Weixin (“Way-SHIN”) is a social media app that is largely popular in China and Southeast Asia. The app has put a large amount of focus in becoming an all-in-one type of platform offering messaging, news, photo sharing, online wallet and travel services.
Weixin has prided itself in keeping a simple interface that any and all users can easily use. There was even a Beijing subway ad that stated that, “one minute is all you need to open a Weixin shop.” Oh yeah, you can do that, too, on the app.
(What can’t you do?!)
Because of all these service offerings the app has built-in, and its ease of use, it has gradually become the norm for the average Chinese citizen to utilize on a daily basis. And why wouldn’t they? Why have multiple apps on your phone that all do different things and require different log-ins and passwords and payment methods when you can have everything you need in one place? Like really, where is the U.S. version Weixin to replace my Instagram, Facebook, Uber, Message app, and Google Wallet account?
Updating Traditions
For Chinese New Year, it is customary to give a monetary gift to friends and family for the holidays in a red envelope. In 2014 Weixin capitalized on this by providing a method for users to set an amount of money they wanted to send, and the app would randomize which of their friends and family would get however much of that total amount. If you opted to give $100 for the app to allocate, your cousin may get $5 while your best friend may get $26 of the total. This campaign excited the users and added an element of surprise to the customary tradition. Also, it made the idea of fulfilling the tradition easier with integrating technology with old customs.
I cannot imagine Facebook doing something that cool for the holiday season.
Honestly, the coolest and closest thing that I think Facebook has done to what Weixin has done is when Facebook added the feature of choosing a charity to request that your friends donate to instead of giving gifts to you for your birthday. Which seems like a really cool idea, but there has been some backlash on this feature that Facebook offers. Just do a simple Google search for “Facebook birthday donations,” and you’ll find plenty of blogs and articles with mixed reviews of this feature.
Weixin’s main reason for success is how it has integrated itself with the user’s everyday routine and habits. The app is convenient by being a mobile app that users can take with them wherever they go with the vast amounts of services it provides. “When your social media product becomes part of people’s daily life, it will be easier for you to make a behavior change, whether this behavior is a purchasing decision or a positive social change, starting with an audience analysis,” (Mahoney & Tang, 2017).
References
Mahoney, M. L., & Tang, T. (2017). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change.
Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Coco (2017). WeChat vs. Weixin: For China Marketing You Need an Official Weixin Account. Retrieved from https://chozan.co/2017/09/06/wechat-vs-weixin/C
Keep it Social 