What Factors Contributed to the Success of WeChat?—SIMPLE Model

WeChat is one of the most successful social media in the world. This paper tries to explore the factors that make WeChat so attractive so as to gain real insight into the potential for current social media to be successful in other market. We built a model of SIMPLE (Socialization, Integration, Mobilization, Popularization, Localization and Ecologization) to understand the secrets that make WeChat. Our research is useful for both academics and practitioners to understand the reasons why and how to ensure that social media become attractive in mobile era.