HOW TO GET AND KEEP FOLLOWERS ON WECHAT
Nearly everyone doing business in Australia now knows about the power and impact that has become Wechat. With over 1 billion monthly active users and a multitude of functions including a payment platform and Wechat stores, Wechat has become the go to app for Chinese and for Australian businesses wanting to attract Chinese customers and clients.
The challenge that many small businesses face is that they don’t understand how to use Wechat or that the cost and time required to set up and manage a Wechat account is too daunting and time consuming.
In my conversations with small business owners and service providers, I am often asked the question of how to manage a small business or individual Wechat account. It can be done, and it doesn’t have to cost a small fortune.
I’m sharing my very top tips that I recommend for to get and retain followers with small scale Wechat accounts.
CREATE A MEMORABLE NAME & ID
Having a memorable name, whether it is your personal or business a name is absolutely critical.
If you have a usual western name, abbreviate it to no more than three Chinese characters so that your contacts can remember. Unless you are Nicole Kidman, no one is going to remember a lengthy Wechat name. Chinese names are almost always two or three characters.
When setting up a Wechat account, Wechat assigns a generic ID. Make sure this is changed to something that is specific and again, memorable. The auto generated numbers make you look inauthentic.
REGULAR MEANINGFUL CONTENT—NOT JUST SALES
While you don’t have to post everyday like you may do with your Insta or Facebook accounts, posting meaningful content three times a week is critical to build your story and content profile. And don't just use it to post one image and caption as you do with Insta.
WECHAT IS NOT INSTAGRAM!
The great thing about Wechat is that you can use up to nine images for posts and post short videos of up to ten seconds long per post. You can and should accompany your amazing images with a great short story. While it’s best to have this in Chinese, you can use a mix of Chinese and English to get your message across.
Imagery is always better as original not stock.
OFFLINE EVENTS TO BUILD AUDIENCE AND COMMUNITY
Having a Wechat account is amazing but make sure you have a great strategy to build your followers. Make sure your Linkedin profile is connected to your Wechat. Attend regular Chinese community events, and if you can sponsor those events, even better. Try and make sure events and community activities are something that you are genuinely interested in.
Attending these events are a great way to build your network.
Make sure you have your Wechat QR code printed on your card. That way if the internet is down or you forget to scan, then your contact can scan your QR even if you’re not there.
BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER IN YOUR AREA
Have something meaningful to say about your business or your industry. This will help you develop your personal brand and profile as a genuine and trusted authority in your industry.
Make sure you share your insights, tips and values on via your Wechat content.
RESPOND TO ENQUIRIES
The most critical thing to remember is to ensure that you respond to enquiries and questions, even if they do not necessarily lead to a sale. The maximum time to respond is half a day. Any longer than that, and you have lost the lead.
If you get stuck or lost with this process, hire an expert to help with the set up, content management and strategy. This can be a very low cost exercise that does not eat into your marketing budget and is sometimes easier than managing yourself. However, it is still important to remain engaged in the process, respond to enquiries and work with someone who can create and share your vision to generate and provide quality content and service to your customers.
For further enquiries about this article or if you need support with your Wechat, please contact me on [email protected]