With over 1.2 billion monthly active users, WeChat is China’s biggest social media app and one of the biggest messaging platforms in the world.
But with so much competition, how can brands even begin to gain traction on this hugely populated platform?
Well, we’ve found that the secret is to build a well-targeted WeChat strategy that’s backed up by WeChat marketing tools that’ll make your job as a marketer easier.
In this post, we’ll be breaking down the favourite WeChat marketing tools of our team in China.
So, let’s get started.
Top tools to manage and market on WeChat
From data management to automated content creation, here’s our pick of the top WeChat marketing tools and what they’ll help you achieve.
Activities, surveys & data collection tool: Jinshuju
Jinshuju helps brands to collect the data they need from their followers. It can be used as a powerful WeChat marketing tool to create event registration pages, surveys, polls, booking forms, and any other form of data capture or lead generation within the app.
The tool will let you:
- Automatically respond to participants with customized SMS and email messages
- Analyze data with instantly available reports
- Take payment online for registration and booking pages
- Review and share data with your team
- Use a wide range of third-party plug-ins without any hassle
Click here to learn more about Jinshuju and how you can use it as a WeChat management tool to better understand your followers.
Article layout tools: XIUMI & ipaiban
WeChat articles allow brands to create longer-form content on the platform, similar to blogs. They can include headings, text, images and videos, and can be used for a wide variety of purposes. For example: to promote (and directly sell) new products, as well as to entertain and engage followers with interesting content.
WeChat marketing tool XIUMI is ideal for optimizing these articles, and making them appear as attractive as possible. It’ll help you to:
- Add headings to your WeChat article
- Add images and videos to your article
- Format your article with an eye-catching layout
- Present your content in a stylish way that converts
It does that by offering a wide range of ready-to-use templates that can be fully customized within seconds, making it easier and quicker to produce WeChat articles than ever before.
Also, you can also download ipaiban for very similar purposes, and for more options to integrate third-party plug-ins.
H5 page tools: MAKA & Eqxiu
A H5 page is essentially a mini website within WeChat that can be accessed and shared by users via articles and WeChat moments. They are one of the most effective forms of WeChat marketing, and are very popular among brands looking to promote a specific event, product launch, or discount.
That said, designing a H5 page from scratch can be tricky, which is where H5 WeChat tools come into play, like MAKA and Eqxiu.
Both of these tools offer a wide range of ready-to-go H5 templates that can be fully customized without any technical knowledge required. Think of them like the Wix and Squarespace of the H5 industry in China — they’re easy-to-use, free, and cut out all the learning curves of coding and design.
QR code generation: CaoLiao & LianTu
QR codes are a great way for brands to instantly share information across a wide range of platforms, without having to take up too much valuable space on a mobile screen.
On WeChat, brands can use QR codes to link to websites, landing pages, e-commerce stores, and to measure the level of engagement on the platform.
To create a QR code for WeChat, the best option is CaoLiao (or cli.im, as it is also known) or Liantu. Both offer an instant and free way to generate a QR code in just a few seconds.
WeChat ad management: AdChina.io
AdChina.io makes it easier for international brands to advertise across each of the main advertising channels in China, including WeChat.
Our all-in-one tool is all you’ll need to:
- Run ad campaigns on WeChat (and other platforms)
- Target your ideal users with laser-focused targeting features
- Optimize ads in response to instant reports
- Review results with our data analysis tools
- Control costs and boost your ROI
For WeChat, specifically, we’ll help you:
- Build a content strategy for the platform
- Get the most from your official account
- Choose which ad types are best for you
- Increase your following on the platform
- Reach the most relevant users to your brand
Get in touch with our team to grow your business on China’s biggest social media app today.
Hot topic generators: NewRank & Baidu Search FengYunBang
As the country’s biggest app, WeChat is the go-to for all the latest news and top trends in China. That’s why it’s a great idea to create content around hot topics on the platform to engage users and attract more followers.
To do that, there are a number of tools and websites you can use to keep up with what’s hot in China. One of our favourites is NewRank, which brings together trending topics from across all the Chinese web. There’s also Baidu Search FengYunBang, which lists the top search trends on Baidu — China’s biggest search engine.
In addition, both tools will show you the most popular topics on WeChat. We recommend paying attention to topics that are relevant to your industry, or at least putting a spin on them that relates directly to your fans and followers.
WeChat third-party service platforms: Youzan & KuaiZhan
From mini-programs to e-commerce stores, WeChat is a multi-purpose platform that lets brands create a whole host of in-app experiences for their followers.
To manage those experiences, sometimes a WeChat management tool is worth investing in to help make sure they run as smoothly as possible.
Besides, a tool like Youzan, for example, helps brands to build and launch their own shops on WeChat. It also offers a number of solutions for customer management and data analysis.
Another tool worth checking out is KuaiZhan, which helps brands to create instant ‘quick sites’ for mobile channels like WeChat. With drag and drop functions and ready-to-use templates, this tool is one of the best ways to create mini web pages that can be accessed within the WeChat ecosystem.
WeChat event tools: QuXianChang & HiXianChang
Whether you’re launching a new mini-program or throwing a party for your top fans on WeChat, hosting an in-person event or conference can be a great way to create some excitement for your brand.
Also, when hosting an event, tools like QuXianChang and HiXianChang will let you conduct live events. You can host activities like group games, chats, quizzes, and demos on WeChat in real-time via a large screen. This will be directly tuned into each account in the audience.
These tools are a great way to draw more attention to your official account by encouraging in-person engagement.
WeChat social campaign launch and promotion tools: Huodonghezi & Huodongxing
As the biggest social media app in China, WeChat is the ideal platform to run a social media campaign to…
- Launch a new product or service
- Increase general brand awareness
- Generate leads
- Acquire new customers
- Promote a sale
- And so much more
But since the app is highly competitive, it’s always best to use a third-party WeChat tool to help you break through the noise.
Take Huodonghezi and Huodongxing — both are third-party WeChat marketing tools that help brands to:
- Build an effective strategy for a WeChat campaign
- Target the most relevant users
- Achieve higher rates of user conversion
- Generate leads
- Increase brand awareness
- Optimize ROI
- Review data
If you want to boost the success of your marketing campaigns on WeChat, these tools are a must.
Image tools for WeChat: Baidu ShiTu & Chuangkit
Visual content is key to gaining traction on WeChat. Pick the right images for your feed, and the chances of success are far higher. But how can you find images to post on WeChat?
Introducing Chuangkit — one of China’s best design tools for creating beautiful images in seconds. With a huge variety of ready-to-use templates, Chuangkit is ideal for customizing graphics and creating visuals for your WeChat account.
And if you already have source material (or pre-existing images) to inspire your visual content on WeChat, Baidu’s all-new ShiTu feature makes it possible to search for images that’ll instantly match up to what you’re looking for.
Data & Keyword tools: WeChat Index
Our final WeChat marketing tool comes from WeChat itself — proving that you don’t have to look too far for a helping hand.
The WeChat Index is a tool that measures the overall popularity of specific keywords on WeChat. It’s based on an algorithm that assesses search trends and will give you an overview of what’s trending on the platform at any time.
Simply copy and paste 微信指数 (‘WeChat index’) into the search bar at the top of WeChat, and you’ll be able to access the index and view trends from the current day right up to 90 days ago.
Using this tool, you can identify what topics are most likely to attract more users to your profile. Post about a trending keyword, and you’re almost guaranteed to see a rise in traction on the platform.
So, are you ready to run successful campaigns on WeChat?
Not so fast!
Download your free AdChina.io demo today to discover how we can help you achieve even better results than you were hoping for.