Users on Chinese social media platform WeChat are showing a reduced propensity for opening posts and a preference towards other types of content such as short videos.
With this in mind, brands may need to optimise and enhance their WeChat content to help keep users engaged and interested, and prevent them from getting bored and going elsewhere.
Research by Tencent found that due to higher competition, 75% of WeChat content providers were now finding it harder to acquire traffic, while 48% said their content engagement was low, and 48% stated that content tended to be “all similar”.
According to e-Marketer, research by Tencent also shows WeChat users love the platform’s Moments feature — especially for browsing and posting (58%); sharing information such as images, voice messages and videos (53%); reading content through followed public accounts (40%); and sharing stickers and emojis (26%). With regards to formats, 50% each liked text and images, and 45% favoured short videos.
Know who you’re talking to
This involves understanding what your audiences are interested in. It may also pay to split them into groups or categories by special interests, and offer exclusive content accordingly, or opportunities to participate in group chats.
Offer a variety of content
For example, offer not only text but also a variety of images along with short videos. This is important for not only attracting interest but also maintaining it. Also consider making your content fun by incorporating games and entertainment into it.
Develop mini-programs
These are embedded apps that users can access without needing to install them or leave WeChat to get the benefits they offer.
Create good titles
Your content should have succinct headlines to attract interest. It’s important that these are descriptive and accurate, as misleading headlines are not likely to engender trust.
Offer incentives
This might include exclusive promotions and/or loyalty rewards such as e-coupons for regular users.
Utilise QR codes
QR codes are widely used in China. They are basically a square barcode that users can scan to gain access to events, virtual stores, special deals, mini-programs, games, competitions and to enable quick payments.
Interact often
Rather than just posting on WeChat, take the opportunity to interact with your followers to keep them engaged.
Make it easy to pay
The research shows that users really enjoy the speed and convenience of WeChat pay, so m-commerce providers should ensure that they make it easy for users to pay by integrating WeChat pay into their accounts.
By making your WeChat account a kind of ‘hub’ for all sorts of activities and entertainment, your followers are more likely to remain interested.
It’s also important to collect feedback from users regarding the type of content they prefer, so you can adjust your campaigns accordingly.
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Ophenia Liang is the director and co-founder of Digital Crew, a multilingual digital agency based in Sydney, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and New York, specialising in cross-cultural marketing.
