WeChat Advertising: What Is It, Working, Types, How to Use, and More 

WeChat is no longer just a messaging app. Now, it has become a platform for advertising and business promotion. Now, WeChat has become a social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Currently, there are more than 1.2 billion active monthly users of WeChat. Hence, to advertise or promote their products and services, businesses are resorting to WeChat Advertising processes. 

In this article, you will learn about WeChat Advertising and how it works. Apart from that, you will also learn the importance of and types of WeChat advertisements. Furthermore, the article will also provide details about the requirements on WeChat. Finally, you will learn how to use WeChat Advertising and best practices. Hence, to learn more, read on to the end of the article.

WeChat Advertising: What Is It?

According to WebFX, “WeChat is a Chinese app that yields an impressive user base of more than 1 billion people. The app is owned by one of Asia’s largest companies, Tencent. The primary purpose of WeChat is messaging, and in fact, that’s how the app got its start. In time, it came to offer everything from payments to mini programs like games, payment options, public services, movie tickets, and more.” 

WeChat Advertising is a powerful tool you can use to market your products and services on the WeChat platform. This will give you access to the audiences of one of the most popular Chinese social media and messaging applications. By using WeChat ads, you can get access to a large user base and a variety of advertising formats. 

With WeChat advertising, you can perform marketing activities on the app platform. Here, the advertising options come in different types, including display ads, official account ads, moments ads, and more. Furthermore, WeChat also allows you to collaborate with key opinion leaders on the platform (KOLs). 

In general, the WeChat platform enables advertisements on official accounts that function as business profiles on the platform. Hence, if you want to run your ads on the platform, you need first to set up your account and verify your WeChat official account. Once your account is verified, you will get access to the WeChat advertising admin platform. 

By having access to the admin platform, you can create ads and targets and get access to campaign management tools. Here, as an advertiser, you will be able to define your target audiences better with the use of interests, demographics, behavior, and location. 

What is the Importance of WeChat Advertising?

The following are some of the major reasons why WeChat advertising is important: 

1. You Will Have Better Access to Users

One of the major reasons for WeChat advertising is that it has a massive number of daily and monthly users. With more than 1.2 billion active monthly users, there is a big chance to connect with a large audience with WeChat. 

2. Better Engagement

WeChat is also a useful marketing tool that allows you to engage with users through various advertisement techniques like moments, group chats, multimedia, etc. As a result, with the help of this multifaceted approach, you can make better relationships with your target customers. Furthermore, it will also lead to better brand loyalty in the long run.

3. Content Sharing and Storytelling

WeChat is a platform where businesses can share a variety of content formats to attract their target audience. As a marketer, you can use articles, videos, images, infographics, etc., through a variety of WeChat sub-platforms and WeChat channels.

This added diversity in the WeChat platform makes WeChat advertising an excellent tool for content marketing. As a result, you will be able to tell your brand’s story better and also in an effective manner.

4. Improved Customer Service

One of the best features of the WeChat platform is that it offers a strong channel for customer service and support. Here, businesses are able to run WeChat groups since it allows businesses to interact with their customers and target audiences in real time. As a result, businesses are able to address their inquiries and concerns better. 

What are the Types of WeChat Advertising?

The following are the different types of WeChat advertising techniques that you can use on the WeChat platform: 

1. WeChat Moments Advertising

WeChat Moments Advertising is the most popular tool among businesses. This is because the user typically uses the Moments platform when they open the app on their phone. These ads come from the users’ feed and are mostly higher-budget ads on the platform. However, the best part is that the exposure level is high. 

Apart from that, it is also important for you to know that WeChat Moments is only available for certain advertisers. Here, a company can only be an established brand that is well-known in China or a foreign company that has registered operations in the country. 

2. WeChat Banner Advertising

This is one of the most effective ways to advertise on the WeChat platform. These ads are like ad banners that you see on websites. However, these banners are quite different from the pines that users send as messages to their friends and family. This is because WeChat banner advertisements are at the bottom of posts that are available through WeChat’s official accounts. Hence, you can redirect traffic to another account. 

Here are the major components of WeChat Banner Ads: 

• WeChat Articles: These ads are available at the bottom of WeChat posts. By clicking those posts, customers will get redirected to another WeChat business account. 
• Ad Banner: This consists of a logo, name of the account, headline, and more. When users click on it, they go to a page that contains more information about the brand and product. 
• Call to Action: This ad component redirects users to another landing page. 

3. WeChat Mini Program Advertising

WeChat Mini Program Advertising is an advertising program within the WeChat messaging app. This allows businesses to have access to their target users with the help of mini-programs in addition to WeChat Banner ads and WeChat Moments. Here are the different types of WeChat advertising you can do with mini-programs: 

• Pop-up ads 
• Banner ads 
• WeChat mini-games advertisement 

4. Key Opinion Leaders

Key Opinion Leaders are influencers with whom you can collaborate to market your brand on the WeChat platform. This means that you will need to pay a popular WeChat influencer or blogger in exchange for a promotional post on their WeChat official account. Here, you will need to pay either through a flat fee or a fee based on results. Apart from that, you can also pay by giving away products and services and allowing them to be reviewed. 

WeChat Advertising: Regulations and Best Practices

WeChat is not merely a social media platform; it is also a strong business ecosystem where businesses are able to get more opportunities to get to their target audience. With various types of marketing options, businesses can get access to a large arsenal of brand-building tools and platforms. This helps them to work towards better customer engagement and more sales. 

However, there are some best practices for businesses to follow, which are based on WeChat regulations: 

• Before you advertise, make sure you are aware of your target audience. Hence, you need to conduct a thorough research of your audience. This will enable you to understand their demographics and preferences. 
• Make sure your content pieces are compelling and optimized so that they are ready for mobile consumption. This will ensure your access to more number of customers. 
• There are quite a number of interactive features on the platform that will allow you to improve user engagement and interactivity. 
• You will also need to ensure that your content is localized. Hence, it will allow you to make your target audience resonate with a diverse number of audiences. 
• You must also continuously monitor campaign performance metrics. Furthermore, you must iterate on the basis of the insights you received. 

WeChat Advertising: What are the Pros and Cons?

The following are the major pros and cons of WeChat Advertising that you need to learn about: 

Pros

Here are the major pros of WeChat advertising that you will benefit from: 

• With the help of WeChat Moments advertising, you will be able to reach a large number of audience. Furthermore, it also gives a good ROI for well-known companies. 
• There are different types of advertising options on WeChat. This will help you reach your customers through various methods. 
• WeChat allows you to link to the landing page that you choose while advertising. 

Cons

Here are a few cons of WeChat advertising that you need to be aware of: 

• Generally, WeChat is hesitant to monetize its app with advertising. This is because it wants its users to get a more personal feel within the app. More advertising leads to more spam, which can lead to downgrading of user experience. 

• You might face problems with WeChat advertising targeting as compared to other social media platforms. 
• WeChat advertising is a costly process. 

Wrapping Up

Hope this article was helpful for you to get a good idea of how WeChat advertising works and how it can benefit your business in the long run. One of the best things about WeChat is that there are plenty of advertising options, and you get access to a large number of users. Hence, it is a great opportunity to build your brand. 

Do you have more suggestions on WeChat advertising options? Consider sharing your ideas and opinions in the comments section below.