Navigating digital marketing in China can be a challenging endeavor, especially when it comes to choosing the right type of WeChat account for your WeChat for business. With over a billion active WeChat users, the platform offers expansive opportunities for businesses looking to tap into the Chinese market. However, the question often arises: Should you opt for a Personal or an Official WeChat account for WeChat business?

 

 

In this article, you will find out:
  1. What are the key differences between personal and official WeChat accounts for business use?
  2. Why might businesses struggle to choose the right type of WeChat account when entering the Chinese market?
  3. What advantages do official WeChat accounts offer for businesses compared to personal accounts?
  4. How can WeChat’s various features, such as Mini Programs and WeChat Pay, benefit businesses using official accounts?
  5. In what situations might a personal WeChat account be beneficial for business communication, despite its limitations?

Understanding WeChat’s Popularity in China

WeChat, a brainchild of Tencent, has become an indispensable part of daily life for approximately 1.25 billion WeChat users in China. It’s more than just a messaging app—it’s a multifunctional social media WeChat platform offering payment services, mini programs, and opportunities for businesses to engage with a vast audience. Consequently, understanding its relevance and leveraging its potential is crucial for businesses aiming to establish a firm presence in China.

 

The Role of WeChat for Businesses in China

Given WeChat’s massive popularity and the vastness of WeChat ecosystem, businesses can’t afford to ignore its substantial WeChat marketing potential. The platform allows brands to interact with their customers, target specific demographics, and foster loyal customers through personalized WeChat promotion. Effectively leveraging WeChat can significantly enhance brand recognition, boost sales, and cultivate customer loyalty.

Many brands struggle to break into the Chinese market and hesitate between WeChat account types they need whether it should be WeChat personal account to WeChat business account? And if we decide for WeChat account creation, are service or subscription accounts better?

 

🔎 Discover the differences between WeChat service account vs WeChat subscription accounts

 

Registering an official account and going through the WeChat verification process often sounds like a hassle, which is not fully true. If you have all documents ready and fulfill WeChat requirements, you are good to go for WeChat registration process. Contrary to what you might think, you don’t need a Chinese business license to start!

 

🚀 We explain how to open WeChat account in our WeChat Guide!

WeChat Decoded eBook
WeChat Marketing Course

 

WeChat Personal Accounts for Business Communication?

But first, let’s see why some companies even consider having a personal account in the first place. These only require a mobile phone number to register WeChat and users can start messaging with contacts or posting to Moments right after they create WeChat account.

 

 

WeChat personal accounts are primarily designed for casual communication, allowing users to engage in text, voice messaging, and video calls. Users can also participate in webinars, share information in group chats, transfer files, make reservations, and conduct payments. However, these accounts lack business-centric WeChat features offered by Official WeChat business accounts, such as enhanced WeChat customer service.

 

 

Also, users need to be ‘friends’ with the account in order to be able to interact or see updates from other individuals.

 

 

Personal WeChat accounts offer a level of flexibility that allows businesses to post content and interact with customers more freely. On the other hand, official WeChat accounts come with additional perks such as access to marketing tools and the ability to boost brand credibility, making them a strategic choice for businesses seeking to leverage WeChat official accounts for growth.

 

While using a Personal WeChat account might seem appealing due to its flexibility and casual communication style, it’s essential to consider its drawbacks for WeChat business purposes. The primary concern is that it will appear unprofessional to potential clients, raising questions about your brand’s legitimacy when using WeChat for business. Furthermore, privacy issues can arise from sharing personal information on the same channel used for business.

 

Official WeChat Accounts: Features and Capabilities

Official WeChat accounts are tailored for businesses looking to extend their reach and engage in WeChat content marketing. These accounts enable businesses to execute marketing campaigns, share crucial information, and post articles regularly. Businesses can also integrate these accounts with third-party services and utilize content creation tools for targeted advertising.

 

They come with an array of marketing and analytics tools, improved brand visibility, and customer support. Official WeChat accounts offer access to WeChat analytics that allow businesses to track WeChat followers’ behavior and demographics. This can help businesses create targeted content, run WeChat campaigns and promotions for specific audiences. Official accounts also enhance brand credibility and visibility, enabling businesses to establish trust and authority with potential customers in China. They also provide access to always-on information thanks to WeChat menu.

 

While WeChat tools offer a plethora of features such as WeChat Pay, WeChat Mini Programs (aka WeChat applications), geolocation marketing, multiple QR codes, WeChat advertising, and benefits like push notifications, managing them can be complex. Setting up a WeChat enterprise account involves registering the company and dealing with legalities, which can be a daunting task for businesses unfamiliar with WeChat management processes.

 

A corporate WeChat official account will effectively serve as your centralized hub for all company updates. It can potentially host a CRM system in the future. You won’t be able to onboard your private contacts into any CRM system if they are not following your official account.

 

Are Private Accounts a Hard No?

There are, however, certain situations where adding a personal touch to your communication is preferable. In these instances, personal WeChat accounts offer a direct line of communication with customers, fostering strong relationships and customer loyalty. This is particularly true when you meet people at fairs or trade shows and they naturally wish to maintain contact with you to discuss future opportunities.

Despite its benefits, using a personal WeChat account for WeChat business purposes can blur the line between personal and professional communication. Potentially it can lead to serious confusion and misunderstandings. Moreover, these accounts have limited scalability and features, which can inhibit a company’s growth and WeChat for business online presence.

 

They might be a good fit in certain exceptional situations, but most of the time, personal accounts can hinder business transparency. You might also prefer to be part of conversations between team members and business partners. In this case, you might consider moving communication with the clients to WeCom. It’s also known as WeChat Work or WeChat Enterprise Account. It’s a great enterprise WeChat tool that offers all the functionalities of a personal account and more, within enterprise solutions offering integrated services such as WeChat groups, and is used for both external and internal communication to facilitate work collaboration.

 

Additionally, WeChat messages with Chinese customers and partners taking place within an instant chat service will most likely be scattered and hard to retrieve if, let’s say, you don’t back up your phone or if your employee leaves the company.

 

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

When deciding between a personal or WeChat public account for your business, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons. Consider factors such as upfront costs, scalability, privacy concerns, and the professional image that official accounts provide.

 

A thing to keep in mind! An official account WeChat can be discovered (for example through WeChat search) and followed by all users on the platform. On the other side, a personal account has a significant limitation as it is only visible to connected individuals. Your potential to reach Chinese followers will only depend on your personal network. Moreover, personal accounts can only have up to 5,000 contacts.

 

Surely, there is a place for a personal account in a WeChat strategy, for instance, for specific customer service inquiries. However, if you want your company to project a serious and trustworthy image, it is crucial to focus on a more professional approach right from the start. This emphasis should particularly extend to your WeChat public accounts. Building a professional presence on WeChat is essential for conveying credibility and reliability to your audience.

 

Regardless of the choice you make, it’s critical to align your decision with your overall business objectives. Whether you’re aiming for a personal touch with lower costs or seeking the extensive marketing tools and credibility that come with a WeChat official account, make sure your choice serves your business in the best possible way and contributes to your WeChat branding and WeChat community. Subscribe to our blog to follow more WeChat trends and major updates!