How To Use WeChat B2B Marketing in 2024: Most Effective Guide

WeChat B2B Marketing holds immense potential for global brands wishing to collaborate with Chinese partners. In fact, WeChat is one of the most important channels for B2B marketing in China.

As the world’s largest online shopping nation and second-largest advertising market, the sky’s the limit for doing business in China.

In this article, the specialists at WeChat Advertising share their 13 years of on-the-ground experience in using WeChat for B2B Marketing in the “Middle Kingdom. Our takeaway: WeChat marketing is an opportunity you simply can’t afford to miss.

While marketing on WeChat is beneficial for all companies, our distinct knowledge and expertise focus on assisting non-Chinese brands in the fields of professional services, travel, education, Software as a Service (SaaS), technology and other service businesses.

So, let’s jump right in.

What is B2B Marketing?

In short: business-to-business marketing refers to transactions between two or more companies or organizations. One business sells products or services to the other company. These can be local or foreign companies. This differs from business-to-consumers (B2C), where a company sells directly to a consumer.

Furthermore, inbound and outbound B2B marketing can be distinguished:

• Inbound B2B marketing (“PULL”): customer-centered approach with valuable and personalized content; mainly through search engine optimization and marketing (SEO, SEM) on Baidu
• Outbound B2B marketing (“PUSH”): advertising to increase interest and sales; mainly on WeChat

In China, online B2B transactions are skyrocketing and growing at 30% per year. Their value is estimated to reach 350 billion USD in 2024. While most B2B transactions are not done online, this trend shows the B2B industry is growing.

In terms of marketing, Chinese search engines, social media, and e-commerce platforms are at the core. That’s because almost all of Chinese life happens on … you guessed it…WeChat! 

Let’s take a closer look.

WeChat B2B Marketing

Boasting over 1.3 billion monthly active users, WeChat clearly is China’s most popular app and is used on a daily basis for many services and needs of people in the “Middle Kingdom”.

Why B2B Marketing on WeChat?

Being active on WeChat with your B2B brand can help you to

• increase brand visibility and build a following
• drive leads and sales
• provide better customer service
• identify potential new partners and connect with them
• network with other front-runners in your industry
• demonstrate expertise and leadership in your field
• gather feedback from customers to continuously improve your product or service

What type of content is best to achieve these goals? Well, let’s take a look at the different B2B marketing options on WeChat and the type of content they compare to in the Western world.

B2B Marketing Options on WeChat

There are a variety of applications and tools on WeChat that are suitable for boosting your B2B business, including

1. WeChat Business Accounts => replace (or duplicate) website content
2. WeChat Articles => replace email newsletter, and blog article content
3. WeChat Advertising => replace traditional online ads
4. WeChat Groups => replace forums
5. WeChat Custom Menus => replace (or duplicate) website navigation
6. HTML5 Mini Sites => replace traditional websites and landing pages

Here are some additional strategies to consider:

7. Gaining high-value followers on WeChat => reach a large audience organically
8. Managing B2B Leads with WeChat => streamline lead generation
9. Use Video Channels Sparingly for B2B Marketing

Let’s take a closer look.

1. WeChat Business Accounts

WeChat official accounts (公众号) typically contain all the information that a website normally does. Brands can share content to create an interactive environment for the audience.

Benefits of a Corporate WeChat Account

• Share content, e.g. stories, news, events, promotions
• Send group messages
• Engage directly with clients, partners, and prospects: collect their feedback to improve conversions
• Collect user feedback to improve conversions
• Access to WeChat Mini-Programs
• Set up a WeChat Store
• Run WeChat ads

There are two types of business accounts:

• Service Accounts (recommended for B2B)
• Subscription Accounts

While the user can’t tell if the business account is a service or subscription account, the official WeChat account dashboard below shows the account type in the profile section, as you can see in the example for Hyperama (service account) below.

What does this mean in detail?

WeChat Service Account

Businesses can publish up to four posts per month with up to eight articles per post, and service messages appear in the message area. Users can set a push notification for these, which increases the open rate. 

Besides, articles by Service Accounts are prioritized and published at the top of WeChat internal search functions. Finally, several third-party CRM tools connect with WeChat Service Accounts and trackable QR codes can be used.

WeChat Subscription Account

Businesses can post once per day (up to eight articles) with Subscription Accounts, which is ideal, for example, for a magazine. But… these posts show up in a separate folder in the messages area, which makes it more challenging to grab the user’s attention.

Note that you can also create both account types for your business.

Opening a WeChat Business Account

Even as a foreign company, it’s straightforward to open a WeChat business account:

1. Go to WeChat
2. Select the WeChat account type
3. Enter your business details
   1. Company name (identical to business license) 
   2. 15-digit business license registration number
4. Enter your contact information
   1. Full name (identical to ID card) 
   2. ID number
   3. Phone number
5. Verify your phone number
6. Complete verification
   1. Local business: 300 RMB per year (approx. 41 USD)
   2. International business: 717 RMB per year (approx. 99 USD)
   3. Verification process takes 1-2 weeks

And these are your advantages with a WeChat business account:

• Specific targeting of ideal audiences
• Connecting with existing followers, e.g. sending group messages
• Generating new leads
• Sharing relevant content, e.g. product/company information
• Analyzing user behavior and collecting feedback

Next, let’s look at WeChat Articles for B2B marketing.

2. WeChat Articles

Engage your followers with appealing articles that add benefit and are enjoyable to read. Clients and partners who follow you on your official WeChat account can receive up to four posts per month from you. They will see them in the messaging section.

Since WeChat is often the only messaging service that Chinese use, posts on this app are more powerful compared to, for example, Facebook. WeChat users can then share these articles on their feed (Moments), with friends, and more.

Here is an example of WeChat articles for Genie and Lizenzero.

Keep in mind to use aesthetic designs and “showstopper” media in line with your CI:

• Large, appealing, or disruptive images
• Little text
• Short videos (if applicable)

Next, let’s take a look at the advertising options on WeChat.

3. WeChat Advertising

Read our detailed article about WeChat ads, how to set up WeChat ads in the dashboard, and how Facebook ads compare to WeChat ads.

• Moment Ads
• Official Account Ads
• Video Accounts Ads
• Mini-Programs Ads
• Search Ads

Boost your leads and sales with WeChat advertising, targeting your ideal audience based on their demographics, interests, and regions.

4. WeChat Groups

Groups in WeChat serve to connect users with specific interests. While the moderators can’t control the messages, they can manage the people in the group. And they are usually pretty strict. So, if people continuously talk off-topic or share promotions, they either get a warning or are removed from the group.

Here is an example of WeChat groups for Grier school and Click search.

To leverage your WeChat B2B marketing, you can create your own group and community, where you gather followers with a specific interest in your niche, topic, or brand to get together. Make sure to share informational and valuable content mixed with fun and lighthearted posts and exclusive promotions, vouchers, and discounts to make them feel special.

5. WeChat Custom Menus

On WeChat Official Accounts, you can create custom menus. This helps your audience to quicker and easier find what they are looking for, and get in touch with customer support/sales. In turn, this increases the engagement rate. 

It’s simple and straightforward to set up in the WeChat backend. Based on our experience, 5-15 useful links (to a WeChat article or URL in Chinese language) in the custom menu are most effective.

Here is an example of WeChat custom menus of Cambrian Sudbury.

6. HTML 5 Mini Sites

With a WeChat Service Account, brands can create an H5 page as their mobile website. The customization options for H5 pages are basically limitless. Utilize interactive elements like chatbots, games, quizzes, and animations to engage your users. What makes H5 pages special is that they are much easier to find and share within the WeChat ecosystem compared to regular websites.

This is an example of ISAL.

7. Gaining High-Value Followers on WeChat

High-value followers are more effective for B2B marketing. Be smart and strategic about identifying and addressing these high-value followers on WeChat.

Focus on your key stakeholders – potential buyers, partners, influencers, and so on – and make it easy for them to connect with you.

Here are two examples of Cifnews and Made-in-China.

You can achieve this by promoting your WeChat business account. A QR code is the easiest way to do so. Add your business QR code to your website, business card, and so on. That’s because in China, WeChat is the best way to connect with potential leads.

8. Managing B2B Leads with WeChat

In the Western world, websites and email are most popular for engaging in B2B activities. In China, this almost always happens on WeChat. Don’t worry about “losing” prospects who don’t go through your website and CRM but rather through WeChat.

While this may cause conflicts between Western and Chinese sales teams, from a China marketing perspective, it looks like this:

• Let your prospect decide how and where they want to contact you. It should be convenient and easy for them.
• By communicating with them, collect information about their needs, desired solutions, and contact details

A number of Western CRM tools connect with WeChat, for example, Salesforce can be integrated via Charket (app). Also, ZenDesk can allow a customer service team to use email, WeChat and WhatsApp all in one place. This way, you have one platform to store all communication and processes regarding a client.

9. Use Video Channels Sparingly for B2B Marketing

WeChat Channels are almost like an app within an app, with the functionality being similar to TikTok. Since users are more likely to be exposed to content that friends have already interacted with, content has the potential to go viral.

We recommend using them if you have source content to work with. In many cases, the video content you use for channels could be the same content used within WeChat Official Account articles, but adjusted for:

• Vertical layout
• People in a more relaxed state of mind

Now, you know all the do’s and don’ts of WeChat B2B marketing. We have compiled the most important steps in a practical checklist for you below.

Checklist: Succeed in WeChat B2B Marketing

Develop a WeChat B2B marketing strategy to stand out from the crowd:

• Define your ideal clients and partners: tailor your content
  • Who do you want to reach
  • What problems do they currently face
  • Which added value (information, solutions, etc.) can you provide for them
• Identify your goals: sharpen your communication
  • Increase followers
  • Encourage interaction
  • Boost leads-to-sales conversion rate
  • Drive website traffic
• Apply an integrated approach: marketing efforts that build into each other
  • WeChat, Baidu, and beyond
• Reiterate
  • Ask your clients, partners, and prospects, what they expect from you
  • Review the results of your B2B marketing strategy and adjust as needed

And how does all of this look in practice? Let’s hear it from the WeChat experts with more than 15 years of experience – our knowledgeable team.

Tips for B2B Marketing on WeChat from our team

• Build a local presence: Localize your brand and online presence to cater to the specific needs of your audience in the “Middle Kingdom”
• Chinese don’t love email: Email is not used as commonly in China as in the rest of the world, especially when it comes to B2B; therefore, other channels like WeChat must be leveraged
• High-quality customer-centered content is a must: Educate your audience beyond advertising, and provide useful information to them, e.g. industry news, interactive content, success stories, thought pieces; 
• Personalize your message to address the needs and interests of your audience
• Mobile-friendly content: Keep in mind that users mostly view your messages on mobile devices
• Post regularly: the interval itself is not as important as continuously and regularly posting content
• Add hashtags and search keywords to connect with your audience
• Use showstopper media: high-quality photos and videos that make users pause for a moment
• Leverage WeChat: advertising, articles, groups, custom menus, WeChat Pay, and H5 mini sites
• Analyze and improve what you are doing

Are you feeling overwhelmed or don’t know where to get started? Get help from a China B2B marketing expert like WeChat Advertising.

The Takeaway – WeChat B2B Marketing

To sum it up, WeChat is a powerhouse for “PUSH” B2B marketing in China. That’s because it is the central platform for the daily life of more than 1.3 billion Chinese and countless businesses, meeting them where they interact in the digital world.

Benefits of WeChat

• Increase brand visibility
• Drive leads and sales
• Provide customer service
• Networking with industry peers

WeChat B2B Marketing

• Open a WeChat business account (service account recommended for B2B brands) 
• Publish articles on your brand or industry news
• Run WeChat ads
• Establish groups on your specific niche
• Integrate WeChat Pay for easy transactions
• Create H5 mini sites as landing page
• Develop mini programs to offer practical services

Effective Strategies for WeChat B2B Marketing

• Gain high-value followers on WeChat
• Manage B2B Leads with WeChat
• Use WeChat Video Channels Sparingly

Would you like some help with getting started? The specialists at WeChat Advertising are here for your WeChat B2B marketing needs.