How to implement content operation and common methods!

Just talking about operations, many friends may be confused because the title is too big. It is divided into content operation , product operation, user operation, event operation, community operation, data operation, e-commerce operation... and so on. What we are talking about today is content operation. With the continuous development of the Internet, website operation work has also been continuously subdivided. This is an era where content is king, and this has always been my view. Whoever can produce high-quality content that meets user needs will be able to develop in the long run.

Content operation is an operational strategy that involves a series of content-related tasks such as content planning, content creativity, content editing, content publishing, content optimization, and content marketing based on the content of the product.

It contains the following elements:

1. Content operations apply to all media channels and platforms.
2. Content operations must be transformed into providing users with a valuable service.
3. Content operations must have measurable results and ultimately generate profitable behavior.

The basic process of content operation:

Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. Before the official operation, five aspects of preparation need to be made:

1. Introduction to content operations

1. Definition and common models of content operation

Content operation, as the name suggests, is:

By creating, publishing and disseminating reasonable content, valuable information is delivered to users, thus achieving the purpose of network operation.

The role of content operation can be summarized into two points:

Meet users' content consumption needs and convey the product's positioning and tone.

Common modes of content operation:

From the earliest website editor, to the later website operation, and then to the current content operation, this position is constantly evolving. In the current content operation work model, one part is a continuation of the previous one, similar to editing; another part draws on the ideas of product operation and has innovative elements.

Therefore, content operations can be divided into traditional models and innovative models.

2. Elements of content operation

Content operation is an operational strategy. Combining various definitions of "content operation", it includes the following elements:

1. Content operations apply to all media channels and platforms.
2. Content operations must be transformed into providing a valuable service to users; one that can attract users, impress users, and influence the positive relationship between users and brands/products.
3. Content operations must have measurable results and ultimately generate profitable behavior.

2. How to implement content operation

The common problems that need to be solved in content operations include: content and platform.

1. Content

Content operation is to achieve operational goals such as attracting new customers, promoting activation, conversion, and retention by creating, editing, organizing, and presenting high-quality content for products.

Mainly responsible for producing/collecting content, and delivering high-quality content to content consumers with the best reading experience through screening, special planning, automatic recommendation, content push and other means.

In my understanding, content operation is the process of matching appropriate content to appropriate users and satisfying user needs through content.

(1) Content presentation

The content can be in the form of soft copy, social media, press releases, audio, podcasts, blogs, white papers, music, animations, pictures, infographics, online teaching or TV broadcasts, slides, videos, seminars, apps, games, and more.

（2）Content strategy

1. Hot content: content whose search volume increases rapidly and whose popularity and attention rise steadily over a period of time.
2. Time-sensitive content: Time-sensitive content refers to content that has the highest value within a specific period of time.
3. Instant content: Instant content refers to content that fully displays things and events happening at the moment.
4. Continuous content: Continuous content means that the value of the content does not change over time, and the content is not subject to timeliness restrictions regardless of the time period.
5. Programmatic content: Programmatic content refers to programmatic content that has a certain logic and conforms to the operational strategy.
6. Practical content: Practical content refers to the content generated through rich experience accumulated through continuous practice in the actual combat process.
7. Promotional content: Promotional content refers to the operational content generated by promotional activities within a specific period of time. The value of promotional content is often reflected in improving the company's ability to promote products more quickly and enhance the corporate image.

2. Content operation platform selection

Content operation platforms are generally divided into:

Traditional media (newspapers, outdoor, communications, radio, television); self-media (blogs, Weibo, WeChat, Baidu official forum, forums/BBS and other online communities).

Here we only introduce the common conversion platforms in daily operations:

WeChat, QQ, Weibo, mobile Internet portals, enterprise mobile apps, etc.

WeChat:

1. WeChat personal platform;
2. WeChat Moments;
3. WeChat public platform.

Weibo:

Weibo is easy to operate and convenient for publishing information. A Weibo post only requires a simple idea to publish a message; it is highly interactive, allowing instant communication with fans and timely user feedback; and it is low-cost.

Mobile Internet Portal:

Many companies want to choose portal websites such as Sohu, Sina, and NetEase as their content operation platforms. The traffic of these websites is indeed huge, and once they are successful, the effect will naturally be significant. However, if the companies do not have regular cooperation with them, the operation will be difficult and costly.

Enterprise client APP:

For general enterprises, the cost of APP is high and it is difficult to promote it.

Companies can also conduct content operations on other third-party APP platforms, such as Zhihu, Douban, and Guokr, by combining event operations and question-and-answer operations, thus combining the advantages of multiple platforms.

3. Content operation implementation steps

(1) Content operation planning:

How to handle the relationship between brand and content, how to maximize the brand communication effect, and how to match it with the overall brand strategy.

In the content operation planning stage, it generally includes four major aspects:

1. Operational Background
2. Product Audience
3. Operational objectives
4. Strategies and responses

(2) Implementation of content operations:

• The first step is content planning: plan content based on the problems encountered by users and understand what problems users encounter. The key point here is to provide users with solutions.
• The second step is content organization: consider what benefits it will bring to users and present them directly and concisely. (Pay attention to the friendliness, simplicity and fun of the content)
• The third step is content delivery: turning owned media into the entrance to the category, using content to attract users and draw them to the company’s own platform.
• The fourth step is the dissemination of content: the first point is to attract users to search for information, let them actively obtain information, and try to avoid forced push; the second action is to stimulate users to share. When a link or a mechanism is set up to allow fans and users to share, the dissemination will have the ability to operate on its own.

(3) Analysis of content operation effects:

By checking the relevant data of each publishing platform, such as the number of readings, forwardings, likes, etc., you can analyze the overall effect of content operation and summarize the problems encountered and the experience gained during the implementation process.

3. Common Methods

1. Website content operation
2. Email Operation Permission
3. Blog Operation
4. WeChat public account operation
5. Content sharing operation
6. Search engine operation (content operation and traffic diversion method)
7. Viral operation (comprehensive application of content operation)

4. Future development trends of content operations

Changes in content operations in the future:

1. The source of content operation:

Create "content products" and make the products a social incentive.

2. The value of content operation:

Become an experience link in the purchasing chain and strive to bring a better user experience.

3. The theme of content operation:

"Let ordinary people influence ordinary people" + "heavy segmentation".

4. Content operation platform:

Quasi-media + rich media

The boundaries between professional media and branded media are increasingly disappearing, and companies can become their own media publishers. After experiencing the "Weibo fever" and "WeChat fever", brand owners have become more rational in their layout of "self-media": presenting a "rich media + quasi-media" trend. This is due to the continuous rise of various social media platforms (rich media), most of which are niche and personalized (quasi-media).

Many companies’ self-media layout begins with the “official website” as the axis, and then creates self-media with different styles based on the different attributes of other social media platforms to maximize the platform’s demographic dividend. This exploration will be deepened in the future.

5. The manifestation of content operation:

Integration with technology makes the content more textured and experiential.

6. Content operation creators:

“Professional UGC” (User Generated Content)

Simply put, it means being a deep enthusiast/enthusiast in a certain vertical field and becoming a content creator.

7. Tools for content operations

8. Development trend:

In 2018, more companies will fully invest in content operations, which will lead to an explosion of massive content and overcrowded social media platforms.

Organic reach on social platforms will plummet - so companies that want to break out of the content red ocean will either need to pay or be more innovative in the form and content of their content.

In addition, in order to balance the increasingly powerful control of social media platforms, companies will need to strengthen their own content channels, including email, website apps, opinion leaders, etc.

Conclusion

Finally, you need to understand the calculation formula of KPI. I found in my work that many people don’t quite understand the KPI calculation formula. The common KPI calculation formula for operations is:

DAU = total users * conversion rate

For content operations, the common calculation formula is:

Click users = display users * conversion rate

To do a good job in content operation, we must pay attention to the following core contents:

1. Learning ability, you have to keep learning to keep up with this rapidly developing industry. There are two paths to learning. One is to read by yourself, such as books and articles; the second is to talk to people. Talking with peers and colleagues is part of the learning process.
2. The ability to divide labor and cooperate. If you rely solely on operations, KPI will definitely not be achieved. You need the support of partners in development, product, and design.
3. The ability to reflect and summarize business, to think again about what has been done in the past, to break away from the mentality of the person involved, to reflect from the perspective of an observer, to see what was done well and what was not done well. Whether it is good or bad, it should be summarized.

Related reading:

1. Content operation, how does Bilibili operate the UP host group?

2. Content operation, how does Bilibili operate the UP host group?

3. Content operation: 3 major driving forces of high-quality UGC!

4. Content operation, how can we achieve both traffic and sales?

5. Content operation: How to achieve sustainable growth through content?

Author: newrank

Source: Mars Operations (ID: MWnewmedia)