WeChat is a messaging app that you may have heard of. If you haven’t already, it’s time to find out why it’s such a powerful app. It’s a mix of WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype, Amazon, and other services. It’s a lot of fun and easy to use, and you can do almost anything with it. Keep reading to know more about WeChat.
What exactly is WeChat?
WeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose social media, messaging, and payment app. It is the country’s largest social media platform and one of the top ten social networks worldwide.
WeChat (also known as Weixin in China) was established in 2011 as a messaging program similar to WhatsApp. It filled a significant void in the world’s largest social media market, where many foreign-owned services such as Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp are prohibited.
WeChat is also popular in Mongolia and Hong Kong, and it has a strong presence in Chinese-speaking communities worldwide.
Why is WeChat so important for business in China?
User experience
Services for mobile banking and investing
Business is boosted by official accounts.
Mobile payments
1. It’s all about the user experience
WeChat affects everything from how people communicate with their friends to how they share their daily lives to how they buy things like food and pay their credit card bills. It combines instant messaging, eCommerce, banking, dating, gaming, and marketing into one platform where you can shop, order meals, book doctor appointments, find nearby parking spots, book hotels, hire a maid/nanny/babysitter, and hail a cab, among other things. You may also shake your phone to locate individuals all around the world shaking their phones at the same moment – another option to make friends online.
2. Investment and banking services via mobile devices
Users can link their bank cards to their WeChat accounts and use them to construct income saving plans, set up mortgage auto-pay, and pay off credit cards. WeChat created a personal investment fund for its Chinese customers in 2014. It enables customers to earn higher interest rates on their money than they would get from banks. This is a serious concern because Chinese banks pay significantly less interest to savers than American banks.
3. Business-boosting official accounts
Creating a WeChat Official Account is the first step toward marketing your brand in China if you plan on doing business there. Official accounts give your business a more formal approach to communicating with customers on the site. Subscription accounts, service accounts, and enterprise accounts are the three types of official accounts. You’ll need to supply a Chinese ID number or have a Chinese firm registered with the government.
4. Payments using mobile phones for both offline and online purchases
Users can send money to friends and family using WeChat Wallet or divide the cost of lunch or dinner. Cards linked to the wallet can also be used to Cash In and add to your wallet’s cash balance, as well as to pay for services such as electricity, food, and hotel rooms online using WeChat.
Customers can check out cashless and without a credit card at convenience stores like 7–11, supermarkets like Carrefour, and fast-food restaurants like Mcdonald’s using the WeChat wallet. In other locations, such as Beijing, they can pay hotel bills, parking fees, and even traffic charges.
Imagine being able to book a hotel in Las Vegas or shop on Amazon using Facebook or Whatsapp. You probably haven’t even realized it, but WeChat already has this feature.
Conclusion
Chinese consumers, particularly WeChat’s younger user population, are more influenced by their peers than the average western consumer. This increases the effectiveness of using WeChat for businesses to influence smaller groups and communities. People use WeChat to gather information, thoughts, and comments on items and businesses. They won’t always be able to discover you through a search, so they’ll have to rely on QR codes. Make sure your brand’s QR Code is visible in stores, on the packaging, on social media, and on your website.