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IWOM WATCH COMPILATION 2012

IWOM WATCH

网论观察 2012

PAGE. 3

Tencent Developments PAGE. 4 WeChat Developments PAGE.5-7 Tencent’s “WeChat” – The Rise and Rise of a Private Social Network PAGE. 8-10 Tencent’s “WeChat” A Top Tool For O2O

WECHAT DEVELOPMENT

Tencent Developments

Summary Recently, the launch of “QQ Circle” initiated animated discussion by netizens; a search for “QQ Circle” in Sina Weibo returns 155,878 results. When talking about the service, QQ Circle users often referred to the functions that help you to group your connections, find people who aren’t in your immediate circle but know by association. “QQ Circle”, Tencent has also introduced a few other new functions, like Timeline, a new chat function and a “same day last year” function.

QQ Circle and Other New Functions of Tencent

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QQ Circle Q-Zone Timeline “The same day last year” New Chat Function

March 21, Tencent Experience Center launch "QQ Circle". The function helps users group their friends according to their real life relationships. The number next to each friend shows how many mutual friends that you have. Users can add friends directly, initiate a chat or play session, and view the each other’s personal information through “QQ Circle”

Tencent launched the new Q-zone function “Timeline”, allowing users to record their “past”, ”present” and ”future” Q-Zones lives in a “facebook-esque” timeline. Clicking on any point of the timeline will let you read the stories going on at the time.

“The same day last year” recently launched in Tencent Weibo. This function tells you what you were tweeting about on the same day last year.

March 31, “PengYou” launch a new chat function, which was warmly received. Tencent refute rumors that QQ Circle will replace “PengYou” with this function.

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WeChat Developments

WeChat 1.0

WeChat 2.0 WeChat 3.0 WeChat 4.0

Summary Between January 2011 and April 2012, Tencent’s WeiXin, or “WeChat” in its English language interface, has undergone frequent upgrades to make the communication platform more social. From text and voice messaging, to photos and multimedia messaging, to friend finding functions and social network style profiles, WeChat is rapidly becoming China’s cross-demographic, closed group social network. By “closed” social network, we mean one that limits profile access to friends and approved contacts. Renren has established itself as the dominant SNS platform in China, following the Facebook model. However, with a user demographic that’s predominantly drawn from university campuses, the cross-demographic quality of Facebook has not been effectively replicated in China. WeChat may be the platform to finally achieve this. This is being facilitated by upgrades that augment natural communication. The “My Album” function for example, allows users to share their personal photos to their friends, rather than broadcast to Weibo, who can then comment, like the popular smartphone application, “Path”. Central to WeChat though, and hugely significant to the wider evolution of social media, is that this is a mobile social platform. Psychologically and physically affirming it’s primary function as a communication aid and after all, isn’t that the defining characteristic of what we consider social?

Sending and receiving Messages

Voice chatting QQ mailing

Shake LBS

Photo and video exchange My Album

WeChat Upgrades Attract Over a Million Users in 433 days

Summary

At the Internet Society of China’s 2012 China Internet Conference, which was held in September, Tencent’s Ma Huateng announced that WeChat (Weixin 微信) had exceeded 200 million users. Initially launched in January 2011, alongside a host of other instant messaging clones following in the footsteps of applications like Talkbox, WeChat was a pure mobile messaging application touting the potential to replace SMS. Through various application upgrades, it’s starting to flex the muscles of its social networking functionality and has evolved to challenge some of the most popular social networks in China.

26th January 2011 Launched for iOS as a simple instant messaging application.

WeChat 1.0

WeChat 2.0 – 2.5

10th May 2011 2.0 launched, adding voice messaging. 3rd August 2011 LBS included. [Link]

WeChat 3.0

1st October 2011 3.0 launched, users can now shake to meet strangers and send random messages “in a bottle”.

WeChat 4.0

23rd April 2012 4.0 launched, with upgrades that allow it to be regarded a legitimate mobile social networking tool. [Link]

WeChat 5.0

Open for brand applications. But what’s next for Weixin?

Tencent’s “WeChat” – The Rise and Rise of a Private Social Network

From 0 – 200 Million Users

5

WeChat for 2013 [According to Tencent]

1

2

Tencent has lined up more social features for WeChat in 2013. Potentially, these features can be particularly significant in helping brands to expand their social awareness through the mobile channel.

Multi-media content sharing Blog posts, news articles and music shared amongst peers.

Multi-media content sharing Make these multi-media content delivery mechanisms more robust.

3

Product Recommendations Users can freely share product information to friends and make targeted recommendations.

4

Retweets User generated content can be retweeted from social circle to social circle.

WeChat and the Future of

Commercial Application

• Instant discount information

sent directly to users at

specific locations; LBS

marketing at its real-world best.

• Mobile key opinion leaders;

have local stars promote your

brand, in the right place, at the

right time.

• Fast consumer response unit;

allowing brands to get

personal with consumers in

real time, with the support of

push notifications delivering

content to mobile devices.

The big question is how much can brands rely on WeChat to market their

products via mobile, while maintaining consumers’ expected conversion rate?

6

The Future and Commercial Application of WeChat

Tencent’s “WeChat” – The Rise and Rise of a Private Social Network

Current Applications Existing Brand Marketing Examples Via WeChat.

According to marketing and planning representatives from Tencent, bespoke WeChat marketing products for brands will start to emerge on the market in late fourth quarter this year. Currently, it’s all still at an early stage, where brands are left to open official accounts and attempt to engage with users organically. Some of the more social media savvy brand have already got their feet wet, and here are how they have so far promoted themselves through Weixin:

Case 1: Starbucks, Emoticons, Music and QR Codes Being a messaging application, WeChat offers a wide range of emoticons, which are very handy when a brand want to be more casual and personal with their consumers. Naturally though, this has to suit the brand.

Starbucks encouraged consumers send them emoticons expressing their mood at that moment. In return, they received a song that captured that mood.

Whether or not this translated into selling cups of coffee, we don’t know yet.

Case 2: China Merchants Bank Drift Bottle Messaging

Each time a consumer picks up on of WeChat’s “messages in a bottle” sent out by from China Merchants Bank, the bank makes a donation to charity.

This is a new case where brands are uplifting their image through mobile channel, highlighting the implications of social media engagement for corporate social responsibility.

In this case the brand is able to react to consumer actions in real time.

WeChat is evolving all the time, so only time will tell of it’s marketing engagement efficacy, but the future looks promising.

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Current Methods of WeChat Marketing

Tencent’s “WeChat” – The Rise and Rise of a Private Social Network

Tencent’s “WeChat” A Top Tool For O2O

WeChat promotes the mobile membership card

8

Summary: In essence, the traditional membership card rewarded repeat custom with discounts that encouraged shoppers to come back to the store, feeling they were part of an elite band of preferential consumers. In reality though, a membership card can be inconvenient to remember, easy to lose and impersonal to use. Your phone though, is always with you and increasingly becoming a personal life tool, set up to serve as a pocket sized personal assistant. Of course, the mobile phone is an eminently more suitable interface for “Online to Offline” engagement, or O2O. Not only is it based in real-time experience and real-world impulse, it’s a tool for instant payment and social sharing of consumption habits that can inspire your peers.

Customer scan a QR code while in store.

Then, follow the steps to get the membership card…

And get members’ discounts while shopping. Offers local discount

coupons that consumers can take advantage of whether shopping in-store or online WeChat is connecting brands with their customers to form an authentic, “acquaintance-like” social network, with the help of QR codes.

WeChat’s membership card:

How it works…

9

Several companies have already started using the new API ports to power some fairly advanced functionality...

WeChat launched small-scale testing of “custom API function calls” for its public platform with a select group of partners.

These new API ports will be used to connect to companies' existing CRM systems, enabling businesses with public-facing accounts (including media organizations, celebrities, small businesses and app developers) to use these ports to provide their users with an ever more personalized set of services.

The "Ding Jiudian" ("Book Hotels") account allows users to send their current location data to the account through WeChat, for which they’ll receive a detailed list of nearby hotel recommendations.

“Guang”- a public account guide that’s focused on social shopping, responds to user requests smartly with keyword based text.

Another up and coming example of this offline to online engagement is being explored by Ping An Auto Insurance. It will allow users, those who are current clients of Ping An and therefore enrolled in their CRM system, to file auto insurance claims directly through WeChat, incorporating location based data to record the site of the accident, photo and video messaging to record the details and extent of the vehicle damage, and contact information of all those involved.

Advanced Shopping Recommendations

Location-based personalized services

Cross-reference of brand’s CRM system

CASE: A user asks for “Plants for the office”, so Guang suggests suitable products. If the user’s not satisfied by this set of recommendations, they click “dislike”, and the system generates alternatives.

Tencent’s “WeChat” A Top Tool For O2O Advanced, API fuelled functionality

10

Membership Card

O2O

API

Potential Customers

& Existing Customers

Real Customers

Brands

Brand Fans

Target Audience

Suited for service brands

Cross-reference with existing CRM

WeChat can provide a solution to both the challenge of maintaining a relationship with existing consumers and converting brand fans to actual customers via a tailored strategy of communication, engagement and integration. Thus, it is not only a marketing tool but a mechanism that offers improved efficacy in customer service via universal, 020 CRM. The new challenge is tailoring relevant user experience to provide authentic, effective engagement that augments an existing CRM system.

One-to-one interaction exclusivity and real-time communication

Location-based services and marketing

Precisely targeted, more efficient marketing and sales communication

Integrated with existing CRM system to enhance customer service and loyalty.

Communication

Engagement

Integration

How can brands use WeChat to connect with their target audience?

CIC View：

Tencent’s “WeChat” A Top Tool For O2O From Social Marketing to Social CRM

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2012: 2012 IWOM Watch Travel Special Edition | view IWOM watch Compilation 2011 | view 2011: IWOM watch Special Edition: Microblog | view 2010: IWOM watch Special Edition: LBS (Location-based service) | view IWOM watch compilations from 2006 to 2010 (part 7) - How brands marketing under social media age | view IWOM watch compilations from 2006 to 2010 (part 6) - Interaction in virtual gaming world between brands and netizens | view IWOM watch compilations from 2006 to 2010 (part 5) - The inspiration from “Shai”,“Show” culture for brand marketing | view IWOM watch compilations from 2006 to 2010 (part 4) - Spoof – Brand’s “ending” or “chances”? | view IWOM watch compilations from 2006 to 2010 (part 3) - Viral videos storm come up with brands | view IWOM watch compilations from 2006 to 2010 (part 2) - Brands Crisis upgrade to 2.0 | view IWOM watch compilations from 2006 to 2010 (part 1) - New product promotion way through new media - Seckill & Group purchase | view

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