This largest group messaging application in the world is using mobile barcodes.
WeChat, also known as “Weixin” in Chinese, is the world’s largest group messaging mobile app and was created by Tencent, and it is now using QR codes to bring forward its social media marketing platform.
This will give marketers a way to make direct content with its users, of which there are over 100 million.
The WeChat app is a social media marketing platform that lets television shows, blogs, newspapers, celebrities, and other marketers to be able to gain direct access to the over 100 million application users. The app allows its members to log in and browse the people and media that they find interesting and that they would like to follow. It is comparable in many ways to some of the Twitter clones in China, such as Weibo, also by Tencent, as well as Sina Weibo, its primary rival.
A number of Chinese celebrities have already joined this QR codes centered effort.
Other than stars, there are also several television shows that have become a part of the fun, such as Fei Chang Wu Rao, a popular dating show. Moreover, there are a number of local technology blogs that are using this as a first venture out into social media.
The heart of this service is QR codes. The WeChat app gives smartphone users the ability to scan these barcodes. Moreover, anyone with the app can also very easily create their own and share them online or print them out for use in the “real world.”
The application has now changed its focus for use for marketing, which has made it highly appealing for brands, as well. Among the uses most expected by brands for this app is the distribution of discount coupons that customers will be able to use when shopping online or in-store. This means that WeChat will be able to use QR codes to connect directly with consumers in China.
The risk is that in the future, this will also give brands, companies, and other marketers the ability to send a large amount of spam directly to the users of the app. However, at the moment, this is being prevented by making the communications between the consumers and the companies entirely dependent on scanning QR codes.