WeChat is the most popular social media platform in China, with over 1.3 billion active users. For companies looking to reach this vast audience, creating a WeChat account is essential.
However, WeChat offers two types of accounts: service accounts and subscription accounts. Each account type serves different marketing and communication goals, and understanding their differences is crucial for businesses to avoid setting up the wrong one.
Purpose and Function
Service accounts are designed to promote products or services and engage customers directly. These accounts are best for companies aiming for interaction and customer support. Service accounts allow businesses to send order updates, booking confirmations, and promotional offers straight to users’ inboxes.
On the other hand, subscription accounts are ideal for distributing content regularly. These accounts are perfect for businesses that focus on delivering frequent updates, news articles, and other informational content. Subscription accounts are best suited for maintaining brand awareness through high-frequency content without being too intrusive.
Visibility and Notifications
One of the most significant differences between these two account types is visibility. Service account messages appear in users’ chat lists, similar to how they receive personal messages. This placement means that messages from service accounts are hard to miss, and push notifications ensure users are alerted about new updates.
In contrast, subscription account messages are less visible. They appear in the “subscriptions” folder, and users do not receive push notifications when new content is published. As a result, subscription account content is more passive and likely to be viewed at the user’s convenience.
Frequency of Updates
Another key distinction is how often each account type can send updates. Service accounts can send only four broadcast messages per month. However, these broadcasts can contain up to eight articles each, making them a good option for businesses that don’t need to communicate daily.
Subscription accounts, by comparison, can send one broadcast message per day, also containing up to eight articles. This makes subscription accounts suitable for businesses that have frequent updates or want to distribute content on a regular basis.
Choosing the Right Account for Your Business
The decision between a service account and a subscription account largely depends on your business model, content strategy, and desired level of customer interaction.
Service accounts are ideal for businesses focused on customer service, e-commerce, and more personalized communication. For example, a beauty and cosmetics company aiming to boost sales through WeChat would benefit from customer interaction and push notifications offered by a service account.
On the other hand, if your business aims to provide educational content, regular updates, or build brand awareness, a subscription account is the better choice. For instance, a company delivering daily informative content would find a subscription account more aligned with its goals.
In summary, service accounts are more suitable for businesses focused on direct customer engagement and e-commerce, while subscription accounts are better for those prioritizing content distribution and brand visibility.