WeChat: Why China’s Largest Social Network Matters In Canada
You may consider yourself savvy with social media, but what if we told you there’s a social media platform out there that outranks Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat and Pinterest – and you’ve probably never even heard of it?
This is the reality for many of us because even though WeChat is 5th largest Social Media/Messaging app in the World, it is unheard of to most Canadians.
Most famous social media networks worldwide as of April, 2017
(ranked by number of active users in millions)
WeChat use is not exclusive to China though, its usage outside of China spans 70 million active users from 200 countries and over 2% of mobile users in the United States alone. Nearing a million monthly active users worldwide, WeChat is an app that dominates daily life in China. What started out as a messaging app has evolved into a complex social media platform, now engrained in all aspects of modern Chinese culture – expanding social networks, consuming information, shopping, transferring money, buying tickets and playing games to name a few. So much so, that WeChat generates over 1 million transactions every minute! It is no exaggeration to say that the super-fans of this super-app are not going anywhere.
By combining social media, messaging and e-commerce functionality, WeChat has a direct influence on the behaviour of its users, which is why it is such an important platform for B2C businesses looking to tap into the Chinese market anywhere in the world.
The popularity of WeChat produced a wave of successful digital marketing campaigns from a variety of brands. What these brands do on WeChat ranges from regular account updates and seasonal promotions, to over-the-top offers from some of the world’s most premium names. Luxury brands like Chanel, Dior and Cartier have all contributed to turning WeChat into a buying force to be reckoned with.
There are thousands of Chinese immigrants and international students arriving in Canada every year, and they continue to use WeChat to take advantage of no-cost messaging and calling features to keep in touch with friends and family. As such, ethnic marketing has become an essential investment for brands who want to keep up with Canada’s growing population, tap into new markets, or better spend their advertising dollars by communicating to specific communities. For marketers, this means the ability to take culturally resonant content and distribute it to a very targeted audience. By having an official WeChat account, brands get an opportunity to convert online followers into offline buyers and thus collect data that drives results.
So tell us, is your brand on WeChat yet?
Sources:
http://marketingtochina.com/wechat-top-100-figures/
https://walkthechat.com/wechat-impact-report-2016/
https://www.paymotion.com/ecommerce-blog/ecommerce-news-wechat-continues-global-expansion/
Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
