Now that mini programs are here, how should we respond?

"Some apps that are cumbersome but indispensable on the desktop finally have a home," this is the main argument for the value that WeChat mini-programs bring to users. Most of these apps are those that we use infrequently, such as checking friends, 12306, calculator and other tools . It is undeniable that WeChat does have the innate conditions to do this, and we may indeed put some such apps in WeChat’s mini-program list.

This means that users have more choices than ever before. The way users choose to save applications is more based on their phone configuration, cognitive habits, usage preferences, etc. If you want users to choose APP, it means you need to provide more valuable content to offset the unpleasantness of taking up their phone memory; if you want them to choose mini-programs, it means your mini-programs can meet users' needs in the simplest way.

Front-end engineers will usher in a wave of bonus period

The first thing to be clear is that JavaScript can solve problems in more and more fields. With the catalysis of WeChat mini-programs, more and more people in China will inevitably learn and use it. Moreover, the learning curve of JavaScript is not steep, and the learning cost is not high. Users with some basic knowledge or novice users can take this opportunity to learn more basic knowledge of JavaScript.

At the same time, according to the introduction of Tencent's internal front-end development engineers, the writing syntax of WeChat's mini-programs this time uses the capabilities of JavaScript and HTML. People who have learned JavaScript will have certain conveniences, but because it complies with WeChat's own set of frameworks, this framework wants to simplify the entire development process as much as possible. At the same time, WeChat is also based on the X5 kernel of QQ Browser , and the X5 kernel is based on chromium37. The technical innovation is not very big, so it is estimated that some people who do not have JavaScript foundation but have open experience will be able to get started quickly.

Backend programmers will not lose their jobs and will be more focused

From the news about the mini program to the various dissemination content, there is always the joke that "the backend will be unemployed". However, the emergence of WeChat mini-programs has indeed "taken away" more than half of the jobs that originally belonged to the back-end, but the jobs that have been taken away are all universal and can be replaced by machines.

The general back-end logic will be replaced by services like WeChat. For example, the user system has been well replaced by WeChat's user system. This is not only the trend of WeChat applets, but also the trend of the entire back-end development.

The future of the backend will be more in the fields of big data and artificial intelligence, and there is not such a big gap between the front and back ends. Many back ends are also learning the front ends and using them very well, and everything is interconnected.

This means that for front-end designers, there is no need to study how to perfectly match the WeChat client, because the WeChat team has already defined it for you, and you only need to design your mini program according to the official definition; and for programmers, the WeChat team has also defined the cloud space, underlying architecture, and framework code for you, and you only need to worry about the code writing work of the mini program itself. In this sense, there is not much difference between an experienced developer and a novice developer (not a novice) in the development of mini programs.

The development cost is relatively low, and the traffic dividend is relatively obvious

The reduction in development costs is mainly reflected in two aspects. The first is that it overcomes the incompatibility of different platforms to a certain extent. Enterprises no longer have to develop different software for different versions of operating systems, saving a lot of time and manpower. The second is to use the simpler JS language, which is simpler than JAVE and other languages.

Another biggest advantage of mini programs is that they are grafted onto WeChat, the king of social networking . With the same functional attributes as apps and mini programs, the advantage of mini programs is that they can explode rapidly through social fission. If coupled with better operations, their user growth rate will be much faster than that of apps.

Have to compete for the entrance

If a large number of native apps flood into WeChat mini-programs, the environment faced by app operators will be the same as that of App Store . They will also need to compete, scramble for user traffic, and be eager to spread. In fact, compared to the user's mobile phone desktop , WeChat mini-programs are located two or more levels deeper than the entrance, making them more difficult to spread. Therefore, the problem that APP operators are facing now is that joining the WeChat Mini Program will not bring any benefits, but if they do not join, they will face the risk of competitors snatching away their traffic.

First, let’s sort out the official definition of the three types of WeChat public account application forms:

Subscription account: WeChat’s official positioning is reading, connecting people and information. It is mostly used by media, government and other institutions.

Service Account: Connecting people and goods. Currently, many e-commerce companies and companies that provide products and services on WeChat use service accounts.

Mini Program: No need to download or follow, we define it as connecting people and applications, which of course includes all products and services.

Then, let's sort out the relationship between the three types of application numbers :

The author believes that it is inevitable for WeChat to launch "mini programs". The fundamental reason is that the mobile Internet has created too many information islands. Through years of continuous efforts and accumulation, WeChat has already owned a considerable number of islands and has the conditions to build an island chain. "Mini Programs" are the bridges between islands, while "Subscription Accounts" and "Service Accounts" are merely routes between islands. The transport volumes of bridges and shipping routes are completely incomparable.

Finally, let’s look at how mini programs, service accounts, and subscription accounts connect with each other.

1. Subscription accounts can serve as information and content sections for operators, mainly playing the role of content creation and content distribution. Operators can use content to drive the products and services provided by mini programs.

2. The service account can serve as the main body of the operator's service. It can not only provide information content, but also complement the mini program, learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses, and mainly play a simple basic service role.

3. As the final service role of subscription accounts and service accounts, mini programs mainly provide users of subscription accounts and service accounts with more complex interactive behaviors and personalized service experience.

1. The user data you can obtain will be very limited. The user data that WeChat opens to you is basically the avatar, nickname and certain friend relationships. Be sure to consider the importance of the data to yourself!

2. Try to access small, beautiful, vertical, low-complexity, low-frequency, and non-urgent long-tail services.

3. If you really want to provide high-frequency services, they must be high-frequency and urgently needed services with relatively simple interactivity.

4. The product must be able to meet the needs of users in specific scenarios within a certain period of time. The product hierarchy should be shallow and the operation path should be short. Due to the hierarchical relationship of WeChat, if the user is interrupted, it will be difficult to achieve the best user experience.

5. Within the WeChat ecosystem alone, in addition to relying on users' active searches and code scanning, another key source of traffic for mini programs is that subscription accounts and service accounts actively direct traffic to them, and then rely on users' word-of-mouth to carry out fission promotion.

6. The business model is quite different from the app. There will be huge changes. If you use the native app approach, the possibility of success is almost zero. You need to rethink and quickly verify your model.

1. Lower entrepreneurship threshold and lower access cost

2. The product development iteration rate is faster and more efficient

3. Low customer acquisition cost, easier to acquire seed users

4. Simpler operating model, higher return on investment

However, mini programs are not without barriers. Judging from the current public beta of the mini program, we must have a certain level of basic development and design personnel to connect to a mini program. From development to commercial operation, all work must be carried out under the rules of the game set by the mini program. In other words, the development and commercial operation of the mini program cannot be as arbitrary as an APP. All our work must follow the rules of the mini program. In other words, when operating an APP and a mini program at the same time, some of the methods and routines used on the APP must be stopped on the mini program.

Therefore, as entrepreneurs, we should know how to make trade-offs. If we want to be more aggressive and complex, we still have to rely on APP to maintain our entire product system; if we want to be simpler and more niche, we can choose mini programs; especially for new entrants, mini programs can be the first choice for testing commercial operations.

For entrepreneurs who have already developed an APP, should they develop a mini program based on the mini program or effectively overlap it with the existing APP?

The first suggestion I make is: continue to iterate and update the original APP, connect the user data part, and implement incremental concurrency for simple functions through mini-programs.

To put it simply, it means connecting the user data of the original APP with the user data of WeChat, connecting the background data of both sides, and at the same time transferring some functions of the existing APP to the WeChat mini program. Then, new product features can be polished through the mini program first, and finally consider whether to migrate to the APP based on the data feedback from the mini program. Of course, functions that the mini program cannot realize temporarily can only be launched online through the APP first, and then the traffic advantage of the mini program can be used to flow back to the APP for function trial and error. After the openness of the mini program becomes more and more mature, the effective integration of data and functions on both sides will be finally completed.

The author’s second suggestion is: after the WeChat Mini Program is officially released to the public, find your own positioning and quickly acquire customers through the Mini Program. First, achieve the popularity and frequency of use of the Mini Program in WeChat, and then find a way to bring users back to the APP.

WeChat has more inherent advantages in acquiring customers than APP, but faced with the emergence of thousands of mini-programs after the opening of mini-programs, according to Zhang Xiaolong’s definition of mini-programs as "two methods of [scan] and [search]", we must think about how to make it easier for WeChat users to find our mini-programs through [keyword search] or [QR code scanning]. In the early stages, I think we need to work hard on "name optimization", "content keyword optimization", and "program code optimization", think of more ways to enhance the personalized experience of mini programs, improve user usage habits and frequency, and then consider more reflux methods.

Ever since the WeChat team announced the public beta of Mini Programs, many friends have been paying attention to how to quickly develop a Mini Program. Little do they know that although it is easy to access Mini Programs, it is not easy to get the first wave of benefits. What I want to emphasize is that the WeChat team has, to a certain extent, downplayed the technical content and marketing components of mini-programs, and is more hoping that developers can develop more personalized and creative mini-programs. As developers, we should focus more on developing the product logic and interaction design of mini programs. If we simply consider how to transfer some functions of the APP to the mini program, or simply think about how to make the mini program obtain the maximum marketing value on WeChat, then the results will often be very different from your expectations.

As an early researcher of mini programs, I would like to say one final thing: WeChat mini programs have placed higher demands on the operation team based on the WeChat ecosystem. In the past, for subscription accounts and service accounts, the operation team only needed to configure content creators, editorial planners, and marketing operations personnel. It now seems that if we want to use WeChat mini-programs well, we at least need to have product managers , front-end engineers, and possibly programmers. Participants in the WeChat ecosystem are increasingly inclined towards a complete Internet team.

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

The author of this article @春晓 is compiled and published by (APP Top Promotion). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!