Methods and strategies for new media operations to follow hot topics!

Is it useful to follow hot topics? In this article, the author analyzes and discusses from multiple angles and gives his own answer to this question. Let's take a look~

As National Day is approaching, the circle of friends is flooded with @微信官方 messages again.

Source: Public data, compiled by Zhuge Wu

After taking advantage of the Christmas craze last year and flooding the WeChat Moments with the message “Please give me a Christmas hat”, Tencent is taking advantage of the National Day craze again this year and flooding the WeChat Moments with messages like “Please give me a Christmas hat”. This makes people sigh that even a company as big as Tencent cannot give up the habit of chasing hot topics.

Ever since the trend of chasing hot topics came into being, there has been a debate circulating in the business circle: Is chasing hot topics useful?

Some people believe that chasing hot topics cannot directly bring sales, just like Pechoin's 3000w PV conversion is less than 1 million, while the investment is 3 million, which is a complete mess; some people believe that Durex does not spend a penny on advertising, but has a team to chase hot topics, and it has achieved universal awareness and steadily increased market share. It is indeed a marketing tool and a must-have for surprising military tactics.

More companies are in a confused state: since everyone is chasing it, I will chase it too.

So is it useful for companies to follow hot topics? Zhuge had no way to ask WeChat officials for the national flag to analyze the correct approach for companies to follow hot topics.

1. Why do you want to follow the hot spots?

As Alice in Wonderland said, when you don't have a clear purpose, everything you do is right and wrong. Without a clear purpose, it is impossible to determine whether a marketing campaign is successful. Just as from the ROI perspective, Pechoin’s previous advertising masterpiece failed, but from the communication perspective, Pechoin was successful.

Generally speaking, the starting points of marketing activities tend to fall into two categories: sales promotion and strengthening brand assets. This campaign is clearly the latter, and note that strengthening brand equity is not just about communication.

So why does Tencent chase hot topics?

First of all, let’s make it clear that this activity was not officially initiated by WeChat. It was a joke among netizens. The real initiator was Tencent News Express Edition.

Tencent News Express is an app launched after the Chinese New Year. It is a news app launched by Tencent for the sinking market (i.e. counties, townships, towns, and villages) after seeing the rise of Qutoutiao and the follow-up of Toutiao Lite. It is a strategic defense of Tencent.

For Tencent News Express, which was launched later, gaining the trust of users in the lower-tier markets and building awareness is of utmost importance. On this basis, it would be even more perfect if it could also obtain users' social links and guide users to download the App.

Source: Public data, compiled by Zhuge Wu

See the picture above for evidence. Just imagine, if this page does not allow logos to be posted, does not allow download guidance, will Tencent News Express still add national flags or change avatars? It would be better if WeChat officials could hold a carnival on the site. Not to mention the initial design, you had to download the App before you could use it after changing your avatar three times.

After this battle, Tencent News Express has come to the fore, and I infer that this is just a preview: in the future, Tencent News Express will launch more activities based on social chains to increase the fun of information reading, because this is exactly what this event shows to users - an advantage that neither Interesting Headlines nor Toutiao lite has, that is, sharing within WeChat.

2. What hot spots to follow

A successful pursuit of hot topics must be a successful grasp of the mainstream user psychology, that is, the real hot spot is the heat in the user's heart.

A festival is not a hot topic if users do not respond psychologically. Users have responded, but the meaning has deviated far from the original one, and they may have followed the wrong hot topics, such as Singles’ Day on November 11, which has now become a shopping carnival.

The essence of following hot topics is to have insight into the psychology of user groups, and then give users a tool for expression and pass it on as a social currency. Even during National Day, if we change to another country, such as Zimbabwe or Argentina, patriotism may not be a hot topic, but perhaps complaining about the country is the hot topic.

Hot topics are often just a match that ignites the fire in the hearts of user groups. In the "Celebrate National Day, Change Your Look" campaign, the warmth in users' hearts is actually the pride in their motherland. This is why the subsequent communications were all @Tencent official asking for the national flag. In fact, this activity not only gave the national flag. Because in the minds of the Chinese people, wearing the national flag is a great honor, such as winning the Olympic Games and other highlights.

3. How to follow hot spots

Li Jiaoshou once proposed a concept, "media productization". The correct approach to chasing hot topics is the same: insight into users' unmet expression needs and satisfy them.

Simply put, it is to help users express the warmth in their hearts. You can use articles or videos with clear viewpoints, or answer questions, or complain, or give praise; you can also use tools, just like this event, a simple H5 helps users photoshop the national flag onto their avatars.

On this point, I often insist on the view that "there is nothing new under the sun". Many ways to help users express their feelings are the same and can be reused through accumulation. Whether it was changing the avatar or the @微信官方 initiated by netizens later, these were all tricks that had been used before.

4. Is it useful?

Tencent News Express’s campaign was very successful in its dissemination. Does it help its business operations?

Although different companies have different goals, I believe there is a golden line to judge whether a hot-spot chasing campaign is successful: whether it is in line with the brand strategy. As I said in 1, strengthening brand equity is not just about increasing brand awareness. Although a bad reputation is also a reputation, it is better to avoid the dangers of walking on a tightrope.

What does it mean to be in line with brand strategy? That is, whether more target users are aware of, recognize, participate in and interact with it, or whether it is only used by a group of completely unrelated people; whether they can experience the value of Tencent News Express Edition compared with other competitors in the interaction, or whether it leaves them with a bad reputation.

There are so many hot-button apps that were popular at one time, such as Lao Luo’s Bullet SMS, Face Meng and Friend Impression in the distant past, but what happened to them later? Did the battle that was once won add points to the entire war?

Therefore, chasing hot topics that do not conform to the brand strategy will sooner or later lead to the collapse of the brand image. In this era, the line between good and bad is blurred, and the collapse of personal image is the biggest risk. From this perspective, Tencent News Express's focus on hot topics is successful and useful, but this usefulness is based on more subsequent social interactions and interesting reading, because only in this way can the image of the person remain intact and move from victory to victory.

Author: Wu Junjie

Source: Zhuge Wu