How to Get Your WeChat Articles Recommended by the Algorithm

How to Get Your WeChat Articles Recommended by the System

Since WeChat公众号 changed its traffic mechanism, many new creators have joined the platform. This is because now, besides the original closed traffic, there's also recommended traffic, meaning even articles without followers can still get views.

However, WeChat's recommendation mechanism is somewhat opaque. Not all articles are recommended, and the amount of recommendations varies greatly. So how do you increase your chances of getting featured? Let's delve into this topic.

I. The Process of Article Recommendation

Any UGC platform has a "screening" process, and WeChat article recommendations follow a similar path:

1. Initial Screening: The system starts with publicly published articles, regardless of whether they are fully notified or not.
2. Exclusion of Violations: This includes advertisements, soft selling, malicious marketing, and spam content. Besides article violations, account violations can also lead to non-recommendation. Accounts frequently deleted for violation or publishing low-quality content won't be prioritized.
3. User Settings: Factors like the creator choosing to group publish or explicitly opting out of platform recommendations will exclude articles from consideration.

After these steps, the system extracts keywords from the article (this might happen during content recognition) and then matches it for recommendation.

II. Article Recommendation Process

In your公众号 backend, under data analysis, there's a section called "Recommendation Funnel Analysis" for individual articles (if your article lacks this data, it likely wasn't recommended). This section offers three key dimensions:

• Exposure Count: The number of times your article is recommended.
• Read Count: The number of clicks on your article.
• Follow-up Count: The number of new followers after reading your article.

Additionally, there are two crucial metrics:

• Reading Rate (Click-through rate): Percentage of users who clicked on your article after seeing it in the recommendations.
• Follow-up Rate: Percentage of readers who followed your account after reading your article.

The Recommendation Funnel model reveals that when an article is initially recommended, the system assigns a varying amount of exposure. This amount can increase or decrease based on the article's feedback data (read count and follow-up count).

Higher exposure often leads to more reads and followers, further influencing future recommendations.

It's important to remember that recommendation algorithms, like those on other platforms, rely heavily on user interaction data. They cannot directly judge an article's quality or predict user preference. Therefore, they constantly learn and adapt based on reader engagement metrics.

While reading rate is crucial, other factors like follow-up rate, reading time, completion rate, and post-read interaction rate also play a role. However, from numerous case studies, reading rate seems to have the most significant impact.

III. How to Increase Recommendation Traffic?

From a data perspective, you can control click-through rate, follow-up rate, and reading time.

• Click-through Rate: This involves crafting engaging article titles and eye-catching covers while adhering to platform guidelines.
• Follow-up Rate: This relies on strategic guidance within the article, encouraging readers to follow your account. You can also offer incentives like downloadable resources accessible only to followers.
• Reading Time: Focus on writing captivating content that keeps readers engaged. Start by highlighting user pain points and then seamlessly transition into your topic. This encourages longer reading sessions, boosting completion rate and overall engagement.

Remember, while originality is highly valued, it's not always necessary for successful recommendations. You can rephrase existing content, adding your unique insights and perspective. However, avoid simply copying others' work.

In Conclusion

Understanding WeChat's recommendation algorithm and implementing these strategies can significantly increase your article's visibility and reach. By focusing on creating high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your target audience, you can maximize your chances of being featured in the platform's recommendations and grow your公众号 following.