting Chinese audiences.
See Sinorbis in action
Contact our team to learn how we can help bolster your digital experience in Asia.
