How to design new product invitation activities to promote products themselves (Part 2)

This article is a summary of the results of a user research team's efforts to help the operations team improve their operations indicators, based on user experience evaluation, competitive product analysis , desk research, etc. The value of user research is not just to meet the individual needs of the business side and complete a project perfectly, but to cross-border learning to continuously accumulate solutions and paradigms for similar needs/problems.

Before reading the following, please read the previous article "How to design a new product invitation activity to let the product spread itself (I)":

2. How to innovate self-propagating product features

In the book "Self-propagation: Injecting the Gene of Spontaneous Propagation into Products", it is mentioned that "if the core and main functions of a product are designed with self-propagation mechanisms in mind, then this product will have amazing diffusion capabilities once it is released."

This article analyzes how to design product features that can spread themselves from a social perspective .

In the PC Internet era, traffic is based on search. For example, if I want to watch a movie , I need to open the browser first, then search for the movie I want to watch in the search engine (Baidu or Google, etc.), and open the website to watch it. Similarly, when I go shopping on an e-commerce website, many people find the website through search engines rather than logging in directly by entering the URL.

After entering the mobile Internet era, with the popularization of APP applications and the birth of WeChat mini-programs , traffic has become highly dispersed. When a user needs to take a taxi, he will directly open the Didi APP; when a user needs to shop, he will open the JD APP or shop in the WeChat mini program . Every mobile application APP or mini program is a traffic entrance.

Social applications, due to their high frequency and natural self-propagation genes, are destined to become the best traffic aggregator and distributor in the mobile Internet era. According to the 2017 Q4 and Full Year Mobile Internet Industry Data Research Report by Aurora Big Data , Chinese mobile Internet users spend a total of 4.2 hours per day on various apps, of which more than 2.5 hours are spent on social networking apps; the penetration rate of social software WeChat and QQ ranks first on the mobile application list.

It is precisely because of this that many products begin to incorporate social genes at the beginning of their design or after product iterations. Common models include two categories: live streaming , content ( UGC ), and communities under the platform's own ecosystem; and direct sales, group buying, micro-business, etc. based on the WeChat social ecosystem .

Also based on Aurora Big Data's "2017 Q4 and Full Year Mobile Internet Industry Data Research Report", we can find that products that integrate social genes into their core and main functions have achieved rapid growth.

After all, new user acquisition and self-propagation operations are mostly temporary. If they can be transformed into product features, I believe it will be the dream of every operator (product and operation are one). What operators need to do is to continuously explore and practice operational activities that are suitable for their products, and promote them into product functions at the right time.

Below is a case study of how a travel ticket purchasing tool product integrates social genes and transforms operational activities into product functions.

1. My invitation card

For tool-type products such as WeChat Wallet - train tickets and air tickets , users will also be exposed to various sharing reward activities. If we can design and launch an invitation card, the income from all sharing and inviting new members activities can be concentrated in the invitation card. At the same time, the invitation card itself is also a distribution center for inviting new members to share tasks, and you can see which activities and tasks are currently being operated.

In addition, the tasks of invitation cards may not be limited to operational activities, but may cover main paid products and value-added service products. For example, the main product's ticket purchase, ticket grabbing, and ticket delivery scenarios; value-added services include paid annual cards, pre-paid cards, and financial services. Users can distribute through social relationships.

Note: This is a simulation effect diagram

There are two details to note about invitation cards. One is that it is best if the invitation card can be customized. "This is an era of individuality. Products must be customized to meet the needs of the masses. This will make an ordinary product eye-catching and attract attention and sharing" ("Self-Dissemination"). The other is that each task can generate a sharing page separately, preferably in the form of a visual picture to facilitate dissemination on WeChat Moments .

2. Group buying

The group buying model can be applied to all goods that can be sold. Why can't group buying be applied to ticket selling platforms such as WeChat Wallet - train tickets and air tickets? The core demands of users behind group buying are discounts and small bargains, and as long as this is met, it can be established.

Under the "Group Buying" product function, multiple specific scenarios can be designed and integrated. For example, scenario one is for group travel with colleagues, acquaintances and friends in the workplace who do not want one person to pay for all the expenses. This function allows one person to purchase the train and share it on WeChat with one click. Others only need to enter the passenger information and pay with one click, eliminating the need to select the train and save communication costs. For example, in scenario 2, the platform itself releases group-buying routes for all Internet users. If a certain number of people is met, everyone can enjoy ticket discounts or benefits (accelerated ticket grabbing, free insurance, worry-free refunds and changes, etc.), which is particularly suitable for dynamically priced products such as air tickets. For example, in scenario three, for WeChat social friends, when a user needs to buy a ticket for travel, the user only needs to invite a certain number of friends to place an order or make a reservation at the same time, and everyone can enjoy ticket purchase discounts or ticket purchase rights (accelerated ticket grabbing, free insurance, worry-free refunds and changes, etc.).

This is a simulation display of converting preferential invitation and sharing activities such as group buying and sharing into the core and main functions of the product.

3. Questions and Answers

Many tool-type product managers regard Zhang Xiaolong ’s idea of ​​“a good product is one that you can use and leave” as the bible. What Zhang Xiaolong said is correct, but many people only understand half of it. The other half of the truth is that users will come back, and the higher the frequency of their return, the better. “Use it and go” refers to helping users complete tasks more efficiently, rather than leaving them with endless things to do during tasks; “Come back after use” emphasizes user stickiness, and user-generated content (UGC) is one of the most effective means to increase product stickiness, which is why WeChat has a public account platform and wants to create a circle of friends .

A user purchases a train ticket in WeChat Wallet - Train Tickets and Airplane Flights. When the user checks the order, he can join the WeChat group of the trip (now upgraded to Tongcheng Chat). Many users will ask questions in the group, covering ticket purchase, travel, destination food, destination tourism and many other aspects, and many people will also answer in the group. If a question-and-answer function can be added to the group function, users' instant questions and answers can be preserved to form a topic collection, it will become a micro question-and-answer community like Zhihu, which can not only improve user stickiness but also save customer service costs.

Related reading: How to design a new product invitation campaign to promote your product (Part 1)

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

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