Weixin: Social Media’s Rich Uncle Pennybags

Weixin (available with altered features and interface as WeChat outside of China) is an extremely popular social networking app in China that has found success by taking advantage of a few key social marketing strategies. First, Weixin was created with its target audience in mind. Not only is this a social media best practice, but it is also a strategy to transform audiences into active users. It seems logical; if a brand doesn’t know who it should market to it won’t know how to communicate to its potential customer and through which platforms…or even what voice to use! However, this simple step is often missed. 

Get In Touch With Your Audience

Social Listening

This is as easy as it sounds. Go where your target audience goes (in a digital sense) and find out what they care about, how they communicate, and what tools and platforms they use to engage with one another and their favorite brands. in essence, social listening is scouring the digital spare to find out as much as you can about your potential audience by playing “Simon Says” with them. Go where they go, do what they do, find out who they are, and above all…listen to what they have to say. The information gathered can greatly inform the success of any new brand, product, or service.

Social Listening Tools

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Consumer Motivations

Okay, this is a buzzword, but don’t let it scare you. There are four main motivation types and understanding each, along with customer tastes and interests, is a great way to begin knowing your audience. 

• Intrinsic Motivation: pleasure comes from the act of using the media
• Identified Regulation: people use media because it is beneficial in the long term
• External Regulation: people use media to avoid a negative outcome
• Automotivation: people use media with no clear motivation

Understanding consumer motivations can help marketers craft brands and messages that fit motivations while satisfying needs and wants. Weixin found success because it understood its audience. 

Give The People What They Want

The target customers are young, urban smartphone users that crave an all-in-one tool for communication and social sharing. Users don’t want to search for a new application, service, or website with each new media need that arises. The tech-savvy Chinese use wants a simple interface with lots of functionality. Weixin offers both: users send a birthday card, update their status, read the news, make a purchase, open a store, or hail a taxi all from one location. Weixin also offers significant personalized customization options. This means that each user’s Weixin might look different, but will be optimized for each consumer’s preferred use. 

This is where Weixin is so brilliant. If the platform can offer users everything they need in one place, why would customers even search for other options? On top of that, the integrated functionality has made Weixin a habitual tool. It has become a normal part of the lives of its users. When a brand becomes a habit, it has customers for life! Weixin checks all the boxes and gives the people exactly what they want.

When a brand becomes a habit, it has customers for life! Weixin checks all the boxes and gives the people exactly what they want.

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How To Know What The People Want

Weixin already has and will continue to conduct surveys, studies, and other forms of data collection from various sources to continually build its understanding of its audience. responded by creating a platform that combines all the features of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, eBay, phone services, money management, and sharing, and much, much more. Finally, Weixin is always growing; adding new functions and features as their audiences’ needs and motivations change. This point exemplifies Weixin’s dedication to understanding its audience and altering brand offerings to better fit its ever-changing audience.