FAQs: Opening a Brand Account on WeChat

WeChat is China’s most-used app, accounting for 35% of all mobile usage time in the country, and used by nearly 80% of the adult population. It has long been a central and essential component of any brand’s marketing strategy in China, and travel brands and businesses entering the Chinese market will certainly want to open an account on WeChat. But just how easy is this to do, and how does it fit into a larger WeChat marketing strategy?

How can I open an Official Account on WeChat?
What WeChat refers to as “Official Accounts” or 公众号 used to be known as Subscription Accounts, and are oriented towards publishing content. Service Accounts or 服务号 are intended for companies that provide services. Years ago, it was normal for overseas tourism boards to open Subscription Accounts (now known as Official Accounts) and for businesses like airlines and hotels to open Service Accounts. However, changes to WeChat’s rules for new account registration in 2018 means that any brand that does not have a Chinese business license cannot register for an Official/Subscription Account. Brands with foreign business licenses that want to open a new WeChat account can only register for a Service Account.

What is the registration process for a WeChat Service Account?
For users who want to register by themselves, please check our instructions here. You will need to register and verify your account in order to post content publicly, and this will typically take around two to three months for companies with an overseas business license. For government entities – including all national, regional and municipal tourism boards, even if they are registered as a business entity – there’s an additional filing process required by the Cyberspace Administration of China, and this takes three months.

Alternatively, an agency like Dragon Trail can help to complete the whole process on your behalf – we have already done so successfully for many clients, including tourism boards, cultural institutions, hotels, attractions, and cruise lines.

Can Dragon Trail use their own Chinese business license to register a WeChat Official Account or Service Account for me?
Some marketing agencies do register their clients’ WeChat brand accounts using the agency’s own business license – this can be a faster and easier process. However, Dragon Trail always registers and verifies our clients’ WeChat accounts using their own business license and would only use our own license as a temporary solution while waiting for a lengthy verification review. We’ve seen too many disputes between clients and agencies over account ownership when we’ve taken over the management of WeChat accounts from other agencies, and want our clients to be assured that they will always have sole ownership of their account – even though we may be managing the account’s content.

How often will I be able to post through my WeChat Service Account?
Previously, Service Accounts were limited to posting just four times per month, whereas Subscription/Official Accounts could post daily. Starting from March 2026, Service Accounts can now post daily – but the caveat is that all posts (including article and photo posts) now go into users’ Service Accounts folder in their chat feed instead of showing up as individual chat notifications from the brand accounts, like they used to.

How will WeChat users find my brand’s content?
Brands cannot think about WeChat Service Accounts as platforms for passive consumer discovery, which users might see while scrolling and be inspired to visit or book. Instead, the account plays a greater role in the planning stage – WeChat is now one of China’s leading search engines, with 600 million searches per day. Moreover, the upcoming rollout of WeChat’s AI tool, XiaoWei, will also help users to discover article content published by Service Accounts. Brands should therefore treat their WeChat accounts as resource libraries, where they build up a collection of useful, in-depth, evergreen content.

Users who navigate directly to your service account will be able to find your content in two ways (in addition to scrolling), both of which will need to be set up according to your own requirements. The first discovery point is through customizable menu bars on your account – you can have three menu bars with five items each, with links to related articles and article lists, as well as to your WeChat mini-program, contact information, and B2B resources for travel agents. The second discovery point is to set up the account’s contact page with automated replies to guide visitors to the content they’re looking for.

Is a Service Account all I need to market on WeChat?
A WeChat Service Account should be complemented by a WeChat Channels account for videos, which has the potential to reach travelers in the inspiration stage. And travel brands serious about the China market will also want to develop their own WeChat mini-programs, to help travelers plan, book, and navigate their trips – this is becoming even more important with the rollout of WeChat’s XiaoWei AI feature, which will access content and functions in your mini-program to design itineraries, recommend hotels, and help users book their trips.

Don’t see your question about WeChat answered above? Contact Dragon Trail to ask!

For more information on WeChat and other Chinese social media marketing, watch Dragon Trail’s June 2026 webinar, “The Chinese Traveler’s Digital Journey“. 

Dragon Trail’s social media team is experienced in opening and managing Service Accounts and WeChat Channels accounts, and our award-winning development team has been creating WeChat mini-programs since they were first introduced in 2017. Get in touch to see how we can help you establish or optimize your presence on WeChat.