WITH WeChat so widely used in the Chinese market, the Orchard Road Business Association (Orba) is hoping to entice more travellers from China to the famed Singapore shopping belt by opening an account on the social chat platform in March this year.
Said Orba executive director Steven Goh: “The Chinese are very connected on their mobiles and we know this is a very powerful app that will help our information flow and reach out to them effectively.”
Highlighting the annual Christmas light up event at Orchard Road as an example, Goh said they will start creating interest on the WeChat platform with Christmas-related postings a few months in advance so that potential travellers have sufficient time to plan a holiday here.
With the help of a marketing agency in China, Goh said they will generate posts on its WeChat platform twice-weekly to introduce the various attractions and offerings on Orchard Road.
“We are able to communicate to them in a way like never before through storytelling and it has been a very rewarding experience so far,” he added.
Joseph Sze, vice president of MICE China, said: “This will ensure effective communication flow directly to targeted Chinese consumers. However, there are more follow-up areas that need to be done to get results such as providing comprehensive information, real-time useful tips and navigation.
“The focus now is how to generate online traffic and increase the number of followers so that there can be eventual sales results,” Sze added.
While Goh could not provide the number of subscribers to the Orba WeChat account, he said it is “definitely growing” and added that this is a long-term project.
Orba’s efforts complement those of the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA), which roped in Chinese payments firm UnionPay International as a partner for its Great Singapore Sale this year.
The number of visitors from China increased by 53.2 per cent to 1.02 million this year for the January to April period compared to the year before. This number accounted for 18.4 per cent of the number of visitors to Singapore during this period, overtaking Indonesia as Singapore’s largest single source market for tourists.
