What is the effect of “picture messages” on WeChat public accounts?

After the diversion of apps such as Toutiao, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, the traffic of WeChat public accounts is now much less than before. In order to solve the traffic problem, WeChat public accounts have also been revised many times. Recently, WeChat public accounts adjusted the "Picture Message" function - creators can post picture messages on WeChat public accounts, and the content presentation style is very similar to the picture and text messages of Xiaohongshu. How does the newly adjusted "Picture Message" work? What are the problems? Let's take a look.

WeChat is becoming increasingly bloated, and while solving one problem, it often creates a new one.

For example, in order to solve the problem of WeChat public accounts harassing users, WeChat chose to fold WeChat public accounts into "subscription accounts" so that users no longer have to feel the annoyance of WeChat public accounts frequently sending new message notification sounds. However, after the folding of WeChat public account subscription accounts, the overall traffic of WeChat public account subscription accounts declined. Users benefited, but creators suffered.

As the number of WeChat public accounts increases, it is difficult for new WeChat public account owners to get exposure. WeChat's approach is to "learn" from personalized reading platforms, and the feed flow of "subscription account messages" is also presented according to personalized reading, rather than arranged in chronological order. WeChat public account creators with high update frequency have obvious advantages, and creators who cannot keep up with the update frequency can only suffer losses later.

WeChat official accounts used to be the content platform with the largest traffic in China, but more and more apps began to divert traffic to WeChat official accounts. News and information apps such as Toutiao diverted WeChat official accounts' influence in the media sector; Douyin and Kuaishou diverted WeChat official accounts' traffic in the entertainment sector through video media; and grass-planting communities such as Xiaohongshu diverted WeChat official accounts' traffic in the graphic and text fields.

What is left of WeChat official accounts? Or how many people still read messages on WeChat official accounts? Obviously, WeChat also wants to solve the traffic problem of WeChat official accounts.

Zhang Xiaolong once mentioned, "In China, 500 million people say that the product is not good every day, and 100 million people want to teach me how to make the product." For an app with more than 1.3 billion monthly active users, it is not easy to have major innovations on the product side. If the changes are not made well, it is easy to become the target of criticism. Therefore, when new products and new content forms appear on the market, it is difficult for WeChat to make corresponding adjustments, and the multiple revisions of WeChat official accounts do not seem to have a significant effect.

Recently, WeChat official accounts have sought change again and "learned" from Xiaohongshu. Creators can post picture messages on WeChat official accounts, and the content presentation style is very similar to that of Xiaohongshu's picture and text messages.

According to Guo Jing's observations in the Internet circle, picture messages in WeChat public accounts currently only support editing on PC. Users can select picture messages in the "New Creation" area in the background of WeChat public accounts. Up to 9 photos can be uploaded, the title is limited to 64 words, and the description content is limited to 1,000 words.

Compared with the original picture and text message mode, the picture message mode enhances the value of the picture medium. The purpose of WeChat doing this may be to enhance the vitality of WeChat public accounts, reduce the media attributes of WeChat public accounts, and allow grass-seeking users to create on WeChat public accounts. The previous picture and text mode of WeChat public accounts was not friendly to creators who mainly used pictures as the medium. Users had to pull down one by one to view the picture content. Content platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Shihuo, and Nice have long adopted the left and right sliding mode. WeChat public accounts have finally kept up with the trend of the content industry.

At first glance, WeChat official accounts seem to want to build a community and compete with Xiaohongshu. Is this true? Can WeChat official accounts build a community similar to Xiaohongshu?

According to Guo Jing's observations in the Internet circle, there are currently three problems with picture messages in WeChat public accounts.

1) Conflict between picture messages and advertisements

If the WeChat public account owner has enabled the traffic master function, advertising content will also be displayed at the bottom of the picture message, while there is no advertising at the bottom of the picture and text content page of Xiaohongshu. Adding advertisements can increase the revenue of WeChat public account owners, but the addition of advertisements greatly reduces the user experience. Is it to make creators make money, or to pay attention to user experience? WeChat has not yet given an answer.

2) Community comments and interactions

Xiaohongshu is a typical community product. It does not have the media attributes of WeChat public accounts. The content of Xiaohongshu is much more casual. Picture messages are just a form of content. The characteristics of the community are comments and interactions. WeChat public accounts are relatively restrained in terms of comments and interactions. So far, only a few WeChat public accounts can use the message and comment function. Newly registered WeChat public accounts basically do not have the message and comment function.

Without the support of messages and comments, it will be difficult to form a community atmosphere for WeChat public accounts’ picture messages. After all, it is still a tool for account owners to talk to themselves. Only when the interaction of messages and comments is fully opened, it can be a real community. But the question is, will WeChat public accounts allow messages and comments?

3) Community is a strong operating product

Currently, the picture messages of WeChat official accounts are just the shadow of the community. If you want to really step into the threshold of the community, you will see that WeChat official accounts have no operators to cooperate. Xiaohongshu's picture and text messages have a very important function called "topic". The "topic" function greatly increases the popularity of the content, and also gives the picture and text content more display space, while WeChat official account picture messages currently do not have the "topic" option.

Behind the "topic", there needs to be corresponding cooperation from operational personnel. Will WeChat invest in operational manpower to build a good WeChat public account community? Judging from WeChat's previous style, the launch of features such as picture messages is the biggest support. As for investing more operational manpower, it is almost impossible. Just like Xiaohongshu will establish groups to cooperate with some outstanding anchors/creators in vertical fields, there is no such WeChat group for WeChat public accounts.

Without operational support, it is difficult to expand traffic by relying solely on the account owner to maintain operation.

In fact, in recent years, almost all content products have been promoting the linkage between creators and platforms. For example, Toutiao, Penguin, Zhihu, Baijiahao, etc. Their operators will work with creators in vertical fields to, on the one hand, allow more high-quality content to be displayed and encourage the creation of high-quality content; on the other hand, they will also increase the income of content creators through various cooperative relationships.

Relatively speaking, WeChat official accounts are more Buddhist. Since their launch on August 17, 2012, the usual idea of ​​WeChat official accounts has been: "We are only a platform, we have traffic, as for what we can achieve, it depends on you, the WeChat official account owner." The relatively loose relationship has greatly reduced the operating costs of WeChat official accounts, but it has also caused the loss of content creators .

WeChat official accounts also made attempts in the community area in the early days, providing a "micro community" function for official account owners. However, the function was closed shortly after its launch.

Compared with Xiaohongshu, WeChat official accounts have another feature that can be considered an advantage or a problem, namely, their dependence on WeChat. Zhang Xiaolong once revealed that 360 million users read WeChat official accounts every day, and WeChat official accounts are stronger than Xiaohongshu in terms of daily active users, but on the product side, WeChat official accounts are far from being comparable to Xiaohongshu. Xiaohongshu is an independent app that can load more functions, while WeChat official accounts are only in the WeChat app and are also mixed in the "subscription account messages", which greatly restricts the possibility of WeChat official accounts launching new functions.

For example, the feed page of Xiaohongshu is a double-column display. The vertical screen display format focuses more on the content of the picture and whether the picture is eye-catching. Users can see any information they want to see on the "Recommendation" page. Xiaohongshu's personalized recommendation format allows many new users to be displayed in this traffic pool. Subscription account messages focus more on text information. Unless WeChat official accounts are completely revised, it is difficult for its community attributes to be displayed like Xiaohongshu.

However, from another perspective, the picture message function of WeChat public accounts has also promoted the update frequency of WeChat public account owners. Although there are nearly 30 million WeChat public accounts, there are not many WeChat public accounts that can update daily or weekly. Compared with in-depth text content, the update of picture messages is not that stressful.

Some people see crisis, some people see opportunity.

As an app with more than 1.3 billion monthly active users, no one would believe that WeChat has no traffic. The picture messaging function of WeChat official accounts may also be an opportunity for creators of categories such as grass-growing, travel, and photography. After all, WeChat's traffic pool is large enough, and it may never be too late to open a WeChat official account. There is no cost for opening it itself. It depends on how you do it.

WeChat has created a new problem this time. WeChat official accounts have launched a community, but how to solve the operational problems of the community?

Author: Guo Jing, WeChat public account: Guo Jing's Internet Circle