Popular Chinese social media product, Weixin (also known as WeChat in the United States and internationally), is a similar application to WhatsApp in the United States or Line in Japan. It was introduced to Chinese users in 2011 and only three years later, in 2014, already had more than 300 million active users in China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and America. (Barboza, 2014).

Targeting young, urban smartphone owners, Weixin aims to be the swiss army knife of social media platforms by providing these audiences an “all-in-one-platform” app. It allows users to send messages to personal connections, share news with large communities, share pictures, and so much more all via their mobile phone.

In fact, in 2014, Weixin introduced a cab reservation function on the platform called “Didi Taxi.” Working with a network of 350,000 taxi drivers in more than 30 cities in China, Weixin allows its users to book a cab via Weixin payment.

More than 22 million users have used this service thus far, and half a million bookings are made via Weixin every day (Chen, 2014; Millward, 2014). Because the platform makes everything so easy to do and significantly enhances user self-efficacy, it has worked its way to become the norm for Chinese people's social media use.

Audiences rarely need to leave Weixin to open a mobile browser, read news, or make a purchase, which is not only convenient to audiences but also helps Weixin keep the audience engaged.

Furthermore, Weixin keeps innovating and introducing new functions/campaigns that are created to satisfy its audiences' new needs and fit audiences' mood at a certain time or in a certain context.

In January 2014, just before the Chinese New Year, Weixin introduced a “Qiang Hongbao” campaign (translates to “Red Envelope” campaign), which allowed its users to link their bank account to their Weixin profile, and then either send or receive red envelopes virtually. (For context, Red Envelope is a traditional Chinese culture that includes a monetary gift that Chinese people give to loved ones during holidays.)

To further evoke an exciting and suspenseful mood, Weixin allowed users to put a sum of cash in the Red Envelope and then distribute the money randomly among a group of recipients the user set up (Horwitz, 2014). For example, if you want to give a total of $50 to five friends, Weixin will allocate this money randomly to these people. One may be the lucky one who will get $30, another will have $10, another $8, and so on.

This campaign electrified audiences and ultimately encouraged them to spend more time and more money using the social networking tool. As a result, nearly 5 million people participated in the Red Envelope campaign, and sent out 20 million cash-filled red envelopes virtually (Horwitz, 2014).

“WeChat is more than a messaging and social media app — it is a lifestyle for one billion users across the world.”
(WeChat, 2022)

One important takeaway from Weixin’s success is that you should always strive to make your social media product a part of your audiences' everyday routine and habit. This way, it will be easier to make a behavior change, whether it be a purchasing decision or a positive social change.

Ultimately, the goal is to make your social media product/your brand a part of your consumer's daily life routine. When it becomes a part of their everyday life rituals, you won’t need to sell your product/service as much any more.

Kimberly Eugene - Content Marketing Specialist

*Owner of PRTYNVRNDS LLC*
*Futuristic | Strategic | Developer | Positivity | Relator*
prtynvrnds.business.blog

References:

Barboza, D. (2014) A popular Chinese social networking app blazes its own path. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/technology/a-chinese-social-network-blazes-its-own-path.html (accessed June 8, 2016).

Chen, L. (2014) Tencent invests in China cab booking app to tap mobile users. Available at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-08/tencent-invests-in-china-cab-booking-app-to-tap-mobile-web-users.html (accessed June 8, 2016).

Horwitz, J. (2014) Chinese WeChat users sent out 20 million cash-filled red envelopes to friends and family within two days. Available at https://www.techinasia.com/wechats-money-gifting-scheme-lures-5-million-chinese-users-alibabas-jack-ma-calls-pearl-harbor-attack-company/ (accessed June 8, 2016).

Mahoney L., & Tang, T. (2016). Strategic social media: From marketing to social change. Marblehead, MA: Wiley.

Millward, S. (2014) 21 million taxi rides have been booked on WeChat in the past month. Available at https://www.techinasia.com/wechat-21-million-taxi-rides-booked/ (accessed June 8, 2016).