Design of self-propagation activities for inviting new users to share based on the perspective of funnel model

Students who work in operations all know the AARRR funnel model , in which self-propagation (Ref) is a very important part, and designing new sharing activities is undoubtedly the top priority of self-propagation (Ref).

New invitation and sharing activities also have their own funnel model, including the ECS funnel on the inviter side : activity exposure (Exposure), activity click (Click), activity sharing (Share); the ECU funnel on the invitee side : activity exposure (Exposure), activity click (Click), product use/consumption (Use).

These two funnels are independent of each other but also related, but the ultimate indicator is how many new users are acquired.

This article explores how to design successful new user sharing activities based on these two funnel model perspectives.

1. ECS funnel on the inviter side

1. How to improve the event exposure of the inviter

Internet products can be divided into two categories:

• One category is products that are time-saving: such as Didi , Amap, and Alipay.
• The other category is products that are designed to kill time: such as Youku, Tik Tok , and Zhihu.

Of course, the boundary between the two is not absolute. For example, WeChat is essentially a product that is time-saving (Save Time) oriented, but you will find that a lot of your time is spent on WeChat, so WeChat is also a killer product for killing time (Kill Time).

Generally speaking, time-saving (Save Time) oriented products are mostly tool -type products that meet users' basic needs such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, shopping, and travel. Users usually have clear tasks/goals when using the products. For example, if I want to order a takeaway, buy a piece of clothing, or buy a train ticket, the user's behavior trajectory is very clear, with only one main operation task process, and the user uses other modules and functions of the product less or pays little attention to them.

For products oriented towards saving time, users “use it and leave” and their attention is extremely focused and limited. Therefore, we must integrate our new user sharing activities into the complete operation task process as much as possible to achieve the maximum exposure and ensure the user base at the top of the funnel.

We can further divide the user's complete task process into three main parts: " Before the task - During the task - After the task is completed ", and think about the scenarios that can be used for the new sharing activities.

Kill Time-oriented products are mostly those that meet users’ entertainment and social needs, and users have a relatively weak sense of mission/goal when using the products. For example, when you open Youku, you may browse aimlessly, so the user's behavior trajectory is relatively complex and more diverse, but there is also a main line of operation task flow.

For products oriented towards killing time, in addition to the core functions of the product, users are more likely to use peripheral non-core functions due to "wandering around", which means that in addition to the main task process scenarios, there are relatively more scenarios that can be explored for the design of new sharing activities.

2. How to increase the click-through rate of the event entrance on the inviter side?

When existing users are exposed to an event, several factors determine whether they click to participate: the event seems easy to understand (Understanding), credible (Credible), motivated (Motivated), and unique and interesting (Distinctive).

• Understanding : Existing users are required to understand the activity content within 3 seconds, which involves the coordination of interactive visual design and copywriting .
• Credible and Motivated : After several generations of product education, today's Internet users have become very smart. They can calculate the time and energy costs and expected benefits of participating in activities, and can easily identify various "traps" and "inducements". For example, an activity of "invite friends to get a 200 yuan gift package" will not be more effective than "invite friends to get a 3 yuan no-threshold voucher", so a good invitation and sharing activity should strike a balance between credibility and sufficient motivation.
• Distinctive : Today’s Internet users have become so accustomed to various activities that they have become extremely numb. If your campaign is unique and interesting, it will certainly stand out and gain more clicks from early adopters.

3. How to improve the activity sharing (Share) on the inviter side

When existing users click in to see the complete content of the event page, the following points need to be met to get them to share: the event rules are simple and easy to understand; the rewards can be redeemed immediately; and the emotional value is increased.

1). The rules are simple and easy to understand: The reward rules for the new invitation sharing activity are mainly divided into three categories: basic rewards, cumulative rewards, ranking rewards, and combined rewards based on these three categories.

No matter which reward rules you use, you need to make sure that the interactive design visuals and copywriting make it simple and easy for users to understand.

2) Rewards can be redeemed immediately : After users share, they can get the rewards in the shortest possible time, instead of a blank check. The more the reward for this activity helps users benefit from current or upcoming actions, the better the effect.

For example, if a user participates in an activity called "My - Invite new customers to get coupons", the coupons obtained can help the user save money on the next consumption. The effect of this activity will not be better than the effect of the user participating in an activity called "Place an order - Invite new customers to bargain for discounts".

3) Emotional value is increased : Specifically, it includes three aspects:

• First, sharing this activity will bring positive benefits to the user's personal image / label . If this cannot be achieved, at least it will not have a negative impact on the user's personal image.
• Second, it is best to share this activity for altruism , and the invitees can benefit from the activity;
• The third is social interactivity . Sharing activities can facilitate interaction with friends and promote emotional exchange.

2. ECU Funnel on the Invitee Side

1. How to increase the exposure of invitees’ activities (Exposure)

The event exposure of the invitees is actually the off-site exposure of the event, which needs to be considered from two perspectives: channels , content, and form.

•  Channels: Provide as many sharing channels as possible. In addition to the mainstream WeChat, WeChat friends, and Weibo, we also provide QQ, Qzone, Douyin, Kuaishou , Momo and other channels;
•  Content & Format: In addition to providing sharing channels, it is more important to strive to create content and formats suitable for each channel, such as picture and text sharing content suitable for WeChat Moments , and short video sharing content suitable for Tik Tok.

 In addition, multiple sharing content formats (long text, pure pictures, short videos, small games ) can be designed at the same time, allowing users to choose any content format to share on the channel and receive rewards.

 2. How to increase the click participation of invitees in activities (Click)

When old users share the activity link to their friends or several friends, the following factors should be considered to increase the participation rate of their friends (invitees) by clicking on the activity link: it should be easy to understand (Understanding), credible (Credible), motivated (Motivated), and relevant (Relevant).

1). Understanding & Credible : Needless to say, these are the most basic things in event design, same as above.

In addition, it is best to ensure that the shared activities have your company's logo, so that the activities appear authoritative and credible at first glance, rather than a scam trap. For example, many activities are packaged in the form of red envelopes, and many middle-aged and elderly people are particularly wary of this, let alone clicking on it.

2). Motivated : This should actually be solved from the inviter's perspective. Here we need to emphasize again that it is necessary to satisfy the sense of value of friends (invitees), that is, to get value from this click participation. This value can be material, such as a product voucher; it can also be emotional, such as satisfying a certain emotion.

In activities like “My child is selecting the XX award and invites you to help vote”, the invitees can receive neither material rewards nor emotional rewards. However, if we package it and tell a story about this child, and then let friends vote, I believe the communication effect will be elevated to a higher level because it satisfies friends' emotions such as voyeurism, touching, resonance, and happiness.

3). Relevant : If the sharing activity initiated by the inviter can also meet the immediate needs of the invitees, that would be the best; if not, some skills are needed to use the relationship between the inviter and the invitees to make an association, thereby promoting clicks, such as reflecting the inviter's ID/nickname in the activity copy.

3. How to increase the use/ consumption of products by invitees (Use )

If you want the invitees to use/consume the product, ensuring a good product experience is a basic prerequisite. On this basis, you need to introduce last-minute incentives (such as vouchers) and a time-limited mechanism (for example, vouchers are valid for three days).

Of course, this is far from enough. It is better to seize the opportunity to make the invitees pay the cost .

Costs can be divided into two categories:

• Money : This is the most direct and effective way. For example, you can ask the invitee to spend 5 yuan to buy a monthly card worth 20 yuan. The purpose is not to sell the monthly card, but to convert the invitee into a new user.
• Virtual costs such as time and emotions : for example, providing invitees with the ability to leave messages to the inviter through the event page.

Making the invitees pay a cost means that they have a deeper connection with the product, and then using the "loss aversion" psychology to guide the interviewees to eventually become new users of the product.

The author of this article @刘佩龙 is compiled and published by (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!

Product promotion services: APP promotion services, advertising platform, Longyou Games