New WeChat feature could put a new twist on mobile advertisements
Tencent, one of China’s largest Internet and e-commerce organizations, has held a commanding and lucrative place in the mobile space for some time, but the company is eager to find yet more success therein and beat back competition coming from companies like Alibaba. Tencent has launched a new service for its popular WeChat application that may take mobile marketing to a new level and make mobile ads more attractive and valuable to certain businesses.
Tencent aims to mimic the marketing success that social media platforms have seen through marketing
Social media marketing has long been a very powerful way to engage consumers due to the fact that so many people use social media platforms on a daily basis. For Facebook and Twitter, marketing is a primary revenue stream. For Tencent, marketing could be yet another way to monetize its WeChat application, which is the most widely used social application in Asia.
New service allows companies to place advertisements on the social pages of their competitors
Tencent’s new WeChat service allows companies with verified WeChat accounts to pay fees to have their advertisements placed on the social pages of other companies. The revenue collected by these fees will be split between Tencent and the companies that will be hosting the advertisements. Advertisers will be able to target specific demographics through this new service, meaning that WeChat users will see ads based on their interests, age, gender, and location.
Tencent manages to successfully monetize app through mobile commerce
Tencent has already successfully monetized its WeChat app through allowing it to serve as a mobile commerce platform. The app can be used to pay for certain goods and service, as long as the company selling these goods and services supports mobile payments. By involving itself in the mobile marketing field, Tencent may be able to make itself more attractive to companies and not just consumers. This could help Tencent compete with Alibaba in the mobile space. Both companies have taken a strong position in the market, seeking dominance among a consumer base that is becoming increasingly mobile-centric.
Furthermore, of the Thai consumers who were surveyed, 59% engaged in online shopping, with 1 in 4 utilizing their mobile phone to buy goods and services. In addition, shoppers in the country were using their mobile devices to educate themselves before buying. 29% of mobile users said they used their mobile devices in-store to read online product reviews before making a purchase, while 24% said they used their phones in-store to consult with family or friends to obtain their opinion about a product.