Are there any apps or social media products that you use every day? Would you say it’s become a part of your daily routine? I don’t know about you all, but I have a few apps that I can attest to having as part of my daily routine. For instance, every day after work, I scroll on Tik Tok for entertainment for about thirty minutes, or what I plan to only be for thirty minutes. The point is, as a social media marketer, outside of reaching your targeted audience and giving them the elements they want or need in your product or service, you should aim to have that product or service become something that they feel the need to use daily.
Weixin Background
One popular and successful social media product example is the Chinese social networking app, Weixin, pronounced “way-shin.” The social media success was detailed in the Case Study, Weixin, in the book Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change. Weixin is somewhat similar to WhatsApp in the United States where users can message or call one another and send pictures from their mobile devices. The app was launched and developed in 2011 by Tencent executive, Allen Zhang as a way to share news and messages to people using your mobile phone. The platform has a target audience of young smartphone users and has a purpose of providing them with a “one-stop-shop” kind of app. By December 2023, the app had surpassed over 1.3 billion monthly users (Statista, 2024). The app has now been rebranded as WeChat but is still as popular as ever.
Functionalities of Weixin
Like many other social media platforms, Weixin gives its users the basics in being able to connect with others from other countries by sending photos, videos, sending text messages, and making phone calls. The case study highlights that Weixin’s success is largely because they have made it, so their users do not have to get off the app to do anything. All within the app, users can:
- Find a cab.
- Search for anything in the in-app browser.
- Pay or send money to others.
- Play video games.
- Video conferencing.
- Location sharing.
- Broadcast messaging.
- Share news.
Some of the newer functions of Weixin allow users to send money to one another and to hail a cab. For example, for the Chinese New Year, it’s a tradition to send a monetized gift to people. The platform had a campaign or function known as Red Envelope, where users could link their bank accounts to the app and send or receive money for the holiday. There’s also a function where users can decide to only spend a certain amount of money overall, but to have it split into four payments. With hailing a cab, Weixin partnered with 350,000 cab drivers in 30 cities in 2014 for users to book a taxi and submit payment for it through the app. Elements such as these made it where Chinese people have to use Weixin because it’s a platform where they can do virtually everything on.
Other Apps with Similar Schemes
As a social media user myself, I have noticed that many other social media apps are aiming to have their platforms be a part of their audience’s everyday routines. For instance, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok all have some form of a shop or marketplace for their users to purchase items from. With each shop, companies, or even other users of the platform, can sell their products. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook give users the option to read news stories from their apps or to use the browser on their device to view on there. Tik Tok has now prided itself on the fact that its users see the platform as another version of Google. Many users, and I, use its search feature to find videos on just about anything from makeup and hair tutorials to recipes on various dishes.
Takeaway
In today’s multimedia environment, users are always looking for the next best thing or the next interesting app to use. If the goal of your social media product or campaign is to boost engagement and make it so your users only want to use your platform, you must analyze what they need. Social media platforms such as Weixin, are popular and successful because they know what their users need and what they are interested in. It’s imperative that marketers engage with their audiences to influence their purchasing behavior. If your goal is to make your product or platform a part of a consumer’s daily life, then you will shy away from selling techniques, and run towards how to make their lives easier with the use of your product(s).
References
Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2024). Strategic social media: From marketing to social change, Chapter 5. Wiley-Blackwell.
Thomala, L. L. (2024, March 20). WeChat: Active users worldwide 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/255778/number-of-active-wechat-messenger-accounts/
One response to “The Daily Routine of Social Media Marketing”
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I agree with your perspective on the importance of making social media products a part of users’ daily routines. It’s fascinating how platforms like Weixin (WeChat) have integrated various functionalities into their app, making it a “one-stop-shop” for users’ needs. This approach not only increases user engagement but also fosters a sense of reliance on the platform for multiple tasks, from communication to financial transactions and entertainment. The example of Weixin’s Red Envelope campaign and partnership with cab drivers shows how understanding cultural practices and user behaviors can lead to innovative features that drive user retention and usage.
It’s also interesting to see how other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok incorporate similar strategies, such as creating marketplaces and offering news and search functionalities. This trend highlights the importance of continuously evolving and adapting to meet users’ preferences and needs. As a social media marketer, recognizing these trends and aligning strategies to make the product indispensable to users’ lives is crucial for long-term success and user loyalty.
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Lashanda Shepherd 
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