FASHION | BUSINESS
Luxury Brands' Social Media Strategies with WeChat
By Cecilia Zhang
According to a report by Bain & Company, nearly 60 percent of luxury goods buyers in China identified social media channels as their online source for information on luxury goods. So it is not surprising that more and more Western brands want to use social media for branding and enlarging their markets in China.
Because social media world leaders such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are blocked in China, China’s social media environment is highly local, complicated and unique.
WeChat, known as Weixin in Chinese, is the largest social media platform in China with more than 1 billion registered accounts and 650 million monthly active users. Unlike in the U.S, where people use Whatsapp to chat, Facebook to share moments, Instagram to post pictures and Snapchat to record videos, in China, people only use WeChat, which combines all of the functions into one.
Over 60 percent of WeChat users are the young generation from 15 to 29 years old, which is also driving the sales of luxury goods right now. Based on the mentions above, WeChat should be viewed as the most important platform for luxury brands to explore their social strategies in China. |
What can luxury brands actually do with WeChat?
1. Build Brand Image
More than a standard chatting app, Wechat offers fashion brands a channel to build a mini-website for presenting their brands' stories, recent news, ad campaigns and product introduction. The mini-website can be divided into 3 menus, which can serve different marketing objectives.
Let’s use Chanel as an example. As shown in the picture below, Chanel has a verified public subscription account, that means this is the official account established by Chanel. Wechat will increase the authentication of the account, which is verified, and give it more benefits to share content and information. Once people subscribe to this account, they will automatically receive the latest news and updates from Chanel. The first tab on the bottom of Chanel’s WeChat official account is called “Brand News”, which has the detailed information about the brand’s latest RTW collection, launching cosmetic products and global ad campaigns. The tab next to it is called “Brand Story” and includes the timeline of Chanel and Inside Chanel video series, which allows subscribers to become familiar with the informative brand's history. The rightmost tab means“More Information”, which allows the brand’s followers to download the Chanel APP, most relevant news, store locations, instant contact and a direct link to its full official website. |
2.Develop Brand Loyalty
WeChat give brands the chance to keep better track of data and stay in touch with their customers. The increasing number of followers helps brands to examine their China social strategies.
Customer relationship management is very important for fashion brands. Brands can use Wechat to stay up-to-date with their VIPs and establish a more effective way to serve them and meet their needs. Sephora created a "Member Center” on Wechat, which allows Sephora customers to link their membership cards, check points and benefits, update personal information and receive special offers and promotions. Most importantly, followers can start a live chat during their working time and get more specific service. For those who don’t want to download a lot of brand apps, this will drive them to engage and set up direct relationships with the brand. |
3. One-On-One Communication
The basic and main function of WeChat is chatting and messaging. First of all, brands can use it for one-on-one communication with their customers. Just like the followers’ friends and family, brands can chat with customers and offer better customer service to meet their needs.
In addition, hosting special live chat events through WeChat will help brands to increase interactions. For example, the famous online retailer Net-A-Porter often invites fashion bloggers to join a group chat and share their advice on styling through brand’s WeChat account. People who attend the live chat also have a chance to win the gift offered by Net-A-Porter, which brings a lot of people into their account.
4.Online-To-Offline Marketing
O2O (Online-to-offline) marketing has been growing rapidly in China recent years, which offers luxury fashion brands a great opportunity to interact with their consumers. Through WeChat, brands not only launch special promotions to encourage their followers to visit a store or participate in an event, but also direct their in-store customers to follow their WeChat account for a higher-quality experience.
“Shake” and QR codes are two main tools WeChat provides to help brands develop their O2O marketing. For example, French clothing brand Sandro incorporated WeChat marketing when they opened a new flagship store in Beijing. They invited a professional photographer to take photos of visitors during the opening event and provided a specific QR code for them to scan to receive their photos. If they shared photos on their WeChat "moments" and got more than 50 likes, they would receive an additional discount to use immediately. This would likely also amplify the brand’s recognition and bring Sandro more potential customers. |
Another good example of WeChat O2O marketing is what luxury brand Burberry did in their Shanghai grand ceremony. Burberry launched a platform on WeChat for their users to explore its Shanghai ceremony via “shake”. There is a 360-degree view pane of the show for those who were not able to attend. For those who were there, they were able to shake their phones to find people nearby and build a social network with each other.
5. Online Retail
M-Commerce is definitely the future of the retail industry. WeChat allows brands that have verified official accounts to sell their products directly. Considering the huge amount of people using WeChat, brands should pay even more attention to establishing their WeChat online stores.
Uniqlo, the Japanese giant, has three verified official accounts and one of them is designed to be a specific online store. People who subscribe to this account can receive a full online shopping experience that includes pre-sales advice, direct purchase, and after-sales service. All the problems people encounter experience during the buying process can be solved instantly. In addition, WeChat has its own payment platform, which is convenient for WeChat users to buy things and transfer money through a safe platform.
Uniqlo, the Japanese giant, has three verified official accounts and one of them is designed to be a specific online store. People who subscribe to this account can receive a full online shopping experience that includes pre-sales advice, direct purchase, and after-sales service. All the problems people encounter experience during the buying process can be solved instantly. In addition, WeChat has its own payment platform, which is convenient for WeChat users to buy things and transfer money through a safe platform.
All of above mentions show that WeChat is the essential platform for luxury brands to market in China and can really benefit them more or less.