WeChat Official Account
1.Overview#
The WeChat Official Accounts Platform is used for operators to provide information and services to WeChat users via Official Accounts WeChat Introduction Document. An Official Account exists in the form of a WeChat user's contact, and chat is the basis for the interaction between the Official Account and its users. Official Accounts come with following messaging services for different scenarios.
- Broadcast Message: Official Accounts can send broadcast messages to users at a certain frequency (1 time per day by Subscription Accounts, and 4 times per month by Service Accounts), including text messages, articles, images, videos, and voices.
- Passive Reply Message: When a user sends a message to an Official Account, the WeChat server forwards the message to the server address set by the developer in the Developer Center (the developer should verify message authenticity), and the Official Account replies to the message within 5 seconds by either sending a message or a command of no reply to the WeChat server. Passive reply messages can be encrypted（by setting in Official Accounts Platform > Developer Center, and then will be handled according to the message encryption/decryption documentation. Other types of messages are returned by API instead of request of return, so encryption/decryption is not required.）
- Customer Service Message: Generally, in the Customer Service scenario, when an Official Account receives a message from a user within 48 hours, it can send unlimited number of messages to the user. User's actions can trigger various event push, and some event can trigger official account to send Customer Service Message. For details, please refer to Message Push and Event Description documents.
- Message Template: Official Accounts can send service notifications (such as Quick Pay results, or successful service appointment) to users using a specific content template.
Official account can be authorized to DM Hub. Official account can be managed through DM Hub directly and form complete customer portrait by combining data collected from other channels.
2.Difference between Service Account and Subscription Account#
2.1 Difference in API permission#
The picture is from WeChat official document API Permission
API permissions vary depending on Official Account types, as shown in the following table. Note:
- An Official Account verified by Tencent Weibo does not mean it is also verified by WeChat, so it does not have access to APIs for Official Accounts that have passed WeChat Verification.
- WeChat Verification is divided into qualification verification and name verification. An Official Account can access the APIs after it passes qualification verification.
2.2Difference in DM Hub#
| Function | Verified Subscription Account | Verified Service Account |
|---|---|---|
| Acquiring Fans List | √ | √ |
| Auto-Reply After Subscription | √ | √ |
| Keyword Auto-Reply | √ | √ |
| Customized Menu | √ | √ |
| Click-Menu Event Capture | √ | √ |
| Standard QR codes with parameters | √ | |
| QR codes with parameters that embed with identity | √ | |
| WeChat Article Materials Management | √ | √ |
| WeChat Article Materials Management | √ | √ |
| WeChat Coupon | √(With limitation) | √ |
| WeChat Page Authorization setting | √ | |
| Identification of customers visiting the WeChat Page in the WeChat environment | √ |
Attention:
- Unauthenticated subscription accounts and unauthenticated service accounts cannot be authorized with DM Hub due to too many restricted functions;
- Although verified subscription account can use WeChat Coupon, but due to WeChat API permission limitation, WeChat coupon cannot be created and sent through DM Hub. Creating QR code with parameters for the coupon in DM Hub is also not available but creating Standard QR code for the coupon is available;
- For detailed difference between Subscription Account and Service Account, you may refer to Tencent Official Description.
3.How to bind WeChat Official Account to DM Hub#
[Setting Center] – [Touch Point] – [WeChat Official Account]
The page will then jump to WeChat Official Account Platform with authorization QR code, as shown below. It has to be an Official Account administrator to scan the QR （(Can only be scanned, not identified from picture) code in order to authorize （Normal official account operator have no authority to authorize）.
To ensure the better service provided by DM Hub, make sure the following 8 permissions are granted to DM Hub:
- Message Management Access
- Custom Menu Access
- Web Service Access
- Broadcast and Notice Access
- User Management Access
- Account Service Access
- Asset Management Access
- WeChat Coupon Access
After permissions are granted, WeChat Official Account Fans will be imported.
Attention: After WeChat Official Account Fans are imported, all current WeChat Official Fans will be created as “Customer” in DM Hub. If any Fan unfollow the official account later, DM Hub will not delate the corresponding customer, but the system will display Fan’s “Follow” and “Unfollow” status and actions.After successfully binding an official account with DM Hub, information including current status, account type, and verification status of all current bound official account will display in the Official Account Setting List. Click [View] under Acquired Permission column to view permissions obtained by DM Hub. System’s data acquisition ability and functions may be affected if DM Hub failed to acquire all the permissions listed. One official account can be authorized up to 5 suppliers, therefore, authorizing official account to Convertlab will not affect other suppliers.
If an official account canceled its authorization to DM Hub, it will display “Unbounded” in the Status column and a delated button will appear. You may re-bind the official account or delated the official account from the list.
4.Basic Application for Service Account after Authorization#
Manage or use WeChat basic function#
WeChat Broadcast; Official Account QR Code; Template Message; WeChat Coupon; Auto-Reply; Custom Menu; WeChat Tag.
Import WeChat Fans and Create Detailed Files#
After binding official account with DM Hub, all fans (image, WeChat name, gender, location information, and latest event of following the official account), including new fans, will be imported automatically to the system.
After docking other touch-point channels, if a fan interacts with company’s through another official account, email, WeChat page, or Website, system will automatically record interactions to fans’ detailed information page.
Create and Publish WeChat Page#
WeChat page can only be successfully published and acquire visitor’s WeChat identity(WeChat Openid) when bond to an official account.
Acquire Fans Data Visiting Website#
Through QR codes with parameters that embed with identity provided in DM Hub, data between WeChat and website can be merged and capture fan’s interaction data on the website.
Website can usually identify a visitor by Cookie, but Cookie, alone, has limited usage. Through QR codes with parameters that embed with identity, visitors Cookie identity can be bound to WeChat Fans identity, and record all interactions between fans and websites.
Actively and Automatically Send Official Account Message#
After binding verified service account, official account can send message to fans automatically through Workflow. Official account can send message including word message, pictures, H5, Mini Programs to fans under 48-Hour Rules without consuming monthly broadcast budget. For fans not under 48-Hour Rules, official account can send template message. For detailed description of 48-hours rule, please refer to Customer Service Management.
5.Canceling Official Account Authorization#
To completely unbind am official account, authorization need to be canceled on WeChat Official Account Platform and delate the official account from DM Hub. An official account can only be bond to one DM Hub account, therefore an official account can only be bond to another DM Hub account after delated from the previous DM Hub account. To cancel authorization to DM Hub, log-in to official account platform [Settings] – [Account Info] – [Authorization Management] and click [view platform details] – [Cancel authorization].
warning
Attention: Delating official account or canceling authorization will not delate customer data in the system, but customer information will no longer update. Re-authorize after canceling authorization will not affect customer in the system, but fan’s follow information cannot be synchronized if official account was rebind to DM Hub after delating it.