This morning, when I woke up in Paris, I received an instant voice message sent from my nephew from China via WeChat. At only four years old, he is already able to use it to contact me on a regular basis. WeChat, also called WeiXin (微信) in Chinese, is actually used by people of all ages in China. It is the most widely used. Since its launch in 2011, it has achieved impressive figures: by the end of 3Q-2015, its Monthly Active Users (MAU) hit 650 million, which is almost equal to China’s Internet population in June 2015.
WeChat
The Wechat interface
In 3Q-2015, Tencent, its holding company, realized USA Email List a turnover of USD 4.18 billion, a YOY increase of 34% over 3Q-2014. Profit for the period was USD 1.19 billion, a YoY increase of 34% as well.
How has Tencent gained such popularity among Chinese people in such a short period of time? In addition to the fact that Tencent acquired a very rich experience in social media by successfully launching its previous instant message service application QQ, below are the three most important Key Success Factors telling you all the secrets.
A variety of features driven by customer experience
WeChat is a combination of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Skype. It’s very fun and easy to use, and free for all end users.
Not only can users send texts and voice messages by using (or not) static or dynamic stickers, or launch a call/video call with their contacts on WeChat, but can also publish “Moments” (texts or short videos) related to their daily life, read news, or share articles, pictures, song or videos on their walls, and interact with other contacts.
They can also create discussion groups and launch discussions, play games, check and even meet strangers around, and “shake” their mobile phones to find who else in the world is shaking it at the same time.