Increase your WeChat Article Open Rate
We often get asked, “What are the most important metrics to track on WeChat?” And we are here to tell you that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. What we can tell you is that different metrics such as Open Rate, Shares, Read-to-completion, Follower Growth and Follower Loss are ALL important for different reasons.
By tracking these metrics each month and organizing your content into different category types, you’ll be able to identify what type of content is best for attracting more views, what type of content encourages conversions and what type of content is best for attracting new followers.
Here’s an example of how we track our client’s performance on WeChat each month and over a period of time:
article monthly performance
category tracking over long-term
In this article we’re covering Open Rate, which is an indication of how interesting your topic and how compelling your article title is to your current WeChat followers. If you’ve written the most bomb.com article of all time, spent 1000’s of RMB on photos and video but don’t have a compelling article title all of the resources you’ve poured into your article could be wasted.
Having a stellar article title is one of the key ingredients to getting your WeChat content read, shared and ultimately to growing your account.
Let’s get to the juicy part and share how to make that happen… We’ve spent hours searching for WeChat articles with great titles to give you a set of guidelines to follow. The titles we found are split into 10 different categories that drive users to click into an article.
Have you ever started a show or a book and you cannot stop reading or watching through the entire night because you just need to know what happens? We are curious creatures and when presented with information that is unresolved - we need to know the answers! Leverage this tendency by creating titles which leave out key information.
Examples:
老用户vs新用户，订阅还是免费？常见问题解答来了
Old users vs. New users, what are the differences? Here come the FAQs
减负式清洁？戴森资深用户有话说
Negative cleaning experience? This experienced Dyson user has something to say
Head over to a popular news media website and browse through article headlines. What makes them catchy? They are often concise and matter-of-fact. A reader knows exactly what information they’ll find if they read the article. If your article content contains new research, report summary or thought leadership consider this type of headline.
Examples:
星巴克不卖咖啡生意会更好！
Starbucks business would be better off without coffee!
三四线城市，新一轮赚钱机
Third- and fourth-tier cities, a new round of money-making opportunities
Think about how quickly a WeChat reader is scrolling through their messages deciding what to open and read. Stand out from the crowd by crafting a title that is sure to look different. Use repeating characters or leave extra spacing between letters
Examples:
花花花花花都开好了
Flowers are blooming
撑 住
Hold on
The internet is a breeding ground for slang (often characterized by abbreviations to alleviate the time it takes to type out phrases). Through the blending and cultivation of millions of sub-groups, there are certain words that rise to become a viral sensation because of how well they resonate with a certain group. Keep your finger-on-the-pulse and see how you can cleverly integrate hot buzzwords into your titles — but make sure it is relevant to/understood by your audience!
Examples:
别再问年轻人为什么「躺平」
Stop asking young people why they 「Tangping」
* 「躺平Tang ping 」is a lifestyle and social protest movement in China beginning in April 2021. It is a rejection of societal pressures to overwork, such as in the 996 working hour system, which is often regarded as a rat race with ever diminishing returns.
把咖啡馆开进城中最热美术馆，真是YYDS！| 浦东美术馆店开业
Putting a cafe into the hottest art gallery in town is really YYDS! | Pudong Art Museum opened
* YYDS yǒngyuǎn de shén refers to something outstanding, akin to saying 'GOAT' - greatest of all time
With the enormous amount of input in our lives every second, our brain is conditioned to avoid compilation and seek out simplicity. Numbers can be helpful for simplifying information. Compared with text, number information is more likely to trigger people’s subconscious and make the audience want to click.
Examples:
5分钟，了解HPV疫苗
5 minutes to learn what you need to know about the HPV vaccine
2022，自我增值的5个好习惯
5 good habits for self-improvement in 2022
Think about the conversations your target audience has in their life with friends, coworkers or even participates in online, what are they about? What are their common fears, worries, struggles? What causes anxiety? Turn these relatable points into a title.
Examples:
我是一个正常人，我不喜欢上班
I just a normal person , I don’t want to go to work.
如果我们一直接受加班，就会永远都加班
“If we keep accepting overtime, we will always work overtime”
There’s nothing wrong with doubling down on the most basic question: who is your target audience and what is their biggest problem? Can you put these together in a simple question or statement? By identifying the person (new moms, chemistry students, digital marketers) + their biggest problem you can immediately attract interest.
Examples:
新手妈妈怎么摆脱焦虑？这个办法值得试试
How to get rid of anxiety as a new mother? This method is worth trying
97%当代都市女性：比「财务自由」更难的是「情绪自由」
97% of urban women: "Emotional freedom" is harder than "financial freedom”
The application of this method is to directly point out the troubles of the target group, attract their attention and resonate, then give a solution immediately. Whether you’re providing a step-by-step guide, infographic, or top tips let your audience know that your content is going to be an easy-to-digest, comprehensive solution to the problem they are facing.
Examples:
男人的快乐，就是这么简单
Men’s happiness, it’s this simple
只要做到一件事，胃癌将会是少见癌症
As long as one thing is done, stomach cancer will be a rare cancer
At its core WeChat is a messaging platform. Users receive messages from friends and family in the same feed as they do from brands. So treat your followers as if they are a close friend. How would you write to a friend to tell them about an upcoming event, new product launch or discovery you’ve made?
Examples:
一想到分手，就会越来越想
The more I think about breaking up, the harder it is to stop thinking about it
最近有和你的理想型约会吗
Have you dated your ideal type recently?
Have a content series or specific type of post? Let your reader know what category or content series your post falls under by adding a phrase at the beginning of your title. This can be especially useful if you have multiple target audiences following one account, you’ll be able to easily direct followers to the most useful piece of content for them.
Examples:
Arket identifies two different types of content, the top article: "New Items | Colors for Winter" and the sub-article: "Members | Celebrate New Year exchange points for gifts"
McDonald's often publishes multiple posts each time they push, to direct users quickly to relevant posts they will add the content category, such as "Freebies" or "New menu items”
Build a title library of your own, pay attention to articles that draw you to open and read them and summarize the characteristics of these popular article titles. When you see a good popular title collect it, and do more research on how it is written. The more you observe what makes a good title, the more natural writing them will be!
