Kuaishou APP product analysis report: never just a formality

I can be considered a loyal user of Kuaishou. I came across this product by chance two years ago. At that time, I had not yet entered the product industry. I used Kuaishou just because I thought this APP was very interesting and I have been using it until now. Today, Kuaishou is about to become a unicorn, and the author would like to interpret this magical APP again in the form of an analysis report as a product person. Therefore, the author of this article does not want to follow a stereotyped template, but to analyze the logic behind the product in a practical way by first restoring it and then analyzing it.

1. Purpose of analysis

Out of love for Kuaishou, I explored the logic behind the product.

2. Product Experience Environment

• Experienced models: Xiaomi 3 mobile version, iPhone 6s
• Experience time: 2015.1–2017.6
• Experience version: Android: 4.13—4.52.2.2791, iOS: 4.96.3—4.99.6
• Experiencer: Xiaoduo

3. Product Restoration

1. User perspective

This section only observes this product from a user's perspective and briefly describes some intuitive experience feelings.

1) Product slogan

• Quick, interesting.
• Kuaishou, let the world witness your wonderful moments together
• Kuaishou, record the world and you

When I first came into contact with Kuaishou in 2015, this was its slogan. This slogan is obviously very down-to-earth and popular, and at the beginning of 2015, the number of Kuaishou users had not yet exceeded 100 million. The use of the word "world" in the last two sentences instantly makes the content rise to a higher level. In 2017, the number of Kuaishou users worldwide exceeded 500 million, which has enabled the whole world to pay attention to you on this platform with 500 million users.

2) Main pages and common functions

The product version I am currently using is iOS 4.99.6, and the relevant analysis of the product below is also based on this version.

After opening the APP, there is no welcome page, advertising page, or guide page. You will directly enter the homepage where you are not logged in. The page style is very simple and the full-page video stream has no paging. You can watch it by clicking on it. Click the icon in the upper left corner to enter the login page. You can use third-party login or mobile phone number and password to log in. If your mobile phone number is not registered, you can directly enter the mobile phone number to register.

After successfully logging in, you will enter the homepage. The homepage in the logged-in state becomes 3 switchable tabs but there is still no bottom navigation. Follow: Videos of people the user follows will be displayed here, sorted in descending chronological order, with the release time displayed below the video cover; Discover, also known as popular, looks like randomly recommended videos, with the number of likes displayed below the video cover; Same City: Videos pushed based on geographic location, with the current distance from the user displayed below the video cover.

To watch a video, click on the cover of a video to start watching. There is no pause function, and it will continue to play in a loop unless you return to the previous level. You can follow the video author (the follow button will not be displayed if you are already following), like the video (double-click to do this or click the like button; clicking the like button again will cancel the like), comment on the video (you can also reply to user comments), and share it (you can share to many apps including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube). Among other operations, you can report the video, reduce similar works (this feature was not added in 2015), unfollow (for those you are already following), and add to the blacklist (for those you are not following).

To record and upload a video, click the record button in the upper right corner of the homepage to enter the video recording page. The default length of recorded videos is 7 seconds. On iOS, clicking the record button three times in a row on the home page will activate a hidden function, allowing you to record videos up to 57 seconds long. On Android, long pressing the record button on the home page will also activate a hidden function, allowing you to record videos up to 17 seconds long. Magic emojis (similar to faceu stickers) can be used in selfie mode. You can add background music first (you cannot select local music, only cloud music). After completing the recording (you can click the Next button to end the recording before the time limit), enter the production page (equivalent to post-production), where there are 5 functional modules to provide video processing.

• Filters: You can choose filters of different colors and styles to process the video.
• Scene, you can choose simple video effects provided by the system
• Soundtrack: You can turn off the original soundtrack, add recordings, local music, system-provided music, and cloud music (cloud music added before recording is considered the original soundtrack) as the soundtrack, and adjust the volume of the original soundtrack and the soundtrack
• Cover, you can select a frame in the video as the video cover. The default is the first frame. You can also add a text title with optional style.
• Advanced, you can edit a frame in the video separately, add text, stickers, graffiti, delete

After completing the production, enter the publishing and sharing page, where you can @ the users you have followed, choose whether to make the work public, add the geographic location, choose the application to share to, and click the Publish button to complete the upload and publishing. You can view the published works in the Following tab or personal homepage.

One more thing about uploading videos. There is another way to upload local videos of unlimited length (summarized and tested by various experts). It is only for Android system, by directly copying and pasting the file into the Kuaishou local work directory (the method is not detailed, students who are interested can search on Baidu).

For novice users, there is another hidden function, which is live streaming. After Kuaishou launched the live streaming function, there have been constant tutorials on Kuaishou’s live streaming on the Internet, because there is no entry to apply for live streaming in the product. Judging from the various tutorials on how to get live streaming permissions circulating online, the rules should be constantly changing, but the format is still hidden with no direct entry. I have not personally tested the activation of live broadcast permissions, and the Kuaishou official website does not explain the specific rules. There should be some correct methods in the online tutorials. Although it is more complicated for users to open live broadcast permissions themselves, they can often see live broadcasts hidden in the video stream. Similar to the functions of some mainstream live streaming platforms, you can give gifts to the anchor, light up likes, comment on and forward the live broadcast.

2. Product perspective

1) Core business logic

From the birth of GIF Kuaishou in March 2011 to Kuaishou today, Kuaishou has completed a gorgeous transformation from a tool-type product to a short video social product, and its core business logic is different from the original pure tool-type product.

The core business logic of the current version of Kuaishou is very clear, allowing users who come to the Kuaishou platform to see interesting and exciting works, and users who are interested in them can provide more support; users who gain fans receive encouragement and support and will continue to produce video content. Video content is the social bond between users.

2) Core business processes

By restoring the core business logic, we can sort out two core business lines: watching short video works and following the producer users, and uploading and publishing short video works. For video production and uploading, there is also an optional step in this process to promote the work. This refers to a function that was launched around September 2016, which will be analyzed in detail later.

3) Product Information Architecture

Clarify the business logic and processes of Kuaishou, and finally restore the information architecture of the entire product.

It can be seen that Kuaishou's information architecture is clear, concise and lightweight. The three tabs of "Follow, Discover, and Same City" on the homepage have not changed since the transformation in October 2013.

Summary: From the user's perspective, the overall style of Kuaishou is very concise and clear, even simple and rough. There are two main things you can do when entering Kuaishou: watch videos and post videos. For watching videos, the operation path is extremely short and you can just click and watch; and the operation cost and learning cost of posting videos are very low (except for hidden functions), and it is very easy to get started, so even new users do not need guidance prompts to guide user operations. From a product perspective, Kuaishou's product design has a clear overall logic, is light and has no excessive additions. It has always used the original product architecture and has a unique style.

4. Product Analysis

After restoring the product from the user and product perspectives, we have already had a preliminary understanding of Kuaishou. Now this part will use a reverse analysis method to analyze why Kuaishou has grown into such a product or why the creators of Kuaishou want to shape it into such a product.

1. Product positioning

The positioning of a product depends on two important factors: whose needs it solves . Here we also analyze from these two aspects.

1) Core requirements

Here we first review the iterative process of Kuaishou from its birth to the present. From this iterative timeline chart, we can see that the original Kuaishou was just a pure tool product whose core function was to create GIF animations. However, since the end of 2012, Kuaishou has gradually transformed into a short video social product and successfully completed the transformation in 2013. In 2016, it launched the live broadcast function. It can be said that it has completely got rid of the shadow of a tool product. Now the core function of Kuaishou is to watch short videos and make and upload short videos.

Therefore, if we use the old-fashioned "Maslow" to understand the core user needs that Kuaishou currently meets, it can be said that Kuaishou meets the third, fourth, and even fifth levels of needs. Users can see content that interests them on Kuaishou, and interact with producers (Kuaishou's name for video makers) to meet their social and entertainment needs ; producers can gain support, encouragement, and praise by making and uploading short videos to satisfy their sense of accomplishment and identity ; and some deep users, such as some producers with millions of fans, have used Kuaishou as a way of self-realization.

Kuaishou is now a short video social product. Users can use it for after-dinner entertainment, to record and share daily life, or as a stage to showcase themselves and realize themselves. It serves the core needs of users for social interaction, entertainment, recognition and achievement, and self-realization .

2) Target users

Even today, when Kuaishou is very popular, people's first impression of it may still be that it is down-to-earth or even vulgar, and they believe that most Kuaishou users are distributed in rural areas or small fifth- and sixth-tier cities, but the reality is not the case. Data from a research institute shows that the geographical distribution of Kuaishou users is mainly in second-tier, third-tier and fourth-tier cities, with users in towns and rural areas accounting for only 14.2% . Therefore, it is not true that most of the users on Kuaishou are from rural areas. It is just people’s speculation. Some articles have analyzed before that Kuaishou’s original target users were rural users, and it took the route of surrounding the cities from the countryside. However, the author does not agree with these views, and here is an analysis and interpretation from the following points:

In an exclusive interview, Kuaishou CEO Su Hua revealed that when he and Cheng Yixiao decided to start a partnership, they set some basic principles for Kuaishou: to be used by ordinary people, not to be star-oriented, not to promote celebrities, and to be an "invisible" hand . The concept of "ordinary people" is really too broad. Most people in the world are ordinary people. Su Hua also said , "We think that ordinary people really need a platform to showcase themselves, no matter if they are in second- or third-tier cities or in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen. It's not just about going to a platform to watch internet celebrities or stars, but to showcase themselves." Therefore, from the intentions of the founders of Kuaishou, it can be seen that Kuaishou does not intend to target rural users, but that any ordinary person can become a Kuaishou user.

If we can conclude from the first point mentioned above that Kuaishou’s target users are China’s 800 million Internet users, then in these places I believe that Kuaishou wants to target Internet users around the world. Two small details: When registering on Kuaishou, you can choose the country of your mobile phone number, and the apps you can choose when sharing are Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These two details were available in very early versions of Kuaishou. It can be said that Kuaishou’s original intention was to look globally. Let’s take a look at the slogan on Kuaishou’s official website: The choice of 500 million users worldwide, Kuaishou, records the world and records you. With 500 million users worldwide, Kuaishou’s slogan seems to be in line with its original intention. Back to the product, in "Discovery" you can often see short videos posted by Chinese people living in foreign countries or short videos posted by foreign friends in China. Therefore, Kuaishou’s target users are not segmented too much , but just “ordinary people” around the world.

After clarifying Kuaishou’s core needs and target users, we can say that Kuaishou’s product positioning is to provide a social platform for recording, sharing and displaying for global Internet users.

2. Operational Model

As a short video social product, Kuaishou presents content on the platform in the form of UGC short videos. There are a large number of players in both short video and social fields, and the operating logic of the top players is also very clear. For example, Weibo, a new media social networking platform, has been following the route of celebrities and big Vs since its inception. After investing in Miaopai, it has integrated its original style and adopted the PGC short video model. Momo, which expanded from stranger social networking, also recommends nearby short videos based on its original genes.
On the other hand, Kuaishou is quite unique. There seems to be no obvious trace of operation in Kuaishou. It can even be said that the operation is handed over to the users . Let’s analyze the performance from several aspects of the product:

• Recommended short video works in "Discover" , Kuaishou can be said to be a technology-driven company. Both founders are from a technical background, and the video works in "Discover" are recommended through algorithms, recommending more related and similar content based on what has been watched.
• User relationships : There are no label groupings for short video works in Kuaishou. Whatever the user creates is what it is. Users can follow others and may also be followed by others. Kuaishou will not take any individual actions against popular users. Everyone’s identity is just a Kuaishou user. However, it was discovered that around September 2016, Kuaishou launched user authentication but no authentication application entry was found. I will discuss my speculation on this action later.
• Regarding management rules , the Kuaishou platform seems to have a very high degree of freedom, but in fact there is an invisible hand controlling the content of the platform. Illegal and immoral content is absolutely prohibited on the platform. I remember that there was a period of time when fighting hype was very popular on Kuaishou. Two people insulted and provoked each other in the video, and there was even a "real" "fight" video. In response, Kuaishou took two actions: permanently banning the account (regardless of how many fans the banned user has) and closing the jump to the @ user (before it was closed, clicking on the @ user could jump directly to his or her personal homepage. People who hyped each other up could use this function more easily to add fuel to the flames, and this function is still closed today). Since then, there have been no videos of fights. It can be seen that Kuaishou’s attitude towards user rules is to firmly resist the rule of bad content and everyone is equal.

Kuaishou does have a unique operating model, which not only hands the platform to users but also imposes invisible constraints on them . The number of videos uploaded to Kuaishou in a single day reached 2.6 million in June 2015, and the number will be even larger in the future. In addition to its own supervision, Kuaishou’s official website also has a module called “Self-Discipline Committee”. Kuaishou users can apply to become a member of the committee. I think this method is very clever. Users can also supervise users, but the official will not touch users too much.

3. Business Model

Kuaishou, which was born in an era of a hundred schools of thought, adopted a relatively conventional To C free model from its initial tool products. It took four years of accumulation and finally exploded in June 2015. At that time, Kuaishou, which had exceeded 100 million users, also began to explore ways to realize commercialization.

1) Advertising

Speaking of advertising, I think this may be the method that Kuaishou is most reluctant to use at the moment. According to XVC's Hu Boyu, when he invested in Kuaishou, the most likely business model he had in mind was short video advertising . Just this year, Kuaishou also really tried video streaming ads. I believe that many Kuaishou users have seen a game advertisement with a style similar to the "One Sword 999, Imperial City PK, and Heaven Slaying Dragon" that often pops up on web pages, but the one in Kuaishou is a mobile game, and the one seen on the PC is a web game.

Let me first share some of my opinions. This type of video stream ad is actually very hidden and looks like a feed stream ad. If you don’t notice the grayscale label or don’t click to watch it, you really don’t know that it is an ad. After clicking to watch, the entire page and the functions on the page are no different from other short videos. In terms of the form of advertising push, I think the video streaming ads have a weak sense of implantation and appear very natural, and basically do not interfere with users. Moreover, Kuaishou’s short video recommendations are based on technical algorithms, and it is actually easier to make personalized advertisements than some large video sites that started out with traditional advertising. Therefore, I believe that video streaming advertising is a long-term viable channel. However, I remember that after seeing that game advertisement, I didn’t see any advertisements on Kuaishou for a long time.

Let’s talk about Kuaishou’s attitude. When it comes to attitude, Kuaishou is really low-key and restrained , which seems to be inseparable from the personalities of the two founders. In fact, there can be many advertising entrances. The flash advertising page after the welcome page is a very good advertising position, but Kuaishou does not even have a welcome page and just comes and goes quietly. After trying video streaming ads, it seems that it did not continue to work and instead stopped.

Based on the current situation of Kuaishou, the author has some speculations on this: Although it has 500 million users, Kuaishou's tone seems to have been labeled as low and vulgar by the media and the public early on. Even though it has received tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, some capital players still view Kuaishou with a curious eye. Kuaishou’s image in public opinion is just like Momo’s back then. Once the hat is put on, it is difficult to take it off. This has also led to many high-end advertisers not daring to advertise on Kuaishou even though they see huge traffic. If Kuaishou accepts advertisements that cater to the labels attached to it by the public, its transformation will only become increasingly difficult. This is why I speculate that Kuaishou has not made drastic progress in the advertising field.

2) Fans Headlines

The Fans Headlines feature was launched in 2016. Its product logic is that users can pay a certain fee to have their short video works pinned to the top of their fans' "Follow" video stream and push them to a certain number of users' "Discover" video streams, thereby giving the works more exposure. This function can be said to be a value-added service, aimed at users who have a strong need to increase their followers.

There are many grassroots internet celebrities in Kuaishou, which has 500 million users. In addition to some big-name internet celebrities such as Tianyou who have flowed in from other platforms, many internet celebrities in Kuaishou who now have over a million fans are native to Kuaishou. More and more users want to be surrounded by people and gain a sense of recognition and accomplishment, and some even regard becoming an Internet celebrity as a way of self-realization. So in the face of these users' strong demands, the product must of course do its best to meet them, but at the same time users are required to pay a certain fee, because it is not a universal function and not 80% of users need such a service. Of course, for a considerable number of users, the purpose of acquiring a large number of fans is not just spiritual satisfaction. Users also want to monetize through fans or this is the ultimate goal. However, no matter what the user's purpose is, as long as it does not violate the law or morality, it will be accepted.

In addition, many people see the possibility of profiteering, even through unfair means, on platforms with hundreds of millions of fans, so the business of selling fans can be said to be long-lasting on such platforms with fan effects. Instead of letting such unfair behavior disrupt the rules, it is better to do it yourself and standardize and formalize it. The logic here is similar to that of VIP players in the game who need to spend money to get better and more advanced services.

Combining the above aspects, it can be said that Kuaishou’s current value-added services just happen to be in line with the users’ mutual consent, so it is entirely possible to continue exploring and digging into them. However, they are not the main means of profit. Currently, the entrance to this function is relatively deep in the “Settings” of the “Personal Center”.

3) Live broadcast

Kuaishou’s live streaming function was also launched in 2016, ahead of Fans Headlines. This year was also the first year of the live streaming boom, and the intensity of the Thousands of Live Streaming Wars was no less than the Hundred Regiments War of that year. As a short video company, Kuaishou entered the live streaming market at this time. I think this strategic decision is very wise. The following is an analysis of the logic behind it from the following points:

(1) After the number of Kuaishou users exceeded 100 million in 2015, it began to explore business models, and the internet celebrities on Kuaishou have also been trying various ways to monetize. Initially, the most common way for these internet celebrities to advertise was through advertising, but as Kuaishou increased its regulatory supervision and advertisers set higher requirements for the number of real fans, advertising was gradually abandoned. Then this seems to require the emergence of a point of fit to simultaneously meet user needs and product business goals. Live streaming happened to explode in 2016, and the simple logic for monetization was that fans gave gifts to the anchors, and the anchors earned income while the platform took a share . This is also the most common way to play trading platform products, taking a share of the profits. Then the internet celebrities on Kuaishou can continuously monetize themselves through another form of self-presentation, namely live streaming, and they only need to pay a certain platform fee. Such a transaction is acceptable to most internet celebrity users. And if these internet celebrity users can continue to monetize, it means that Kuaishou can continue to monetize.

(2) Before Kuaishou started live streaming, the platform only provided video content. For the comedians, dancers, love song princes, etc. in these videos, their fans want to see a side of their lives, and these internet celebrities also need some more direct ways to reach and interact with their fans. There is no need to rehearse repeatedly when shooting videos, nor is there the need to deliberately put oneself into a certain role. Internet celebrities in live broadcasts show themselves closer to real life, so live broadcasts just happen to provide such a scenario.

(3) The overall market environment: when opportunities arise, everyone wants to get a piece of the pie, but whether they can get a piece of the pie still depends on the attributes of their own products. In 2016, when live streaming was at its peak, live streaming platforms, e-commerce giants, social networking giants, music giants and even Internet phone giants all got involved in the live streaming war. In fact, apart from the live streaming platform, the product attributes that are closest to it are still videos. The two can easily complement each other. The anchor cannot interact with fans 24 hours a day but can continue the interaction by updating videos. Videos cannot interact well with fans but can enhance relationships and stickiness through live streaming. So it was really clever and logical for Kuaishou to enter the market at this time.

To sum up, live streaming is a path that Kuaishou must take. Let’s go back to its current products and look at Kuaishou’s current strategy. The previous article has briefly introduced Kuaishou’s live broadcast function, which is still relatively restrained at present. Not every user has the right to live broadcast. Certain conditions must be met, but these conditions are implicit. Kuaishou has no public rules, and users who do not have the right to live broadcast cannot see the live broadcast entrance. The control over live broadcast content is also quite strict, with 24-hour manual inspections. The author has seen a host who encouraged fans to give gifts by slapping himself on the mouth, of course, with some jokes and talents interspersed in between. The second time the host slapped his mouth, the live broadcast was suddenly interrupted. At that time, the author realized that it must have been blocked by the patrol. Later, an apology short video sent by the host also confirmed the author's guess.
Therefore, taking a commission from live streaming is the best means of monetization and should be Kuaishou’s main source of revenue at present. A 50% share of gift income is still very objective, but Kuaishou’s attitude towards this is still relatively restrained. Perhaps it still wants to further verify it before gradually relaxing it.

Summary: This section analyzes Kuaishou from three dimensions: product positioning, operation model, and business model, combined with the author's observations and some objective data. It can be said that Kuaishou has far-reaching goals and great ambitions, unique means and courage to try, but it has always maintained a low-key and steady style.

5. Core Competitiveness Analysis

In addition to native products like Kuaishou, players in the short video field, including Momo, Weibo, and Toutiao, which have a huge user base, are also beginning to gradually focus on short videos. Then the author selected three competing products of Kuaishou (including direct competitors and indirect competitors) to analyze Kuaishou’s core competitiveness from three dimensions.
Let me first explain why I chose Meipai, Momo, and Huoshan Video as competitive product samples: Meipai, the field of short video comprehensive platform, is right behind Kuaishou in the monthly active rankings, and it also started early in the short video field. The target users may be quite different, but the author will make an analysis and comparison from certain aspects; Momo is the giant involved in other fields mentioned by the author in the previous article, and it is currently developing well and is continuing to increase its promotion efforts. Some media also pointed out that Momo’s withdrawal from short videos is to block Kuaishou; Huoshan Video, as a rising star, is far inferior to Kuaishou in size, but it has the strong support of its parent company Toutiao. Maybe Huoshan Video was targeted at Kuaishou when it was first born. Now it seems that there are indeed many similarities. It can be said to be Kuaishou’s most direct competitor.

1. Core Functions

Let’s first look at the ranking of mobile application short video platforms in January 2017. Kuaishou ranks first with 80 million monthly active users, far ahead of similar products such as Meipai and Miaopai.

Here we will first list and compare the functions of Kuaishou with Meipai, Huoshan Video, and Momo. I would like to add that when Zhang Boyu invested in Kuaishou, he used it as a benchmark against the foreign Vine (the originator of short video social networking, which closed in 2016), but it is said that Kuaishou’s benchmark is actually Instagram.

1) Watch the video

Kuaishou’s basic function of watching short videos is not much different from the other three competing products. However, it is worth noting that unlike Meipai and Momo, Kuaishou does not support direct forwarding of short videos, which may be for the protection of users’ original content . Huoshan Video, which is comparable to Kuaishou, also does not have the forwarding function. Kuaishou did not directly reward short video content, that is, send gifts, and Huoshan Video followed suit. The barrage function is relatively rare in short videos. Due to the unique characteristics of Meipai products, it is reasonable to directly shoot a 5-minute video and upload it to add barrage. The longest shooting time of Kuaishou is only 57 seconds and it is hidden (mentioned in the previous article), Huoshan Video is 15 seconds, and Momo can record up to 1 minute. In addition, except for Meipai, the short videos of the other three products have no play/pause and progress control, and can be watched immediately after clicking. There is also compression processing for short videos. The cache size of a 57-second video on Kuaishou is 7MB, while that of Huoshan Video is 16.94MB. Meipai's compression processing has taken up very little space, with a 4-minute video taking up only 4MB, but the picture quality is not so ideal, while Kuaishou's picture quality almost maintains the original.

To summarize, Kuaishou's functions for watching short videos have no additional functions other than the basic functions, and it does not have a reward function like Meipai and Momo. It purely provides users with the most extreme viewing experience.

2) Make a video

Kuaishou has spent a long time polishing its short video production capabilities, and has many editing features for users to use. Basic functions such as music, special effects, and filters are all presented in a navigation menu format. The operating logic is clear and easy to understand, so I won't go into too much analysis here. From the table, we can see that frame-by-frame editing is a unique feature of Kuaishou among its three competing products. It is an advanced feature that can edit a specific frame in a short video individually.

If the basic editing functions satisfy ordinary users, then the advanced editing functions are provided for some more fanatical users, allowing them to carefully polish their video works. The function of stitching two pictures together is also one of the first functions launched by Kuaishou. It may be a gene left over from the initial creation of GIF animations. It is similar to the puzzle of pictures and is quite practical and interesting. The accelerated voice-changing function is unique to Meipai, and based on the product characteristics of short videos of up to 5 minutes, the use of the accelerated voice-changing function can be said to be icing on the cake, giving users more gameplay, but it is not suitable for Kuaishou's product attributes. Kuaishou does not have a countdown function. I think the logic is similar to watching short videos, which is simple and easy to use, just click and shoot.

Compared with the three competing products, Kuaishou started earlier in the short video field, and has been operating for nearly four years from 2013 to now. The user experience of the core video production function is very complete in terms of logic, process and operation, which not only meets basic needs but also provides exciting functions. For players who have only recently entered the field like Momo and Huoshan Video, there is still a long way to catch up.

3) Watch live broadcast

The live streaming function was launched by Kuaishou in 2016, the first year of live streaming, and the other three competing products also launched the live streaming function in the same year (Huoshan Video came with the live streaming function when it was launched). It can also be seen from the function comparison table that compared with the other two products, Kuaishou’s functions for watching live broadcasts are very simple, and are basically the basic core functions. In contrast, Momo is more comprehensive and has all the exciting features such as screenshot, recording and even barrage. It is difficult to say what the user experience is like here. Some users like simplicity, while others like comprehensiveness.
The author believes that there is still a lot of room for Kuaishou to explore in the iteration of live streaming. Kuaishou has not yet adopted the full-screen mode that the other three have adopted, and there are still many expandable functions. However, based on Kuaishou's style, it should proceed steadily and iterate gradually without being radical.

2. User Composition

Here we will analyze and compare the user composition of Kuaishou and its competitors from two dimensions: user attributes and user behavior. The analysis data used are all based on active users in January 2017 as data samples.

1) User attributes

① User gender

Female users make up the majority of Kuaishou’s users, accounting for 66.99%. This may be inconsistent with the perception of some users. Most of the funny short videos produced on Kuaishou are male. Momo has a natural social gene, so it is normal that the majority of its users are male. The proportion of male users of Volcano Video is very high. From the author's observation, Volcano Video seems to be relying on the beauty effect. Meipai's product positioning also makes the proportion of female users reach an absolute high of 95.49%.

②User age

The age distribution of Kuaishou users is still dominated by those born after 1990, accounting for more than 50%; Meipai is also favored by young people. In contrast, users born after 1980 account for a large proportion of Huoshan Video and Momo.

③User's city line

As mentioned in the previous article, Kuaishou may be mostly used by users in towns and rural areas in the public's impression, but this is not actually the case. Users in first-, second- and third-tier cities account for an absolute proportion, while the user distribution patterns of the other three competing products are roughly the same.

④User spending power

From the perspective of user spending power, the distribution of user spending power of the four products is roughly the same.

To sum up, the geographical distribution and consumption capacity of Kuaishou's users are not much different from those of the other three competing products. The gender distribution of users is determined by the product genes, and Kuaishou is also popular among young users. Let’s take a look at the user overlap between Kuaishou and the other three competing products.

Huoshan Video, which has just started, also has a natural disadvantage in terms of user base and a very low degree of overlap. On the contrary, the user overlap with Momo is relatively high, reaching 5.2516 million. But in fact, overall, Kuaishou's user structure is still relatively large compared to the other three competing products, and Kuaishou still has a large user base to explore with more attributes.

2) User Behavior

① Average number of daily startups per user

Compared with Momo, which has a natural social gene, Kuaishou is indeed much inferior in terms of the number of daily launches per person, but it still has a clear advantage over Meipai and Huoshan Video.

② Average daily usage time per user

The average daily usage time of the four products is not much different. Meipai has a natural advantage of 5-minute videos, so its average daily usage time is slightly higher than that of Kuaishou. However, it is worth noting that Huoshan Video, where the maximum length of a single short video is only 15 seconds, has an average daily usage time of 42.01 points. Its user stickiness is still very high and should not be underestimated.

3. Business Model

In the previous article, the author has made a relatively detailed analysis of the business models that Kuaishou has tried or is already operating. Here, the author would like to talk about its core competitiveness compared to its competitors from this perspective.

1) Advertising

There is no obvious movement in Kuaishou’s advertising so far, and it can be said that it is just a taste of the topic. However, for a product like Momo that started out as a social networking product, advertising has long been one of its main means of profit, with advertising entrances mainly on the startup page and welcome page. There are no obvious signs of Meipai and Huoshan Video's attempts at advertising. Although Meipai has set up a banner in the live broadcast module, it currently only recommends the product’s own content. Huoshan Video was born with a live broadcast module, and there are currently no signs of exploring other modes.

2) Live broadcast

I would like to focus on live streaming. From the series of live streaming products that were born in the first year of live streaming to the giant players that entered the market later, it seems that everyone has recognized that live streaming is a piece of fat meat. This is indeed the case. The model is simple and the monetization speed is extremely fast. But everyone has different ways of playing. Please forgive me for having to bring some personal color here, because I really appreciate Kuaishou's low-key and restrained attitude. Let’s first take a look at the live streaming models of Kuaishou’s competitors.

Huoshan Video was born with live streaming, and the first tab on the homepage is the live streaming module . However, in my experience, most of the hosts on the screen are beautiful women, which may be one of the reasons why the proportion of male users reached 84.47% in the active user statistics in January 2017. In addition to sending gifts to interact with the host, Huoshan Video also allows users to post barrages (each barrage consumes 1 diamond, and the official recharge of 1 diamond = 0.1 RMB) and send red envelopes in the live broadcast room.

The author tried the red envelope function. The number and amount of red envelopes cannot be customized. It is equivalent to a fixed package with 3 types of red envelopes to choose from, requiring payment of 20, 200, and 2000 diamonds respectively. The red envelopes sent out can be grabbed by the audience in the live broadcast, including myself and the anchor. The impact of barrage and red envelopes on the revenue of Volcano Video products is still very small. The average order value of barrage is too low, and the active user base of Volcano Video is currently only in the millions. Red envelopes are only circulated among users and will not generate secondary income. The focus is still on the sharing of gift income. Volcano Video’s gift sharing for individual anchors is 60%, and for guild anchors it is 50%. The share of personal gifts is higher than the average, but I have not done in-depth research on the guild system.

The gift amount of Volcano Video ranges greatly, from 1 diamond to 30,000 diamonds, and the change in the middle value is not smooth. The author feels that such a gift amount setting is too radical. When experiencing the current version, it is found that there are many users who send the lowest value gifts, but very few users who send the highest value gifts. Even in the live broadcast rooms of extremely popular anchors, the frequency of sending the highest value gifts is very low. The average order value is too high, so the threshold for users who intend to send gifts is actually high because the anchors do not care about sending low value gifts, and it cannot satisfy the vanity of consumer users.

The functions of Momo Live are similar to those of Huoshan Video. It can also send barrages and red envelopes, and the gift amounts range widely, from 1 Momo coin to 18,888 Momo coins (official recharge of 1 Momo coin = 0.1 RMB).
Meipai's functions are relatively simple, without barrages and red envelopes. The range of gift amounts is relatively smoother than that of Huoshan Video and Momo Live, with a minimum value of 1 gold coin and a maximum value of 5,200 gold coins.

Now let's look at Kuaishou, which has a very simple function. The lowest gift amount is 1 Kuaishou coin and the highest is only 328 Kuaishou coins . Recharge on iOS requires in-app purchases on the App Store (42 Kuaishou coins = 6 yuan). This gift amount pricing system seems to be more affordable, so everyone can enjoy it, whether they are so-called "rich" users or ordinary users. Compared with Huoshan Video, Meipai, and Momo Gift, whose average order value is dozens of times higher, Kuaishou appears to be much more low-key and restrained. Its overly smooth pricing system actually gives users more choices. Even though it’s not as drastic as other competitors, the result is as Hu Boyu said, “No one knew this app could make so much money from live streaming.”

Kuaishou’s gift share is only 50%, which is the industry average. Unlike other competitors, users can obtain live broadcast permissions through identity authentication. So far, Kuaishou’s live broadcast permissions are still issued in the form of invitations. Here, the author believes that there are two reasons why Kuaishou still uses this method: one is Kuaishou’s own low-key restraint, and the other is to create a sense of scarcity to encourage users to create more and better works. At present, Kuaishou's strategy is still effective, and the author boldly speculates that Kuaishou's live broadcast rights will not be completely released in the next year.

3) Others

In addition to the mainstream models, the fan headlines mentioned in the previous article are a good attempt that can motivate users to convert, so that it is not limited to making profits from internet celebrity users. Compared with the other three competing products, except for Momo’s original membership value-added services, Meipai and Huoshan Video have not made any original attempts.

Summary: From the above three perspectives, Kuaishou has demonstrated its unique charm, whether in the long-term polishing of its core functions, the breadth of its user attributes or the steady development of its business model. This is also a reflection of its core competitiveness. I believe that Kuaishou can remain invincible in the more intense competition in the future with its unique approach.

VI. Conclusion

It took Kuaishou 4 years from March 2011 to June 2015 to accumulate 100 million users and then exploded. Today, Kuaishou has over 500 million users worldwide and completed a USD 350 million Series D financing in March this year. Looking back at Kuaishou's financing history, it actually did not have the rapid development of currently very popular products such as shared bicycles. It seems that it has been quietly accumulating and steadily increasing users in the past four years of 2015.

Kuaishou's dormant period was really long, during which it had almost no promotion and no media exposure, but it created an Internet myth in this way.

Looking back at the current short video market, comprehensive short video platforms (comprehensive platforms that integrate production, dissemination, and interaction) have become the mainstream of the current market. The leading ones are Kuaishou, Meipai, and Miaopai, while short video aggregation platforms (aggregating a large number of external short videos and integrating them into the platform) have a rapid growth in users. Some giant players that have entered from other fields, such as Momo and Toutiao, have already taken shape and occupied a place in the market. This year, both AT giants have made moves. On March 23, Kuaishou announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$350 million, led by Tencent. On March 31, Tudou announced its full transformation into a short video platform, which will become the landing point of Alibaba's short video strategy for large-scale entertainment and will launch a short video application "tudoo" for the Asian market in May this year. From the overall situation, the popularity of short videos will continue to rise in 2017.

In the field of comprehensive short video platforms, Kuaishou currently continues to lead with 80 million monthly active users, followed closely by Meipai and Miaopai, and the newcomer Huoshan Video is also making continuous moves.

In terms of user penetration rate, Kuaishou ranked third in the first quarter. Miaopai and Toutiao Video mostly relied on their product features, especially Miaopai’s cooperation with Weibo, and their user penetration rate reached 62.2%. However, as a native player in the short video industry, Kuaishou does not rely on any traffic entrance, and its penetration rate of 45.1% is also very impressive compared to similar players.

After its Series D financing, Kuaishou said that the new round of financing will be used to continuously improve product experience and technology research and development, and the overall style will remain low-key and stable. Judging from some of Kuaishou’s recent actions, such as officially certified users and becoming the top sponsor of “Running Man”, the author speculates that Kuaishou’s future development will focus on building its brand to reverse its low-end impression in some public opinion, increase its promotion efforts to expand user acquisition channels, and at the same time continuously improve the product experience for existing users to bring users more fun.

postscript

The whole article is a bit long, with over ten thousand words. First of all, I would like to thank my friends who have persisted in reading it to the end. Although I have written more than 10,000 words, I feel that this is only a brief analysis of the Kuaishou product. In fact, it is the same for analyzing any product. If you want to understand it thoroughly, it definitely takes a certain amount of time. Just like making your own product, you need to constantly polish and comprehend it. I hope all of you product friends can work hard on the product road.

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