China is the world’s most valuable outbound market.

The country constitutes for the largest group of internet users in the world.

The Chinese are the world’s most active social media users; it should come as no surprise that they make for the biggest market for social media in the world. 

In this day and age, the Chinese devour high-quality Western products. Ironically, “made in China” might not be the most tactical way to promote a product in China. Tech startups and established businesses globally could use this to their advantage, but unfortunately, almost none of them are adopting a China-first strategy.

Why should global businesses be bothered with the Chinese social media landscape?

The Chinese social media landscape boasts of an incredibly rich and diverse online scene. After all, 800 million+ users are seeking for a portal to share their opinions, request product recommendations and connect with others. That’s a lot of content and also lots of opportunities.

As per a Chinese government study,

• The number of active internet users amounts to a whopping 802 million people.
• This boils down to 57.7% of China’s population.
• A significant practice reflects that mobile users look to platforms like WeChat and Weibo for the latest recommendations, testimonials, and tips.

Here’s another interesting fact:

• The mobile uptake in China is 98% (incredible level!)
• 98% of Chinese people using the internet do so via mobile devices.

This dense mobile penetration drastically helps brands drive their online performance, indicating a massive potential for growth in China.

Chinese social media outlets are highly geared for quick and instantaneous sharing. As global social media goliaths like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter strive to set a strong foothold in China, meanwhile Chinese social media companies establish a substantial step up and leverage the opportunity to innovate. This in turn, has led to the ascent of a vast number of social media portals, giving users plenty more choice. Instead of being overshadowed and crowded by a swarm of small companies, the Chinese social media landscape is more prone to constant change, with platforms soaring and declining on a faster timescale.

Why is WeChat of fundamental importance to the Chinese social media power play?

Chinese high-tech giant Tencent, launched WeChat, six years ago. Ever since then WeChat has come to dominate the social media scene in China and increasingly outside the country. Popularly described as a blend of apps, WeChat is comparable to the likes of Instagram, Whatsapp, Amazon, Facebook, Uber and Skype. WeChat also features consolidation with more than ten million third-party apps. WeChat permits global brands to sign up for a subscription and public accounts, letting them market content to WeChat users in various ways.

Studies reflect that an average WeChat user spends 66 minutes a day on WeChat. Bearing in mind the size of WeChat’s user base, it would go without having to say that it has the potential for immense growth. Mini Programs were crafted to reform the traditional app store model by enabling users to promptly find and use an application through WeChat. All this without the hassle of downloading, only to later scrapping unused the apps. Mini-Programs proffer the experience of a lightweight mobile app, without necessitating the user to leave WeChat or wait for a long download. This accelerates s on-boarding, both offline (typically done through QR codes) and online (Mini-Programs are predominantly accessed through social sharing).

This versatile app offers pretty much everything: online shopping, games, financial services. Combine this with its huge user count, and you have an unbelievably rich source of potential customer engagement.

The notion that you can capture more users by speeding up the download process has been catapulted back and fro in the Western technology scene. Somewhere around the same time the Mini-Program platform launched, the world rode the hype train for Messenger Chatbots.

In China, WeChat has been an impenetrable app for basically everything years before the birth of Mini-Programs. Everything from paying for a meal to booking a cab, to connecting with strangers in close geographical proximity is done with WeChat. This one of its kind app offers pretty much everything: online shopping, games, financial services. Merge this with its colossal user count, it makes for an unbelievably rich source of potential customer engagement Mini-Programs emerged as a semi-open platform in a nation where the government has historically obstructed overseas competitors. As a progressive level up, Mini-Programs are the most natural evolution.

Popular Western brands in China have already started shifting from native apps to Mini-Programs. Fast-food giants like KFC and McDonald’s and claim coupons in their respective Mini-Program. Luxury brands like Burberry and Gucci are creating games and promotions to market their products.

Several Mini-Programs are created to complement local Chinese businesses such as restaurants, stores and hotels. For technology-centric Mini-Programs, games are the fore frontier segment. Many game engines provide Mini-Program support. Thus, it has also been noted that WeChat as a platform is a lucrative portal for tech startups.

Summing up

Cohesively, these factors also make the Chinese social media more immediate and dynamic. For international brands and businesses, the mere supersize of the Chinese consumer market makes it an imperative to dedicate energy and time resources to staying up to date with trends on social media.

Invest in Chinese social media to stay relevant and ahead in China. Redspark Technologies suggests keeping a close eye for all detailed developments on the WeChat platform. Through this post, we’ve glanced upon some sought after reasons as to why WeChat is unarguably a top tier platform for tapping in on a sea of Chinese customers. For more such updates, articles and other WeChat related useful content subscribe to [email protected].

Redspark Technologies offer cutting edge, optimized technological web or mobile app development solutions. Redspark offers services that cover an entire spectrum of IoT products – creating super-powerful sensors, selecting suitable IoT platforms, and scaling solutions for client needs. Redspark also builds powerful all-in-one WeChat Mini Programs. For any service related enquires or to simply share your thoughts on the blog reach out here: [email protected] or call us at: +1 (909) 689 8771