In this post we are going to have a look at top 5 of them.

5 Most Useful Features of WeChat for Marketers

WeChat groups

One of the most often overlooked WeChat features for marketers is WeChat groups where members can participate in discussions. Inviting customers to join a group can be an effective way to keep them engaged with a brand. Each group is issued a unique QR code that users can scan in order to join, however, as soon as the group reaches its maximum allowed capacity (currently 100) scanning QR code would no longer work. An easy work around this limit is to send an invitation to users to join a group – a group owner can invite unlimited number of participants to a group.

Payments

After launching its own payment system, WeChat quickly became one of the major ecommerce platforms in China, along with Taobao, Tmall and JD. Every official service account has an option to setup its own ecommerce outlet and receive payment from customers. Capability to handle payments “on the go” is one of most powerful features of WeChat for marketers. Instead of directing potential customers to a website where they can complete the purchase, WeChat now enables a near instant conversion.

Lucky draws

WeChat service accounts can incorporate many types of lucky draws that can be another effective way to keep customer engaged as well as acquire new followers. Lucky draws can take multiple forms – from quizzes to virtual scratch cards. There are number of 3rd party add-ons that can enhance WeChat accounts by “gamification” of the user experience.

Loyalty cards

As businesses and brands are constantly looking for new ways to improve their customers’ loyalty, membership and loyalty cards are increasingly moving into WeChat. This is another excellent feature of WeChat for marketers as it offers both convenience to customers by not having them carry their cards and increases app usage. Latest version of WeChat even allows managing and storing loyalty cards and coupons in one place, much like AppleWallet does.

Targeting

One of the most powerful features of WeChat that is used for marketing is ability to target specific groups of followers with messages tailored just for them. Unfortunately, basic WeChat backend targeting function is quite limited and only allows to sort followers by their gender, and declared location which is also often different from the actual one. However, there are number of companies who offer a more customized approach that is based on behavioral patterns of followers. This way, followers can be grouped in new categories and targeted with specific marketing messages that they are more likely to respond to.

The post 5 Most Useful Features of WeChat for Marketers first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post 5 Most Useful Features of WeChat for Marketers appeared first on Sampi.co.

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.

The post 30 Ways Of How To Get WeChat Followers: Part III first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post 30 Ways Of How To Get WeChat Followers: Part III appeared first on Sampi.co.

For the first part of our list of 30 Ways of Getting WeChat Subscribers go to Part I.

30 ways of getting WeChat subscribers – part 2:

#11: PPC campaigns focused on WeChat account

Just like Weibo, major Chinese search engines like Baidu view WeChat as a completion. This means that you can’t directly advertise WeChat account using Chinese search engines. However, it is still possible to run search or display ads which would direct visitors to a dedicated landing page featuring WeChat account details and QR code.

#12: WeChat advertising

WeChat offers its own in-platform advertising in both user Moments as a sponsored content as well as ads in participating accounts. Unfortunately, at least for the now, WeChat own ads are very expensive. The high price and the lack of accurate targeting makes WeChat advertising notoriously ineffective. Presently, only big brands looking for blanket advertising are the main users of WeChat ads.

The good news is that the prices are slowly getting lower and some new changes to WeChat advertising are rumored to be introduced this year.

#13: Offering free Wi-Fi

This method of getting WeChat subscribers works well for restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses with physical location where patrons tend to spend their time at. If setup correctly with WeChat, free Wi-Fi option would appear at the top of the chat session. Selecting free WeChat would require a user to follow the account first, making him/her a subscriber.

#14: On the spot discount or a freebie for following WeChat account

Another trick that is often used by restaurants and coffee shops is asking customers to follow their WeChat account to get X percent discount off the bill or a free item such as a drink or desert. This one should be used carefully to prevent abuse.

#15: WeChat based menu and food ordering system

In one of our earlier posts we covered the new WeChat-only coffee shops in China that have moved menus along with the entire food ordering system online. Using such system would give another incentive for patrons to follow the account.

Posting QR wherever possible is another effective way of getting WeChat subscribers. Here are some ideas on where QRs could be displayed:

#16: Email signatures

This simply means including QR code along with a signature at the bottom of every email that goes out to clients.

#17: Invoices and receipts

Printing QR code on invoices and receipts that customers keep gives them another chance to scan it.

#18: Product packaging

Include QR code on product packaging. It works even better for products that require after sale service which can be delivered via WeChat too (see item #7).

#19: Business cards

Make sure that every employee’s name card has your WeChat account QR code printed on it as prominently as possible (some companies dedicate the entire flip side to it).

#20: Every other printed material

Consider placing QR codes on company prospectus, brochures, datasheets etc. Every QR code placement is another opportunity for someone to scan it giving you another way of getting WeChat subscribers.

Here is the Part III of the list.

The post 30 Ways of Getting WeChat Subscribers: Part II first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post 30 Ways of Getting WeChat Subscribers: Part II appeared first on Sampi.co.

Since WeChat, unlike most other social media platforms, is not a discovery network, getting WeChat followers doesn’t work in the same way either. On the other hand, what really matters is not the quantity but the quality of followers which is the main strength of WeChat as a marketing tool.

In general, WeChat followers tend to be more interested in actually following the updates, consuming posted content and using account’s other features. In other words, the higher engagement level with the followers is what makes WeChat marketing so effective.

Currently, there are only 3 primary ways to subscribe (follow) a WeChat account:

1. Follow the account from the link when it is shared by WeChat friends;
2. Scan its QR with a smartphone;
3. Search for the exact WeChat account name from within the app;

The 3rd method of following the account is not something that is often used as it is somewhat cumbersome to users. Although it is always a good idea to pick a memorable account name, it is unlikely to be contributing to getting WeChat followers.

Essentially, acquiring WeChat followers comes down to the first two methods.

30 ways of getting WeChat followers – part 1:

#1: Creating shareable content

Easier said than done, sharing content is what can potentially get you the most followers. Writing volumes of standard content that doesn’t get shared isn’t worth much. However, just one post that goes viral has the potential of bringing hundreds of followers virtually within hours.

The best approach is to invest in a research and learning about people in the niche that you are targeting. Once you can figure out what they really care about – stay focus just on that.

#2: Getting KOLs (key opinion leaders) to share your content

There are thousands of KOLs on WeChat that would distribute your content (for a fee) to their followers which often reach tens of hundreds of thousands. More followers they have – higher price they charge: top KOLs with millions of followers can be very expensive to engage.

KOLs promotions are mostly effective in fashion, cosmetics, entertainment and similar areas. This is why this channels is not suitable for everyone.

#3: Integrating with WeChat Pay

WeChat Pay is quickly becoming one of the primary payment methods in China, both online and offline. Integrating WeChat Pay with WeChat account not only enables receiving payments but also automatically connects every paying customer to your WeChat account unless they specifically choose to unsubscribe.

#4: Promoting via other WeChat accounts

If your business owns multiple WeChat accounts, you can use them to promote a new one. This way you can get some of the existing followers to subscribe to a new WeChat channel, especially if it offers related but different content.

The same way can be used to cross-promote WeChat accounts through accounts of your partners – they post links to your content and you reciprocate.

#5: Leveraging employees networks

One of the simplest ways to get followers quickly is to encourage your Chinese employees to follow the account and periodically share the content with their friends. This method, at least at the beginning, can get your account a quick boost in the number of followers, some of whom may one day contribute to getting your message to a wider audience.

#6: Develop loyalty program

Loyalty programs are increasingly getting incorporated into WeChat accounts. They often come complete with points accumulation system and a virtual membership card. Running such function with WeChat will help attract new followers as well as retain the existing ones.

#7: Offer customer service on WeChat

If you sell a product or service that requires customer service, why not to use WeChat as one of such channels? Some of the responses to standard inquiries can even be pre-programmed into the system while other may require an actual human interaction.

Getting customers to communicate with you via WeChat offers another opportunity to engage with them and even capture their exact location to gain better insight. Several 3rd party platforms offer powerful platform extensions that enhance its functionality as a customer service channel.

#8: Leveraging other social media platforms

Other social media platforms can also go a long way in getting WeChat followers. While straight up publishing WeChat QR code on Weibo is not allowed (they are competitors), you still can post WeChat account name, so visitors can search for it.

Also, sometimes you can even get away with incorporating WeChat QR code into graphic background design.

Keep in mind however that simply duplicating the content between the platforms wouldn’t give enough incentives to your Weibo followers to go to another network. Therefore you should consider offering something different on both channels.

#9: Offering practical value in terms of discounts and coupons

This is another way to make WeChat content more relevant, practical and shareable. Coupons and discounts could be time limited to create a sense of urgency – an effective marketing trick. They can also be designed to be used online or within the same WeChat account as a part of O2O campaign.

#10: Lucky draws and quizzes

People love winning prizes which makes lucky draws and quizzes an effective strategy of getting WeChat followers. WeChat account’s basic functionality can be enhanced with 3rd party extensions that are designed to handle such promotional campaigns.

Stay tuned for our second part of the list coming next week.

The post 30 Ways of Getting WeChat Followers: Part I first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post 30 Ways of Getting WeChat Followers: Part I appeared first on Sampi.co.

One of the most critical components for a successful conversion of online consumers is being able to communicate with them in real, or almost real time. In this post we are going to look at how to incorporate and use live support for Chinese website.

Chinese online consumers have already been spoiled by near instant customer support on major ecommerce sites. For example, large percentage of shoppers on Taobao would often initiate online chat session with a seller before taking a decision to make a purchase.

Regardless of whether it is a product sold from a website or an online service, Chinese visitors would expect to be able to ask questions and get answers within minutes.

Luckily, this can be accomplished in several ways and we are going to look at each of them next.

Live support for Chinese website with QQ

QQ messenger is still the most popular chat program in China. Practically every Chinese is familiar with QQ from the early days of the internet. Incorporating QQ into a website is also quite easy – all it takes is pasting a piece of code to your website to display a functional QQ icon.

By clicking a QQ icon, a visitor can start chatting immediately as long as the program is installed on their computer or a mobile device. Fortunately, this is the case for the vast majority of Chinese anyway.

Phone based support with Chinese toll free number

The good old toll free phone number is the traditional way get customers to call you directly and it would probably work well if you target somewhat less tech savvy visitors. Toll free numbers in China start with 400 and can be applied for with China’s telephone service providers. Typically, they offer several different packages and are fairly inexpensive.

Telephone companies are constantly adding more new features to those numbers such as autoresponders, forward services, voice mails, various types of notifications etc. They also allow to choose a number from an available pool, although the good numbers go quickly. While picking a 400 number it is best to avoid the “unlucky” digits such as “four”. “Eights” and “nines” are the best, so are the repetitive numbers such as 55, 66 etc.

How does live support with WeChat work

There are many good reasons to include WeChat contact on the webpage and having live support for Chinese website is just one of them. Once a visitor to a website starts following your company WeChat account, there are many ways to keep them engaged which is a whole separate topic.

Nowadays, increasing number of companies in China choose to provide customer service exclusively through WeChat because it offers much more than just a live chat. For example, WeChat can send pre-programmed answers in response to a specific inquiry with predefined keywords. It can also grab an information about users such as their present location and tailor the answer based on that criteria. More advanced companies can even integrate WeChat customer service into a sophisticated system that incorporates various types marketing automation.

One drawback of using WeChat as a live support channel is the fact it takes manual scanning of a QR code by a visitor with their cellphone. While this may be convenient for someone visiting from a desktop, browsing site on the mobile device makes that scanning impossible. The workaround is to save the QR code as a picture in the photos and then import it to WeChat. Unfortunately, this is not a straight forward process and many people are simply unaware of how to do that.

Incorporating Live Chat for Chinese Website

Live chat app is, perhaps, the most natural way to offer live support for Chinese website. Live chat can be integrated with practically any website in a form or a 3rd party plugin. There are many services that offer this type of functionality and they mainly differ in features and price plans. Basic features usually include support for mobile apps, automated responses, alerts and escalation scenarios, various levels of security, ability to share files, routing options etc.

Some of the most popular services that offer Chinese support are Zopim, LiveChat, Zoho Sales IQ as well as many others. Some of them, like Zopim, even offer free plans with limited features set and the prices for paid plans are also fairly affordable in the range of $15-30 per month – well worth the investment.

The post How to Setup Live Support for Chinese Website first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post How to Setup Live Support for Chinese Website appeared first on Sampi.co.

Momo (陌陌)

Momo is, by far, the most popular Chinese dating app and by the number of users this mobile app is only second to WeChat. In the last couple of years Momo has been trying hard to improve its past seedy reputation re-positioning itself more of an interest based social app rather than purely a hook up service. It has added some shopping elements, games, groups etc. Those changes also made it harder to navigate – it is sort of all over the place nowadays. Nevertheless, when it comes to Chinese dating apps, Momo is the first one that comes to mind of most singles in China. Unfortunately, it is only available in Chinese – the English version was discontinued 3 years ago, although the company promises to launch an international version in the future.

Tantan (探探)

After Momo, Tantan is the second most popular Chinese dating app. It doesn’t have a great deal of features focusing on just one mission – being a purely a location based hook up app. In terms of design, Tantan is a shameless Tinder rip-off taking advantage of its famous trademark feature – left or right swipe. Two users that “liked” each other can start a chat and there is a daily limit on how many profiles can be viewed. Similar to Tinder, more features can be unlocked with premium membership which is how the app makes money. Although Tantan is almost exact copy of Tinder (it also can be used in English), the western original has only itself to blame for not making it in China. By linking itself to Facebook as the only way to create an account, it has locked itself out of Chinese market from the start.

Baihe (百合)

Baihe takes looking for a date onto a whole new level. It targets people who are serious about finding the right match and are not there just looking for a booty call. In fact, users’ info in Baihe look more like job resumes rather than typical dating profiles. All users must use real names and have to pass verification to ensure there are no fakes. They are also encouraged to list assets like housing and cars with the proof that they really own them. Educational credentials such as diplomas and certificates as well as credit score are also common profile features. Dating is a serious business on Baihe and this attitude is what sets it apart from other Chinese dating apps.

QingChiFan (请吃饭)

QingChiFan literally means “invitation to a meal” which is already self-explanatory name for this Chinese dating app. The idea is that getting to know each other over a meal is the most natural form of dating. Typically, guys would be the ones offering dinner invitations and it is up to a girl to accept it. Of course, the opposite is also possible although much less common. User can also choose to extend invitation to a group as well as set the time frame within which the offer is valid: only for today, tomorrow or within a week. The “inviter” can narrow down the criteria for invitees based on age, profession and even zodiac sign. QingChiFan seems to be a great concept with a lot of potential and, for a change, without a direct equivalent in the West as far as we know.

Maohu

Most recently, Tencent has launched Maohu, a new video-centered dating app.

Users are matched based on gender (only heterosexual matching is allowed), location, interests and dating preferences. Once matched, users can only communicate via video in 5 minutes “dating sessions” while wearing a “mask”. Mask is removed for male users after 5 minutes while females can wear it indefinetly. Once the mask is removed, the beauty filters are applied automatically.

The app can be considered using a “slow dating” approach – only 3 conversations per day are allowed. “Only video” dating app is a fresh idea in the market but with the popularity of live streaming, it seems to be catching on.

Qingliao

Tencent is determined to establish itself as the top player in mobile dating market with another app called Qingliao that is being marketed as “high quality socializing”.

In essence, this is another Tinder clone – users are matched if they like each other, the only difference is that instead of left or right swipes users tap a “heart” or a “cross”. Tencent puts an emphasis on verifying members which can be done by linking to user’s verified WeChat account or sumitting photo ID.

Qingliao also limits the total number of profiles users can view within 18 hours period: 15 profiles for men and 22 for women. Most likely, paid members will be able to increase that limit but this option was not yet available when we reviewed it.

Blued

No list of Chinese dating apps would be complete without mentioning Blued, the most popular service for gay community. It is also available in English. Upon registration, users are required to upload a short video of themselves which will be manually matched with uploaded photos by Blued team. This way, the app attempts to make sure that only real people are allowed to use it but without having them to use real identities – a valid concern for many gays living in a fairly conservative Chinese society. Although it is still the most popular Chinese dating app for gays, Blued may soon find itself fighting a strong competitor – the majority stake of Grindr, the most popular Western equivalent, has recently been acquired by a Chinese billionaire.

WeChat

WeChat isn’t typically considered a dating app, although it is often used as one. The popular “Search nearby” feature allows looking for profiles within a short distance filtered out by gender preference. Users have to enable the feature first before they can be found, which means that everyone who shows up in search results is making him or her visible on purpose. Moreover, no matter what dating app one uses, once the match is found, sooner or later, they would move to WeChat anyway – it’s just easier and everyone has it anyway. So, although WeChat isn’t a dating app, it can rightly be considered to be a part of the overall dating ecosystem in China.

The post Looking for love in China? The List of 8 Most Popular Chinese Dating Apps first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post Looking for love in China? The List of 8 Most Popular Chinese Dating Apps appeared first on Sampi.co.

Recent proliferation of Western style coffee shops and fancy restaurants gave rise to the new trend of ordering food and drinks with WeChat rather than using traditional menus.

Besides the fact that WeChat app is already installed on practically every smartphone in China, vast majority of users have also connected their accounts to bank cards and use WeChat Pay on regular basis. Using WeChat to order food and drinks is not only fast and convenient but also allows instant payment directly with WeChat Pay once the order is placed.

Moreover, it doesn’t even require for a customer to follow a particular WeChat account. All it takes is scanning a QR code, which is displayed directly on the restaurant’s table, from within WeChat app.

Here is how ordering with WeChat app works:

Step 1: customers scan the QR code which is unique to each table in the restaurant. This arrangement allows tracking orders associated with customers seated at specific location.

Step 2: immediately upon scanning the QR code, WeChat app opens a menu that looks like this:

Step 3: customers can browse through menu items just as they would with the physical version, read about each item, see the prices and zoom out photos:

Step 4: customers continue adding food items to the list until they are ready to place the order:

Step 5: upon confirming the order, payment is processed automatically with WeChat Pay. At the same time, the restaurant staff receives the order and, once ready, delivers it to the right table.

Besides the obvious convenience of the whole process for the patrons, WeChat app restaurant ordering system also eliminates the need for bill splitting: everyone can simply order and pay for their food directly with their own WeChat Pay.

As for the restaurants, WeChat app ordering offers some major benefits. Serving food and delivering orders to the tables becomes easier and allows performing the same service with less staff. Streamlining orders tracking also eliminates errors.

There is no more need to print and replace menus which, as restaurants owners know, can add significantly to the cost of operation. Moreover, WeChat app based menus can be updated much easier as new items are added or removed through the app’s backend. Prices can be adjusted on short notice and promotions on specific items can run extremely easily and at any frequency.

On top of that, the backend of the application offers various analytical functions such as statistics on sales, profit analysis on specific items and various CRM functions. All those benefits allow running restaurant business much more efficiently while offering better service to patrons at the same time.

The post How WeChat App Is Changing Restaurant Business in China first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post How WeChat App Is Changing Restaurant Business in China appeared first on Sampi.co.

WeChat official account ads are displayed in the form of a banner appearing at the bottom of a WeChat article published at another WeChat Official Account.

Who can use the WeChat official account ads?

At present, all types of accounts are eligible to run official WeChat account ads and there are no limits on the industry types like in the case of WeChat Moments ads.

Running WeChat account ads may also be significantly cheaper compared to WeChat Moments ads – the minimum required to start is set to RMB 1,000 (~USD 150).

There are also two models available: CPM and CPC. CPM prices range between RMB 5 and 25 depending on the city type and ad type (video ads are more expensive).

CPC is bidding based with the minimum bid set at RMB 0.5 but would most likely be much higher than the minimum, especially for highly competitive industries.

Minimum daily budget is set to RMB 50 for text/image ads and RMB 200 for videos.

Here are some of the examples of WeChat official accounts advertising banners:

How does it work?

– A qualified WeChat publisher publishes an article on their WeChat account;
– The banner ad will be shown at the bottom of the relevant articles;
– User can interact with the ad through a button, although they can’t like or comment on it (users can still like or comment on the article itself);
– Ad banner contains a logo, account name and headline, or a picture, or a video;
– The button can link to a webpage (HTML5) hosted on Tencent’s server;
– The banner ads can drive users to follow WeChat Official Account, download an app, claim coupon code, buy a product, signup link or lead to a customized landing page.

Targeting

Targeting options for WeChat official accounts advertising are identical to WeChat Moments ads. Currently, WeChat targeting options are as follows:

Location:

The locations are defined in 3 levels: core cities, large cities and everything else:

Core cities: Beijing, Shanghai

Large cities: Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Suzhou,
Chongqing, Nanjing, Tianjin, Xi’an, Guiyang, Changsha, Qingdao,
Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Dalian, Xiamen, Jinan, Harbin, Fuzhou

*Note that WeChat official account ads will not be served to overseas users, only those residing in the Mainland.

Gender & Age:

Gender (male/female) and various age brackets from 5 to 60+ years old

Industry specific or user’s interests:

Advertisers can define an industry category and subcategory while setting up a campaign.

Here is an example of defining an industry and choosing an available subcategory:

WeChat would immediately show how many users are in each of the chosen combination of criteria.

Marital Status:

Single, married, newly married or raising a child
Education level:

PhD, master, bachelor, high school, primary school

WeChat behavior:

Currently following your public account, already using your app, collected a WeChat coupon from ads within the past year, and showed interest in your previous ads during the past year.

In the past, WeChat official account advertising has been criticized for low CTR and the lack of control on the advertiser’s part. At the moment, WeChat is the one deciding on which accounts ads should be served. Advertisers have no way controlling and specifying exactly where their ads should appear.

Those advertisers who would like to specify exactly with which accounts they would like to advertise often consider KOL (key opinion leaders) route rather than WeChat official account advertising.

Follow the link below to learn about the other type of WeChat advertising:

>> WeChat Moment ads

The post WeChat Advertising Overview: WeChat Official Account Ads first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post WeChat Advertising Overview: WeChat Official Account Ads appeared first on Sampi.co.

Up until the release of new search function, searching on WeChat was, perhaps, the most frustrating experience of the otherwise awesome app.

For example, unless you knew a specific official account’s registered ID and could input it precisely into the search prompt, finding it would be almost impossible. If you were searching for a specific topic or news, only the main keywords would return any meaningful results despite the fact that there could millions conversations on the same topic taking place on WeChat.

With the integration of the new enhanced WeChat search function things have changed dramatically. It is now, in almost every respect, a proper search tool, not unlike Baidu or Qihoo.

First, if you haven’t enabled WeChat search function with your app, here is how to do it: go to Settings -> WeChat Labs. Then tap on “Top stories” and set it to “enable”, then do the same for “Search” from the same WeChat Labs screen.

The new WeChat search function is still quite different compared to Baidu mainly because it only shows content that was published on WeChat rather than elsewhere on the internet. Therefore, for now, it can’t completely replace Baidu or other search engines with wider reach.

On the other hand, it is safe to assume that WeChat search function will continue evolving to become more of a traditional search platform competing head to head with Baidu and other search heavyweights.

Here is what we should expect from future versions of WeChat search:

Sponsored search and advertisement

Paid ads is the main moneymaker for search engines and social media platforms, so there is little doubt that WeChat is going in the same direction. Most likely it will be a gradual process for several reasons: WeChat has been cautious in introducing advertising in the past and is likely to roll out more advertising options slowly and carefully.

Expanding search results

Tencent is a major shareholder in Sogou, the third largest search engine in China. It means that, technically, they should be able to integrate traditional search results from wider internet with those that only cover content published on WeChat. Perhaps, this would allow them to become a real competitor with Baidu on the quality and reach of internet search.

Integration with ecommerce

WeChat search has an incredible potential to drive ecommerce traffic to thousands of WeChat stores and compete with the industry giants like Taobao, Tmall and JD.com. All the ingredients for a successful integration of a shopping experience into WeChat are already in place: ecommerce option for WeChat accounts and WeChat Pay system. What was missing is the tool for users to search for products – exactly what new WeChat search function should be able to address.

Highly customized search experience

Unlike other search engines, WeChat has unique capability to connect searches with real users which is much bigger feat for Baidu or other traditional search engines. Someone who is using Baidu doesn’t have to be logged in or even have an account. In those cases, for the purpose of tracking search history and behavior, Baidu primarily relies on cookies placed in users’ browser cache. This means that tracking users and connecting them to real people is much harder for traditional search engines.

WeChat on the other hand knows much more about their users including their real names and phone numbers (all accounts have to be verified with user ID in order to have access to most useful functions), real time location, shopping history, their spending habits and even their account balance. In addition, the type of content those users have been consuming and other accounts they are following completes the picture of their interests and habits. This wealth of data gives WeChat unmatched potential to tailor results to specific users that would be most relevant to them in place and time.

In conclusion, the introduction of the latest WeChat search function is going to be the beginning of the new era in WeChat dominance and, perhaps, marks a decline of some of the traditional search tools and platforms.

The post WeChat Search Function Expansion and What May Be Coming Next first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post WeChat Search Function Expansion and What May Be Coming Next appeared first on Sampi.co.

Here are the eight of the least known but extremely useful WeChat features:

Multiple video chats

One of the least known but powerful WeChat features inside groups is multiple video chat. I allows group members to communicate in video conference mode. It works with up to 9 users – ideal for study groups and remote teams. Of course, that one requires fast internet connection and may not work well on mobile networks.

Long press on picture inputs a name

This is a cute little shortcut that you probably never used unless you discovered it by accident. While in a chat, tap and hold the profile picture of the other party and you’ll be able to address them without having to type their name. This WeChat feature is especially useful in a group chat while addressing a specific person and saves using “@user_name”.

Favorites – save anything

Here is the most underused WeChat feature – Favorites. What most users don’t realize is that they can store practically anything there: from favored posts, and images to photos, locations, documents in multiple formats and voice memos. Moreover, those can also be shared and synced across multiple devices.

Adjusting moments options per individual user

While scrolling through Moments, you can quickly adjust setting for each individual users who show up in your feed. Just tap and hold the profile picture for 2 seconds until Moments options button shows up. Then you can choose to hide moments from that user or make your own updates invisible only to them.

Built in photo editor

WeChat has its own photo editor which you can use to edit images before sharing them. It’s fairly similar to iOS photo editor in functionality but it allows you can do all of the editing, marking and annotations on your photos directly within WeChat app.

Spying on the articles your friends are reading

Have you ever wondered what your connections are reading on WeChat? This WeChat feature allows you to see the articles your friends have been reading but haven’t necessarily shared. Just go to Subscriptions, tap on Search Articles and then choose the only option available: “original articles read by friends”.

Individual privacy settings for shared content

Another convenient WeChat feature is individual privacy settings for content. For example, user can share a photo that will be visible to all friends (default), only specific friends, no one or all friends except specific ones.

Transaction history

Ever wanted to find a specific past transaction in WeChat but couldn’t figure out how? Locating that WeChat feature can be tricky but not too hard if you know where to find it. Just go to Wallet and tap three dots at the top right corner. This opens up a menu with transactions history. All transactions can be filtered out by dates and types.

The post 8 Powerful WeChat Features You Probably Didn’t Know About first appeared on Sampi.co.

The post 8 Powerful WeChat Features You Probably Didn’t Know About appeared first on Sampi.co.