WeChat Mini-Programs are fundamentally apps that live inside the WeChat ecosystem. WeChat Mini-Programs are revolutionizing the WeChat scene in 2019. WeChat is an indispensable and exceptional marketing tool for businesses attempting to penetrate into the Chinese and Hong Kong markets. Installing a WeChat official account enables brands to get in touch with a larger audience and enhance brand awareness in a powerful manner.

Official accounts are obtainable by government organizations, individuals/celebrities, businesses and media.

Let us have a glance at the three types of WeChat official accounts:

• Subscription accounts
• Service accounts
• Enterprise accounts

1. Subscription Accounts (订阅号)

WeChat subscription accounts primarily shine the spotlight on brand communication and information. These accounts are chiefly used as a day-to-day news feed. Generally, they can publish once a day to readers and publish 1-6 content posts every single time. All of the updates are directly sent to the users’ subscription folder with no push notifications at all.

WeChat search levies great preference on the time that a post is published at. This authorizes the most latest posts to receive priority. Confining the number of articles is to avoid accounts from posting constantly to keep up their spot at the very top of the WeChat search engine.

Subscription accounts are the only sort of official accounts that are openly accessible to individual entities, such as bloggers, influencers and celebrities, as the others mandatorily need a company business license. Subscription accounts are most fitted to individual persons and brands which are content-centric or information conformed, for instance, media publications.

Although accounts like these can post more and conceptually draw many more users to your account, you have to keep in mind that these accounts are planted in the subscription folder in a user’s contacts, highly diminishing visibleness.

2. Service Accounts (服务号)

WeChat service accounts concentrate on API integrations, customer service, e-commerce and CRM. They grant more sound functionality in comparison to subscription accounts. Verified and valid service accounts may also complimentarily register for WeChat Pay and put in place a WeChat Store. Post the authentication, service accounts have admittance to 9 advanced APIs that empower the brands to create additional applications and functions like GPS, Instant Customer Service,  Payments, etc.

Service accounts can post up to 4 times per month, with a 1-6 content post each time. Once the articles are published, the updates show up as push notifications in the followers’ chat lists. When compared with subscription accounts, the publishing frequency rate of service accounts is lower, but the visibility exposure is elevated owing to push notifications.

These accounts are restrictive in how much they can publish since they are the only accounts competent of triggering and delivering push notifications. If accounts were capable to spam users with push notifications it would derail from the comprehensive user experience on WeChat.

Service accounts are the most optimum selection for businesses with huge audience segments or with extensive clientele databases, such as hotels and airlines. For such industries, especially booking systems can be even built within the app.

3. Enterprise Accounts (企业号)

Whilst service accounts and subscription accounts aim at external markets, WeChat enterprise accounts are principally for internal communication and management. They are unattainable to the public and marketers. Individual users of corporate accounts must be substantiated internal staff with the purpose of following the corporate account.

With third-party APIs, corporate accounts have several in-house management functions, such as internal resource sharing, chat rooms and video conferencing. These accounts provide utility equivalent to other work environment chat apps like Workplace by Facebook. Corporate accounts have stronger visibility and superior security as users require to follow the account and then be added manually by the account owner putting in their name, phone number and WeChat ID.