Where is the future of new media operations?

A few months ago, a friend who works in new media operations came to me for consultation. He said that he felt that new media operations had no future. Weibo was no longer viable, and WeChat had many restrictions on marketing . His own growth had become very slow, so he wanted to change jobs, but he didn’t know what to change to. He was also worried that other positions did not necessarily require people with a new media background who had no technical skills.

I saw the same question on Zhihu today, about thinking about ways out and quickly changing jobs. I think this is what students who are still working in new media operations on the front line are thinking about, right? And I know that more than 90% of you are unhappy with what you are doing. There are actually two questions when it comes down to it: First, what is the value of this experience in new media operations? The second is which direction you can turn.

Let me tell you about myself first:

I was one of the first to enter this new media industry when Weibo was just emerging. I have worked in corporate Weibo operations and as a grassroots account that charged money for posting advertisements. I have also participated in the behind-the-scenes planning of some Weibo "hype" events. Later, I switched to the Internet industry to do product operations . Last year, because I was exposed to more market lines, I started to manage new media again. I have deeply felt the changes in the new media environment in recent years. If I am not on the front line for three months, I will find that the previous routines are no longer applicable.

My experience working in new media has helped me grow a lot. It’s not just the improvement of my writing skills, PS drawing level and aesthetic taste, nor is it the self-taught front-end coding skills for the sake of studying H5. These are not important. I think the key is what kind of thinking is used in new media.

When interpreting the position of new media operation from the perspective of an Internet practitioner, what I see is " product manager thinking" and "product operation thinking".

What are we talking about when we talk about a qualified new media operation?

▍Understand the product

Everything is inseparable from the product. Operations separated from the product are equal to zero. Many students who work in new media operations like to post jokes and inspiring stories. This will make the data look good, and it will also be true if a lot of comments are forwarded, but it is meaningless if no one talks about your product.

I am still not very optimistic about the Genius Red Panda’s Weibo advertisement. After everyone saw it, they laughed and forwarded it. Think carefully, which advertiser do you still remember now? When the joke in a Weibo post is too bright and even overshadows the product, users’ focus will be on the joke and they will automatically ignore the product . Is there any meaning to such a Weibo post? No.

So I think the first point of new media operation is to understand the product, to what extent? Be familiar with the history of the product and every functional point, understand the user's usage scenarios; know what is most attractive about the product to users; be able to quickly locate and solve all problems raised by users. I even have my own thoughts on the product itself, and all of this is based on my understanding of the product.

▍Understand the user

Do you still believe in the data reports on the characteristics of post-95s on the Internet? OUT, have you ever thought about where these data come from?

The understanding of users is based on long-term contact with users, becoming one with users, and solving user problems. The Weibo fans and WeChat listeners that new media operators face every day are all users. Their joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, preferences, and characteristics are imprinted in their minds through careful observation and repeated verification.

Trying to understand users by looking at a few data reports circulating on the Internet is the most unreliable. Would I tell you that the data I made up in one night was reported as news by many mainstream media?

▍Understand communication

What is the best way to attract fans on Weibo now? What method can be used to detonate the circle of friends on WeChat? What are the tricks of the H5 pages that everyone is making that can make fans willing to spread it. The form has been changing, but the methodology has not changed, that is, the logic of communication, the three elements of triggering point, communication node, and communication form.

Therefore, what new media operators should think about is definitely not where the way out is, but what you have done in this position. The key is to what extent you have achieved in the three dimensions of product, user and communication. This is the value of the new media operation work experience ; job transfer is just a matter of time and process.

I didn’t use the term new media operations editor at first because I felt that the qualifier “editor” could not cover the real job of new media operations. The industry jokingly calls itself the Chief Weibo/ WeChat Operations Officer (CWO), which I think is a good idea.

After sorting out the work value of new media operations, let's see where the way out is:

Product Line:

As I said just now, the first point in new media operations is to have sufficient understanding of your own products. All product operations are interconnected. A product manager who works on security products can also be successful if he switches to working on browsers because he understands the product, not just security products.

Understanding a product is essentially an understanding of user needs and user scenarios. Be with users for a long time, be down-to-earth, and know what ordinary users need and like most. At least you understand the characteristics of users of social products. Otherwise, how can you work on the two major social platforms of Weibo and WeChat?

Turn your usual complaints about Sina Weibo into your product optimization plan. As for writing requirement documents and drawing product prototypes with Axure, these are just formalities and you can learn them quickly with someone teaching you. What’s more, have you ever designed H5 games ? Isn’t this your product experience?

▍Operation line:

New media operation operates new media channels. Product operation, what is operated is the product. What if we treat new media accounts as a product? You are both a product manager and a product operator.

For product operation lines, new media is often an important carrier. First of all, it has to be said that the event operations of many companies still need to be implemented on new media. For companies that have no user accumulation in their products, new media is an external channel for user operations , such as Xiaomi’s user operation channel matrix - Weibo, WeChat, Community, and MiTalk.

These are simple words to say, but they require careful consideration to do.

▍Market Line:

I will not elaborate on the marketing line. In many companies, new media operations belong to the marketing and public relations system, so you should be clear about what the marketing line usually does. What is converted is only the channel carrier.

It seems that it is talking about two job directions in the Internet industry, but in fact it is two sets of thinking methods, which are also applicable to other industries.

Finally, some people may ask when is the right time to consider changing jobs? I have two suggestions:

▍One year

One year is not enough to truly understand the product, understand the users, and develop your own sense of communication logic, but I also don’t recommend that a person spend too much time on new media. Using this platform as a job will deprive you of a lot of fun in life.

If you have a leader who sets KPI data randomly and you have no way to convince him, fire him decisively and go to a reliable third-party for training, and work on the same client's case for at least one year.

▍Have your own cases

How can I tell the next job interviewer that I am suitable for this job?

Case! Marketers, you have nothing else to prove yourself except cases. Don’t talk about cold numbers like the number of fans or reposts.

According to the three dimensions I mentioned above, bring your case and tell your story well, and I believe finding a way out will not be a problem.