WeChat’s extreme popularity makes it an important platform for digital marketing in China. Currently, the app has over 900 million monthly active users in China, and is utilised for many day-to-day functions – travel bookings, m-commerce, bill payments, reading/sharing of content and more.
If you’re marketing to Chinese audiences, you should be aware of the types of WeChat accounts available in order to determine the best one for your needs.
The main types of official accounts
There are three key types – here’s a brief rundown.
- Corporate / Enterprise account
This one is for internal use, for such things as project management and private group chat, and so is not designed for marketing.
- Subscription account
This is a basic type of account, used mostly for pushing content. It allows one message to be sent to followers each day. Subscription accounts can be opened by individuals and organisations.
- Service account
Service accounts are available to organisations only. Unlike subscription accounts, they only allow four messages per month, but offer a higher level of functionality – such as QR code generation, geo-location features, and voice recognition. Service accounts are recommended for businesses selling products online and for WeChat pay integration.
Selecting an account
Both subscription and service accounts allow for targeting messaging, increasing followers, sharing content, advertising, and for directing followers to your website.
Which type you choose depends on your business goals. If it is to push continual content then a subscription account might suit, but for more advanced features and for m-commerce, you may need a service account.
Getting started
To open a WeChat official account that can be accessed by users in China, you will need to either have a Chinese ID and a business that is registered in China, or to partner with someone else who does.
International WeChat accounts not registered in China can only be accessed by users based outside of China.
A ‘verified’ WeChat account also provides more functionality, such as enabling of the WeChat payment system. Verified accounts are only available to China-registered businesses.
How safe are WeChat accounts?
Message encryption can be enabled on WeChat accounts, to ensure greater cyber security. However, it’s important to be aware of censorship and other regulations in China.
WeChat pay also comes with several layers of security to improve online protection in China. These include passwords, passcodes, and account freezing.
Interested in registering for a WeChat official account?
Opening a WeChat official account is not as easy as, for example, starting up a Facebook business page in Australia.
If you are interested in registering for a WeChat account, get in contact with our bilingual team of China digital marketing experts for more information!
