In September, WeChat and Merlin Entertainments announced the launch of the [WeChat go Welcome Programme]. Spanning across 5 different Mini Programs in 3 attractions – Legoland Japan, Bangkok Sealife, and Sydney Tower, the synergy between these two giants aims bring to Chinese tourists even more comfort and superior quality digital experience. It sure would help bring Merlin Entertainments closer to its fans. WeChat marketing is obviously a must-use tool for businesses targeting Chinese tourists. Sure, WeChat is probably not new to you, but are you aware of what’s new in the platform’s advertising system? If so, how do you leverage these new WeChat ads features to your marketing advantage? Let’s find out more.
WeChat Mini-program Video Advertising
It’s common knowledge in the marketing space – video is the new face of advertising. Sure, great content remains key for digital presence, but videos are also becoming highly potent means of promoting a brand. It’s not surprising Tencent has come up with new features to make its video ad program more alluring. From a new product release to a year-end promotional campaign, great video content can drive buyer intent and increase sales. A hotel outfit could, for example, showcase their wide range of attractions on offer using WeChat’s video advertising platform. A travel agency could also make a short clip of happy tourists who have employed their services in the past.
This builds trust and could be the missing recipe to having more tourists move their direction on their next trip.
The mini-program video ads can essentially be done in two ways; Pre-roll advertising and In-content advertising. The former allows the mini-program developer to set up ads – lasting anywhere from 6 to 15 seconds – that viewers can see before the main video. As for In-content ads, they can be displayed right in the middle of the Mini-program page.
Interactive Interstitial Ads
If you want to project your brand in an incredibly full view format, think interstitial ads. For many users, ads are rather intrusive. Still, a little tweak can be all that’s needed to convince them to find out more about your brand. Whether to increase booking rate or stimulate other call to action, interstitial ads are a staple for many businesses. And it’s another department WeChat has made some changes, for good. Before, interstitial ads could only contain a video – with length anywhere from 6 to 30 seconds – and a call to action to fuel buyers to cashing in on a purchase.
However, the new set up makes it possible to include various cards within the ads, allowing users to click through for more information on your product/service before making a purchase. Instead of simply popping up a video of your latest souvenir launch, a click through to its features and upsides gives a clear-cut marketing advantage. For hotel outfits, room features that may easily go unnoticed in other ads format can also be targeted with an interactive interstitial ad. This can be set up to run when users open a mini-program, after losing a game or completing a level. Used together with a well-thought call to action, WeChat’s new interstitial ads is an interesting way to level up your marketing campaign.
More Social Banner Ads
Another proven way to double down on visual content is the use of banner ads. This is something WeChat is aware of, and has probably led the platform to tweaking its banner ads services. Word of mouth is critical to consumer purchase decisions. Putting the new features to optimal use could bring your business to the forefront of your audience in more ways than one. The new face of WeChat’s banner ads services maximizes the platform’s social features.
For instance, users can now see how many of their friends follow the official account of the ads they are watching. Trust is an integral ingredient for any business. So you can be sure if users find many of their friends are already following a brand, they’d want to do same too.
Another great feature is the location-based ads. In the new setup, businesses can laser-target ads to potential leads in a geographical area all the way down to a few blocks. Location address is also visible within the ad.
Costs
WeChat ads used to be incredibly pricey, making it difficult for many businesses to leverage its powerful reach. But things have since changed. The advertising platform is gradually become more budget friendly. Being more inclusive seems to be the goal, especially in the face of competitors. And WeChat seems to be doing just that. Now, CPM costs for these ads formats are almost 5 times cheaper than WeChat moment ads. Launching campaigns no longer requires an astronomical budget in excess of10 million RMB as used to be the case. So businesses can now get incredible value for budget on their ad spend in more ways than one using these new WeChat ads features.
To Wrap Up
As the advertising world continues to dynamically evolve by the day, getting up to speed with current trends and optimizing them for your brand is the best way to stay ahead of your competition. For businesses targeting the Chinese market, WeChat is arguably the most powerful platform out there. And thanks to the platform’s revamped advertising set up, there’s no better time than now to put these interesting new WeChat ads features to good use. While the ads services used to be expensive, it’s gradually becoming more affordable for lean businesses, and we can only expect that it become even more inclusive moving forward.