The growing pains of WeChat: Where should subscription accounts go?

WeChat has been making a lot of moves recently, especially in terms of WeChat public accounts, where there are functional changes almost every week. A few days ago, the comment function was tested on some accounts, and today the naming of WeChat certification was released. Why has WeChat made such frequent adjustments to the functions or rules of WeChat public accounts recently, and what is the relationship between them? Donglou might as well interpret it:

Three changes reflect the decline of subscription accounts

In fact, WeChat's official attitude towards WeChat subscription accounts is undergoing subtle changes, from folding subscription accounts at the beginning to making a big fuss about subscription accounts now, including publishing the number of readers, adding comments, etc. WeChat has rarely put effort into WeChat public accounts. On the one hand, this can be seen as a reflection of WeChat public accounts beginning to move towards intensive cultivation, and on the other hand, it is likely a reflection that the growth of WeChat public accounts is slowing down. This can be noticed in three specific aspects:

First, the loosening of the naming of public account certification is also intended to retain more account operators. However, in the WeChat operation circle, it is generally believed that the WeChat public account has passed its novelty period, and people have begun to be more rational about WeChat public accounts and will not add new accounts just because WeChat officials have changed or encouraged the functions of WeChat subscription accounts.

Secondly, WeChat officials have quietly relaxed the restrictions on WeChat public account registration, from limiting the number of public accounts registered with one ID card to six, which means that WeChat has changed from restricting public account registration to encouraging it, which also suggests that the number of registrations on the WeChat public platform has declined. However, for many grassroots account operators, the bonus period of WeChat has passed, and there is not much motivation to open new accounts.

In addition, the comment function, which is currently being tested internally, is intended to increase the interaction between fans and WeChat operators. It is mainly to increase the activity of fans of WeChat subscription accounts. The ultimate goal may be to increase the enthusiasm of WeChat account operators and prevent further loss of WeChat account operators. Recently, many well-known self-media people have publicly expressed concerns about WeChat as a platform for self-media.

WeChat subscription accounts, where to go next?

On the other hand, it is an obvious fact that the number of readers of WeChat subscription accounts is continuously decreasing. This is because of the folding of WeChat subscription accounts. In addition, the fragmented time of WeChat users is divided into Moments and WeChat groups, and the motivation to read WeChat subscription accounts is significantly reduced. At present, for me personally, the order of processing WeChat information is to read friends' messages first, then read group chat messages, then browse Moments, and finally browse the WeChat subscription accounts that have been folded. And just today, I unsubscribed from about a dozen subscription accounts that I don't read often or no longer update.

Moreover, the Matthew effect of WeChat public accounts has already emerged. The number of readers of WeChat public accounts has exceeded 100,000 or 200,000, while the number of readers of many WeChat accounts is only a few hundred. The decline in the number of readers of grassroots WeChat public accounts is an unstoppable trend. Under the current circumstances, unless a large amount of money is invested in Guangdiantong or other special promotion methods are used, it is difficult for grassroots accounts without originality to stand out. As for mutual recommendations between accounts, it is only useful for accounts operated by opinion leaders. Recommendations between grassroots accounts can hardly achieve the goal of increasing fans in large quantities.

In my opinion, WeChat subscription accounts cannot become a media platform like Weibo, because Weibo is an information stream, while WeChat subscription accounts are more like independent blogs. Therefore, WeChat public accounts are likely to become a niche intensive reading platform in the end, and the emergence of the WeChat subscription account comment function has accelerated the transformation of WeChat subscription accounts into blogs.

Following WeChat's development, we can see that WeChat was initially determined to build itself into a mobile social platform, including cracking down on marketing through sharing in Moments and eliminating malicious sharing, which clearly demonstrated its determination. However, judging from the changes WeChat has made to public accounts in recent months, WeChat has begun to waver again, and seems to be encouraging the enhancement of the media attributes of subscription accounts.

It should be said that judging from the policy changes of WeChat official in public accounts, especially subscription accounts, WeChat official has not yet figured out where WeChat subscription accounts should go next? This may be just the first small trouble in WeChat's growth. How WeChat will convert huge traffic and how to get better monetization without sacrificing the user's social experience will be the biggest test of Zhang Xiaolong's wisdom.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.