In today’s article, we are going to discuss “6 Ways to Boost Followers on WeChat”! So what do people use WeChat for? Well, everything. WeChat, or Wēixìn in Chinese, literally means micro-message. It started as an instant messaging app similar to WhatsApp and Facebook’s Messenger. Not long after, it evolved to offer group chat, voice chat, and video chat and file sharing capabilities on the app.
Importance of WeChat Instant Messenger
Boost Followers on WeChat
WeChat has become much more than a way for citizens to connect; it’s an app that can do almost anything. People can make doctor’s appointments, pay the practice, receive and pay for their prescriptions all on WeChat. They can book and pay for flights and hotels, check in for their flights, check into and out of their accommodation, book and pay for taxis, order and pay for food (both in restaurants and online), buy clothes, buy groceries and even compare the prices of those groceries. People can buy public transport tickets; track deliveries, top up their mobile phone account and even verify the identity of the person picking up their child from daycare. In today’s world, WeChat is the only app you’d ever need.
Ways to Boost Followers on WeChat
Boost Followers on WeChat
With around 846 million monthly active users, WeChat is an outstanding marketing tool for brands in China. An official WeChat account is a great way to get closer to customers, build a database and collect feedback for branding or sales purposes.So, after registering an official WeChat account, what can you do to grow your followers? Below are some ideas that we’ve found effective.
Use your Current Database
For official WeChat accounts, the first batch of followers is always your current clients and colleagues as well as their friends and family. After your first article is published, share it on your Moments page and to relevant chat threads and groups. That’s the easiest and most direct way to bring traffic to your account and increase the audience for your WeChat articles.
Display QR Codes
QR code displays are also very powerful and should be a significant part of your online identity. Include them on all marketing materials and on all channels, such as your website, your email signature, business cards, advertising, banners, brochures and any other social media platforms. You must make sure the QR code is prominently displayed so that viewers interested in your brand can scan it and follow your account.
Create Eye-catching Headlines and Use Compelling Visuals
WeChat users are fast and “lazy” so the headline and key visual of each article must stand out. Eye-catching and impressive headlines, such as a headline with a promise, a question or related to hot topics and buzzwords, encourage clicking.If you’re having trouble finding visual ways to highlight headlines or themes, you can make a picture of the keyword from the headline the visual for the article. Official accounts can publish up to 6 articles at once and it’s attractive if you do the same for each article in the set of six. This is especially powerful when you’re running WeChat campaigns.
Use Offline Promotions and Events
Don’t forget offline channels. If you have offline stores, encourage customers to follow your WeChat account with incentives such as free samples or discounts. When you have offline promotions or events, you should always encourage participants and passersby to follow your WeChat account. For instance, if you are doing a flyer campaign, make sure the QR code is printed on your flyers and offer a discount to new followers. If you are hosting an event, incorporate WeChat into your registration procedure, so instead of just collecting their business cards or names, let them join your database by becoming WeChat followers.
Share Valuable and Emotionally Appealing Content
A good WeChat article should be substantial and informative. According to recent research, 48.8% of WeChat users would share an article to their Moments page if they believe it’s valuable. You must provide content that makes the audience laugh, learn, or think while also prompting them to share it with their friends.People love visuals. Include quality visuals, GIFs and videos in the article to support your storytelling, especially for industries like fashion, beauty or food and beverage.
Encourage Interaction
Getting users to interact with your posts is a significant way to boost followers. It increases page views and accounts exposure among target groups. This further encourages people to follow your account and become loyal customers.Calls to action and links are important. Right below the headline, add a line to remind the audience to follow your account. In the end, remind them to share one more time, even if the article is not directly brand or sales related. Readers should also be encouraged to comment on the article. Other calls to action should also be included after the article. The most effective ones to encourage interaction are “Share with your friends,” “Share this article to your Moments feed,” and “Read more” which takes them to related articles.QR codes are essential to encouraging interaction on WeChat. You should use your QR code at the end of articles. Readers click on them to follow your account.
How to Make Your WeChat Content Go Viral
Boost Followers on WeChat
When posting articles on WeChat, having a good title is the key. With the average open rate of WeChat official accounts at only 5%, and the window of opportunity for users to notice your article only being 1-2 seconds, having a better article than your competitors can put you five steps ahead! Here we provide you with the tips that should help you do just that.
Evoke Emotion
Content that can evoke emotion and deep feelings resonates. People experience lots of pressure in their daily lives related to work, finances, health, family, relationships, etc. Content that expresses their unspoken words and thoughts and makes them feel less alone hits a nerve. Users like to share this kind of content.
Be Controversial
Controversial WeChat content often garners attention and can create wide-ranging discussions due to people’s strong and diverging opinions on the topic. This kind of content generally falls into one of two categories. One type is focused on an existing, usually recent, controversial incident.Users love to argue for or against different positions, which quickly turns into marketing buzz and brand exposure. Of course, great care has to be taken that the content isn’t so controversial as to shine a bad light on the brand or cause divisions among posters that are too deep.
Tell a Story
A good story with clear structure has the power to touch an audience. Storytelling can be used to relate your brand story, your company culture, product descriptions and more. When brands use stories to make WeChat content go viral, they should make sure of the following:
- Clarify the message you want to deliver. A story that carries too many messages will confuse users.
- Effective stories connect with the daily lives and experiences of readers.
Trigger Curiosity
The most effective way to arouse curiosity is to develop suspense or choose a compelling topic. Maintain suspense through the whole article to motivate users to read to the end. When the ending surprises users, they’re more likely to share the content.Users liked creative ad so much that many users shared it on their Moments pages. What’s more, compared to text, visual content is more attractive and easier to digest.
Be Interactive
Interactivity is also an efficient incentive to encourage users to share content spontaneously. H5 pages are a good choice. WeChat content presented in an interactive way is much more appealing and enjoyable, which leads to increased user engagement. Most interactive content in the form of H5 pages achieves millions of views in a short time.
Other Suggestions on WeChat content
- Write catchy, clear titles. It’s the first thing users see and if they can’t understand it immediately, they’ll skip it. A good title motivates users to click.
- Content with 2000-3000 Chinese words is preferred to short paragraphs. Brands can also take other creative formats into consideration, such as H5 pages, well-crafted pictures, and short videos.
- According to a recent report from investment bank Woodside Capital Partners, 37% of marketers believe partnering with KOLs is the best way to promote content.
Why Is WeChat So Important In Social Marketing Strategy?
Boost Followers on WeChat
WeChat is a cross-platform instant messaging app that also has several features such as WeChat payment that allows the user to transfer funds, make electronic payments; and City Services that allows the user to book transportation, pay electricity bills and many more.The importance of WeChat in an average person’s life in China is simply immeasurable. With over 1 billion registered users and over 750 million active user accounts, WeChat is one of the largest online communities topped only by the likes of Facebook, Whatsapp and Tencent QQ.Social media marketing is one of the most preferred means of marketing for a plethora of companies all around the world through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and even Snapchat. Here are some reasons why firms should consider including WeChat in their social media marketing strategy.
Reachability
As mentioned earlier, WeChat has over 750 million active users a month with at least 10% outside China. The number of active users on WeChat far exceeds that on all other popular social media platform with the exception of Facebook. One must also consider the fact that popular social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube that are primarily used to market products are blocked in Mainland China, which means that firms are losing out on a huge untapped market in terms of social media marketing. There are other forms of media marketing that are possible in China but no one amasses the sheer number of users as WeChat does. Popular Chinese microblogging website Weibo has just around one third the numbers of active users that WeChat has.
WeChat Official Accounts
WeChat is more than just a social messaging application. Unlike any other social messaging app, WeChat has official accounts that users can follow. Being a mobile application, any information put up on the official accounts can be expected to reach the user sooner as most people have quicker access to a mobile phone than a laptop or PC. The official accounts allow a two-way communication between the user and the company reducing the distance between them and forging a lasting relationship.
Consumer Data
Over 200 million users have their credit cards linked to their WeChat accounts and a whopping 83% use WeChat to make payments. This can provide very useful data to the businesses on consumer preference and spending habits. In a world driven by data, this can prove to be highly beneficial for companies to plan their strategies further. Not just collecting data but analyzing data through WeChat is simply remarkable as it offers a range of data analysis tools to the owner of the official account.
WeChat – The Future of Social Media Marketing!
Boost Followers on WeChat
For now and the future WeChat can be considered an important tool for doing business in China. Sharing your WeChat account is almost like giving someone your business card.Do you want to know more about successful WeChat content case studies?To get deeper insights into social media marketing and utilizing it to serve your business, join Mobile Marketing Blog now! Please follow our blog page to get more updates about the latest news, feature updates and case studies on WeChat Marketing!