This article comprehensively explains the framework, resources, risks, and review of event operations . 1. System Framework of Activity Operation Event operation from entry to advanced:- Basic overview of event operations and typical questions for newcomers
- Activity Requirements/Goal Analysis
- Activity theme/Activity gameplay
- Activity Resource Assessment
- Activity plan design/writing
The current preliminary assessment shows that there are 10 articles, and minor adjustments may occur during the actual writing. Releasing these frameworks is to set a flag for myself, hoping to complete this series under everyone's supervision. At the same time, it also forces myself to systematize what I have done. 01. What is event operation? Event operation is a relatively mature position among the current operations positions, unlike user operation, where the tasks done may vary greatly. From various operation books and courses, the definition of activity operation is relatively unified. Combined with my personal thinking, it is as follows: Event operation is an operational means to improve operational data indicators by planning and executing activities around a clear goal. Pay attention to a few key words: goals, planning and execution, improving data, and operational means. 02. Characteristics and value of event operation Compared with other operational means, activities have stronger explosive power and are easier to achieve certain operational indicators in the short term; Activities are time-sensitive, and data may fall back or even decrease after the activities; Activities can better link products and users and enhance user experience; This needs to be emphasized. For example, if the usage rate of a certain function of a product has been unsatisfactory, in addition to problems with the function itself, it may be that users are not aware of this function. Through corresponding activities for corresponding functions, as simple as obtaining points red envelopes after use, the user usage rate of this function can be increased in the short term. If a product function can meet user needs well, users may develop a habit of using the function for a long time. Activities can also strengthen the expression of brand tone; Reference NetEase Cloud Music—Hangzhou Metro Mature activities can develop into fixed product functions or even incubate a product; From the Pinduoduo mini-games to the online money-making apps that were popular some time ago, this point is perfectly demonstrated.
03. Four basic modules of the activity The things that need to be done in each module are shown in the figure. Different companies and teams may have some other differences in details, and these are not standard answers. 04. Specific development process Similarly, the development process varies by company and team. The interaction of a small team may be directly handled by visual design or by both product and operations. There is no standard answer here. 2. Target Requirements for Activity Operation The activity requirements received in the daily work of activity operation are mainly divided into two categories: with propositions and without propositions: There are propositional questions: Due to various circumstances, the superior or boss temporarily requires an activity, and what kind of effect is expected to be achieved. No-topic type: You are responsible for the activity operation of a certain product or module. You decide what activities to carry out every quarter, month or even week, as well as the activity rhythm and theme. Regardless of the type of demand, in order to ensure that the ultimate goal can be achieved, it is necessary to analyze the activity demand in three dimensions: Dimension 1: Clarify the purpose and expectations of the activity When many people receive activity requests from their superiors, they immediately rack their brains to think of the theme and format of the activity. After finally coming up with an activity that they think is awesome, they end up having it rejected by their boss on the spot. Whether it is doing activities or other businesses, it is similar. They all require structured thinking and breaking down problems and needs from top to bottom. For example, before doing an activity, we must first clarify the purpose of the activity. There are four common activity purposes: Attract new users: attract new users to the platform Promotion: Promote the activity of old users on the platform Pull collection: drive product revenue Brand: Improve product brand awareness and recognition, usually based on exposure Taking collection as an example, after clarifying the purpose of the activity, the focus of the activity becomes clear, and the main indicator to be improved is the ARPPU value. This value can be divided into the ARPPU of new users and the ARPPU of old users. If it is aimed at old users, the strategies that can be implemented include giving coupons, giving away gifts with a certain amount of purchase, giving away discounts for group purchases, giving away gifts with accumulated recharges, and many other forms of activities. If you are a novice in event operation, you must be concerned about the specific forms of activities, which will be discussed in the next article. After clarifying the purpose of the activity, you must also clarify the specific expectations of the activity. That is, how much data does the activity want to improve? If the specific value cannot be estimated, it is also necessary to clarify the approximate magnitude. Activities of different scales require different levels of resource investment. Clear activity expectations can give you a clear grasp of resource demands and also allow partner departments to have a general idea of the activities. There are two more benefits to clarifying the purpose and expectations of the event: 1) Assist in determining the priority of work items In the actual development process of an activity, there may be certain functions where performance or interaction development cannot be done or the cost of implementation is relatively high. How to rank these priorities and which ones need to be abandoned depends on the goals. Those that have a clear impact on the goals should be given priority, and those that have little impact on the goals can be temporarily abandoned. 2) Ensure that team movements are not deformed During the review process of the activity, everyone in the team will have their own ideas about the activity plan and give various suggestions. Without a clear goal, the activity plan may be distorted by various seemingly correct suggestions and deviate from the original activity goal. Dimension 2: Clarify product life cycle and product rhythm This is not very useful for most newcomers in event operations. The product life cycle is shown in the figure: The form and purpose of activities will vary in different product life cycles: During the product exploration phase, user value is not yet clear, and activities will be relatively restrained, focusing mainly on being active. During the product's explosive growth phase, the focus is on attracting new customers, while during the mature and declining phases, some products focus on attracting revenue. There are also some special points that will affect the product rhythm and require activities to adjust. Let me give you an example from our actual business scenario: In the process of building the platform, for some reasons, we did not control the output of platform coins well in the early stage, resulting in over-issuance of currency. There is too much stock of currency in user accounts, which poses a great risk to the subsequent operation of the platform. The easiest way is to hastily eliminate this currency and replace it with a new one, but it will also cause strong backlash from users. Based on the above considerations, to address this issue, we designed activities that appear to promote the activity of platform users, but are actually intended to consume their platform coins. There are similar situations in other e-commerce platforms. In the early stage, the platform used no-threshold vouchers to attract users. After maturity, the no-threshold vouchers were tightened and replaced by full-reduction vouchers and discount vouchers to satisfy users. Thinking in this dimension mainly relies on the operation’s understanding of the product and platform, and requires close communication between event operations and products. Dimension 3: Clarify the attributes of the user groups that the activity is targeting Products have core user groups that they target, and similarly, activities have user groups that they target. Generally speaking, activities within the platform mainly focus on the user attributes of the platform. When cooperating with other industries and linking platforms, it is necessary to consider the differences between the activity user group and the platform user group. Before planning an event, you need to consider the tone of the event users, what they prefer, what they are sensitive to, etc. For example, the users of our platform are relatively young and are more sensitive to skin-related appearance. So when designing an event, this kind of attire needs to be taken into consideration more. Similarly, in addition to accumulating experience, new operators can also consult and discuss with their predecessors to understand user attributes in the actual work process. Companies that are doing well will have review documents for each event, including the company's user portrait background, etc. These are catalysts for the rapid advancement of new operations and need to be grasped.
3. How to evaluate system resources In the actual product operation process, multiple departments and multiple businesses coexist. Event operations will occupy common resources with other businesses. Before each event planning begins, it is necessary to evaluate what resources the event will require, what resources are available, how to maximize resource utilization, etc. First of all, let’s make it clear that the resources we need for an activity are mainly divided into three parts: Event prize resources, event execution resources, and event promotion resources. It is necessary to clarify whether the event prizes are physical rewards or virtual item rewards. If it is a physical reward, then you also need to consider the inventory of physical prizes, the collection of prize distribution information, the packaging and logistics of physical rewards, etc. The manpower and logistics costs involved also need to be considered. If it is a virtual item reward, you need to consider whether there is an inventory limit for the virtual item, the type of virtual prize, etc. For example, when I was in the gaming department of iQiyi, iQiyi VIP cards were distributed during operational activities. But in fact, VIP cards were not supplied to us indefinitely, and there was a limit on the number. In addition to VIP cards, game vouchers, platform tokens, etc. may also be issued, all of which need to be taken into consideration. 2.Activity execution resources The execution resources for online activities mainly refer to production and research resources. The process of the activity after it comes out of the plan is as follows: From interaction design to the final joint debugging and launch, the above stages were mainly experienced. Some teams do not have interaction design, and the interaction link is absorbed by product and visual designers during the product plan and visual design, which means there is one less link in the overall process. In a normal development cycle, testing time = front-end and back-end development + joint debugging time, so the overall launch time of the activity will be twice as long as the estimated development time of the front-end and back-end. New event operators do not understand the development process and may misjudge the time when the event is launched, thinking that the time when the event is launched is equal to the time when the development is completed. This is especially important.
4. Event Promotion Resources No matter how perfect an event is, it still needs promotional resources to promote it to users. Here is an introduction: Promotional resources are mainly divided into three parts: Own resources, cooperative resources, and paid resources. Own resources are mainly divided into group resources and product resources. Taking iQiyi as an example, the group resources we could use at the time included the iQiyi APP’s opening screen, the homepage focus picture, the APP’s push, WeChat service account, Weibo, and operations positions of other business lines. In-product resources include in-product operation positions, in-site push, SMS push resources, etc. Cooperation resources are divided into: resource exchange and cross-industry cooperation Resource exchange is similar to volume exchange cooperation, and is a form of cooperation often adopted between internal business lines and between companies. A typical example is the traffic exchange cooperation between WeChat mini-programs, where both parties promote each other based on the same number. Cross-industry cooperation is also quite common, especially between the gaming industry and other industries, as shown in the figure: Paid resources include soft articles, PR articles, advertisements, etc. Most of the activities done by newcomers do not involve paid resources, so I will not go into details here. Definition and stratification of risks First, let’s talk about the definition and stratification of risks. There is a risk stratification theory in the stock market, which divides the risks we encounter into three levels: What is systemic risk? It is something that is bound to exist in this ecosystem and cannot be avoided. The most typical example is that there must be economic cycles in the capitalist market, just like there are economic recessions as well as economic booms. Policies can only delay the cycle, but cannot avoid it. The same is true for our activities. Based on the existing entire system, there will inevitably be certain system risks. Just like Pinduoduo’s 10 billion subsidies, no matter how perfect the risk control rules are, it is impossible to avoid the freeloaders, and even normal users become freeloaders to profit from arbitrage. What is man-made risk? It is the risk caused by human factors. For example, if the copywriting of the event is not clearly written, users will not be able to understand and participate in the event. In other words, carelessness leads to failure to synchronize the project progress, resulting in project delays. This type of risk is controllable and can be avoided through comprehensive training and process SOPs. What is strategic risk? It is the different risks brought about by the different strategies we adopt. A typical example is the previous red envelope subsidy scenario: If the amount of the red envelopes I subsidize is large enough, then the number of users and the amount of the red envelopes may be positively correlated, and the more users there are, the more likely they are to receive more red envelopes. However, the operating costs incurred thereby increase. If the amount of the red envelopes I subsidize is too small, the number of users may be smaller, but the operating costs I bear will be reduced. So how much should the red envelope amount be set, and how should the red envelope distribution strategy be determined to ensure maximum incremental benefits? Different levels of red envelopes and distribution strategies will bring different strategic risks. Strategic risks are controllable and are determined by our own product operation capabilities. If the ability is strong enough, the strategic aggressiveness can be strong enough. All we have to do is to minimize human risks, face up to systemic risks, and embrace strategic risks. 2. Risks that may be encountered during the activity There are various risks that may occur from the execution to the launch of an activity, which generally fall into the above three categories. Here are some common risks: Inadequate implementation leads to project delays This type of problem is quite common and may have many causes, such as:- The solution implementation logic is complex and the development and evaluation time is unreasonable
- Frequent changes in plans lead to project delays
- Delays due to asynchronous project collaboration
The above are some typical reasons. For event operations, it is imperative to do a good job of communication and coordination before the project starts. Information synchronization is also required during the execution process. The online effect is not as expected: There are many possible reasons for this type of problem, such as:- User participation is not high
- The promotion effect of the event is not good
- Unreasonable activity process makes it difficult for users to participate
This type of problem generally needs to be considered before the activity begins development, and you must test it several times yourself before the activity goes online. When an activity is launched, especially a key activity, it is necessary to monitor real-time data. Once it is found that the effect is not as good as expected, timely adjustments need to be made. After the event is over, a review document needs to be created, which will be discussed in the next article. Product technical solution loopholes or BUGs lead to serious accidents This type of problem is generally rare, but once it occurs, it is a big problem. Pinduoduo's previous incident with no-threshold coupons was actually a product-level loophole. There was no limit on the number of no-threshold coupons, nor was there any triggering alarm function. The same applies to similar lottery activities we usually do. We must set thresholds and limits to control daily costs and outputs. The event triggered a public opinion crisis This problem rarely occurs on small platforms, but it needs to be paid special attention to on large platforms. For example, if a certain celebrity cheats on his wife or gets divorced, the event operator wants to take advantage of the popularity to run an event. If he does a good job, the traffic will skyrocket. If he does a bad job, it is likely to trigger attacks from the celebrity's fans, leading to uncontrollable public opinion events. If you have no experience in riding on the trend, it is best to seek advice from experienced colleagues or bosses. Otherwise you're just digging a hole for yourself, so it's better not to do it. Activities that violate the law Don’t think that the activities we usually do seem to be far from violating the law. If you don’t understand the law, it is easy to get caught. Typical examples include the "One Yuan Treasure Hunt" and "Sign-in Fund" activities, which violate relevant laws. If the activity involves recharging and cashing out, you must be cautious. It is best to seek advice from legal professionals and not to force yourself to do it. 6. Review When it comes to reviewing the game, many people get numbed scalps: Ah, I have to review it again. What a hassle. I review things all day long, but I don’t know what the point is. It would be great if I could spend more time doing activities. Or, let’s say this happens again: It's time to review the situation again, and start the blame-shifting and quarreling again. I'm so fed up with it. How can I do my job properly? In short, they have no concept of review, or they do not recognize the value of review. Therefore, this article mainly talks about the general review logic, and also talks about the review of activities. 1. The value and significance of review Reviewing the game was originally a term in Go. After playing chess, players usually replay the game: Discover your own mistakes, understand your opponent's chess strategy, and study the most appropriate way to move. Many experts regard "reviewing" as the most important way to improve their chess skills. Later, Lenovo's Liu Chuanzhi introduced the idea of "review" into the field of corporate management, which made the concept of "review" widely spread. Many people complain that they cannot learn anything after working. What they mean by cannot learn anything is that they can no longer acquire new incremental knowledge. In this situation, many people will eventually choose to quit their jobs and change jobs to start a new life in a different environment. And then the cycle repeats itself. It is certainly right to acquire incremental knowledge, but in addition to constantly changing the environment, there are also means to obtain incremental knowledge from the existing stock. Reviewing means gaining incremental knowledge from existing knowledge. I now have a profound understanding: The difference between masters and ordinary people does not lie in how big the difference in their experiences is. Many masters do not have any magnificent experiences. But in the same thing, masters see more and deeper than ordinary people. So how do you do a review? There are four key steps in reviewing a game, which we will explain one by one: What was the team’s goal before doing this? How are goals set? Does the team agree with this goal? Has there been any target loss? For events: What are our event goals and intentions? What were the indicators at that time? What are the expected activity figures? Target deterioration: The act of secretly lowering target standards due to unwillingness to admit the gap between plan and reality. For example, the goal of this activity was to increase the number of new users by 1 million, but the result was only 700,000. You will comfort yourself that this effect is pretty good. Does the current situation meet the goal? If achieving the goal perfectly counts as 100 points, how many points would you get for your current state? How many points are missing? What's the main difference? If you can improve by another 20 points, what would you most like to improve on? Why? For activities: Did the activity meet expectations? If the full score is 100, how many points can you get now? 1. Review the entire process and links before, during and after the event. 2. What are the execution paths and processes? Analyze the key reasons for success and failure: Controllable factors: Is there a better strategy? Is the team giving its all? Is the division of labor clear and reasonable? Semi-controllable factors (requires collaboration): Have you done your job well? For parts that require collaboration, are enough space, time and resources reserved for others? Uncontrollable factors: Is there sufficient communication and timely synchronization of progress? Is there a way to bring uncontrollable factors under control? Are the risks under control? What does the link flow data for an activity look like? Which links have poor data? Which links have better data? How to get good data? How to deal with poor data? Is the division of labor reasonable? Is it because you don’t manage your time well, so you have to speed up development? Which things should we keep doing and which things should we stop doing immediately? Which people and behaviors are worth re-evaluating? What could be done better? What should be done specifically? Do you have any new understanding of the rules behind the whole thing? Are there any experiences that are actually assumptions? What kind of event copywriting do users prefer? Do users really like physical prizes? What is the underlying logic of a lottery? 1. Keep an open mind and blame the issue rather than the person. There is no point in shifting the blame and arguing. Reviewing is for personal growth; 2. Don’t bring preset restoration scenarios; avoid narrating the process while saying: I had a narrow vision at the time, which led to my unclear view of the problem, so I made XX decision; 3. The conclusion should be based on the process SOP; 4. The conclusion of the review is not on the person, but on the objective fact, the essence of the event. Don’t say “I’ll be more careful next time”; 5. After reaching a conclusion, ask yourself: Is this enough? Is this really the case? The above is all about the review. I hope that friends who have a misunderstanding of review can truly understand what review is. Share a picture about the review: Author: Yao Wei's Desk Source: Yao Wei's writing desk (yaowei_writing) |
