Have you heard the name Weixin? Probably most of you will not directly associate this name with anything. But, what if I say WeChat? Suddenly, you will find this name familiar or immediately recognize it. Just take a quick look on your phone and you will find this app available for you to install.
Name
Weixin, well known as WeChat in the U.S., is a Chinese app that serves multiple purposes. WeChat allows you to record a voice message, share photos, order a cab with the function named Didi cab, book a flight and many other tasks to help facilitate your life and interact with other people who use this app. Young people use it most, but in reality it can be used by anyone who wishes to do many things with one app.
Weixin vs. WeChat
There are a few differences between Weixin and WeChat. Weixin is the app for people living in mainland China, and WeChat is for anyone outside of China. They use different servers and the Chinese version is subject to all the rules and regulations of that country. So for example, Weixin does not allow access to certain news sources. For a marketer, it is important to be aware of the differences and be clear about which one you are targeting.
Easy Use
Its functions are designed to be straightforward and convenient to users (Mahoney & Tan, 2017). For example, “people read news items on Weixin, instead of sending them to the news organization’s official website, Weixin links them to the news source’s URL within its own in-app browser, which is more viewable and visually pleasing. Audiences rarely need to leave Weixin to open a mobile browser no matter if they want to read news or make a purchase, which is not only convenient to audiences but also helps Weixin keep the audience flow (Mahoney & Tan, 2017).”
Red Envelope Campaign
In the Chinese culture, there is a custom to give a monetary gift to family or friends during the New Year holiday time. So, in 2014 Weixin created the “Qiang Hongbao” campaign (Red Envelope Campaign). This allowed its users to link their bank account to their Weixin account and send or receive red envelopes virtually (Mahoney & Tan, 2017).
Audience and Social Media
Marketers need to remember that different types of audiences use different social media sites. It all depends on their individual characteristics and cognitive factors (Mahoney & Tan, 2017). So, they will use the social media that they identify with. Another thing to take into consideration when using social media is that people have motivations for using it. There are four motivations: intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation and self motivation (Mahoney & Tan, 2017). That explains also why people use different social media for various purposes. For example, Twitter for being informed about news.
What can you do as a practitioner to ensure that you know as much as you can about your audiences? How did Weixin achieve this goal?
As a practitioner, you need to carefully observe your audience in order to understand them. Compare and contrast this app with the competitor to learn what works in terms of marketing to keep your audience. Weixin has achieved the goal of knowing its audience well when targeting young people with this app and offering multiple functions. It brings convenience to its users. It engages them. At the same time, Weixin collects data from the movements of its users when using the app. Also, it is always innovating and looking for new ways to capture its users’ attention.
How do Weixin’s features fit into their audience’s needs, tastes, and interests? Is it possible for audiences with different backgrounds to individualize the social media for their individual lives?
Weixin’ features are varied: it offers messaging, recording and many more features that it is obviously created to attract many demographics. Now, even if the audiences have different backgrounds the interesting part of this app is that it allows them to individualize the social media for their lives. The differences of background are not a problem. Users can customize the app to fit their daily lives.
What elements of Weixin make it a part of Chinese people’s daily life? How were they able to integrate the technology to accommodate every characteristic of their audiences? Do you think Weixin will be successful in other countries?
Weixin was created with the Chinese culture in mind. In reality many features have been included according to the Chinese’s daily lives like taking the cab. Also, the campaign of the “Red Envelope” denotes a cultural point. Customization has been great in this tool to accommodate the diverse audience. Now, even if Weixin is doing well in Asia, it is not so popular yet in other countries. But, if we think for a moment about the Chinese market, it is huge. China has a huge population and the app is covering that audience’s needs. Now, it doesn’t mean that in the future it can’t be used in other countries or become so successful. We just need to remember Tik Tok which is another Chinese platform which enjoyed immediate audience acceptance. I believe what Weixin could do is to modify its app to expand its target audience, not only related to age, but also to culture. This will help to expand its usage in other countries as well.
References
Mahoney, T., & Tang, T. (2017). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change.
WeChat (2020). GooglePlay. Retrieved from:
EK Marketing Blog by Ericka Koehler 