Founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998, Tencent quickly grown to become one of the largest High-Tech companies in the world. The company developed Weixin, aka WeChat,  which is the most popular messaging app in China with a user base of more than 1 billion people. The app is more than just a typical social media platform. It combines the functionalities of multiple platforms onto a single system: social networks, financial services, e-commerce, media entertainment, smartphone, taxi services, payment centers, and more.

History

The computing industry in China started slowly compared to the United States. According to CNBC International, in 1999, 50 out of 100 people owned a computer in the United States; whereas, one out of 100 people owned one in China. Therefore, internet cafes became popular for many young people in China because it was convenient and inexpensive. On the other hand, mobile cell phone technology snowballed in China, and by 2011 780 million users were using the QQ instant messenger app, which was similar to MSN’s instant messengers. At this time, Weixin emerged in the market as an alternative instant messenger and photo-sharing application. Both applications grew and added many features over the years that appealed to the Chinese market. The main difference between them is that the Weixin (WeChat) app expands into the international markets, while QQ is primarily for China and other Asian markets.

Additionally, the WeChat pragmatic app has features that focus on helping young people manage their daily lives, such as ordering food. At the same time, QQ is an entertainment portal for young Chinese people wanting literature, music, live streaming, anime, etc.  In 2017, WeChat surpassed QQ for the first time, with 938 million monthly active users, while QQ saw a decline to 861 million active users.

Understanding the Market

The rise of mobile technology is the foundation that gave the Weixin app the ability to connect millions of users in China and around the world. The marketers of the Weixin app understood the demographics of their audience that used mobile devices in their market, which were young, working people, and many had busy lifestyles that made their routines challenging to manage and complete. Weixin’s success is the result of understanding the audience’s needs and creating a platform that made their daily activities accessible and easy to maintain. For example, WeChat users can link the app to their Chinese bank account and make payments by scanning a unique barcode at a local merchant shop that accepts WeChat Pay.  Many applications within the WeChat platform makes it the most popular social media service in China.

The Window of Opportunity

The WeChat social media applications open a window for marketers to access the China market. Since WeChat is focused on expanding its reach into the international communities, the app allows western marketers to offer products and services to its 930+ million social media users. More importantly, WeChat has a variety of users that have many different lifestyles: students, professionals, business owners, CEOs, etc. Therefore, western marketers can use WeChat marketing tools and mini-programs for B2C and B2B advertising, and non-Chinese brands no longer need a Chinese business license to create an account.

There are still some challenges to overcome using the WeChat app to access China’s market. WeChat guards their users’ stats and demographics carefully; however, Hootsuite collected some information that gives marketers basic knowledge of the Chinese market. Another critical marketing tool that helps with western marketers overcome some of the challenges is influencer marketing or WeChat’s Key Opinion Leaders (KOLS). There is no fixed rate for the partnership; however, using WeChat influencers can help brands enter new markets by sharing sponsored posts.

Final Thoughts

The vision of the Weixin (WeChat) app created an innovative solution that helps people manage their daily routines and habits easier in China, and it opened a gateway for non-Chinese businesses to market their products and services. The key to Weixin’s success is the marketers’ keen understanding of the demographics and behavior of their targeted audience. Moreover, the advancement in mobile technology gave them the infrastructure to reach millions of users. Since WeChat is designed to be an international platform, the app opened a gateway for westerners and other non-Chinese businesses to market their products and services to the Chinese market. The success of Weixin compels marketers abroad to realize that their social media product needs to be a part of their audiences’ everyday routine and habit because it helps make behavior changes, whether it is purchasing decisions or a positive social change.