In a nutshell, WeCom is a corporate communication tool. It provides instant messaging and organizational tools (similar to apps like Slack), but also connects seamlessly with WeChat’s existing functionality and social selling.
WeCom is a bit like having a fully customizable version of WeChat – just for your organization. It puts businesses in control of their workflows and contacts.
WeCom was created to help bring teams together and improve workflows. Not only does it streamline internal company systems, but it also brings your customers closer and makes advertising in China easier.
The figures speak for themselves. Tencent recently revealed that over 2.5 million organizations and 60 million users have now adopted WeCom. What’s more, over 80% of the top 500 organizations in China and 81% of the top 100 retail organizations have come on board.
But the best way to explain what exactly WeCom is, is to take a look at some of its features.
How does WeCom work?
If you’re advertising in China, then understanding WeCom is a must.
Some of the many benefits to brands using the platform include full ownership of customer contacts, easy sharing of tasks and files, centralized approvals of expenses and holiday leave, as well as heightened security.
Here are some of the app’s key features…
Streamlined communication
WeCom uses the same messaging interface as WeChat. This means employees can hit the ground running, without any need to learn a new app.
Group chats can include up to 2,000 members – so no one gets left out.
Video conferencing and live-streaming
Employees can use WeCom to schedule appointments, launch video conferences and screen share. The app allows 300 participants to join a meeting at any one time.
You can also live stream to wider WeChat audiences directly from WeCom. Given the recent explosion in the popularity of live-streaming, this is a great feature for anyone advertising in China.
WeChat Moments
In a very exciting development, WeCom recently enabled WeChat Moments within the app.
This means that employees can share updates with consumers and colleagues whenever they like. With plenty of options for advertising in China via WeChat Moments, watch this space.
Office applications
With WeCom, office management just got easier. The platform has tools for tracking attendance, approvals, holiday leave, payments and expenses.
To further help workflows, there are also capabilities for job reporting and document management, with 100 GB of free storage.
Corporate contacts management
WeCom doesn’t just allow for internal collaboration. It also ensures customer information is owned by the company as opposed to individual sales staff.
So if one team member leaves, contact lists can be swiftly reassigned to another person – it’s that simple!
How can I register for a WeCom account?
The best way to register for a WeCom account is to do so from a verified WeChat Official Account. Follow these steps:
- Login and click “Enterprise WeChat” from the side menu.
- Click “enable” on the next page.
- Your account owner will need to scan a QR code to confirm.
Et voila. You’ve registered!
If you don’t have a WeChat Official Account, you can also register via the WeCom homepage.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) How much does WeCom cost?
A standard WeCom account is free to use.
Advanced features such as WeChat Pay and WeChat Customers currently cost 300 RMB (paid as a verification fee) every two years.
Additional cloud storage space, third-party apps or phone minutes can also be purchased.
2) Is WeCom available in English?
Yes!
Both the desktop and mobile app are available in English.
What’s more, the admin backend and help center are mostly translated. While you might come across some areas which haven’t been translated yet – WeCom is easy to use for English speakers.
3) Where do WeCom store my data?
WeCom chat data, along with any WeDoc and WeDrive files are stored on Tencent’s servers.
If you access internal files using WeCom’s web browser, these won’t be stored on Tencent’s servers.
Security and data privacy is of course a major concern for businesses. With this in mind, organizations can use their cloud file storage so that sensitive files aren’t stored by Tencent. This simply means that employees share links instead of files in WeCom.
4) How can I invite others to join my WeCom account?
There are many ways to invite your team to join your WeCom account.
You can…
- Share a QR code
- Import contact lists
- Share an invitation page or email
- Invite colleagues via WeChat
credit : www.adchina.io
