For the second part of our list of 30 Ways of How To Get WeChat Followers go to Part II and here is the Part I.

30 ways of how to get WeChat followers – part 3:

#21: Displays at trade shows

Trade shows provide ample opportunities to place QR codes on any flat surface such as walls, stands, reception counters etc.. And by any surface we mean “any surface”:

#22: Video

If you use a promotional video for your products, consider placing QR code in a still frame at the end while giving enough time for a viewer to scan it. Alternatively, QR code could also remain visible during video playback if placed in the frame corner but it should be large enough and in high resolution to be scannable.

#23: Company cars

If your company owns cars, vans or buses, consider placing QR code along with your branding such as company name or telephone number.

#24: Website

Last but certainly not least, QR code should be displayed on your website. Most commonly it goes in the footer along with other social media and contact info, however, some sites choose to move it up top to a more prominent position.

#25: Trade shows campaigns

Another method that works well at trade shows is distributing giveaways to those visitors who scan your QR. Since you give away hundreds of pens and other useless souvenirs anyway, why not to at least get WeChat followers out of it?

#26: Email marketing

Run email marketing campaigns targeting specific audiences and centered on WeChat account. For any other email marketing such as periodic newsletters, make sure to include WeChat QR code as well.

#27: Targeted WeChat posts

One way to increase chances that a WeChat post will be shared is to make it as relevant as possible to a specific audience. WeChat allows some limited message targeting by recipients’ gender and location which can be further enhanced by manual grouping of the followers. By targeting specific group with such customized posts, it is more likely to be shared among people with similar interests.

#28: Creative QR codes

Traditional black and white QR codes have just one drawback – they look ugly. Luckily, now they don’t have to be! There are ways to design perfectly scannable QR codes that blend with the brand design and look much more visually appealing than just a bunch of black and white pixels.

Another example is the one of an Israeli company Visualead that has developed unique technology that overlays graphics with QR codes. Those can be scanned just as reliably as the traditional type.

#29: Interactive account

Adding interactivity to WeChat accounts makes them more functional as well as visually appealing. Such accounts are more likely to be shared and recommended by existing followers to their friends.

Instead of settling for standard menu type account, consider developing so called mini-site that can be customized to better reflect your brand image.

#30: Posting in Weibo groups

We talked about using social media such as Weibo to promote WeChat account. Posting in Weibo groups which are dedicated to specific and relevant interests is another way to get WeChat followers. Keep in mind however, that Weibo doesn’t allow posting QR codes directly – doing that can get you banned from that group.

For the previous part of our list of 30 Ways of How To Get WeChat Followers go to Part II and Part I.

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In an earlier post on WeChat marketing we’ve discussed limitations of WeChat based advertising and its low ROI. Therefore, acquiring subscribers organically remains a much more cost effective way to grow your brand following.

WeChat marketing can be tricky but there are some ways to make it work. In addition to the list from the last week, here are five more tips:

Share content for free gift

An example of effective WeChat marketing is encouraging customers to share a piece of content from your account in their WeChat moment. For example, a restaurant could offer its patrons a free desert or a discount off the bill if they present proof of sharing a photo of a restaurant or a meal with their friends.

WeChat marketing with virtual loyalty card

Offering a virtual loyalty card in WeChat is another way to get more followers and can also become an effective WeChat marketing strategy. Owners of such loyalty cards can have their QR code scanned at the location for discounts or points collection. Here is an example of such virtual card used by Wagas, a popular western restaurant in China:

Free wifi to WeChat followers

WeChat official accounts now have a feature that allows displaying the closest Wi-Fi network directly in users contacts. This feature works great with businesses that have a physical location, such as stores and restaurants. Prompting users to connect to a free Wi-Fi in exchange for a basic info or signing up as a follower is another opportunity for effective WeChat marketing.

Get creative with QR codes

QR codes have just one drawback – they are ugly! Having a tiny logo in the center still doesn’t doesn’t improve their visual appeal. Fortunately, thanks to the new technology developed by Israeli company Visualead, it doesn’t have to be that way anymore.

Visualead provides online QR generator to combine a QR code with any imagery, such as a logo or a picture. Here is an example of such QR which is perfectly scannable, just like its boring black and white equivalent:

Don’t delay communicating with followers

There is a feature of WeChat official accounts that is known as “48 hours rule”. It means that you only have 48 hours to engage with a follower directly after he/she subscribed to your channel or communicated to it via sending a message. It’s important not to miss the opportunity to connect with a new follower within that time frame. Offering a targeted content such as a coupon or a personalized invitation to an event would keep new followers engaged and minimize chances of losing them.

Every new follower is a potential sales lead and it is in your interest to keep that lead hot. After all, unsubscribing from a WeChat channel is always just “a swipe” away.

Stay tuned for our upcoming posts on how to use KOLs to grow your WeChat followers base.

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5 unique Taobao app features that drive its mobile sales

Picture search function

Imagine you are in a store looking at a really nice watch that would be just perfect for you. Unfortunately, you can’t be sure that you are getting the best deal on the price. That’s when Taobao app picture search comes really handy. All you have to do is snap a photo directly from within the app, or load previously taken image, and within seconds Taobao app displays the matches from its vast database.

This powerful functionality enables users to instantly compare online prices while browsing for goods in a physical store or, practically, anywhere they come across something they would like buy. In most cases, Taobao prices will also be lower which, in effect, threatens to turn some traditional retailers with brick and mortar stores into nothing more than showrooms.

Package tracking system

All online marketplaces have some type of shipment tracking system but only Taobao app takes it all the way to the new level. As soon as a seller ships the product you have just bought, it will be tracked at every point along its journey regardless of what delivery service was used.

Tracking packages is being updated within minutes which makes it really easy to figure out where it is and when it will be delivered. Finally, when it arrives, Taobao app will send you a push notification and, in some cases, SMS message as well.

Alipay payment integration

Alipay, Taobao payment system, is the principal technological enabler of the platform and the integral component of Chinese ecommerce landscape. Alipay provides an extremely easy and secure way to pay for purchases both online and offline.

Practically, everyone with a smartphone and a bank account in China has Alipay account which is also widely used to pay for purchases in physical stores, restaurants and even in the government offices. When used within China, Alipay doesn’t charge any fees except for very large transactions. Paying with Alipay is also very secure, convenient and fast. In effect, Alipay acts as a personal bank account in and of its own, complete with monthly statements and spending breakdowns.

Although, some Taobao vendors still accept cash on delivery, it is hard to imagine Taobao achieving such popularity without Alipay being its integral part.

AliWangWang instant chat

Chinese online consumers overwhelmingly expect Taobao vendors being able to answer questions and reply to inquiries within the shortest time possible. Also, the vendors realize that responding to inquiries from potential buyers in real time significantly increases chances of closing the sale. This is why Taobao integrated live chat app called AliWangWang, has become another important component of Taobao platform.

Customers can initiate chat sessions with sellers directly from the mobile app while sellers can use AliWangWang as a stand-alone app running on mobile or computer. It offers an easy way for both parties to communicate and not only serves as an effective pre-sale tool but also goes a long way in building trust.

Push notification remarketing

Almost all mobile apps use push notification in one way or the other. What makes it different in Taobao case is that the push notifications are tailored to each user and are made relevant to them. The way this is done is by taking into account users’ product search history, content of their wish list and past purchases in order to deliver tailor made messages that are most likely to pique their interest.

Also, unlike in the case of other apps, users tend not to disable push notifications from Taobao on their phones because they don’t want to miss messages related to product deliveries or any issues related to their purchases in progress

Mobile app makers are well aware that sending too many push notification can quickly annoy users. This why Taobao typically limits them to no more than once per day.

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Basically, anything in the digital world that brings customers to the physical stores or makes them buy products and services that are traditionally sold offline can be classified as O2O.

According to the recent report by McKinsey on O2O in China, it has been growing the fastest in 3 areas: travel, mobility and dining services:

China O2O in travel sector

McKensey’s data indicate that travel is one of the most popular O2O categories used by 36% of O2O consumers nationwide and 56% in Tier 1 cities:

This segment is lead by companies like Qunar, fast growing Baidu online travel service as well as Ctrip, another hugely popular site. Customers also expect O2O travel service to cost less than the traditional ones putting more pressure on providers

China O2O in dining sector

This segment was indicated as the second growing O2O sector. Convenience and discounts stand out as the most important reasons why consumers choose to use O2O dining services.

In contrast with travel sector, here consumers were actually prepared to pay premium for the service and indicated food quality and safety as their primary concern.

China O2O in mobility sector

Mobility O2O mainly refers to taxi hailing apps such as Uber and Didi-Kuaidi. Both companies have been at each other’s throat to gain market share in this rapidly growing market which we covered in an earlier post about Uber in China. Currently, Baidu is the major backer of China Uber while Tencent and Alibaba are behind Didi-Kuaidi.

Consumers in this sector appear to be the least sensitive to the price of O2O mobility services than to the price of other O2O services. This has probably something to do with the fact that the prices in this segment are already extremely low.

What are the main reasons behind the strength of O2O in China?

#1 Sheer number of smartphones

Large number of smartphones in China is the primary reason for O2O services getting a strong foothold. There are estimated 563 million smartphone users in 2016 representing more than a quarter of users worldwide.

#2 Have we mentioned smartphones?

Another factor in favor of O2O in China is the fact smartphones has long become the primary device of getting online for the majority of Chinese, beating desktops and laptops 2 years ago. Since large part of O2O’s appeal is location, mobile is a natural fit.

#3 Mobile payment systems

Proliferation of secure and convenient mobile payment systems such as Alipay or WeChat wallet has become the industry enabler. In this regard, China is well ahead of most other countries.

#4 Everyone loves QR

QR codes can be used in many creative ways to facilitate O2O based connections and, incidentally, they have been extremely popular in China. While QR codes have been declared dead in the West on more than one occasion, they have been embraced in China and popularized by apps like WeChat.

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In China, smartphones are involved in every step of the typical sales funnel – from discovery and research to payment and feedback. As a result, Chinese m-commerce has been undergoing meteoric rise in recent years.

According to recent KPMG online consumer behavior report, smartphone remains the primary device for online purchases – well ahead of other countries, while laptop and desktop PC are used the least.

There is a number of main drivers behind Chinese m-commerce rapid development:

1. Highly developed mobile payment ecosystem.
   The primary systems are Alipay and WeChat Pay which are ruling Chinese m-commerce as well as becoming an increasingly common payment method offline. They also enjoy high degree of consumers’ confidence in payment security;
2. Large number of mobile users.
   According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China’s mobile users exceeded 1.3 billion at the end of 2015, with 29.6 percent of them using 4G. Furthermore, China sold 457 million smartphones in 2015, up 17.7 percent from 2014;
3. Convenience and accessibility.
   Chinese m-commerce has leveled the playing field for all types of consumers regardless of location. While physical stores of some brands may not be available in 3rd and 4th tier cities, the shoppers can still gain the same access to brands as that available to people living in major cities;
4. Continuously growing economy.
   Last but not least is the fact that, despite the recent slowdown, Chinese economy continues growing at about 6.7 percent rate. In recent years, this growth has been primarily driven by local consumption with e-commerce being large part of it.

KPMG survey shows that more than 90 percent of the respondents made at least one online purchase using a smartphone in the past 12 months:

Consumers often research products using smartphones while in physical shops. In China, nearly 70 percent of respondents have looked up a product on their smartphone or tablet while being in a brick and mortar store. While this figure is still slightly smaller compared to other parts of the world, it is higher than the previous year. Also, this type of consumer behavior is likely to be gaining momentum after rolling out the new feature of Taobao and Tmall mobile apps allowing instant product search from a photo:

Market research company eMarketer estimates that Chinese m-commerce sales accounted for almost half the share of e-commerce sales in 2015. This year, retail mobile commerce sales in China are forecasted to grow by 51.4 percent to account for 55.5 percent of retail ecommerce sales in the country in 2016. By 2019, mobile users in China are expected to spend nearly $1.5 trillion on m-commerce:

Finally, China’s mobile commerce is another reason for the popularity of O2O concept. Companies, both local and multinational, are constantly on the lookout for more innovative ways to engage Chinese mobile consumers from all the angles.

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#5: O2O campaigns to grow WeChat followers base

O2O, which stands for Online to Offline (or, sometimes Offline to Online) has been one of the hottest topics in marketing in the last couple of years. It has been identified as a trillion dollar opportunity by TechCrunch as well called the industry’s stupidest acronym by Tech in Asia. While some marketers still disagree on how the term should be used, O2O in China has been growing by leaps and bounds and is getting ahead of most other markets.

Basically, anything in the digital world that brings customers to the physical stores or makes them buy products and services that are traditionally sold offline can be classified as O2O.

WeChat has been one of the primary drivers of O2O in China with many brands designing campaigns that exploit this concept and rapidly grow WeChat followers base. For example, offering to WeChat followers a free gift that can only be collected in a specific physical store location is just one example of O2O and how it can be used with mobile.

According to the recent report by McKinsey on O2O in China, it has been growing the fastest in 3 areas: travel, mobility and dining services:

Here are the main reasons behind O2O popularity with China’s mobile users:

Sheer number of smartphones

Large number of smartphones in China is the primary reason for O2O services getting a strong foothold. There are estimated 563 million smartphone users in 2016 representing more than a quarter of users worldwide.

Smartphone as the primary internet access point

Another factor in favor of O2O in China is the fact smartphones has long become the primary device of getting online for the majority of Chinese, beating desktops and laptops 2 years ago. Since large part of O2O’s appeal is location, mobile is a natural fit.

Mobile payment systems

Proliferation of secure and convenient mobile payment systems such as Alipay or WeChat Pay has become the industry enabler. In this regard, China is well ahead of most other countries.

Everyone in China loves QR

QR codes can be used in many creative ways to facilitate O2O based connections and, incidentally, they have been extremely popular in China. While QR codes have been declared dead in the West on more than one occasion, they have been embraced in China and popularized by apps like WeChat.

#6: Coupons, discounts and free gifts

Offering discounts, coupons and free gifts is the most straight forward way to keep the followers interested and engaged. As with the previously described methods, these strategies can be incorporated into O2O campaigns by connecting digital offers to a physical point of sale.

In order to retain and grow WeChat followers base discount and coupons offers should be consistent, prompting users to check back often. It is especially effective around major holidays and festivals.

In addition, if WeChat account runs its own store, discounts and coupons can be redeemed directly.

#7: Exclusive WeChat sales

Ever since introduction of WeChat Pay, the built-in payment system, WeChat ecommerce has been growing at astonishing rate. It is now believed to be behind only two of the industry giants: Alibaba’s Taobao/Tmall and JD.com. The majority of WeChat stores are focused on fast moving goods, fashion and luxury.

In fact, some of the top luxury brands that already had strong presence on WeChat, are now selling exclusively on this platform. Most recently, Coach even went so far as closing down their main Tmall store in favor of WeChat platform.

Why are some brands narrowing their ecommerce presence rather than expanding it? The explanation is in brands’ drive to focus on exclusivity rather than reach.

Companies in other industries, such as popular cellphone makers, often run flash sales of new hot models exclusively on WeChat creating the same type of effect.

#8: Loyalty programs

One of the best ways to make sure your customers continue following your WeChat channel is setting up a loyalty or rewards program entirely based within the account. Such setup would allow members to use virtual card at physical points of sale, accumulate rewards, check the balance and redeem the points.

Smartphones with WeChat app are already replacing physical wallets for millions of users. Digitizing traditional plastic loyalty cards by moving them to WeChat is seen as the part of the process of ditching wallets.

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What gives it even more power is the ability to build even more functionality on top of its platform via, so called, service accounts. One of the basic capabilities of the platform is the ability to set pre-programmed responses to various user’s input. This is widely used in WeChat service accounts to deliver all types of messages to users – from latest offers and nearest store location to complex customer service interactions.

Lately, one of a possible of a WeChat app is a bot-type of program and those have been on the rise in China. One of such examples is a Jobot, a WeChat based app that helps job-seekers to find the most suitable company to work for. As reported by TechCrunch, “It’s essentially a chatbot that asses the best kind of company a user should work for using questions, powered by IBM Watson, to develop personality insights like culture fit and sentiment, for each user. The idea is that information gleaned from users can help them find the right cultural match in a future employer.”

This program is the creation of David Collie who has also developed an English learning bot based on the same WeChat app’s functionality. “With 1.1 billion users on WeChat, we can safely say there are great things in store. People already have chat integrated into their daily lives — we plan to capitalize on that,” Collier said to TechCrunch.

WeChat app powered robot

The latest reincarnation of WeChat based bots is the actual physical robot that now greets customers at one of Las Vegas hotels. Its name is Ben and it serves as a virtual concierge at LINQ hotel.  ObEN, a Californian company behind it, has developed a proprietary deep-learning based speech technology that permits any Internet of Things such as WeChat Robots to communicate in any language and in any voice in a matter of minutes.

The primary way to interact with the robot is via WeChat app. Hotel guests can obtain information on nearby dining, entertainment and nightlife options by following Caesars Entertainment, the hotel operator, on WeChat, and “Ben” will speak back to them on-site in real time.

Ben also allows physical interaction via its front touch screen panel. “Caesars Entertainment is pleased to continue a strong partnership with WeChat, bringing new innovations to life for our guests,” said Tariq Shaukat, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Caesars Entertainment.

“The LINQ Hotel serves as the perfect stage to showcase ‘Ben’ the WeChat Robot and his advancements for the hospitality world during CES.” Nikhil R. Jain, co-founder and CEO of ObEN, said, “We are thrilled to showcase ObEN’s proprietary speech and IoT technology in collaboration with Caesars Entertainment and WeChat; it will reveal how our technology will benefit the traveler and service the hospitality industry using WeChat’s global platform.”

From Feb. 8-14, “Ben” the WeChat Robot is expected to make an appearance at The LINQ Promenade – an open-air shopping, dining and entertainment district anchored by the world’s tallest observation wheel, the High Roller – where it will be able to answer questions about the scheduled events to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

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