In part one we took a look at some of the WeChat features businesses can use for social media marketing in China. WeChat gives you the opportunity to engage with China’s 625million active social media users (source: Social Media Today). There are plenty of ways WeChat marketing can help you expand into the Chinese market. Part 2 focuses on some more features businesses can use to connect with their target market using WeChat marketing in China.

Push notifications

These small messages appear on a user’s lock screen, home screen, or while they are using other applications. Push notifications are a great way of alerting users of new information, updates, or events. This gives you a way to put valuable information directly in front of your target market, in a way that will be highly visible and likely to be read. It can be combined with location services if you have a physical presence in China to offer coupons or discounts. Even if you are entirely ecommerce, WeChat marketing through push notifications allows you to notify your target market of special sales, offers, or events.

QR codes

WeChat gives users the ability to connect and chat with other accounts via scanning a QR code with their phone. QR codes are much more popular in China than in the West, with Chinese mobile users scanning 9million codes per month in 2013 (source: Biz Report). As a business, you can use this to convert your customers into followers and track their purchasing activity. By including your brand account’s QR code on your packaging, you give your customers a way of keeping in touch with you after making a purchase. By offering an incentive to scan the code – such as a discount on their next purchase – a WeChat QR code can create repeat business for you.

Mobile gaming

When WeChat integrated online gaming, the industry in China received a huge boost. The gaming market in 2013 Q3 outperformed the same period in 2012 by 75%, generating an equivalent of $590million in revenue. Mobile gaming is incredibly popular on social networks, with features such as leader-boards allowing games to grow a user base very quickly. You don’t have to be a dedicated game developer, making intricate games, in order to benefit from this popularity and gain brand exposure – popular games in 2013 included the simple match-3 Tiantian Ai Xiaochu, in which users had to align cute animal faces to score points (source: Gamasutra).

WeChat marketing in China

WeChat provides businesses with a range of features to allow you to connect with and market to Chinese consumers. You can be ambitious with social media marketing in China, or keep it simple. WeChat is flexible enough to help you achieve your marketing goals regardless of their scale and complexity. As long as your focus is always on offering consumers something of value, WeChat marketing can be a big asset in your marketing mix.