It is not possible to imagine life in modern China without WeChat.
China is years ahead of the rest of the world in social messaging. Chinese can split the bill in a restaurant, invest in financial products, follow different brands, go shopping online, meet new friends nearby, and more within one app: WeChat.
It is hard to say that there is something such as WeChat outside China, and we can confidently say that people wanting to do business in China cannot afford to ignore the platform.
What is WeChat Channels?
In August 2020, WeChat started internally testing a video creation feature for public accounts. Through this process, WeChat is encouraging its users to create short videos and present better video content.
Accessing video content directly in the “Discover” section, below Moments, draws more attention and gives users the feeling of having a short video app installed in WeChat. Although it is called “Channels,” the presentation of content is not limited to video. The aim is focused more on short-form content in general, including short news, short articles, and content that’s easy to consume. In this sense, it is quite different from other dedicated short video platforms. Regardless, this is a new possibility for creators.
WeChat’s short video platform is quite similar to the Facebook timeline. Therefore, this means its UX is also quite different from other short-video platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, or Tik Tok.
WeChat Video Channels makes it easy to scroll through the video feed to find interesting ones quickly. WeChat UX helps users find the content they like while it develops the right distribution algorithm.
Users, influencers, and brands can craft and post contents such as:
- one-minute videos
- photos (no more than nine pictures in succession)
Also, they can add further information to the post:
- hashtags to define topics and enhance discoverability in the channels section
- a WeChat official account article link – to bridge to a Wechat official account
- a location
WeChat Video Channels Algorithm
The WeChat algorithm is trying to leverage social signals to distribute content. Content pushed to users seems to favor:
- The most liked video from your friends
- Content created in the same city
- Accounts followed by another friend
- Content created by a WeChat friend
This approach is similar to Kuaishou, where friends’ content has an advantage instead of the video’s Popularity. Such a sharing method decentralizes the amount of traffic allocated to each user. That can encourage each individual to create content. However, for the moment, not everyone can share on Channels. To improve video quality, WeChat only allows professional video makers, photographers, and KOLs to use Channels at the moment.
That is very different from Douyin’s algorithm, which heavily focuses on distributing high-quality content. Douyin algorithm shows the top viewed videos when users first open the App. This method aims to keep users in the app as long as possible. But it also results in driving a massive amount of traffic to the top Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), leaving less room for individual users.
WeChat users can also explore content from Channels and follow other users that are not in their contact and WeChat official accounts that they are not following. That is a new trajectory to increase discovery on WeChat. For instance, the other WeChat user feed called Moments is only visible to the user’s social circle. If you can reach the audience outside of the user’s social circle, you can increase engagement.
Here are some algorithm factors in determining the content display distribution, which is mainly social signals:
- Number of likes = Popularity
- Geo-location
- Your WeChat friends/contacts’ engagements and activities
- Followed accounts
How to use it
Before describing how to use WeChat Channels, let’s explain how to register first.
As we said before, because WeChat Channels is currently undergoing internal testing, only KOLs have publishing privileges. But if you want to create a Channel, you can apply to participate in beta testing by sending an email to channels@tencent.com. The email subject line should contain “Channels internal test + name or subject name” or “视频号内测+姓名或主体名.” In the email, identify yourself (with your WeChat account and a personal/institution introduction) and your influence proof. You can add original videos and screenshots for each of your social accounts displaying your account name, follower count, interaction counts, or any other materials that demonstrate your influence. WeChat will confirm whether or not applicants are eligible for internal testing privileges based on their creative ability. If your application is approved, you can create a channel by going to “My Channel” on the “Channels” personal page.
Individuals and companies can apply. But, you should know that a WeChat account can have only one Channel. Therefore, it is impossible to change a Channel once connected to a WeChat account.
Sharing mechanism
After you have activated your Channels, you can scroll through the feed infinitely to discover what your friends & their favorite brands have posted and content from the other users, influencers, and public accounts.
You can like, comment, share a post and follow the publisher.
The sharing options:
- Share to a contact
- Share to a WeChat group.
- Share on WeChat Moments
The search function
At the top of the video feed, you can find a search bar. This tool allows users to discover content outside of their followers and WeChat’s friends and contacts.
Users can search videos by hashtags.
The search function retrieves two types of results:
- Post
- WeChat video Account
How to make it convert for business
You can verify the WeChat Channels as an official account. That gives video content the potential to attract followers that are interested in what they offer. Companies such as Tesla and Louis Vitton have created Channels accounts using their companies’ licenses.
For now, most videos only have a few likes and comments, but some content is getting viral. Note that less than 10% of WeChat users have access to Channels during the current Beta phase. After this phase, WeChat Channels will probably become one of the most excellent tools for marketing.
WeChat Video Channels have enormous potential for creating a social-based video viewing experience. Such personal video engagement often has a much higher potential for e-commerce conversion. Every company that has a Chinese audience should leverage the opportunities this feature will bring. To stay ahead of the competition, they should start using it as soon as possible.
