WeChat subscription accounts have undergone a major revision! What impact will this have?

WeChat subscription account has been officially revamped!

The rumors that started almost a year ago finally became a reality, catching many people off guard. WeChat updated to version 6.7.0 on the AppStore. This revision has only one change: you can directly browse the messages of subscription accounts.

Afterwards, the WeChat team gave an official explanation through a public account push: "In order to improve reading efficiency, we have revised the subscription account message list, and users can directly browse the subscription account messages."

But self-media people and related practitioners do not think so. The industry's response to this major revision is so cacophonous that it is difficult to describe in a few words.

1. The subscription account information list has been revamped

More like information flow

After the revision, WeChat official account subscription messages are more like information flow for users to browse.

According to the official introduction, group messages from subscription accounts will be directly displayed in the message list in the form of "title + cover image", and users can read them directly after entering the subscription account message list. At the same time, the display of messages such as videos, pictures, and voice messages has been optimized.

The contents of the subscription account message list are displayed in chronological order according to the time of group delivery, with the latest content at the top.

In the "title + cover image" information flow, each public account will only display up to two pushed articles, and the remaining articles will be folded up and can only be opened by clicking "remaining articles".

In the new version of the message display, pictures, texts, videos and multiple messages are still arranged directly in chronological order, and the content displayed in the list is still the group messages of the subscription accounts that the user follows, that is, the recommendation mechanism is still a subscription relationship.

At the same time, the new version provides a switching option: users can click on the upper right corner of the subscription account message list to enter the subscription account conversation list and find the top subscription account. However, there are some minor changes in the layout, and the small red dot and number that reminds the number of unread messages disappear.

According to the official introduction of WeChat: "Pinned" becomes "Starred".

A "star" will appear before the name of the subscription account that the user has previously pinned. The messages of the "starred" subscription account will also be sorted by time and will no longer be placed at the top. At the same time, in the subscription account list box on the main WeChat chat interface and in the subscription account message list after entering, the star will be used to prompt reading. Users can continue to set subscription accounts as stars.

In addition, on the subscription account message page, clicking on the public account avatar will jump to the profile page instead of the conversation page, and the "Unfollow" button on the profile page is very conspicuous.

Currently, the Android version has not been updated.

2. Is the subscription account going to change?

What impact will the new version have

I have briefly sorted out a few points for you:

1. After clicking on the subscription account , the page will be directly presented as a "title + cover image" information flow page. All accounts are sorted by the most recent publishing time, and only the first two can be displayed.

The impact of the fold below two is very complex. From the current perspective, headlines will assume a more important function of attracting traffic. A better-looking, more sophisticated, and more eye-catching header image is as important as a more attractive title.

Undoubtedly, such a change requires operators and editors to spend more time thinking about the header image. Maybe a good title is not as good as a good picture.

2. The reading and opening rates after two posts are worrying , and the opening rate and reading volume may drop significantly. For those public accounts that are accustomed to pushing posts for many years or even 8 posts, both the traffic value and the advertising value will be greatly affected.

However, the specific extent of the impact remains to be seen.

3. The overall reading efficiency of subscription accounts has been improved. One-click access to the "title + cover image" information flow page reduces user clicks and obviously helps improve the efficiency of users reaching content.

At the same time, the page information is presented more directly and specifically, which may reactivate the WeChat public account ecosystem and even trigger a new content reshuffle.

4. The click-through efficiency of the revised pictures and video content is higher. Especially for video content entrepreneurs, this may be a major benefit. The display of information flow is more direct, the path of clicking and consuming content is shorter, and the advantages of video content can be better reflected.

5. Clicking on the public account avatar will jump to the profile page , where the "Unfollow" button is prominent, which may stimulate and guide users and lead to a certain scale of "unfollowing" because it becomes easier.

6. The usage rate and conversion rate of the official account menu bar will be greatly reduced, and the resulting commercial value will also be greatly reduced. The frequency of interaction between users and operators may also decrease.

7. On the subscription information flow page, long press the article to display "unfinished function", and then click to display "function is under development". WeChat may have buried a new easter egg, which is worth looking forward to.

3. Is the *** revision in recent years a good thing or a bad thing?

After the revision, everyone's reactions were different, some were happy while others were sad.

Some are optimistic, believing that after the revision of WeChat subscription messages, traffic will be reshuffled, and those marketing accounts that do not pay attention to content quality may face a "fatal blow". They are delighted to believe that the new format can promote the creation of high-quality content, and the spring of high-quality content has finally arrived.

Some people even joked that the WeChat subscription message format has been directly changed into a "mudslide". Compared with the original list format, the efficiency of presenting information on one screen is even lower under the current format.

Pessimists, on the other hand, say that if the articles after the second one have no traffic, they will have no commercial value and will basically be “wasted”. Will people gradually give up on these contents?

This is undoubtedly fatal for content entrepreneurs who rely on 3-8 advertisements to make money.

Similarly, some content entrepreneurs expressed concerns: After revising the "title + cover image" format, just don't insert ads in the middle. They are worried that WeChat, as a platform, may gradually launch information flow ads to compete with the public for profits.

And after the revision, the number of followers of the public account may have a lower weight on content reading.

Some even said that if the key menu of WeChat is gone, will the "WeChat ecosystem" of content entrepreneurship built on subscription relationships and social relationships also be shaken?

In the evening, Feng Dahui also wrote an article on the public account "Gossip" to express his views. He said:

"I have always believed that the WeChat team lacks deep users of its own products. If no one in the team seriously writes public accounts for a long time and does not deeply experience their own products, how can they empathize with the pain points and needs of users? Rely on external feedback? On the contrary, external feedback is mixed with too much noise, which will cause a certain degree of resistance and rejection in people's hearts. The more feedback, the more rejection, and finally they will just work in isolation."

WeChat has been making frequent moves recently, constantly updating its features. Obviously, this is the most significant change in the past two years, and the impact it brings is so significant that some people even think it will "change the world": it will directly have a huge impact on the content business ecosystem.

Whether the revision is good or bad, the data remains to be seen, and we will continue to pay attention.

***, what do you think of this major revision?!