Is attracting new users a big problem? Maybe the wrong medicine was used.

What is user acquisition?

"Attracting new users is the first of the three major steps in Internet operations . In the early stages of product development, the purpose is to attract seed users to use the product and start product operations. At the same time, attracting new users is also a key step in operations and exists in every stage of product development."

There are two levels of attracting new customers: one is attracting new customers by products, and the other is attracting new customers by projects. Downloading an APP is attracting new users, getting new followers on a WeChat public account is attracting new users, opening a membership system is attracting new users, and so on.

When talking about the concept of attracting new customers, we also need to mention two other major operational steps: activation and retention.

Let's give some simple explanations here.

Activation behaviors in operations: As the name suggests, attract new people, how to keep users active, shorten the distance between users and products, and enable people and things to connect and communicate.

Retention behavior in operations: To explain it in my own way, let users stay, trust, and continue to use the product. The retention rate can reflect the strength of the product and operation, and can also show the amount of profit from the side.

Explain user acquisition based on the product life cycle

1. How to attract new customers in the early stage of product development?

“Any product or project faces the problem of new user sources. Operations must attract new users throughout the product’s life cycle and develop appropriate strategies at different stages to stimulate more new users to join.”

Methods for attracting new users in the early stage of startup:

1. Actively demonstrate to users: It is necessary to actively demonstrate and convey the product value to users through real operations. For example, when we are in a shopping mall, the salesperson will actively demonstrate to us how to use the tools .

2. Distribute flyers to spread information: Use flyers to illustrate this method of attracting new customers, casting a wide net to allow users to "actively" meet and be exposed to information. When promoting in forums or communities , there is a case from a colleague: in order to promote the company's APP, the personal profile picture was replaced with the product logo, and rewards were given on WeChat , Weibo, etc. In the reward column, users can know the product through the profile picture, which is a very "clever" way to attract new customers.

3. Recommend it to friends and family, starting from those around you: The company assigns tasks that require a certain amount of new customers to be attracted, so friends in operations and product departments will look for friends and family around them to complete the number of followers or downloads first, similar to selling Amway. However, there are two points to note with this method: First, the frequency needs to be controlled. Too much frequency will cause user disgust and fail to achieve the desired publicity effect. Second, mandatory participation is not recommended. The target users must be considered, and the relatives and friends of employees are not necessarily within the scope of product users. If the target users are not encouraged to forward, download or follow, it is meaningless to attract new users.

4. Search gradually and win in one move: Different from the method of distributing flyers, it is necessary to find channels for promotion, find where the target users are, and attract users to pay attention to themselves. This is a more advanced way to attract new users, such as operating or marketing a hot event, or asking experts to make recommendations. For example, at the launch of the Hammer smartphone, Luo Yonghao mentioned the iFlytek input method, and the number of iFlytek downloads surged.

Refine product types and explain new customer acquisition methods by category

Methods for attracting new users in the early stages of APP growth:

1. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

A. Understand the tonality and user positioning of your own products

B. Clarify the details and understand all functions

C. Conduct competitive product analysis and research

When attracting new customers, you need to sort out your personal thoughts, understand the tone and positioning of your own products, understand who the target users of the products are, where they are, what problems we can solve, and what we can do for users. Operations also require constant self-reflection and not going back to the original intention.

2. Build channels to let more users know you

A. Free channel promotion, such as the upstream of the app store , special event promotion , basic ASO

B. Exchange and cooperative promotion, such as event cooperation and resource exchange

C. Paid channel promotion , such as online marketing , buying hot topics, posting advertisements on the wall, and cooperation with third-party advertising companies

D. Promotion of vertical communities, such as promoting in the industry community you are in, writing soft articles for recommendation, etc.

When doing channel promotion, you need to prepare detailed descriptions of the product, keywords, market classifications, etc. Then you need to organize the data analysis template, including the use of APP functions such as new additions, activity, and retention, and test the effects of each channel. The next step is to apply for accounts of developers in major markets, count the downloads brought by major markets, and regularly maintain them based on the data. Next, you need to organize the first launch documents and recommended rules required by major markets. If you have any questions about the first launch rules, be sure to ask the relevant person in charge of the application market and don't neglect the details. At the same time, you need to understand the promotion methods of various paid channels and formulate paid promotion methods and combinations according to needs.

3. Build brand and enhance visibility

Building a brand is not a one-day job. Brand promotion is also closely related to attracting new users. Use four major methods to promote the brand: news reports, new media marketing, network foundation, and brand marketing .

A. Registration categories for forum and community accounts. Whether it is a forum based on the application market or a vertical forum in various fields. If used properly, it is easy to acquire early target users. The first batch of seed users may come from the forum, and their word of mouth can be used for appropriate publicity.

B. Flexible use of new media and media. According to the product positioning, decide the level of investment in new media and accumulate and maintain some media connections, which will facilitate promotion when the APP is launched.

C. Improve the entries of Baidu, 360, Sogou and other encyclopedias, and create interactive questions and answers. The work is rather cumbersome.

D. Prepare marketing activities , promote and organize offline activities . When other products of the company are doing offline activities, you can also use the resources for your own publicity and marketing.

How to attract new users in the early stages of WeChat public accounts

Not only can we learn from the methods mentioned above, but we should also operate WeChat public accounts according to local conditions.

1. Be familiar with all operations of WeChat public accounts. Create a public account, learn typesetting skills, and build columns

2. Content is the key. Use content as a lever to attract users. Start the operation, fill in high-quality content, use it as the biggest attraction, and create works with your own official account style, such as Xin Shi Xiang, Mi Meng and other big Vs. Good content will enable the official account to have a stable user growth in all periods.

3. Promotion is in progress. Cooperate with activities, increase search weight, invest money, promote each other with friendly accounts, etc.

2. How to attract new users during the product growth stage?

1. Import resources. Use the excellent resources of other brands to attract users to new products and recommend their use. For example, WeChat used Tencent QQ's powerful user resources to carry out the first step of user acquisition, allowing a wider range of people to be exposed to new products.

2. Bundle resources. When you download Xunlei, have you ever encountered a situation where you are forced to download Xunlei Kankan? When you download other software, there are always bundled products. Although the method is rogue, it is still an effective way to attract new users. After all, for software and apps, new downloads are new users. From the perspective of operations and users, the data will look better, but from the user's perspective, the experience is another matter.

3. Spend a lot of money. The product growth stage is a period that requires a lot of attention. The early preparations will make preparations for subsequent growth. This is when the method of burning money can come in handy. Spending money on promotion is a very effective and fast way to drive user growth, but most of the products that cost money are high-frequency, rigid-demand, and highly homogenized products, such as group buying, taxi-hailing products, and so on. Money is spent to get the user's first experience and usage habits. The preconceived notions of a product will increase the cost of changing it once the user gets used to it. However, the premise of spending money is the positioning of the product and the judgment of industry trends. Not all products are suitable for buying users with money.

3. How to attract users when the product is mature?

Now that it’s mature, how do you want to attract new users? Attracting new users exists in every stage of a product. Although large-scale growth is unlikely to occur in the mature stage, there are other projects that need to attract new users. In this case, what is needed is to create a relevant membership system, carry out various activities, or form a good reputation and produce content that is attractive enough to last for a long time. For example, Product 100's " Product Manager in Easy Terms" series of courses is a winning magic weapon for attracting users for a long time. We are also currently working on updating this "magic weapon", so please stay tuned.

Speaking of the activities mentioned above, new activities and new iterations are also one of the ways to attract users to use it. For example, NetEase’s mobile game Yin and Yang has gained a certain amount of downloads after the revision on November 11, and it has also played a certain role in promoting activation and retention. An interesting product is the key to attracting users.

Regarding the product and operation content of NetEase Onmyoji, I have chosen to share it in the next voice Live. As heavy Onmyoji users, we should not only play the routines in the game , but also play the essence behind the operation and products.

Explain user acquisition based on the user life cycle

Since the focus of this sharing is on attracting new users during the product life cycle, this section will serve as a supplement.

The user life cycle is actually more complicated, which is one of the reasons why operations must be tailored to local conditions.

One of the ultimate formulas for operations: Making money = CLV (customer lifetime value) - CAC (customer acquisition cost) - COC (operating cost)

Potential period: Use some discounts and benefits to attract users' attention or downloads. For example, in the early stage, Ele.me distributed a large number of red envelopes to attract users to download and use the APP. Many live broadcast platforms also used money-burning and outstanding methods to arouse topics and attract users' attention in the early stage of operation.

Active stage: Seed users have been attracted to use the APP and have become active users. At this time, we need to take advantage of word-of-mouth and spread the word from person to person. For example, for Yibai Lecture Hall, we use the invitation and sharing method. We ask users to share our invitation cards in their circle of friends to attract users in their circle to come and listen. The current Mobike also uses this form, embedding sharing and invitations into the product usage process.

Silent period: This is what some users commonly call: quitting the game, but when there are discounts and content that catches their attention, the users' attention will return to the product. A simple example: when I was playing Onmyoji and was so tired that I wanted to give up, the system god suddenly gave me an SSR shikigami, which gave the user a great surprise and enabled him to use the product for a longer period of time.

Mobile application product promotion service: APP promotion service Qinggua Media advertising

The author of this article @产品壹佰花 compiled and published by ( Qinggua Media ). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!