The social media landscape is constantly evolving, particularly when it comes to engaging Chinese audiences. You may have just familiarized yourself with WeChat when the “TikTok Refugee” migration introduced you to RedNote—an emerging platform quickly gaining popularity. With so many shifts in the digital space, you might be wondering: Is WeChat still an effective marketing tool to grow my business with Chinese customers?
Let’s explore WeChat’s latest trends in 2025 and why it remains a key platform for businesses looking to engage Chinese consumers.
What Is WeChat?
With over 1.38 billion active users, WeChat is one of the world’s largest and most versatile apps. Over the past decade, it has transformed from a simple instant messaging app into a comprehensive super app that integrates messaging, social networking, mobile payments, news, and more.
For Chinese communities worldwide, WeChat is an essential part of daily life. Its widespread adoption makes it a critical channel for businesses looking to connect with Chinese consumers—including those in North America.
How Can Brands Establish a Presence on WeChat?
Like many social media platforms, WeChat allows brands to create verified accounts. A blue verification badge signals an account’s authenticity, helping businesses build credibility and trust.
There are two primary types of verified accounts on WeChat:
- WeChat Service Account – Designed for businesses that prioritize customer interaction and service. This account type allows brands to send up to four posts per month and offers enhanced tools for CRM and engagement. It is the preferred choice for most businesses.
- WeChat Official Account – Primarily focused on content distribution, making it ideal for organizations that need to share frequent updates, such as media outlets, public institutions, and influencers. This account type allows for one post per day.
While Official Accounts are great for content sharing, Service Accounts provide a more interactive space where businesses can showcase their products and services, engage with their audience, and generate sales opportunities. Businesses can leverage features like automated responses, one-on-one customer support, and CRM integration to offer a customized experience to their target audience.
Forget email marketing—it’s not the right channel for the Chinese market. Authentic engagement happens on WeChat, where real users actively interact.
Today, many North American brands across industries—including travel, education, finance, retail, and automotive—have already established their WeChat Service Accounts to reach Chinese-speaking audiences.
WeChat has also extended its influence into short-form video through WeChat Channels. Similar to TikTok, this feature allows brands and influencers to create and share short videos, helping businesses engage with a wider audience in a highly interactive format.
What Changed on WeChat in the Past Year?
If your business has a WeChat account, you may have noticed a decline in engagement recently. That’s because WeChat has adjusted how verified account content is displayed to users.
Previously, verified account posts appeared directly in users’ main message feed, alongside personal conversations. However, recent updates have grouped Service Account and Official Account posts into separate folders, requiring users to manually open them to view updates. While this adds an extra step for users, it does not reduce WeChat’s effectiveness as a marketing tool—it simply requires a more strategic content approach.
WeChat Remains an Essential Platform for Business Growth
Despite these adjustments, WeChat’s role in the Chinese digital ecosystem remains unmatched. Its super app model seamlessly integrates social engagement, payments, content, and services, covering the entire customer journey—from awareness to conversion.
For overseas Chinese communities, WeChat is more than a messaging app—it’s a vital bridge to their culture and networks. This strong user attachment makes WeChat an invaluable tool for businesses looking to reach and engage Chinese consumers.
New Strategies for Brands on WeChat
As businesses refine their approach, WeChat marketing is shifting from mass content distribution to personalized engagement and service-driven strategies:
- Less hard-selling, more value-driven content – Brands are shifting from direct advertising to delivering useful, relevant content that fosters long-term engagement.
- Visual storytelling through video – Short-form, high-quality videos are becoming a powerful tool to showcase brand identity and drive customer interaction.
- Community-driven engagement – WeChat’s messaging features enable brands to build and manage targeted community groups, segmenting audiences based on location, interests, or needs to create personalized connections.
- Leveraging Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) – Brands are moving beyond traditional influencers, collaborating with local Chinese consumers (KOCs) to fuel authentic word-of-mouth marketing through WeChat Moments and group discussions.
- Cross-Platform Integration – To maximize reach, brands should strategically harness the strengths of different platforms. Understanding platform-specific user behaviours and content formats allows businesses to craft tailored strategies that boost engagement and optimize marketing impact.
In addition, while RedNote thrives on consumer-driven virality, WeChat is the go-to platform for B2B engagement, offering direct access to decision-makers and industry professionals. Its ability to deliver specialized content makes it an indispensable tool for business communication.
For example—Amazon Ads, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and Shopify have all established WeChat Service Accounts, regularly publishing industry insights and business solutions. Interestingly, none of these brands maintain an official presence on RedNote, reinforcing WeChat’s dominance in B2B engagement.
Final Thoughts
For North American brands, WeChat remains one of the most effective tools for engaging Chinese consumers. In 2025, businesses should shift from a traffic-driven approach to a community-focused engagement strategy, leveraging WeChat to build trust, enhance customer experience, and drive long-term brand loyalty.
Haven’t established your brand presence on WeChat yet? At LAT Multilingual, our Chinese marketing team is ready to help you succeed. From account setup and verification to tailored content strategies, ongoing content updates, and access to a vast network of high-quality local KOCs, we’ve got you covered!
