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Decoding WeChat’s popularity

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WeChat surpassed the 100 million registered user account milestone yesterday, just a week after it announced version 5.0, which includes monetised features like a game centre, sticker shop, mobile payments and barcode scanning for e-commerce transactions.WeChat’s growing popularity is a known fact, but what’s more interesting is that according to GroupM’s latest Hurun Wealth Report, 80% of Chinese affluent prefer using the Tencent platform over microblogs (70%).Yet, this is no surprise for director of Social@Ogilvy Thomas Crampton (pictured), who added that direct communication tools like WeChat and Line are actually being more rapidly adapted than Twitter and Facebook.“Facebook set the grounds for social media communication, which is now leaking into new ground. These new ways to connect – new style of private networking, almost – are actually intercepting social media,” he said.“With a SMS-like mobile platform, brands can connect with fans on a more intimate level by doing social CRM. That’s where the newest phase of social media lies.”Such is the example of Durex’s WeChat account, which offers a wingman service for struggling guys.Despite the escalating popularity of WeChat (and social CRM), Crampton said brands are still at an experimental stage.“Social media for brands started as something that was superficial, experimental and artificial, and eventually it moved to where it is now. Likewise with social CRM systems like WeChat, we’re also using previous media as a basis for what to do with these platforms.”“What we’re seeing now is only the first step.”For the full story on social media, watch out for Marketing Hong Kong's September issue.

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