WeChat Business
Connect to official WeChat account and gain access to its API
Reminder: WeChat Business only allows businesses to send text message and image file. Video, file & other formats are not use in WeChat Business.
Steps to sign up for official WeChat Service Account & integrate their official API with us:
Select Service Account. The account type cannot be changed after creation.
Create a user account. Provide a secure email address as this will be used to access the admin panel. The email must not be linked to an existing WeChat Business Account. Enter the verification code sent to your email.
Select your country. The legal documents required are slightly different depending on the country where the company is registered.
Submit the identification information of the company and the account admin. This includes:
Your company’s officially-registered name and registration number
The account operator's name, mobile phone number, and passport ID number
Choose an account name and provide a description. Create the account name. Add a short description of the account, and you are good to go.
That's it! You've created a WeChat Official Account. Once you're logged into the WeChat Official Accounts Platform, you’ll receive the following notification.
Tips: Unverified accounts don’t have access to advanced features like sending push notifications, creating Mini-Programs or using WeChat Pay. More importantly, they’ll be canceled after 30 days.
WeChat Business Best Practices
Ways to start a conversation
WeChat has two helpful features to get your customers to follow your Service Account and start a conversation: WeChat QR codes and in-app searches.
In-app Search
Most messaging apps like LINE require users to enter a business account name to find them in the app. However, WeChat users can also search for official accounts by a keyword in the business description in addition to the display name. Businesses with a Chinese display name can include their English name in the short description, increasing their chance of being discovered outside China. Now that you know how to find your customers on WeChat, it’s time to start messaging them.
How to message your customer?
When it comes to 1:1 messaging, businesses should look out for messaging windows and read receipts. WeChat Official Accounts have a messaging window and they don’t provide read receipts. Messaging windows are popular in business messaging. They limit the amount of time businesses have to chat with customers in order to prevent spamming. WeChat Official Accounts have a messaging window of 48 hours.
How to broadcast your message?
Once you’ve got 1:1 messaging figured out, you can start exploring broadcast messaging. WeChat broadcasts are not very conventional. In fact, WeChat refers to them as push messages, but they look more like newsletters.
From the WeChat Official Account inbox, users can customize broadcasts including adding rich content, creating a broadcast with an HTML editor or even broadcasting Mini Programs. WeChat users can like, comment and share broadcasts on WeChat and other platforms.
WeChat permits businesses to broadcast all types of content, as long as it complies with WeChat’s Acceptable Use Policy. This includes promotional messaging like sales messages, coupons and discounts. Do note that contacts might unfollow or block you if they find your messages irrelevant or annoying.
WeChat broadcasts can only be sent through the WeChat Official Account inbox. WeChat doesn’t place limitations on the number of recipients per broadcast, but you’ll need to get customers to follow you first before you can broadcast to them.
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