Guest post submitted by Benji Lamb.
WeChat is quickly becoming a phenomenon for Western social media marketers.
With 700 million active monthly users — twice the population of the US, all contained in a single closed system — it’s crucial for Western marketers to understand the opportunities in this environment.
It’s equally as important for marketers to be aware of the differences in Chinese Internet user habits, technology use, and overall culture in this very different arena before jumping in head first.
The conflicts most often encountered when moving into the WeChat network is, conceptually, similar to the conflicts we experience with our more familiar social networks:
- How do you attract targeted followers to your account (preferably organically)?
- How do you disseminate content effectively, manage communications, and bring genuine value to those followers so they buy?
While the concepts are the same, the methodology does often differ greatly on Chinese social networks. We’ll be focusing specifically on WeChat, but many of these principles apply to other Chinese social networks as well.
If you’re completely new to the Chinese environment, give this Chinese digital marketing overview a quick read, then come back here to talk WeChat in more detail.
