The number one mistake travel marketers make on WeChat is to use their personal accounts for brand promotion. That's usually a bad move on the China-focused messaging service, which has 762 million monthly active users, according to QuestMobile.
NB: This is a guest article by Thomas Meriaux, a Shanghai-based digital marketing expert specialising in the tourism and entertainment sectors.
Remember: You are the brand ambassador of your agency, not its official spammer. Whether you have recently arrived on WeChat or are a long-time user, your personal account should be kept personal.
Only share marketing content of high value that will help you establish yourself as a person whom people want to keep following.
"Spamming"users with promotions and content will only get you blocked (if users report you) or have your Moments — WeChat's equivalent of Facebook's status updates — hidden from others.
Only share the key events related to your brand. Do not dump links like this example. (I blurred his face and name in this screenshot, to avoid him losing face over this.)
Moment posting should instead look natural. Post only the very best pictures you can get about your destinations, your team etc…
Example: You are a tour guide. You take selfies with your customers at a dreamlike locale and post it on your Moment. Add a line or two, stating how wonderful your guests thought the experience was.
Example: Post a link with an explanatory sentence about a travel marketing trend, with your opinion on it. Or offer a travel tip that would be useful to any traveler.
In short, your content must to look somewhat organic and very visual, such as this:
Posting promotions that have already been proven successful can be a good idea. But be smart about it.
The best business use of your personal WeChat account is for networking. Connect professionally as much as you can in China, and order your contacts with tags, as shown in the screen shot below:
As a travel agency manager, you will certainly encounter a wealth of people coming from different backgrounds.
Have a business card ready with a neat QR code printed on your business card. (Work on your 关系, guanxi.)
Why? For one reason, you want to show off that you know the ins and outs of WeChat. Nowadays people use QR code scanning as much as the traditional business card to stay in touch.
NB: This is a guest article by Thomas Meriaux, a Shanghai-based digital marketing expert specialising in the tourism and entertainment sectors. He is on WeChat at thomasmeriaux.
NEW TNOOZ REPORT The above is bonus material not included in Meriaux's Tnooz Report, "How Travel Marketers Should Use WeChat," ($25). Get actionable advice on how to make the most of WeChat by downloading your copy now.
NB2: Image by Daxiao Productions / BigStock.com