Last Updated on September 10, 2024
Chinese customers expect businesses to accommodate their spending habits when flying abroad, from paying through local payment systems and QR codes to booking reservations via mini-programs.
With WeChat fully integrated with these features, there’s no denying that it’s a powerful tool for promoting international destinations and travel-related brands in China.
Read along as we discuss the best WeChat campaigns for Chinese outbound travelers and share tips on how other global travel brands leveraged China’s biggest super app.
How Do Chinese Outbound Tourists Use WeChat for Overseas Trips?
● Travel Planning & Online Booking
Chinese tourists rely heavily on social media platforms when planning their trips. In a survey conducted by China Trading Desk, almost 40% of their 15,000 local respondents agree that they use social networking apps to plan their trips to specific destinations.
Foreign marketers can open a WeChat service account to take advantage of this consumer behavior. Establish brand profiles within the platform and release promotional content, like live streams, short videos, or articles, that resonates with the interests of today’s Chinese travelers.
Take Marriott International as an example. The global brand maximizes the platform’s massive user base by sharing destination guides, exclusive offers, and travel tips. Thanks to this strategy, they can connect with WeChat users trying to plan their overseas trips.
Marriott International’s Promotions on the WeChat App
Chinese citizens often have a shorter consumer journey online. With more locals open to spontaneous travel plans, chances are they’re looking for ways to browse hotels, check availability, and make reservations, all within a single app.
Because of this, many brands like Constance Hotels and Resorts poured their marketing efforts into developing a WeChat mini-program. This gives their target audience an easy way to discover the brand’s luxury properties across the Indian Ocean, explore exclusive deals, and make reservations without disruptions.
Constance Hotels and Resorts Mini-Program.
● E-Wallet & QR Code Payments
Another reason WeChat is so prevalent in the Chinese outbound travel market is its built-in e-wallet system. It offers the convenience of mobile payments and QR codes without switching to another application.
Not only does WeChat Pay simplify the payment process for Chinese tourists, but it also encourages spontaneous purchases, contributing to a more enjoyable and hassle-free travel retail experience.
DFS Group is one of the many global brands that understand the importance of incorporating local mobile payment systems to attract Chinese customers. Because of this, they integrated WeChat Pay across their global outlets.
As a luxury retailer, this seamless payment option reduces friction in the shopping experience for their Chinese visitors. Accepting WeChat Pay also makes it easier for tourists to spend on their offerings without worrying about currency exchanges and other financial transaction challenges.
Source: CITCON
● Travel Group Chats and Communities
Beyond social media trends, Chinese outbound tourism is also empowered by online communities and niche-specific groups. WeChat hosts numerous travel-related group chats where locals exchange tips, seek recommendations, and share personal experiences about travel destinations.
These groups often cater to specific interests, such as luxury travel, health and wellness trips, adventure tourism, or family-friendly destinations.
With a dedicated WeChat group chat, marketers can provide a platform for Chinese travelers to interact with the business directly, ask questions, and receive personalized recommendations. It’s also a private traffic domain that can foster a sense of community and trust around your brand in the long run.
Source: Pikisuperstar on Freepik
Top 7 most effective WeChat Campaigns for Chinese Outbound Travelers
1. Leverage WeChat’s Location-Based Features
As a foreign business, it can take time to figure out the consumption patterns of Chinese tourists. Fortunately, the platform offers location-based features that allow you to target travelers based on their real-time location, enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of your campaigns.
By leveraging Tencent’s location database, marketers can identify tourists who have visited nearby points of interest within the last month. They then push targeted WeChat advertising campaigns or special offers to attract Chinese tourists through WeChat, encouraging them to drop by the store and make a purchase.
WeChat’s location-based features
For your brand, location-based features can be utilized in several impactful ways:
- Targeted Ads and Offers: Push advertisements, discount coupons, or exclusive offers to potential customers whenever they are near your physical store or location. This can drive foot traffic and increase in-store conversions.
- Mini Programs Nearby: This feature ensures your mini-program appears in searches when users are nearby. For example, if you operate a hotel, your mini-program can show up when users search for nearby accommodations, allowing them to explore your offerings and book a stay.
- WeChat Customer Service & Chatbots: Brands can implement chatbots that provide users with store details, maps, or nearby attractions based on their location. This strategy will enhance the user experience and make your brand appear accessible in the eyes of a Chinese audience.
2. Maximizing WeChat Official Accounts
Your WeChat official account acts as a brand profile where you can engage directly with Chinese consumers. For Chinese tourists trying to learn more about your business, this channel is a treasure trove from which they’ll decide whether your offerings are worth patronizing.
An official brand account on WeChat grants you the power to publish various content types, from informative articles to visually appealing images and videos. The key is to provide valuable, relevant information that appeals to the Chinese market.
However, remember that your official account is not just a social broadcasting tool. It’s also a channel for two-way communication, where you encourage followers to interact with your content by asking questions, participating in polls, or sharing their travel experiences.
Marriott Vacation Club Official Account
Launching promotional campaigns exclusively for your WeChat followers also works well if you aim to attract local travelers to follow your official account.
This could include discounts on bookings, limited-time offers, or special tour packages designed for Chinese consumers. Offering these promotions through your official account incentivizes more users to follow and engage with your brand.
For example, Iconic Hotel Penang often uses its official WeChat account to announce flash sales and exclusive offers that are available only to its followers. These promotions create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, encouraging users to engage with the brand.
Iconic Hotel Penang’s posts on WeChat.
3. Launch O2O Marketing Strategies
To survive in the Chinese outbound tourism market, international brands need a combination of online and offline marketing strategies. WeChat provides the perfect platform to connect digital campaigns with real-world consumer experiences, offering a seamless journey for your audience.
Chinese tourists rely heavily on smartphones while traveling abroad, gathering information, and making payments. Recognizing this, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group uses its official account to release in-depth articles mainly dedicated to exclusive in-hotel experiences.
These campaigns include special dining offers or discount packages that can be redeemed by scanning a digital voucher on WeChat.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group on WeChat
For this strategy to work, it’s important to promote special offers that can only be redeemed in person. Hotel brands like Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group can create limited-time discounts or vouchers that Chinese tourists can claim at physical locations, which in turn will encourage immediate purchases.
4. Find & Work With Travel KOLs
Incorporating travel KOLs into your WeChat marketing strategy is no longer just an option. It’s a necessity for reaching and influencing Chinese outbound travelers.
These influencers have built credibility and trust within their communities by consistently sharing valuable travel insights, experiences, and recommendations. When a KOL endorses your brand, it comes with a level of authenticity that traditional advertising simply cannot match.
Travel KOL content types on WeChat
A brand can collaborate with a KOL by involving them in an event that showcases local culture or offering an exclusive dining experience, which they can live-stream or document through WeChat Channels.
This type of authentic content resonates deeply with viewers, who feel as though they’re getting an insider’s look at the influencer’s daily life and what the hotel has to offer.
When inviting KOLs to experience your offerings firsthand, encourage them to share their unfiltered experiences with their audience. This approach, primarily through live-streaming sessions, adds an element of spontaneity and real-time engagement that can significantly enhance the impact of your collaboration.
5. WeChat Mini-Programs as Personalized Travel Websites
The Chinese market operates at a fast pace, so it’s only natural for locals to expect convenience and efficiency from Western brands that are trying to grab their attention. This is where using a WeChat mini-program becomes an advantage for your business.
Create a mini-program that acts as a one-stop shop for everything your travelers need. This could include hotel or flight bookings, destination guides, local attraction recommendations, and customer service support.
With its capacity to handle different transactions and engagements, even popular OTAs in the local tourism industry have utilized mini-programs for their services. The best examples of this are Ctrip, Airbnb, and Qunar.
Ctrip, Airbnb, and Qunar Mini-Programs on WeChat
One of the top reasons why mini-programs are the best WeChat campaigns for Chinese outbound travelers is their integration with local mobile payments.
Whether a guest is booking a room, reserving a spa treatment, or paying for dining, everything can be handled smoothly through WeChat Pay. This is a critical factor in a market where mobile payments dominate.
6. Create a WeChat Group Dedicated to Tourist Support
These groups go beyond traditional customer support. As mentioned earlier, they create an interactive, community-driven environment where travelers can engage with your brand and each other.
This approach is especially practical in the Chinese travel industry, where timely information, shared experiences, and real-time assistance are crucial.
Another standout benefit of WeChat group messaging is the ability to provide instant customer support. Whether it’s addressing last-minute concerns, clarifying details about itineraries, or helping with unforeseen issues, having a dedicated support team in these groups ensures that travelers receive the help they need exactly when needed.
These group chats are also a goldmine for gathering feedback directly from your customers. By monitoring the conversations, you can gain valuable insights into what travelers like, what they find challenging, and what they wish could be improved.
This feedback is invaluable for refining your travel-related services and creating even more tailored tourism experiences in the future.
7. Utilize WeChat Moments Effectively
WeChat Moments ads are a premium advertising option that places your brand directly within the social feeds of a billion users. These advertisements appear natively in the Moments feed, making them less intrusive and more likely to be engaged with.
With their visual and interactive nature, brands can capture the interest of Chinese travelers throughout their consumer journeys, from pre-travel planning to booking.
In February 2021, Visit Sweden partnered with WeChat Moments to create a captivating campaign showcasing the Aurora Borealis. The campaign utilized this feature to invite users to a live virtual experience of the Northern Lights, directly tapping into potential travelers’ wanderlust and curiosity.
It garnered over 260,000 viewers and received 1,500 likes. The campaign’s success was amplified by the use of a CTA (call-to-action) button on the promotional post, which allowed users to access the live stream easily.
A compelling call-to-action (CTA) is essential for driving conversions. Whether it’s “Book Now,” “Learn More,” or “Watch Live,” your CTA should be clear, concise, and directly linked to the user’s next step. This can be the difference between a casual viewer and a committed customer.
Ready To Connect With Chinese Tourists Using WeChat? Get In Touch With Us Today!
Properly utilizing WeChat campaigns gives travel-related brands a chance to reach and engage with Chinese outbound tourists. The platform is capable of connecting to your target audience at every stage of their journey, whether it’s facilitating convenient payments during the trip or inspiring their pre-planning travel decisions.
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At Sekkei Digital Group, we understand the unique consumption patterns of local travelers on WeChat. With our team’s extensive industry experience and expertise, we can guide your business into maximizing its presence on China’s biggest super app.
Whether you intend to maximize your official account or launch ad campaigns on WeChat, we have all the digital solutions you need. Contact us today, and let’s discuss your next marketing strategy in more detail.
