How to advertise successfully on WeChat

China’s ultimate “Super-App” is WeChat.  Stretching across China’s different demographics to reach over 750 million active daily users and more than 2 billion users worldwide. In other words, WeChat is the leading platform to deliver your advertising message on and grow your Chinese audience because of this reach.  Furthermore, China offers endless business opportunities to tap into to through strategic marketing.  However, the wide variety of advertising options WeChat PPC presents can be a challenge to successfully navigate.

WeChat Advertising Backend

As a result, we are going to break down WeChat’s advertising alternatives so you can pick those that align with your goals and leverage the full power of the platform.  These include:

•   Brand promotion
•   Official accounts
•   Apps
•   Physical and online stores
•   Deal and discount distribution
•   Sales information collection

When creating a marketing campaign on WeChat, each of these options can be selected:

 

 WeChat PPC backend is only available in Chinese

 

First of all, to start advertising your business on WeChat is to register an advertising account.  However, creating an Official WeChat Account alone, is not enough to start advertising. Applying for an advertising account within WeChat is relatively easy, and can be completed within a few business days. As a result, creating the WeChat advertising account will enable you to target your audience, pay for services and launch your ads.

Furthermore, after setting a goal you will choose the mechanism that best suits your goal.  For example, this could be promoting in Moments News Feed, Official Account Articles, or Mini Programs.

Target audiences can be based on:

• Location – specifically province, city, or district levels
• Gender
• Age– from 14 to over 65 years old
• Marital status
• Education level – from elementary to post-graduate
• Mobile network – WiFi, 4G, 3G, etc.
• Phone system – iOS or Android

Drilling down, further customization includes:

• User’s home price
• Date of home purchase
• Amount spent on the phone

Finally, create your campaign. Target your audience. Pay for the service. Get WeChat approval.  Go live with your advertisement!

 

 

                

Wechat PPC Advertising

 

 

Results from launching your advertising campaign are dependent on the goals you set.  Examples of your call-to-action can be:

• Follow Official Account
• Download App
• Read an Article
• Provide Customer Data (lead generation)

Case Study: Education WeChat Advertising

Wharton Executive MBA WeChat PPC Campaign as displayed on WeChat moments:

 

 

WeChat PPC Advertising campaign for Berkeley Executive MBA:

 

 

These ads on Moments News Feed are for the Executive Education Program at UC Berkeley and the Wharton School of Business.  For example, when you tap on each WeChat ad the user goes to a landing page where they see an offer for:

• A Promotional Discount
• Detailed Program Information
• A Contact Form so admissions staff can reach out

WeChat’s Moments News Feed offers many different advertising formats, as discussed in more detail below:

Variety of WeChat PPC Advertisements:

1. Moments News Feed

Firstly, WeChat Moments is the user’s standard  “news feed,” where text, video, and images from WeChat friends appear in chronological order. This is the most popular and effective WeChat advertising to reach a broader more specific audience as this is the part of WeChat that everyone sees. Secondly, ads appear on WeChat Moments in the same way a post from a friend does but has 广告  [Ad] noted in the upper right-hand corner.

Furthermore, moments’ ads offer the most customization options. They also are the most expensive. Ads can appear as Image/Video and Text, Basic Card, Tagline Card, Active Card, Selection Card, Full-Width Card, Panoramic Card, Sliding Card, and Long-Press Card. Let’s dive into each of these a little deeper.

Image/Video and text:

1. Profile Picture and Username — tapping on the Account Username directs the user to the advertiser’s Official Account.

2. Text — WeChat advises that the Text be clean and easy to understand, with no more than 45 characters and 4 lines.

3. Image — WeChat encourages advertisers to use 1, 3, 4, or 6 supporting images. Video — with dimensions of 750*1334 (for horizontal) and 750*1536 (for vertical) can increase engagement.

4. Learn More — tapping this link directs users to the full-length advertisement.

5. Business Location — this feature best serves in-person businesses and will redirect users to the business location on their device’s Map app.

6. User Interaction — users “like” and comment on the ad here.

 

There are eight different Card options allowing you to customize your ad.  All Card ads display the Profile Picture, Username, Business Location, and User Interaction the same way.  The main differences between Cards are the size and appearance of the image/video and the swiping and tapping capabilities on the screen.

 

Basic Card

 

1. Profile Picture and Username

2. Image or Video – tapping into the card directs the user to the official page, a Mini Program, or a custom link.

3. Text — the optional headline has at least 10 characters. Required details need at least 30 characters.

4. Business Location

5. User Interaction

 

 

Tagline Card

1. Profile Picture and Username

2. Image or Video — tapping into the card directs the user to the official page, a Mini Program, or a custom link.

3. Text — the optional headline has at least 10 characters. Required details need at least 30 characters.

4. Tagline – users quickly understand the Card’s most important details through the use of keywords. This style allows up to three taglines, with no more than 16 characters total.

5. Business Location

 6. User Interaction

 

 

Active Card

1. Profile Picture and Username

 2. Image or Video — tapping into the card directs the user to the official page, a Mini Program, or a custom link.

3. Text — the optional headline has at least 10 characters. Required details need at least 30 characters.

4. Learn More — changing the button’s text encourages users to learn more about the product or service.

5. Business Location

6. User Interaction

 

 

Selection Card

Profile Picture and Username

Image or Video — tapping into the card directs the user to the official page, a Mini Program, or a custom link.

Text — the optional headline has at least 10 characters. Required details need at least 30 characters.

Selection Buttons – give

users the ability to interact with the ad and offers a different way to experience an ad.  Customizing each button directs users to a different page.

Business Location

User Interaction

 

Full-Width Card

1.  Profile Picture and Username

2. Short Video — advertisers can display their product or service with this new Card appearance using short videos that are between 6 and 30 seconds long. Tapping into the card directs the user to the official page, a Mini Program, or a custom link.

3. Text  — the optional headline has at least 10 characters. Required details need at least 30 characters.

4. User Interaction

 

 

Panoramic Card

1. Profile Picture and Username

2. Image — having the same appearance as Full-Width Cards, Panoramic Cards provide a unique 360-degree immersive experience.

3. Text  — the optional headline has at least 10 characters. Required details need at least 30 characters.

4. User Interaction

 

 

 

Sliding Card

1. Profile Picture and Username

2. Video — with the same appearance as the Full-Width Card and Panoramic Card, the Sliding Card allows users to interact with the image. Once a user swipes the image, a box will open to reveal a present. Tapping into the card directs the user to the official page, a Mini Program, or a custom link.

3. User Interaction

 

 

 

Long-Press Card

 

1. Profile Picture and Username

 2. Video — instead of swiping, the Long-Press Card enables users to reveal the present by pressing on the box for a few seconds. Tapping into the card directs the user to the official page, a Mini Program, or a custom link.

3. User Interaction

 

 

 

2. Official Account Articles

WeChat users share content with friends on their Moment’s News Feed that is captivating and eye-catching.  This expands an ad’s reach far beyond the target audience, quickly and easily.  From this sharing friends often end up at your Official Account.

 When a user becomes a subscriber or follower of your Official Account, they will receive messages and newsletters.  Users tap into the article which has the ads appearing at the bottom of the article as one or several pictures or as a single video.

 

           

 

The ad often prompts the reader to follow the Official Account and directs them to a product, service page, or other articles instantaneously.

 

3. WeChat Mini Programs

WeChat Mini Programs are essentially apps that function directly within WeChat itself. With WeChat Mini Programs, users can access a large number of services such as e-commerce, games, blogging, productivity, reading, and so much more without ever leaving the WeChat app.

 

Within Mini Programs the ads appear as a banner anywhere on the page, as a pop-up, or full screen. The smallest ads are Banners. Tapping on a banner redirects the user to a full page.  Tapping on Pop-ups shares information or also redirects.  Full-screen ads play a full-length video or display a series of seconds-long pictures.  To advertise a gaming app, the full-screen ad might play an interactive game with the user.

 

This Mini Program Pop-up ad offers users 30 RMB for every friend who completes a purchase through the user’s promotional link. Upon tapping, the Mini Program requests permission to send the promo message to a friend that the user selects. Once the friend completes a purchase through the user’s link, the user receives their reward!

 

Gab China Can Help

In conclusion, Gab China has vast experience in WeChat advertising campaigns, WeChat PPC.  We help industries Likewise Luxury, Education, and e-Commerce advertise successfully using WeChat PPC.  If you market in China and want to leverage the power of WeChat, use our WeChat expertise to your advantage.

After getting to know WeChat’s multitude of advertising capabilities, have you found the right one for your business needs? The GAB China team is always here to help you nail down the best Chinese WeChat advertising strategy. We execute campaigns in China with a results-driven promise. Just as we can target your WeChat audience to the tiniest detail, GAB China’s solutions are 100% customized to your unique business needs. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.