The Power Of Knowing Your Audience
The Power Of Knowing Your Audience
How Weixin Changed The Lives Of People In China
The popular Chinese App Weixin (pronounced Way-Shin) has revolutionized the way people lives their lives in many cities across China. For those who aren’t aware of what Weixin is – don’t be alarmed, I did know either - Essentially, Weixin is an all-in-one platform that basically takes over the need to use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Venmo, Uber, Snapchat, and list goes on. Basically, you can do ANYTHING on Weixin.
But why would you need that?
Well, Shan Shen of Muzli Magazine (2018) explains that Weixin thoroughly looked at their target audiences and saw something very unique. Since familiar social media platforms such as google, Facebook, and Youtube are banned in China, the growing the need for a singular social networking application emerged. As a result, Mahoney and Tang (2017) explain in their book Strategic Social Media – From Marketing to Social Change that within three years of launching, Weixin gathered more than 300,000 million users worldwide. Currently, the application has over 1.2 billion active users under the age of 70 and has become the #1 used app in mainland China.
What Contributed to The App’s Success?
Weixin has done an amazing job at creating a platform that symbiotically works with the needs of urban smartphone users in China. Its easy-to-use interface makes downloading and integrating the app into your life in China a breeze. Given it’s popularity, in order to stay connected with friends, deals, and even your own bank accounts, you essentially have to use Weixin. Mahoney and Tang (2017) explain that it’s Weixin easy navigation and integration are clear indicators as to why Weixin saw so much success so quickly. Often, audiences choose to use a media simply because it is convenient. When the product is convenient and integrated into the target audiences’ lives, companies do not have to strive to try sell their products.
For example, in January of 2014, Weixin introduced the “Qiang Hongbao” campaign (i.e., Red Envelope campaign) that put a new twist on a historical Chinese Tradition. During the holidays the Chinese send red envelopes containing a monetary gift to family and friends. Weixin was able to continue that tradition by allowing their users to link their bank accounts and send virtual red envelopes for that particular holiday season.
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
This is a great example of how Hochman and Maynor (2012) explain in their article in the journal of brand strategy that performing an audit of your audience in combination with a simplistic-integrated approach can contribute to consumers using your product as a staple of their everyday lives. Ultimately, understanding the needs of your consumers is the key takeaway when you look at a successful social networking platform like Weixin.
How Can This App Help My Business?
If I was in China and owned a business, Weixin would most likely be my go-to tool to create a brand that made using my product or service very accessible to my target audience. Due to the apps impressive reach, it has the potential of attracting your target audience . Zhang explains that not only does this app have all-in-one services, but has built in analytics to to track consumer interaction and purchasing behavior. This is incredibly important when it comes to improving your content or strategy to engage followers on a deeper level.
References
References
Hochman, K., Maynor, K. (2012). Integrating your brand purpose: How Procter & Gamble’s Secret deodorant increased market share and profit through its brand purpose. Journal of Brand Strategy, 1(4), 327–332.
Mahoney L. M., & Tang T. (2016). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change.
Shen, S. (2018, April 4). What makes Weixin so successful? Medium. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://medium.muz.li/what-makes-weixin-so-successful-5d4795c96e1d.
Zhang, K. (2019, June 18). Who uses WeChat and why is WeChat so popular in China? Medium. https://rb.gy/p6nggb