UC Headlines, Taobao Headlines, Dianping Headlines: Do we really need so many “headlines”?

Whoever can truly master accurate recommendations will be able to control the future reading landscape.

The algorithmic content distribution brought by Toutiao has become the most important disruptive force in the industry. Based on the changes in technology and content carriers, the rich mobile communication channels and distribution methods, and the popularization of smart phones and the Internet, the field of mobile information reading has ushered in a bonus period.

According to iMedia Research data, the scale of China's mobile information users is expected to reach 594 million in 2016. The mobile Internet boom has helped to make information a necessity for the general public and an option for seizing the entrance to the mobile Internet . Various fields have entered the field of content distribution, using it as an entrance to gather users and provide a foundation for subsequent commercial development.

Browser article——UC Headlines

With the development of mobile Internet, the channels for users to obtain information have changed. In addition to news client channels, mobile browsers have been recognized by users as a new channel. Mobile browsers began to transform from tools to content, adding news and information sections, and quickly gained a large number of users. 24.4% of users choose to read news through the information function in mobile browsers.

UC Browser, which was acquired by Alibaba, embedded an information aggregation and recommendation tool - UC Headlines - in the version officially launched on July 20, 2015. In March 2016, the UC Headlines APP was officially launched.

Official introduction: UC Toutiao is a news information recommendation platform created by the UC Browser team. It has a large amount of news information content, and uses Alibaba's big data, recommendation and machine learning algorithms to provide users with high-quality, intimate and personalized articles. Relying on the precision of big data technology, UC Toutiao can analyze basic social attributes of users such as city, age, and gender, identify the current interests and hobbies of each information recipient, and realize personalized content recommendations.

The "China Mobile Information Market Research Report in the First Half of 2016" released by iMedia Consulting shows that in the first half of 2016, in terms of mobile information products, Tencent News ranked first with 40.3% of active users, UC Headlines ranked second with 34.2%, and Toutiao ranked third with 31.8%.

UC Toutiao chose a product structure that is similar to Toutiao, with four tabs in the bottom bar as the architecture:

• [Homepage] In order to push news information flow , the "headlines" are composed of unclassified information flow, and customized channels can be added, deleted and sorted; special information such as "Today's News" are interspersed to aggregate more detailed content; early headlines voice broadcast, midday headlines, etc. form product features.
• [ Subscription Account ] is media content subscribed by users on their own initiative. It presents information flow in chronological order and based on the top and bottom stories. It is similar to the Toutiao account of Toutiao today and supports self-media content operation .
• [Video] is a simple video information stream, but currently there is little content.
• 【Me】is basic user information management and function settings, etc.

UC Toutiao's biggest advantage comes from the strong user base of UC Browser. Now, UC Toutiao has been separated from the browser and made into an independent APP. Regardless of how it competes with Toutiao for the time being, as a consulting client, it must first solve two problems: sufficiently rich content & a good enough recommendation algorithm.

content

Currently, there are two types of content on UC Headlines: one is captured, and the other is created on the platform. This is in perfect harmony with Toutiao. In the current early stage, the right thing to do is to provide users with endless content by crawling. At this time, you should make full use of the search engine advantages of UC Browser to capture sufficient and rich content.

For the subscription accounts that are created, similar to Toutiao accounts, the key is how to attract high-quality self-media to produce content and guide users to subscribe. At present, UC Headlines has launched the [Media Empowerment Plan]. In terms of traffic, it uses the exposure resources of Alibaba's big data to use algorithms combined with manual operations for intelligent recommendations, recommending more suitable users to media people, while strengthening copyright management and increasing original protection. In terms of monetization methods, in addition to traditional in-page advertising and operating subsidies, it will also provide various forms such as paywalls, crowdfunding, and rewards to improve monetization efficiency; in addition, it supports external links and can connect to e-commerce and payment systems.

At the same time, similar subscription accounts are recommended between content streams based on browsing history or subscription accounts to guide attention.

Recommendation Algorithm

After becoming independent, UC Toutiao’s biggest advantage is no longer the UC browser with a large number of users, but Alibaba’s unique big data capabilities. In addition to having the browsing preference data shared by information flow products, UC Toutiao relies on the search data of UC Browser, and can also obtain search data and application usage data through Shenma Search and PP Assistant . In addition, there is exclusive Alibaba e-commerce data. With this data mining support, its user behavior profile becomes more accurate, and the information recommended to users based on this is the user's real interest point. Therefore, whether it can be more accurate, more personalized and more in line with user tastes than Toutiao, there is a lot of room for imagination.

In addition, if you are not interested in the recommended content, you can re-customize your personal headlines and select relevant identity tags to make up for the inaccuracy of the recommendation algorithm and be more personalized.

However, it must be recognized that UC Toutiao is still in the stage of imitating Toutiao, and its positioning has not formed a clear differentiation from Toutiao. It will take time to build algorithm barriers, and the production chain of video content has not yet started. How to stand out among so many news clients is still a long way to go.

E-commerce - Taobao headlines

On the Taobao app on your mobile phone, open Taobao Headlines and you will see a web page that is very similar to the news app, with all kinds of life information. You can also follow and subscribe to your favorite content.

According to the official introduction, Taobao Toutiao is a life consumption information platform under the Alibaba Group. Media, influencers and self-media can create "Taobao Toutiao accounts" through Taobao Toutiao's information publishing platform. With the help of Taobao's massive traffic and precise algorithm personalized push, content producers can efficiently gain more exposure and attention. It itself comes with high-quality traffic and a "buy, buy, buy" consumer group. In a word, Taobao Toutiao uses content to generate revenue.

Therefore, this is a life consumption information platform where content producers (media, experts and self-media) publish content and provide personalized push notifications to users. It uses various consumption scenarios to drive traffic to Taobao, serving users while creating revenue.

According to relevant data, "Taobao Toutiao has become China's largest online consumer media platform in less than a year since its launch, with more than 80 million consumers using Taobao Toutiao to obtain the latest and highest-quality consumer information content every month." Regardless of the authenticity of this data, it is very likely that this data can be achieved. It cannot be denied that people were born with good parents. This era of competing with parents is so unfair...

Taobao Toutiao has been incubated in Taobao Mobile for a long time and has accumulated a large number of accounts and content sources. The content mainly involves consumption guidance, life entertainment, fashion and dressing. After having a certain user base, the Taobao Toutiao APP was separated, but the entrance on Taobao still exists.

Lifestyle and consumption information platform

Taobao Toutiao is positioned as an information application with a strong content orientation. The architecture of the entire APP is not complicated and is mainly divided into three parts: content output (home page), content reorganization (focus), and content management (mine).

Starting from the content, the main process logic of the APP is: content generation-content reproduction-content organization-content distribution flow. The content sources are mainly media, experts and self-media. The biggest experience of using it is that as you browse, you unknowingly add a lot of things to your shopping cart.

Content generation-content reproduction

For content applications, we must first clarify what content we want to provide and what content we can provide. What we need to provide is what content users need and want to watch, and what we can provide is where our existing resources and expertise lie.

Starting from what type of content users want to see, Taobao Toutiao's content positioning is a consumer life information media, and its direction is fresh, concise, and knowledge-increasing. It has the common characteristics of shopping apps and information apps, but it is different from pure shopping products. The consumer information and life information it presents allow users to buy while reading the information. It is also different from other traditional information products. The content it presents is fashionable and trendy, has purchase links, and is commercialized. Therefore, users can fully satisfy the requirement that when they see a style they like, they can immediately click to jump to the Taobao product purchase page, and they can go back at any time, which is very convenient.

Taobao Toutiao uses the traditional information flow, pushing feeds according to a personalized algorithm, automatically matching according to personal preferences and shopping habits, focusing on reading efficiency, exposing as many feed items and graphic information as possible, and with a large amount of information.

Unlike Taobao Headlines which can be accessed through the Taobao entrance, the APP has a unique five-minute column which pushes out five selected articles every day. The content covers information such as life skills, travel, interests, knowledge, etc. It emphasizes fragmented and quick reading to form a reading habit.

In the subscription section, users can choose to subscribe to certain self-media that focus on beauty and clothing matching, imitating the WeChat public platform . Similarly, each content has a consumption link. Among other selectable columns, users can decide which ones to follow, such as mobile phones, videos, beauty, photography, etc.

Content Reproduction-Content Organization

The content reorganization module is called Focus, which is a complete grabber column that is differentiated according to user usage scenarios, such as Mid-Autumn Festival Guide, Beautiful School Season, etc. It captures popular keywords through technology, and extracts all articles matching the keywords in the content library and displays them in the form of a timeline. The page focuses on highlighting product logic, and you get the feeling of a packaged content collection. It is mainly divided into three sections: Latest (content integration based on timeline), My Focus (subscription), and Most Popular (popular content).

Content organization-content distribution flow

As an information product, Taobao Toutiao’s core is a variety of content. Then we need to consider what the entire closed loop of the product path is like, how users can reach the core of the product, how the content circulates, and how to attract traffic back.

First, the architecture of Taobao Toutiao is very simple. There are many entrances to the detail page, but it ensures that users can reach it in two steps. When they encounter an attractive product, they jump to Taobao and there is an entrance on the page that allows them to return directly to Taobao Toutiao, thus avoiding loss along the way.

Secondly, there will be middle pages for some featured columns, such as some topics in the Juxing Festival column, which carry the aggregation of content and create immersive reading.

Finally, we strengthened sharing and related recommendations, increased the channels and links for users to access content, and tried to encourage users to browse, collect, view historical traces according to the calendar, and share the content.

Operational suggestions

Search Optimization

Focus, as a kind of aggregated reading based on keywords, only performs certain operations. Can we consider adding a search portal so that users can pay attention to their favorite keywords and obtain information aggregated based on these keywords?

The current search is placed on the homepage headline, and the entrance is relatively hidden. In addition, there are currently 3 tabs. According to the subsequent development direction of the product, a search tab will be added to strengthen the information search within the terminal or an operation entrance will be added to create a tab for expert product recommendations. Consider increasing attention to experts, etc., to promote the presentation of high-quality content.

Integration with Taobao

Taobao headlines are derived from Taobao, so can the browsing history data be synchronized to Taobao to optimize product recommendations and push recommendation algorithms?

From an operational perspective, in order to activate users, you can consider using an exchange relationship to combine reading, sharing and other behaviors with Taobao coins (points).

It has to be said that information content can indeed play a lot of roles in stimulating consumers. But can content e-commerce further create new ideas and new models to break away from the heroic fate of media people who always fail in their business ventures ? In addition to changing the content industry, what impact will the rise of content e-commerce have on the e-commerce industry? What kind of changes will occur in major e-commerce platforms, including Taobao, as they enter a new era of consumer recognition?

[References] "Summary of Taobao Headlines Content Design Project", "[Light Interpretation] How to play Taobao Headlines? "wait.

O2O Products - Dianping Headlines

Dianping.com's "Dianping Headlines" is a feature launched based on LBS and PUGC, and is integrated with offline merchant resources. It recommends food, drink, and entertainment based on the user's current location. Media owners (such as self-media, television media, print media, industry experts and other organizations or individuals) who can provide food, drink, and entertainment content (involving catering, travel, movies, entertainment activities, etc.) are stationed to provide content. It focuses on the O2O market and is a relatively valuable content distribution platform.

Different from the above-mentioned "UC Headlines" and "Taobao Headlines", the "Dianping Headlines" in the Dianping APP only exists in the prime traffic position on the Dianping homepage, and it is not an independent APP. Its predecessor was “Nearby Headlines”, which provides personalized consumer information recommendations based on personal location, interests and social relationships. From the change from "Nearby Headlines" to "Review Headlines", it is not difficult to see that Dianping has also begun to develop into a content distribution platform, and has invited self-media with a high level of content output in food, drink and entertainment.

“Dianping Headlines” mainly meets the needs of three major groups: ordinary users, merchants, and content producers. At present, in terms of content, Dianping headlines is still a very simple model. The homepage category serves as the entrance, and the content is reprinted from various media accounts to enrich the consumption scenarios of Dianping.

Normal User

For ordinary users, the most important requirement of using Dianping is to find suitable merchants for consumption. When faced with numerous businesses and nowhere to choose, the professional content recommendations of "Dianping Headlines" help users to make choices to a certain extent, selecting the "food, drink and entertainment" that they want to consume and reducing decision-making costs.

Merchants

For merchants, high-quality merchants will no longer be drowned out. They will have endorsements from professional media (self-media, print media, etc.), traffic distribution in prime positions on the Dianping homepage, and direct merchant guidance on content pages (in the lower right corner and at the end of the article), which will have a direct impact on merchant exposure and brand promotion.

Content Producer

Currently, "Dianping Headlines" has started recruiting media partners. For content producers, Dianping has strict control and they need to fill in relevant information, such as existing content channel platforms (including WeChat public accounts , Sina Weibo , Dianping or other platforms), account name, account introduction, contact email, etc., confirm authorization, and the review party will contact you within three working days. Content producers can obtain higher traffic distribution on Dianping and increase the exposure of their content, but this must be based on the free, non-exclusive, and permanent authorization from Dianping and Meituan .

"Dianping Headlines" will also rely on the merchant data dimensions of each business unit in the platform, as well as the trajectory information of the user's social relationship chain to make recommendations. It has cross-category and cross-regional characteristics; it can better meet the multi-level needs of consumers and enhance user stickiness on the platform.

Summarize

There are three major trends in mobile content distribution in the future:

Big Data

The competition among mobile content distribution platforms will be at the big data level. If you master big data, you will truly understand the interests of users. Using data to filter out the most suitable content for users will be the main competitive point of future platforms.

Premium Content

"Content is king" will never be out of date. In fact, major platforms are actively competing for the production of high-quality content, such as the "UC Headlines" subscription account, etc., attracting self-media to help with content production and achieve a win-win situation for the platform and creators' brand benefits.

Personalization

To put it simply, personalization actually means allowing users to find what they want most conveniently. It is closely related to the big data mentioned above, and also involves product design.

Mobile content distribution has always been monopolized by the three giants: news clients (including those transformed from traditional portals, as well as news aggregation startups with strong mobile genes such as Toutiao), Weibo, and WeChat . Afterwards, Toutiao opened up a distribution model of personalized recommendations, and major platforms turned to information. Whether it was to increase activity or to open up channels for commercial monetization, it was an attempt.

The biggest difference between content distribution on the mobile Internet, such as the aforementioned "UC Headlines", "Taobao Headlines", "Dianping Headlines", etc. and that in the traditional PC era is that in terms of personalized and precise reading, the information users see is mostly recommended based on their interests and hobbies. For precise reading based on big data, only by mastering more dimensions can we truly grasp the personalized needs of users. In other words, whoever can truly master accurate recommendations will be able to control the future reading landscape.

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

The author of this article is @大白 Compiled and published by (APP Top Promotion), please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!