Blog/Clienteling/What are WeCom Moments? Key to Direct Marketing in 2024
In an era dominated by more and more digital platforms in China, from WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin dominating the social space to eCommerce giants like JD.com and Tmall, grabbing consumer attention has become a significant challenge for brands.
Even on WeChat, the go-to super app with the most active users in China (1) where brands can establish key brand-owned channels (e.g., Official Account), they encounter hurdles in visibility (2).
This limitation prompts the exploration of alternative avenues, and WeCom Moments, a feature within WeCom (WeChat Work), is emerging as a promising channel for brands looking to directly reach customers where they are every day (3).
In this article, we will dive into how brands can make the most of WeCom Moments to leverage it as one of the key direct marketing channels in China.
Table of Content
- What are WeCom (WeChat Work) Moments?
- WeCom Moments vs WeChat Moments
- Past Moments Display
- How to Publish and Make the Most of WeCom Moments
- To Wrap Up
What are WeCom (WeChat Work) Moments?
Did you know that almost every user checks their Moments, a “news feed” feature on WeChat, every time they open the app throughout the day? This makes Moment a valuable channel to drive visibility!
In addition to traditional one-on-one or group chats, brands can have their Sales Associates and other brand representatives share Moments from their WeCom accounts. These posts would appear on customers' Moments feeds, effectively capturing user attention and driving lead generation and conversions.
Ultimately, brands can leverage their brand representatives on WeCom as a cost-free direct marketing and advertising channel.
For instance, for Valentine’s Day, Moschino planned and pushed a series of WeCom Moments spanning from February 10 to February 14 to promote their dedicated romantic clothing and accessories collection.
As a result, over 85% of the contacts onboarded on WeCom, including marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and customers, received the brand-initiated marketing content. You can track these analytics through the WeCom admin backend.
Moreover, by integrating tools like the ITC Clienteling Solution into WeCom, brands gain access to a broader range of customer and clienteling performance data with more holistic views.
WeCom Moments vs WeChat Moments
Before the advent of WeCom (WeChat Work), Sales Associates and Client Advisors primarily connected with customers where they often gathered – on WeChat, the most popular social media and messaging app in China. WeChat Moments also serves as one of the key touchpoints.
However, using their personal WeChat accounts posed challenges for the corporation. They cannot monitor the appropriateness of the messages, ensure content accuracy, or gauge targeting precision. Additionally, assessing the reach and engagement metrics of the Moments was a blind spot.
By deploying WeCom, brands can streamline the process of creating well-targeted WeCom Moments (the right content to the right audience) and enable staff to post at the right time with just one click through notifications.
Moreover, unlike WeChat Moments, WeCom Moments content hardly gets folded by Tencent. This means brands can share their message in its entirety on customers' feeds, getting the message across more effectively.
Past Moments Display
In addition to the real-time appearance of new WeCom Moments on customers' feeds, brands can also showcase Past Moments from Sales Associates' WeCom contact cards.
Many people make it a habit to check the Past Moments of new contacts (WeCom Private Operation: From Entry to Mastery, 2022). This becomes a valuable opportunity to create a positive first impression, laying the groundwork for trust between customers and the brand.
Whenever Sales Associates and other brand representatives post a new WeCom Moment, it automatically syncs with the Past Moments, requiring no additional steps.
Users can see a maximum of 3 WeCom Moments per Sales Associate in their daily feed. Despite this limit, brands can still maximize their impact and make the most of them for timely visibility. This strategy also extends to the WeCom contact card entry point, essentially serving as a free billboard for the brand.
How to Publish and Make the Most of WeCom Moments
Publishing Methods
There are two common approaches:
- Employees individually post the Moments themselves.
- The administrators set up the Moments for posting and notify the employees to publish. This method grants brands control over what, when, and how WeCom Moments are shared, while still allowing employees to add personal touches.
Content
Positioning
Since Moments organically appear on customers' feeds, adopting a hard-selling advertising tone isn't the best approach. Instead, brands should subtly influence customers through valuable content, aligning the channel with the desired brand image (WeCom Private Operation: From Entry to Mastery, 2022).
Given that these are organic posts from real individuals in direct contact with clients, it's crucial to make Moments feel human and personal. This involves considering:
- Tone: Maintain professionalism when interacting as a brand representative while adjusting the tone based on the audience (e.g., more serious for corporate audiences, more playful for a younger demographic, etc.)
- Photos: Illustrations accompanying captions should offer a clearer understanding of the brand’s products/services and match the brand image. Brands can use marketing materials from other channels for consistency and efficiency.
- Hashtags: Incorporate relevant branded hashtags, including the brand name, collection name, campaign name, etc., to enhance visibility and engagement.
Other than the Moments’ content itself, brands should also be mindful of the employees’ WeCom profile photos, which would also be visible on customers’ feeds.
For official organizations and government bodies, the company logo can serve as the WeCom profile photo. For B2C brands, this can range from professionally taken photos in the brand’s uniform to more casual selfies, depending on the target audience.
Call-To-Actions (CTAs)
WeCom Moments go beyond brand awareness – they're key for lead generation and converting new and repeat sales, especially with effective CTAs.
Brands can entice users by offering extra benefits like limited-time discounts, vouchers, or exclusivity for specific customer segments or tiers. This not only captures attention but also fuels promotional momentum and triggers the fear of missing out (FOMO) among consumers.
For brands aiming to build engaging communities through segmented WeCom groups, promoting group entry via WeCom Moments can be a smart move. Using parametric group QR codes generated by third-party tools like ITC Clienteling Solution can also enable brands to track traffic sources effectively and tailor a personalized Welcome Journey for users.
Reach
WeCom Moments can reach all customers who have added the staff’s WeCom account. The brand's reach increases with the number of active users.
However, it’s essential to note that if the staff's WeCom accounts are not verified, they can only reach a maximum of 200 clients (WeCom Private Operation: From Entry to Mastery, 2022).
Therefore, proper setup is crucial not only for appearing trustworthy to the target audience but also for maximizing the range of available WeCom (WeChat Work) features.
To Wrap Up
We've delved into the strategic utilization of WeCom Moments, from understanding their dynamics and optimizing posting frequency to crafting compelling content with the right positioning and CTAs.
The ability to display branded Moments can be an additional powerful touchpoint, allowing brands to capture user attention, build trust and brand awareness, and drive sales.
As brands navigate the evolving digital marketing landscape, leveraging WeCom Moments effectively can undoubtedly be one of the key drivers for customer engagement in China.
Sources:
(1) WeChat is the super app with the most active users
(2) WeChat Official Account articles’ open rate is decreasing
