A brief analysis of Tmall’s operating “routines” during the 2017 “Double Eleven” event!

Tmall Double Eleven 2017 is coming soon. During the 2016 Tmall Double Eleven "Global Carnival", Tmall's transaction volume exceeded 1 billion in 52 seconds and exceeded 10 billion in 6 minutes and 58 seconds! The total transaction volume exceeded 120.7 billion! When we are shopping, we have unknowingly fallen into the deep routine of Tmall's operations .

(Total transaction volume of Tmall on Double Eleven)

Double Eleven, does the operation really start from November 11th? Can this event be known to everyone in just one day? Are sales in the hundreds of millions? It is like planting trees in the morning and enjoying the shade at night - an impossible thing. Any activity needs to focus on the future. A three-foot-thick ice does not form overnight, and Tmall’s hundreds of billions of dollars were not built in a day.

Let us talk about the operational aspects of this year’s Double Eleven.

1. Activity warm-up and channel promotion

① Traffic accumulation : This year’s Double Eleven is already the 8th, but the most basic idea used by Tmall remains unchanged, that is, traffic accumulation. Through the preheating in the early stages of Double Eleven and promotion in various channels , the goal of accumulating traffic can be achieved. When the event is officially launched, it will be followed by a huge influx of traffic.

② Create topics : Let’s look at the Baidu Index and the Micro Index respectively. Judging from the current indexes, Double Eleven has already started the topic launch since mid-October. During the period from October 18th to October 20th, the index began to grow rapidly, with an overall month-on-month increase of 175%. (Friendly reminder: Tmall has exclusive trademark rights for "Double Eleven", please be cautious when organizing activities)

③Media exchange : The new media channels involved in the event are nothing more than Internet platforms such as Weibo, WeChat , and mobile H5. Correspondingly, in offline places with large crowds, such as subways and shopping malls, large numbers of posters and advertisements quickly occupied Weibo, WeChat, Taobao , Tmall, Moments , and Weibo.

Precise Internet exposure + massive offline placement + creative poster advertising have made Double Eleven deeply engraved in our minds and successfully created a lively atmosphere before Double Eleven.

What factors should be considered when running an event ?

• Simple (simple activities, low threshold, high participation rate)
• Credibility (the activity is highly credible, authentic and transparent)
• Profitable (users can gain benefits from the activity)
• Related (activities need to take advantage of the situation and ride the wave)
• Lively (users are immersed in the event, actively or passively participating in it)

The pre-event warm-up work is to make the event "lively", create an atmosphere for the event, increase the exposure of the event, let everyone's adrenaline surge, and finally go crazy for it. If you do a good job of warming up, you are halfway to success.

Summarize:

No activity can be accomplished overnight. Today, with the increasingly complete matrix of self-media channels, the improvement of platforms such as WeChat and Weibo, and the emergence of diversified H5 in APP and Moments, there is more room for the playability and rhythm of event planning .

If you only pursue short-term event effects, the effects of short-term event topics and advertising will be relatively ordinary.

If we do long-term activities, what we do is not only the activity itself, but also includes building our own brand and improving user loyalty , so that your activity will have a chain reaction on consumers. They will see the date, think of the activity, and finally associate it with the brand . This is a process that requires patience and innovation.

In a word, "a mountain looks like a peak when viewed from the front" - for activities, we need to formulate the rhythm and gameplay according to our own activity objectives. "In drought, we have boats; in heat, we have fur coats" - a far-sighted event operator will never focus on the current hot spots.

2. Activity form and gameplay

Let's take a look at the sales share of Tmall's PC and mobile terminals in 2016. It is obvious that mobile terminals have become the most important marketing channel nowadays due to their convenience.

Although the mobile side accounts for a high proportion, Tmall’s emphasis on the PC side cannot be underestimated. This is worth learning for all of our operators. Only by ensuring normal marketing in all channels with existing resources can we make events and brands more and more influential.

①Activity form:

Tmall’s Double Eleven promotion warm-up page in 2017 has been fully rolled out both inside and outside the site , opening up all-round traffic . Every page will make you eager to click.

On-site : popular keywords, the top column of the homepage, carousel images, the right side of the third-level pages, the venue navigation bar, etc. (careful people will find that Tmall has changed its logo to a version with the 11.11 logo on the 19th)

Off-site : SEM (products, pictures), DSP , major portals, offline channels, etc.

(Desktop, startup assistant, and even the homepage of Everyone is a Product Manager official website)

There is only one purpose for display in all positions - to fully expose the event. One of the problems often encountered in event operations is that the event effect is good, but it has not been improved and the UV conversion rate is low. At this time, we not only need to consider whether there are flaws in our activity itself, but also whether our activity is not exposed enough?

②How to play the activity:

First, let us take a look at the rhythm of Tmall activities this year, which include 7 major sections and 14 branches.

In fact, the composition of the event is very different from last year: pre-sale (deposit + final payment), red envelopes and coupons, and brand-name flash sales.

Remember: We need to implement all the gameplay of the activity in combination with user preferences and our own goals .

Tmall’s ultimate goal is to get users to consume. The purpose of pre-sale is to capture users in advance, accumulate traffic, and then make a concentrated burst of payment on Double Eleven Day; the role of red envelopes and coupons is to promote user consumption and increase the unit price; the role of hot-selling flash sales is to stimulate user consumption.

Look at the essence through the surface and start from the end. Every event operator is a famous designer. A good event gameplay design can closely fit the purpose of the event and is conducive to event conversion .

③Supplement - "Torch Red Packet"

When you read this article, Double Eleven may have reached its climax. I don’t know whether this event will continue to be popular in the future, but one point I want to mention here is the “Torch Red Envelope” in this Tmall Double Eleven event.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, two of the characteristics that a good event needs to have are “simple” and “lively”. So what connects these two points together? This is what we call "transmissibility". If everyone thinks your activity is fun, is willing to play it, and is happy to share it with others, then your activity is bound to be exceptionally successful. I think the “Torch Red Envelope” is just such a good activity.

When every Tmall user opens the Tmall APP, he or she will be surprised to find that they can symbolically light up "My Double Eleven". A cool animation will appear and then kindly tell you "You are the xxxxxxth Double Eleven torchbearer". In fact, for many operators or users who are accustomed to various activities, this interactive form of gameplay is not new, but it can make you feel a sense of ritual.

• Tmall Double Eleven can make you feel a sense of ritual. This is really great.

It’s so interesting and fun, will you spread it? Won't? At this time, Tmall immediately tells you "Light up the torch red envelope and share 250 million" and " Scan the code to light up the red envelope, and you can also get the torch red envelope"

Red envelopes + QR codes + mutual help and love among friends + the nature of the general public who like to eat melons and not mind the big things = the spread of Double Eleven

• Tmall Double Eleven can make you willing to forward it. It's really not easy.

Summary: Tmall combines “split cash equally” with “scan code to collect likes”, “deposit pre-sale” and other not-new gameplays, and arranges them appropriately in the rhythm of each activity.

Operation is not an area that always requires innovation. Operation methods that are effective for users can be maintained and passed on. Or to be more precise, its innovation lies more in the coordination of more reasonable gameplay and rhythm, which is a science.

3. The actual implementation and operation of the Double Eleven event

Double Eleven is such a grand event, is it beyond our reach? The answer is of course not certain. Through the gorgeous packaging of "Double Eleven", it is actually just an event planned by Tmall's event operation team.

• Think clearly about what we want, and you are 50% successful

①Determine the purpose of the activity——②Write the activity plan and copy ——③Determine the activity resources——④Set the activity gameplay——⑤Set the activity rhythm——⑥Edit the activity rules——⑦Estimate the activity cost and effect——⑧Make the activity page prototype——⑨Promote the activity online——⑩Review and improve the activity

All activities can be divided into these ten steps. If it is more concise

①Determine the purpose of the activity——②Promote the launch of the activity——③Review and improve the activity

Measuring the success of an activity depends on the setting of goals. The basis of an activity is its purpose. No matter how novel your activity is, any activity that deviates from its purpose will be in vain. Again, if you can’t clearly explain the purpose of your event, or the gameplay you have developed for it, then you may not have figured out the essence of the problem.

Summary: "Double Eleven" magnifies the details in event operations, and we can more intuitively feel that all event methods are so real and effective. We may not remember a certain product or a certain brand, but we can often remember an event that left a deep impression on us. This is what makes event operations special and crucial compared to other means of operations. We can leave a deep impression of activities in the minds of users or potential users. Many elderly people and children (who are not smartphone users) have gathered together as a family during the Chinese New Year to scan "Fu" and grab red envelopes. They may not know what Alipay is because of what they hear and see, but they will definitely not forget that there is such a fun " game ".