WeChat is China’s #1 digital ecosystem, and having a WeChat Official Account (WOA) is essential for brands looking to establish credibility, engage audiences, and drive conversions By Philip Chen, GMA.

But opening and managing a WOA requires proper setup, certification, and strategic execution. Here’s everything you need to know for 2024.

WeChat Official Account for Brands: Everything Marketers Need to Know (2025 Update)

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1. Opening a WeChat Official Account: Step-by-Step ✅

To operate officially in China, brands need to open a WeChat Official Account under either:

• Chinese Business License (ideal for local companies).
• Overseas Business License (requires extra steps and third-party verification).

Steps to Open an Official Account: 1️⃣ Choose the Account Type:

• Service Account (Best for businesses: full API access, WeChat Pay, CRM, and push notifications).
• Subscription Account (Best for media: frequent content publishing but limited eCommerce features). 2️⃣ Submit Required Documents (see section 2 below). 3️⃣ Pay Registration & Verification Fees. 4️⃣ Complete Identity Verification & Notarization. 5️⃣ WeChat Approval & Account Activation (7-15 business days).

🚀 Pro Tip: If you’re an international brand, you may need a third-party partner in China to facilitate setup.

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2. Required Documents & Certification Process 📄

What documents are needed?

• Business license (Chinese or Overseas).
• Company bank account details (for verification deposit).
• Official brand website domain.
• Notarized documents & legal representative ID copy.
• Contact information for a China-based admin (if applicable).

Notary Fees:

• For international companies, certification can cost $400-$800 USD depending on the country.
• China-based companies pay lower fees (~¥300-¥600).

🚀 Pro Tip: If setting up from abroad, work with WeChat-certified agencies to speed up notarization.

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3. Costs of Running a WeChat Official Account 💰

💵 Account Setup & Verification: $99 USD/year for overseas brands. 💵 Third-Party Services (if required): ~$500-$2000 USD (for foreign companies needing China-based legal representatives). 💵 Ad Budget: Starts at ¥1000 (~$140 USD) per campaign. 💵 WeChat Mini Program Integration: Custom development ranges from $3,000-$15,000 USD.

🚀 Pro Tip: Keep aside $5,000-$10,000 for the first 6 months to effectively launch and promote your WOA.

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4. WeChat Menu & Interactive Features 📲

Every Service Account comes with a customizable menu for a seamless customer experience.

✅ Common WeChat Menu Features:

• 🛍 eCommerce Links: Direct users to Mini Programs or Tmall/JD stores.
• 🎟 Promotions & Coupons: Engage with time-limited discounts.
• 📞 Customer Service Chatbot: Automate responses & live support.
• 📚 Content Hub: Direct access to blog posts, videos, and brand updates.

🚀 Pro Tip: Optimize the menu structure for user behavior—reduce unnecessary clicks!

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5. H5 Brochures: The New Digital Business Card 📄

H5 Brochures are interactive, mobile-friendly mini-websites hosted inside WeChat. They help brands showcase collections, events, or brand stories.

✅ What You Can Do with H5 Brochures:

• Highlight new collections with swipeable images.
• Embed videos & testimonials.
• Include WeChat Pay for direct purchases.

🚀 Pro Tip: Use H5 pages for luxury experiences, influencer collaborations, and event registrations.

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6. WeChat Channels: Video-First Content for 2024 🎥

WeChat Channels (WeChat’s version of TikTok) is essential for brand exposure.

✅ Winning WeChat Channel Strategies:

• Short 15-60 sec fashion/lifestyle videos showcasing brand products.
• Livestream shopping to drive instant conversions.
• Behind-the-scenes content (factory tours, events, and creator collabs).

🚀 Pro Tip: WeChat Channels videos can now be linked directly to Mini Programs, making shopping frictionless!

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7. WeChat Ads: New Video-Focused Ad Formats 🎯

For 2024, WeChat Ads are shifting towards video-driven formats to boost engagement.

Full article linkedin

✅ Types of WeChat Ads:

• Moments Ads – Appear in users’ feeds (similar to Facebook ads).
• Mini Program Ads – Direct traffic to in-app stores.
• WeChat Channels Video Ads – High-engagement, short-form video ads.
• KOL-Boosted Ads – Partner with influencers for expanded reach.

🚀 Pro Tip: A/B test different creatives—GIFs & videos now perform 3x better than static images.

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Final Takeaway: WeChat Official Accounts Are Evolving Fast 🚀

Success on WeChat in 2024 means more than just opening an account. Brands must: 🔥 Invest in short-form video & livestreaming (WeChat Channels). 🔥 Leverage Mini Programs & H5 brochures for seamless shopping. 🔥 Optimize WeChat SEO to rank on Sogou search. 🔥 Use interactive ads & retargeting for high engagement.

💡 Need a WeChat strategy that delivers results?

Wechat is the most used app in China. Around 1.2 Billion users used it every day. 70 messages are sent per person and per day and more than 100 minutes of the call. Wechat is a part of Chinese lives. Because the app succeeded to adapt all its functions to its consumers it is becoming a must-have in China.

Wechat for Fashion Brands

Chinese users watch videos, follow the news, pictures, brands, people, play games, use delivery food service…and many more. Wechat in China is the key to becoming known by your target. But, when you are a foreign company, it can be hard and ask a lot of time to use all the capacities of the app. That’s why we are here! To help you with this guide to create your Wechat Official Account. It’s the key that will allow you to develop your activity and touch your target in China.

Read as well: The Ultimate Guide to Wechat Marketing

THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS YOU CAN CREATE ON WECHAT

First, I think it’s important for you to know all the different Official Accounts existing on Wechat.

• Subscription account : the subscription account allows you to release contents to your followers. It’s really convinient for media organizations or bloggers. You can easily interact and to communicate with your followers.
• Service account : if you are a firm, it’s the best account to sell and promote your goods or services.

Subscription accounts and service accounts are mostly used by firms to communicate and create a relationship with users. Communication is the key to attracting your consumers in China. It brings you visibility and a trustful image.

You have to select which kind of account is the most appropriate for your business. But, If I can give you advice, choose a Verified Chinese Service Account, it’s the most appropriate choice for any kind of company you have.

I will explain more about these two different accounts in a few minutes.

LOCAL ACCOUNT OR FOREIGN ACCOUNT?

Before all, the first question you need to ask you if do you want to create a Chinese account or a foreign account?

You need to know that Chinese accounts are more visible by Chinese users. Because of the control of government, foreign accounts are mostly rejected by the system of censorship. Chinese people can only see Chinese accounts. If you only create a foreign account, all the contents will be in english, but only foreigners will be able to see you, not Chinese users.

Other important criteria, all the functions of Wechat are reserved for the Chinese official accounts. If you have a foreign account you can’t use all the functions, your functions will be limited.

If your goal is to develop your business in China and to attract chinese consumers, the only solution is the local account. The content will be in mandarin, so more accessible to Chinese people.

But, for legal reasons, it’s impossible for foreign companies to create a Chinese official account if you don’t have a Chinese legal entity. You also need a Chinese Residence ID and a Chinese phone number.

The only solution is to form a partnership with a Chinese partner or a WFOE (Wholly Foreign-Own Enterprise) for example.

So, you know what you have to do?

THE WECHAT SUBSCRIPTION ACCOUNT

As I explained to you before, the subscription account (订阅号 or ding yuè háo) allows you to publish a lot of content to your followers.

BUT, your account will be put in a subscription account subfolder. If you publish new content, your followers will not receive a notification. They need to go to the subscription account subfolder to see your news.

THE WECHAT SERVICE ACCOUNT

The service account (服务号 or fú wù háo ) is better if you want to sell products or services.

In addition, a lot of functions are only available for service accounts. It’s the case of CRM, customizable pages, mini-sites…

Each time you will publish new content, your followers will receive a notification. Your service account will be rank very well and better than the subscription accounts.

Only problem, the service account only allows you to publish 4 posts each month. You will need to define a very good communication strategy and choose your posts.

For both accounts, it’s better if your account is verified. It gives you legitimacy nearby your consumers. Be careful, only the Chinese Official Accounts can have the verified stamp given by Wechat.

Chinese consumers only follow verified accounts because Wechat engages himself to control all the accounts and only gives the verified stamp to the real company. It shows that you are not an impostor. In China, people need to be reassured because of all the scandals and the huge industry of fake. With the verified stamp, consumers know that they can trust you.

In addition, if your account is verified, you can access more services :

• Users management
• Custom menus
• Messaging
• Users location
• WeChat payments
• Etc…

WECHAT FEATURES FOR OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS

As I said before, all features are not available for everybody. This pictures summarize all the features you can used regarding to your account.

• Chinese business license or foreign business license
• Chinese bank account of the company (to pay the verification fee and receive the verification code)
• Chinese ID of a chinese citizen (Chinese account operator) associated with a WeChat Payment account linked to his/her bank account.
• Display name
• Name of the WeChat ID
• Email address for the registration
• Address of your account type: Subscription or Service
• Your business’s short introduction
• Profile picture
• Chinese landline phone number of your company (for verification call from TenCent)

The process may seem long and demanding but it allows you to have a verified account.

We are a specialist digital marketing agency based in Shanghai. We understand the fashion market and the real methods for success in this lucrative market.

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