When a company plans to enter the Chinese market, having a presence on WeChat is essential. Every month, more than a billion users interact with this social network, offering incredible marketing opportunities for companies in every sector.
In addition to its incredible popularity, for many years, WeChat had also become well known for the limitations imposed on foreign companies trying to use it for their operations in China.
However, since May of 2018, things have changed significantly. Today, opening a WeChat Official Account, also known as WeChat Business Account, is much easier for a foreign company. The registration process is now similar to that used by a Chinese company.
Before examining the details of the new WeChat rules, it is important to understand what a WeChat Official Account is, why it is important for a company to have one and how to register it.
What is a WeChat Official account?
WeChat Official Accounts are the tools the WeChat social network provides for companies to interact with their customers. WeChat Official Accounts can be compared to Facebook pages.
Just as on Facebook, when a business opens their Official Account with WeChat, it has the possibility of acquiring followers. By means of WeChat, a company can get in touch with its followers through messages, or by directing them to a website or online store.
It is of no surprise that because of its vast user base, WeChat has become one of the most used and successful marketing tools in China.
There are several types of WeChat Official Accounts. The ones most used by companies are the Subscription Account and the Service Account. It is up to the foreign company to decide which of these fits best with its marketing strategy. In fact, one of the biggest differences between these two accounts is the frequency with which they allow you to interact with your audience.
Subscription Account
The WeChat Subscription Account allows you to send one message per day to your users. This option is great for creating and maintaining a consistent relationship with your followers.
This account is particularly appreciated by E-commerce or other companies that need to share with their audience promotions, new articles or services, to advertise events, or something else. One message a day allows you to have a constant presence on WeChat.
However, you should consider that this account is limited in other respects. For example, the Subscription Account does not support WeChat Payments and vouchers, geo-localization (which allows you to understand where users are connecting from), or even the use of multiple QR codes (which enables you to analyze where the traffic comes from).
Service Account
The Service Account is particularly different from the Subscription Account because it limits communication with your audience to only four messages per month. However, the account will appear in the “Friends” section of the chat section of WeChat, guaranteeing greater visibility.
Although this account is limited in the number of messages you can send, it does allow you to collect more information about your audience, such as their geographical location and where the traffic is generated. Many companies find this information indispensable when planning and optimizing their offers.
Clearly, it is not possible to define which type of account is the best. This assessment is strictly subjective to each company and how they intend to develop their marketing campaigns.
Can overseas companies Register a WeChat Official Account?
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, as of May 2018, new rules have been introduced that mark an important change in the way foreign companies open a WeChat account.
This new policy now allows companies from over 100 countries to open a WeChat Official Account using their foreign license.
Until May 2018, a company that did not hold a Chinese business license had only two options available to open a WeChat Official Account.
One option was to make a special request to Tencent, the company that owns WeChat, to be registered with a foreign license. The process was rather complicated, took several months to complete and required an initial payment of over $1,100 and an annual payment of about $100. In addition, this was only possible for select countries only.
The other option was to register the account through a Chinese company. The procedure was much faster and cheaper but had a large disadvantage in that the foreign company was not the owner of the account. If, at any time, a problem with the Chinese company occurred, the foreign company could lose the use of the account.
Now, these roadblocks have been removed. The new policy allows for more than 100 countries to register their accounts using same procedures as Chinese companies. Moreover, when the account is opened, there is no longer a need for an initial investment in WeChat Advertising, WeChat’s tool for sending advertising messages.
However, please note that European countries are not currently included in the new policy. Therefore, companies based in the old continent will continue to face difficulties in opening a WeChat Official Account without a Chinese business license.