Papi Jiang's success also relies on the recommendation of seed users. Perhaps social networking is the bargaining chip for mobile video to ask for capital.

As 2016 draws to a close, mobile videos represented by short videos and live broadcasts have staged a major reincarnation. Behind the climax of the story is the imagination space for mobile video and social networking . Meipai's parent company Meitu is about to go public. According to foreign media reports, Meitu has set its share price at HK$8.5; the company, which owns several popular products such as Meitu XiuXiu and Meitu Beauty Camera, has been trying to transition from tool applications to social communities. In addition to Meipai, on the eve of its listing, Meitu also launched a chat social product - "Flash Chat", which focuses on fancy chats for young user groups. Momo is also telling the story of social networking and mobile video everywhere. At a time when the mobile video bonus period has passed and the elimination round is accelerating, is social networking really the destination of mobile video?

1. Where is the imagination of mobile video?

The prerequisite for answering this question is to figure out what entrepreneurs and capital are chasing after in the mobile video craze. In fact, there are only three reasons.

1. Content

Ever since movies brought videos to the screen, they have shown strong vitality. People consume the content first, and mobile videos are no exception. Industry insiders predict that the number of short video views per day will reach 10 billion by 2017. Meitu's prospectus shows that in October 2016, Meipai attracted more than 7.9 billion video views. As of October 31, 2016, users had uploaded more than 490 million videos to Meipai. In September this year, Toutiao launched a 1 billion yuan short video subsidy plan of "1,000 people, 10,000 yuan". Behind this content is consumer power.

2. Tools

With the popularization of video shooting equipment (mainly mobile phones), the threshold for producing video content has rapidly decreased, and mobile video apps have become a tool for users to create video content. The value of a tool lies in its entry point, which can acquire a sufficient amount of users and user data. Meitu's product logic starts from strong tool-basedness, uses strong functions to lock in users, and then completes the matrix layout to form a community. The value judgment of the tool is also rough - simple and easy to use enough. Before the birth of Meipai, there were actually video communities, but they did not take off because the results were too poor and people were unwilling to share and participate. Meipai attracted users with the world's first MV special effects and ranked first on the App Store's global free list that month.

3. Social

Video has always been a standard feature of instant messaging, such as QQ's video chat. But today, point-to-point videos among acquaintances have become point-to-many short videos and live broadcasts. As for mobile video, the social imagination lies in commercialization. There is a consensus that the commercialization paths of social products are much more mature and richer than those of tool products. Therefore, whether it is "Flash Chat" or Meipai, Meitu is trying to seize the traffic of tool products while hoping to build a social community to achieve rapid user operations , get closer to the social empire Tencent, and thus magnify its imagination for listing. Fortunately, Meitu users naturally have social characteristics, which is different from users of other tool products (users of Meitu products use it for socializing. For example, you use the beauty camera to take selfies to post on WeChat Moments, unlike weather apps, where users stop using it after checking the weather.)

The e-commerce business of "Little Red Lips" is also based on social media, and is presented in the form of short videos of about one minute + live broadcasts. Users can click to watch the real sharing and recommendations of influencers.

2. Why is social networking a natural match for live streaming and short videos?

Since social networking is the biggest imagination of mobile video business, can social networking really be paired with mobile video? Xiangling compared social networking, short videos and live broadcasts from multiple dimensions.

A comparison shows that short videos and live broadcasts have a high degree of overlap with social activities, which means that mobile videos (including short videos and live broadcasts) are essentially "social" or at least highly bundled. In fact, WeChat , QQ, Weibo and other platforms with strong social relationships all have short video functions and entrances for watching live broadcasts.

3. In what aspects can social media help mobile video (live broadcast, short video)

1. Production

Social media inspires creativity, spreads creativity, and promotes the production of mobile video content.

2. Distribution

This includes two stages: mobile video screening and display. The screening of mobile videos is completed by people (such as editor recommendations, social subscriptions) or machines (keyword search, algorithm recommendations). Social media helps to complete the screening through user stratification. For example, Papi Jiang ’s short videos on Meipai were recommended by seed users to their friends after consumption, which made Papi Jiang what she is today. The display of mobile videos includes pure timelines that do not change at all (such as WeChat Moments ), recommendations from manual editors (Meipai’s recommendation engine), and machine algorithm sorting (such as Facebook and China’s Toutiao). This kind of distribution based on social media, such as Tencent in the past, although it seems to make profits from selling ringtones and QQ shows, in fact, it is social media that is doing information matching and screening distribution, allowing different people to have different ringtones, and similar people to have similar QQ shows.

3. Interaction

The role of interaction in the secondary and long-tail dissemination of mobile videos is obvious to all. But it is important to note that:

Having sharing and forwarding functions does not mean there is interaction, let alone social interaction. Sharing and forwarding functions are tools at best, but tools can be divided into useful and useless. The essence of social interaction is to establish relationships. Sharing is only one of the ways to establish relationships, but it does not necessarily lead to relationships. If you share your business card with Andy Lau, he may not pay attention to you, and no relationship will be established between the two parties. The interaction of mobile video is based on fan relationships. For example, if I go to a live streaming platform to broadcast live, others who like me may follow me, and my fans on Weibo may automatically increase.

According to the iResearch Consulting Report, as of October 31, 2016, based on the average monthly active number of devices accessing the short video platforms' own applications in ten months, China's top five short video platforms are GIF Kuaishou, Meipai, Xiaoying, Miaopai and Xiaokaxiu , with penetration rates of 64.2%, 21.3%, 4.1%, 3.6% and 3.4% respectively. In June 2016, about 95.3% of Chinese image application users listed at least one beauty app as one of their top three favorite image applications, while about 62.4% of Chinese short video platform users listed Meipai as one of their top three favorite short video platforms. In the meantime, the recommendation engine and community functions that encourage interaction between users, live broadcasters and short video producers have definitely helped Meipai a lot.

In addition, we will talk about the three elements of relationship building: key people, environmental power, and adhesion later.

4. Monetization

Let us give a few examples to illustrate how social media helps mobile video monetization.

In June this year, Meipai launched a prop system, which allows users to interact with live broadcasters and short video content producers by commenting on relevant content or giving virtual gifts. The price of virtual gifts generally ranges from RMB 0.9 to RMB 520. Data shows that the revenue generated by this business has increased from approximately RMB 700,000 in the second quarter of 2016 to approximately RMB 9.2 million in the third quarter of 2016, a growth of 1,160%. Meipai's recharge amount also increased from 1.3 million yuan in the second quarter to 10.8 million yuan in the third quarter, and the number of monthly paying users increased from 58,000 to 138,000. Per capita income increased from 4.2 yuan to 22.3 yuan, and per capita cash flow increased from 7.5 yuan to 26.2 yuan. Social media has given Meipai huge monetization opportunities.

Momo's third-quarter financial report data showed that Momo's total net revenue in the third quarter increased significantly by 204% compared with the same period last year, of which live streaming contributed US$108.6 million in revenue, accounting for 70.7% of total revenue. On Momo, the combination of social networking and live streaming has become a "money printing machine".

Sina Weibo , which was once criticized, has ushered in its "second spring" after in-depth cooperation with live broadcast and short video platforms.

Even Renren, which was on the verge of collapse, achieved growth thanks to the revenue from its two live broadcasts, Woshow Live and Renren Live.

From this perspective, it is not only social networking that saved mobile video (short videos, live broadcasts), but also mobile video that saved social networking.

4. Why is mobile video rising with the help of social media?

Or why it is not long video, but mobile video leveraging the power of social networking. Let’s start with the conclusion:

1. Long videos rely on the head effect (typically like movies).

2. Mobile video (live broadcast, short video) relies on "mid-level content" and long-tail effects.

Early video content was provided by broadcast television and cable television, and was basically long video content that was suitable for the head effect.

For example, in the film industry, according to the data mentioned in Huang Shaolin's article, China's annual film output is 700 films, of which about 100 can be screened in theaters and online, and only about 30 can recover their costs. The vast majority of box office revenue is taken away by the top ten. The top content has an amazing ability to attract popularity, while the only thing that awaits the long tail is losses.

This happens because:

1. The audience has limited time and has no time to pay attention to the unpopular long tail.

2. Audiences seek commonalities. The more popular the topic and the more people watch the program, the more likely it is to become a topic of public conversation. Even if it is a bad movie, there is more stuff to talk about if you watch it and curse it together.

3. Content is easy to copy. As a virtual commodity, video content spreads quickly through social networks, making it easier for "hot items" to become popular.

At the same time, long video services build communities rather than social interactions. Social interaction requires equality. Long video services foster user relationships based on large-scale programs and big-name celebrities that people look up to. Ordinary users and celebrities cannot socialize on an equal footing. They can only follow, chase, and discuss, so they are only suitable for forming communities. Socializing is one-to-one interaction, and communities are based on an interest, such as forming circles or groups around big shows or big-name stars.

Our Internet has always advocated the long-tail effect, that is, the sum of all unpopular products is greater than the head.

It is also applicable to the fields of short videos and live broadcasts. There are several reasons:

1. The underlying foundation of social networking is massive user data, namely UGC. After mobile video products produce content and fulfill their "tool" value, they use social chains to distinguish between the good and the bad. Those with massive UGC content and the ability to strike up conversations will engage in social networking and accumulate relationship chains. .

5. Who is the key to mobile video social networking?

Simply put, it is mobile video content and its producers and consumers.

1. Mobile video content

Under social links, mobile video content is required to have both breadth and depth, so whether it is Meipai, Kuaishou, or Toutiao Video, the content they gather covers a wide range of topics, including beauty, fashion, music, and travel, so that users can easily explore and discover specific content of their interest.

In fact, on the Meipai platform where Papi Jiang became famous, the popular short videos are not for the purpose of being funny: the makeup masters include Lian Shanni and Yan'er; the singing masters include skmpoyin, Pangpangpang_pang, Pianoman-Suyang, as well as dancers, film and television masters, and Zhang Fuxin Connie who broadcasts his meal live. The same goes for headline videos: funny short videos are only a small part, and you can’t become famous by being funny.

2. Mobile video producers

Mobile videos need to be personalized content, which requires producers to have distinct personality traits, or at least be anthropomorphic. For example, there is the "Care for Gossip Growth Association" for entertainment gossip, and the "Pomegranate Report" for fashion reviews. In this way, with personalization, fans will follow, interact, and reward them.

However, creativity is non-standard, and even the most experienced team cannot guarantee mass production of hits. Therefore, incubation platforms such as "Self-Entertainment" were born in the industry. By signing talents from different fields, the internet celebrities under its umbrella are closely linked together. Every script is brainstormed and discussed by all the internet celebrities together to expand the source of creativity.

3. Mobile Video Consumers

This is the lifeblood of mobile video, which is why we see all kinds of false data in the industry trying to dress up in beautiful “Emperor’s New Clothes”. The real strong ones are also flexing their muscles everywhere. From the prospectus of Meitu, it is clearly printed that "As of October 31, 2016, Meipai users have uploaded more than 490 million original videos with various themes. Since the launch of live streaming on Meipai in January 2016, as of October 31, 2016, Meipai users have initiated 20.5 million live broadcasts with 1.5 billion views. The 110 million monthly active users of Meipai in October 2016 included 23 million users within the Meipai app and 87 million devices accessing Meipai through mobile browsers or third-party apps. In October 2016, Meipai attracted more than 7.9 billion video views. In October 2016, Meipai received 4.6 billion "likes" and 150 million interactions (including video comments, sharing and forwarding, and live performances)." . . . . .

Behind their display of data, they simply want to tell the audience:

You have integrated yourself into social life so seamlessly that you are actually socializing.

But obviously, it is easy to distinguish roles, but the difficulty lies in understanding and applying them, because the essence of mobile video social networking is to understand content and people (producers and consumers) and to establish connections between content and people.

The first thing is to understand the content. As social networks become increasingly stratified, part-of-speech tagging, extracting titles, keywords, entities, and calculating importance and sentiment are all methods.

The second is to understand people and understand their attributes. This includes: 1. People’s long-term static attributes, namely user portraits, such as age, gender, height, place of birth, etc. 2. Interest preferences. 3. Human intention. That is, it is necessary to predict the probability of a match between a mobile video content and a new user. So as mobile video has come to this point, several larger companies have been emphasizing their own technologies. For example, Meipai claims to be building a recommendation engine. This engine will make personalized video recommendations based on the user profile formed by factors such as each user's basic demographic data, interests, and behaviors. Toutiao also emphasizes its own machine algorithm sorting. These not only increase user activity on the platform, but are also an important part of providing precise advertising solutions to advertisers in the future.

The final summary

1. Don’t view mobile video as just a content platform or tool, as that will greatly limit your imagination. Social networking is where mobile video belongs.

2. Don’t always focus on the head of mobile videos. The waist and long tail are the key to saving yourself.

3. Whether it is Meitu's Meipai, Kuaishou, Little Red Lips, or Toutiao Video, what is tested is their ability to understand content and people. This is the same as Tencent ten years ago. Whether the huge traffic pool can be converted ultimately depends on "activating" social networking. Especially for Meitu, which is about to go public, social networking is the biggest weight that capital is willing to bet on.

Mobile application product promotion service: APP promotion service Qinggua Media information flow

This article was compiled and published by the author @曾响铃(Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!