WeChat official account types

WeChat Official Account Types & Best Choice for Foreign Businesses

When it comes to China marketing, WeChat is without question the go-to app for foreign and domestic businesses. The platform’s omnipresence among Chinese consumers (1.3 billion users) paired with its rich environment makes WeChat the digital place to be in China for brands.

This is where WeChat Official Accounts come in. This article by the China experts at WeChat Advertising gives you an overview of the different Official Account types on WeChat, the types of brands they are for, and how to get started with the setup.

Let’s jump right in.

WeChat Official Account Types

Overall, if you want your business to look authentic and have the trust of Chinese users, plus if you want to market your brand, products, and services, you will need a WeChat Official Account. The question is just: Which one?

  • Service Account
  • Subscription Account

They each have their pros and cons, and it is also possible to set up both!

Note: There are also WeChat Channels accounts. These are accounts for posting short videos, and can be integrated with your Official Account.

Introduction to WeChat Official Accounts

Official Accounts (OA) on WeChat usually contain most information that a website would have in the Western world. 

It allows brands to:

  • Share content (posts, articles, etc.)
  • Send (group) message
  • Chat with clients, partners, and prospects
  • Access mini programs
  • Set up a WeChat store
  • Run ads 

You can think of articles as blog posts or longer email newsletters. When users click on a post, they are directed to an article.

With these strategies local and international businesses can 

  • Reach their target audience in China
  • Connect with fans and followers
  • Generate leads
  • Convert leads to sales
  • Share information on products and services content
  • Collect user feedback

Verified accounts have a blue check mark, and accounts with a green “R” are trademarks.

WeChat official account - Apple

Now, let’s take a closer look at the different OA types on WeChat.

Service Accounts (服务号)

A WeChat Service Account is ideal for

That’s because it offers many functionalities that Subscription Accounts don’t offer. To avoid a “spammy” look, Service Accounts are limited in content publication.

Update: Until recently, WeChat Service Accounts appeared alongside messages from friends in the message conversation list. As of Q4/2024, WeChat Service Account notifications also appear in a separate folder – same as notifications from Subscription Accounts. 

This was done in an effort to improve the user experience. However, the general feedback to the change of this feature is not welcome, so it might be changed back. For brands, this change might reduce traffic to Service accounts on WeChat.

Example: Subscription Account notification (订阅号, at the top) and Service Account notification (a服务号, at the bottom) in Chat area

image 1

So, who can benefit from Service Accounts on WeChat?

Who is it for?

Since foreign companies can only register a Service Account, that’s what we recommend in this case. It’s relatively cheap, the setup process is straightforward, and the functionalities are ample.

  • Foreign brands
  • B2B companies
  • B2C businesses
  • Brands with a product
  • Service-based industries

How to get Started

At WeChatAdvertising, we also help clients with account setup for WeChat and other platforms. However, if you are only setting up the WeChat Service account, we recommend you try to do so directly via WeChat first.

Example: Lizenzero official WeChat Service Account

image

Next, let’s take a look at Subscription Accounts on WeChat.

Subscription Accounts (订阅号)

The overall purpose of this WeChat account type is communication. There are no direct sales involved, rather than long-term relationship building and fostering brand loyalty. 

The best part? You can post daily (with up to 8 articles per post) with a Subscription Account as opposed to only 4 times per month (up to 8 articles per post) with a Service Account.

However, Subscription Accounts focus on one-way communication from the brand to the subscriber, rather than interactive communication, as it would be with a service account. The setup is similar to news-feed.

In China, a lot of people follow subscription accounts. They are similar to email newsletters or RSS feeds in the Western world, where you can get all the news you are following in one place.

Who is it for?

Chinese companies that are focused on posting content (media outlets, content creators, lifestyle brands, educational institutions) benefit from a Subscription Account:

  • B2C brands
  • Companies with a product
  • Service-based businesses

Subscription accounts are ideal to connect with more customers, raise brand visibility and establish a reputation as an industry thought leader.

How to get Started

Foreign entities cannot set up a WeChat Subscription account. Check below for more information.

Example: Samtec official WeChat Subscription Account

image 2

Now, how do you set up such an official account on WeChat?

How to Register a WeChat Official Account

Brands can set up an official WeChat account (微信公众号) as a 

  • Chinese business
  • As a foreign business – through a third-party Chinese license
  • As a foreign business (required to use WeChat advertising)
    • directly
    • Through their own Chinese business entity
    • if they work with another company that has a Chinese business entity

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Go to WeChat
  2. Select the account type
  3. Enter your details
    • Company name
    • 15-digit business license number
  4. Enter your contact information
    • Full name
    • ID number
    • Phone number
  5. Verify your phone number
  6. Complete verification
    • Local businesses: 300 RMB per year
    • International businesses: 99USD

The registration and verification process requires a number of official documents (business license, company registration, bank account, etc.) and usually takes 2 – 4 weeks.

Tips for WeChat Official Accounts

When it comes to setting up an official account on WeChat, these are our top tips based on our own experience:

  • Use a professional and compelling profile picture
  • Localize your content so that it appeals to a Chinese audience
  • Publish useful, entertaining, and unique content 
  • Mention your successes, awards, testimonials, etc. prominently – no need to be overly modest

Find out more about getting more followers on your official WeChat brand account here.

Role of WeChat Channels

This is how brands can leverage the vast benefits of WeChat Channels:

  • Boost visibility: Share content from WeChat Channels directly with followers (cross-promotion)
  • Drive Traffic: Link to videos on WeChat Channels in posts on official WeChat account

This allows brands to spread content more easily to people who are not followers or friends of followers – it has a lot of viral potential.

Example: 聚泓盈加拿大移民 Juhongying Canada Immigration

image 3
Link from Channels to Official Account

Since WeChat Channels are accessible to the broader WeChat audience, beyond just followers of the Official Account, cross-promoting and internal linking can expand a brand’s reach.

Besides, By using WeChat Channels (for video content) and Official Accounts (for articles, promotions, and direct messaging), businesses can unify their brand experience.

Comparison – WeChat Official Accounts

Based on its looks, users can’t tell the type of Official Account, but some of the features are only available with certain account types. 

Service AccountSubscription Account
PurposeMarketing & SalesExternal Communication & Brand Awareness
Ideal forDirect sales, customer service; especially retail, e-commerce and hospitalityCommunity engagement, cost-effective reach of large audience
WeChat Pay integrationYesNo
WeChat ChannelsYesYes
WeChat AdvertisingYesYes
WeChat Ads & AnalyticsYesYes
Publications4 posts per month 
(8 articles per post)
1 post per day
(8 articles per post)
Post DisplayMessage area, top of WeChat searchSeparate folder in message area – more difficult to get users’ attention
Push notificationsYesNo
API integrationsYesNo
Who is it forB2B, B2C, products, servicesB2C, brands with a lot of great content, products, services
Third-party CRM tool integrationYesNo
Foreign brands can set them upYesNo (via Chinese business entity)
Cost (verification)300 RMB(Chinese businesses) / 
99 USD (international businesses)

So, these are the most important aspects for you to know about WeChat Official Accounts.

The Takeaway – WeChat Official Account Types

Any business that wants to enter or expand in the Chinese market basically doesn’t get around a WeChat account, and more specifically an Official Account. It adds legitimacy to the brand and has more features and options to 

  • Reach their ideal customers in China
  • Connect with them
  • Generate Leads
  • And, ultimately, drive sales

Brands usually open a Service Account (as opposed to a Subscription Account) because the open rates of posts and articles are generally higher and it has more features.

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