wechat mini programmes Archives

Short Video Platforms to Deal with Stricter Rating Measures

Problems with fan circles, such as irrational fan support among young fans, have become a cause of concern for Chinese politicians. Setting up a classification system for short video platforms is one of the options that has recently been offered.

‘First, we should tighten content management and allow the media to fulfil its social role,’ Chinese officials stated. Second, market restraints should be increased to aid the return to the rationality of the star-making frenzy.’

Netizens praised the move, pointing out that short videos have a significant influence on young people today, and that many videos on platforms like Kuaishou focus on attracting attention but neglect quality.

Last year, China saw certain limits come into effect when a notice was published in September 2021 forbidding TV and streaming platforms from running idol training shows – competitive reality shows that pit future stars against one other, with the victors going on to become China’s newest idols.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8t7aaiOj0j1OhHSIwffFqA

How to Make Your Brand Go Viral: Branded Mini-Movies in China

Mini movies are short cinematic pieces created for a particular product or brand. The duration is generally shorter than 30 minutes. With the advancement of new media technologies, the branded mini-movie was formed, and it has become a popular marketing tool in recent years.

The purpose of a branded mini-movie is to disseminate information in order to demonstrate the brand’s values and messaging for commercial purposes. Touch and Go, a 90-second Cadillac commercial mini-movie starring Daniel Wu and released in 2010, is credited with being China’s first branded mini-movie.

Many brands have turned to mini-movie marketing as a regular activity in recent years, and some have even developed their own mini-movies. Alibaba Pictures, for example, was launched by Alibaba in 2014.

One of the most popular mini-movies was What is Peppa? (啥是佩奇?) video with several hundred million views across streaming media platforms and the Chinese hashtag for #WhatIsPeppa was viewed nearly 1.5 billion times on Sina Weibo soon after its release.

Link: https://daxueconsulting.com/branded-mini-movies-in-china/

Video Account Has Added Useful New Features

The service menu can be added to the WeChat Channels

Recently, brands that have received certification have been able to add a “service menu” capability to their home page, allowing for a straight jump to a mini-program.

At present, several WeChat Channels have added new service menus, and different types of accounts can customize the service setup. For example, the Channel 丁香医生 has two service sections and Huawei Customer Service features six service sections for contacting customer service, store inquiries. etc. It can more effectively reach users and improve their convenience.

Paid live-streaming rooms on WeChat Channels

Previously, Tencent NBA WeChat Channel hosted first paid live broadcast room, which carried NBA regular season content. The brand can create a paid live streaming room where users can choose what they want to view.

The relationship between WeCom and WeChat Channels getting closer

WeCom added an option to send, receive, and watch the WeChat Channels live broadcasts, as well as send and receive live broadcasts from customers and publish them to customers’ friends’ Moments. The current version of WeCom now supports the direct push of the channel’s business card, which helps to gain exposure of the brand and increase the number of WeChat Channels followers.

Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VcPwp9lo_67PL1DG5Ck9kg

WeChat which is known as Weixin (pronounced way-shin) in China is the country’s killer app, a highly addictive social networking tool that allows smartphone users to send messages and share news, photographs, videos, and web links, similar to WhatsApp in the United States or Line in Japan.

Every year, WeChat organizes the annual conference “Open Class Pro” aimed at WeChat creators to find out what that number means for small businesses and what other new plans the networking giant has in the works.

WeChat Open Class Pro Highlights

1. On January 4th, 2022, at the annual event promoting the app’s new functions and strategies, a group of middle-ranking Tencent executives dubbed “WeChat lecturers” worked together to persuade Chinese users, including content creators and merchants, that the app would continue to be an important tool for entertainment and business in China with its mini-programs and short videos.

2. One of the main takeaways from the event was that the number of mini-programs – primarily created by third parties – has been gradually increasing, with 450 million daily active users expected by 2021. WeChat users visited small programs 32% more frequently in 2021 than the previous year, according to the Shenzhen-based tech giant.

In 2021, according to Lake Zeng Ming, CEO of Tencent’s Weixin Open Platform, more than 700 million individuals used pandemic-related services such as Covid-19 testing and vaccination appointments via WeChat micro-apps.
Tencent also stated that over the next three years, it will pay 10 billion yuan (US$1.57 billion) in subsidies to small merchants to encourage them to modernize their digital infrastructure.

3. Tencent also held a special session at the event on Channels, the app’s own short video service that will launch in 2020 and compete with Douyin, which has over 600 million daily active users in China.

Tencent has taken a step-by-step strategy to promote Channels, giving video content a more prominent position on WeChat. Channels had amassed 200 million users as of June 2021, according to the most recent data from Tencent, but WeChat has not given updated user counts since.

4. Weixin’s annual conference in Guangzhou also highlighted advancements in the app’s payment and search functions, as well as the commercial version. But it was the app’s “channels” feature’s short videos and live streams that grabbed the Internet by storm.

Social Impact Methods in Empowering the Vulnerable

Weixin has included a new option for older users called Easy Mode, as well as an improvement to the Parental Control Mode for underage users, further boosting connections with age-specific updates.
Weixin launched a scheme for over 60,000 Shenzhen sanitation workers that allow them to eat for only 0.01 yuan a week at roughly 1,000 restaurants throughout the city. To assist gather funds, more than 20,000 eateries and their customers in China joined the philanthropic project.
In another case, Weixin developed the Star Knows campaign and used the Mini Program to enlist the public’s love and support in order to expand the number of books available to rural children.
Weixin also employed the Mini Program to assist Chinese users in becoming more environmentally conscious. Weixin launched the country’s first educational mini-program dedicated to the science of carbon emissions to raise public understanding of climate change.

The 2022 Open Class PRO conference went all out to achieve net-zero emissions, with speakers and guests wearing clothing made entirely of recycled plastic bottles. According to professional calculators, this event established a balance between emissions created and emissions removed from the environment

Weixin stated that it will continue to improve its products and provide support to developers, content creators, and partners in order for them to survive in the dynamic ecosystem and collaborate to provide more people-oriented innovative services.

How Did Small Businesses Benefit From Weixin Mini-Program?

Case study

Xiao Mian, a popular street meal from China’s southwest serves hot, tingly, and mouth-numbing dishes. Su Xuxiang, on the other hand, sees a lot of potential for delicacy across the country. Weixin’s noodle business has grown to 150 locations nationally in the last seven years, thanks in part to his mini-program feature.

Benefits

Yujian Xiaomian, co-founder of SU XUXIANG stated “Weixin was the first platform we used for orders and payments. We opted to employ the mini-program features two years ago. It not only improves our service, but it also allows us to better understand our clients. With the users’ permission, we can see what foods they prefer and where on the menu they spend the most time. It has also aided us in attracting six million people’’

Mini programs are less expensive and easier to develop than standalone apps, making them perfect for low-budget start-ups.

Tencent’s Weixin, or WeChat, claims that 450 million people used its mini-programs on a daily basis in 2021. These mini-programs are WeChat-based services provided by third parties.

According to Weixin, small and medium-sized firms created 90% of new mini-programs in the previous year.

Tencent’s XU YANGYANG Catering and Life Services Business Weixin Open Platform is a platform created by Weixin. “COVID-19 cases continued showing up all over the place in 2020, wreaking havoc on dine-in services. That’s why, in addition to catering, we encouraged contactless ordering in barbershops and laundry services. The number of mini-programs and daily active users had doubled a year later. Most crucially, the number of transactions increased by a factor of five. We believe we’ve improved the efficiency of enterprises and society, which will lead to a stronger economic recovery.”

Conclusion

If you’re targeting higher-end customers, WeChat Mini-programs will almost certainly remain an important element of your marketing ecosystem. This is because they make it easier to convert new users.
Users that try out services through the WeChat Mini program are considerably more likely to upgrade to a Native App.
They’re a powerful tool because of their capacity to transform WeChat content into e-commerce.

If you require further support with setting up your WeChat account, please contact our team. We use our knowledge and expertise to help businesses build meaningful partnerships and develop their network among Chinese customers. For additional information, please contact us by phone – Shanghai or Hong Kong

Sources:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-01-07/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDYxODQ1/index.html

https://chozan.co/wechat-vs-weixin/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weixins-open-ecosystem-reports-user-and-engagement-growth-301455662.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weixin

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162340/chinas-ubiquitous-wechat-doubles-down-mini-apps-short-videos-it-faces

https://walkthechat.com/wechat-mini-programs-simple-introduction/#:~:text=If%20you’re%20targeting%20higher,convert%20to%20a%20Native%20App.

https://recordtrend.com/industry-information/all-highlights-of-2021-wechat-open-class-pro/

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