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WeChat Channels: Harness the power of video on WeChat

By Sivan Hu on January 24, 2024

Introduction

With WeChat being the most popular social platform in China, it is an essential channel for your brand’s digital marketing efforts when targeting the country.

One important part of your WeChat marketing strategy should be video marketing. Like everywhere else in the world, video is hugely popular in China, making it a vital means through which you can reach your target audience.

This blog post will look at how you can harness the power of video marketing on WeChat. Let’s dive straight in!

How to post videos on WeChat

There are three ways you can post a video on WeChat:

  • Option 1: Publish a normal text post, that has a video inserted in it, on your WeChat official account.
  • Option 2: Publish a video post, that contains only the video, on your WeChat official account.
  • Option 3: Publish a video on your WeChat Channels account. WeChat Channels is WeChat’s in-app video platform and it was launched in 2020 in response to the global rise of short-form videos.

I recommend option 3, WeChat Channels. Let me explain why.

The benefit of posting videos on WeChat Channels

The downside to the first two options (publishing the video as part of a normal post) is that the post will only be visible to your existing followers.

What many Western marketers do not realise is that WeChat is a very private platform. Users only see posts from accounts that they follow. WeChat does not recommend profiles for users to follow, nor does it recommend trending posts from accounts the user does not follow. There is no discovery feed like what we are used to seeing on other platforms.

However, there is one exception: WeChat Channels has a discovery function. WeChat Channels is the only place that WeChat recommends content to users. This makes WeChat Channels a brilliant way (and indeed, the only way) to reach a new audience beyond your existing circle of WeChat followers. By publishing your videos on WeChat Channels, you allow for your video content to gain exposure and be discovered by new people.

If you publish interesting videos on WeChat Channels, WeChat may recommend these videos to people who it thinks are likely to engage. You then have the opportunity to convert the viewer into a follower, as they are likely to follow you if they like your videos.

Limitations to bear in mind

There are some limitations that you should be aware of. If you look at the examples below, you can see that Maersk’s WeChat Channels account looks slightly different from Tesla’s WeChat Channels account.

Tesla’s is properly linked to its WeChat official account, as you can see from the prominent green button that says “follow official account”.

On the other hand, Maersk’s WeChat Channels account is not linked to its WeChat official account. It therefore lacks the prominent “follow official account” button, so it has had to link to its WeChat official account in its bio instead.

What you basically need to understand is that a WeChat Channels account is separate from a WeChat official account. A WeChat official account does not come with a WeChat Channels account, and you cannot set up a WeChat Channels account from your WeChat official account.

The only way to set up a WeChat Channels account is from a normal WeChat user account (not an official brand account). Any normal user can set up a WeChat Channels account. You would then need to link it to your WeChat official account. There are some rules you need to follow for this to be successful, such as the WeChat Channels account and WeChat official account having the same name.

I would recommend setting up a normal WeChat user account for work purposes, to create your WeChat Channels account (rather than doing it from an employee’s WeChat account that they use in their actual personal life – so that you do not lose access to your company’s WeChat Channels account if they move jobs).

In the example above, it seems that Maersk did not manage to successfully link its WeChat Channels account to its WeChat official account, which is why it lacks the “follow official account” button and has had to resort to putting a link in its bio.

Need help with video marketing on WeChat?

I hope this blog post has been a useful introduction to how your brand can harness the power of video using WeChat Channels.

If you would like assistance setting up WeChat Channels, reach out to Webcertain today! Our friendly team of international social media marketing specialists will be happy to help.

Want to learn more?

This blog post is part of a series on WeChat marketing. Check out the others below:

You can also read our full-length guide to marketing on WeChat here. From reading this guide, you will learn:

  • what WeChat is
  • how WeChat can help you achieve your marketing goals
  • how to get started on WeChat
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Sivan Hu

Social Media and Influencer Marketing Executive at Webcertain
Sivan is a Social Media and Influencer Marketing Executive at Webcertain. She holds a degree in Product Design and early on realised her particular interest in market research. As a result, she pursued a career in audience marketing, helping clients develop customised social media strategies and campaigns to win customers’ recognition on social platforms, using her exceptional research and analysis skills. Originally from Shanghai, China, Sivan now lives in the UK, and her cross-cultural background has taught her to appreciate the value of individuality. She firmly believes that understanding the target audience’s needs is the key to creating personalised and emotional content that truly resonates with customers.

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