Online Event Promotion Implementation Manual

What is event operation? My understanding of event operation is an operational means of quickly achieving operational goals through activities, and people engaged in event operations can also be called event operators.

So how should an event be organized, and from which dimensions should it be broken down? I have come into contact with many friends who are engaged in event operations. When it comes to organizing an event, they always slap their foreheads and say: I don’t know why we do it, how to do it, or how well we do it.

After adjusting the course framework several times, I think a more reasonable training explanation for event operations should include four sections: key factors, event classification, event calendar and event process. Below I will analyze them one by one in this order, and I hope it will be helpful to friends who are new to event operations.

1. Key factors

For an event to be successful, there must be reasons and key factors for its success. After analyzing hundreds of marketing activities, I believe that the key factors for the success of an event include: meeting needs, grasping human nature, inventorying resources, optimizing processes and mastering leverage.

1.1 Meeting the needs

The core underlying logic of operations is to meet and develop user needs. For an event to be successful, it must meet the needs of users at some level. Maslow's hierarchy of human needs theory divides human needs into five levels. From an operational perspective, user needs can be divided into three levels: product, event, and self.

1.2 Grasping human nature

In addition to meeting user needs, we also need to grasp human nature when designing activities.

Regarding needs and human nature, I have mentioned this in an article I wrote titled "The underlying logic and thinking model that operators must know". If you want to know more, you can click the link to read it.

1.3 Inventory of resources

Take inventory of the people, money and materials needed to invest in the event, take inventory of what you have and what you can exchange. For online activities, traffic is the biggest resource.

1.4 Optimize the process

The activity process must be clear enough so that user participation can be smooth; in addition to a clear activity process, there must also be activity rules, operation paths and user instructions; this will also be introduced in detail in the activity execution section.

1.5 Mastering Leverage

The leverage here is actually the input-output ratio; when doing an activity, what we pursue is definitely the minimum investment and the maximum return. The size of the lever has a lot to do with the size of the prize, the form and creativity of the event, etc., which will also be introduced in the event planning section.

2. Activity Classification

Activity classification is to understand what types of activities we can do. Determining the activity classification basically determines the purpose and form of the activity. Here I would like to introduce two standards for activity classification. One is to classify according to the user's growth path and life cycle, and the other is to classify according to brand promotion.

According to the user's growth path and life cycle classification, activities can be divided into five categories: AARRR. AARRR is the abbreviation of Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, and Refer, which correspond to the five important links in the user life cycle.

Some platforms understand these five links as promotion and customer acquisition, transaction conversion, user retention, repeat purchases and sharing fission; some platforms understand these five links as new customer acquisition, activation, retention, conversion and recommendation. There are two differences here. One is the relationship between transaction conversion and activation, and the other is the relationship between repeat purchase and additional purchase. In fact, this is the difference between e-commerce platforms and Internet application platforms. Here I will use the standards of the Internet application platform for attracting new users, activation, retention, conversion and recommendation to break it down. At the same time, I will also organize the commonly used marketing methods of e-commerce platforms into a chart according to the AARRR classification for your reference.

(E-commerce gameplay classification)

2.1 New customer acquisition activities

In response to situations where there are not enough users or a lack of new users, these types of activities help inject new users into the product. Most of them are in the early stages of the product and when the user growth rate is declining.

(1) Registration: registration gifts, first order discount, free trial, exclusive offers for new users, etc.;

(2) Follow-up: Follow to get gifts, points, coupons or small gifts, mainly through mini programs, official accounts and e-commerce stores;

(3) Flash sales: mainly based on e-commerce platforms, the purpose of the event is not to close orders, but to promote and attract new customers; usually the price is low, the time is limited, and the success or failure of the event depends on the early promotion.

(4) Creative: Through creative activities, users are encouraged to find the content interesting and pay attention to it. It is usually presented in the form of H5. Commonly used methods include testing and matching.

(5) Recruitment: Recruiting or enlisting core users, who are generally required to have a skill.

(6) Recharge: Recharge and receive gifts, which can attract new customers and increase transaction volume.

2.2 Activation Activities

Improve the user activity of users who are already on the product or platform, and turn them into users who open the platform/product multiple times, thereby increasing the platform's DAU (daily active users).

(1) Tasks: Beginner tasks, daily tasks, completing tasks to receive points or red envelopes, etc.

(2) Check-in: Check in daily, check in continuously, receive points and prizes, and increase activity.

(3) Limited time type: limited time sales, limited time draws, flip-through activities, etc., to increase user interest and participation.

2.3 Retention Activities

Activities to further cultivate user usage habits and improve platform retention rate for previously active users. We all know that the cost of retaining an old customer is much lower than the cost of attracting a new user. Part of the work of retention activities falls into the category of user operations, and we will further analyze it in the user operations section.

(1) Points: Build a points system and a points mall. Users can earn points by completing tasks or making purchases, and can redeem them in the points mall.

(2) Cultivation type: Develop some cultivation games to retain users, similar to Ant Forest and Duoduo Orchard.

(3) Membership: Building a membership system is one of the most common means of retaining users. A general membership system will include a level system and a medal system, with corresponding rights and interests as well as material and spiritual rewards. The membership system is also the most important part of user operation, and will be introduced in detail when analyzing user operation.

(4) Stored value: In addition to attracting new customers, stored value is also one of the most commonly used means of user retention and repurchase. Once a user has a stored value account on the platform, it is equivalent to locking in the user's in-store spending in advance. For the same product, I will give priority to shopping at merchants where I have stored-value cards.

2.4 Conversion Activities

Conversion activities are activities designed by the platform for revenue generation, with the aim of promoting transactions.

(1) Discounts/free gifts for purchases over a certain amount: Discounts/free gifts for purchases over a certain amount are a common form of discount in online sales. Generally, users can get a discount of N yuan/free gift when they spend over N yuan on a single purchase. The discounts/free gifts can be designed as a single tier or multiple tiers. When designing the intensity of the discounts/free gifts, it is necessary to consider the platform’s previous transaction data and the users’ average order value, shopping preferences, consumption frequency, and other factors.

(2) Limited-time discounts: Users can get a specific discount if they purchase a specific product at a specified time.

(3) Coupons: Users who receive platform coupons and then purchase products of a specified type or amount can receive a discount of the corresponding amount. Coupons are also one of the commonly used activities on online platforms. There are many ways to get coupons and the types of coupons. For example, coupons come in many forms, such as full-reduction coupons, discount coupons, fission coupons, etc. When should you use full-reduction coupons and when should you use discount coupons? What consumer behavioral biases are hidden behind them? I will not analyze them here, and will introduce them in another chapter later.

(4) Lucky draw activities: Taking advantage of users’ risk preference, users can get a chance to participate in a lucky draw after purchasing products of a specified amount/type, thus stimulating their consumption.

(5) Bargaining activities: Users invite friends to help bargain, and users spread the word independently. Communication and conversion are carried out simultaneously. Because it involves inducing sharing, risk control needs to be paid attention to.

(6) Group buying: Group buying is a common form of online activity. It can be used in two scenarios: one is to expand customer base, and the other is to clear inventory. When used as a conversion activity, the logic of clearing inventory is used.

(7) Exclusive activities: privileged activities for specific users. Specific users need to be identified through labeling during user operations. They can be users who have purchased a certain type of product or members of a certain level.

(8) Live streaming events: Live streaming events are often combined with other activities such as coupons, lotteries, discounts, and flash sales; live streaming events can be seen as a form of event presentation.

2.5 Recommended Activities

The referral activity is the last link in the AARRR traffic closed loop. It uses spiritual or material rewards as bait and leverages users’ social networks to achieve growth in platform users.

(1) Fission activities: Common forms of activities include points treasure, task treasure, group building treasure, multi-level distribution (the WeChat ecosystem currently allows a maximum of two levels) and group buying by old customers bringing in new customers.

(2) Retweet to get a reward: This is a common method used in the promotion of Weibo, mini programs and apps. Users are required to forward a page or article. After forwarding, the user will receive rewards such as points, coupons, and physical prizes. Weibo usually combines this with a lucky draw and requires users to @N friends.

(3) Like-collecting activities: This is a common way of playing in the WeChat ecosystem. There are two common methods: one is to collect likes in the Moments, and the other is to collect likes by leaving comments on public accounts.

Brand promotion activities are mainly aimed at increasing the exposure of brands or products and enhancing the brand’s reputation and influence. Common brand promotion activities include communication activities, interactive activities, cross-industry activities, etc.

2.6 Communication activities

Activities to create momentum for a brand or product. Common forms of activities include new product launches, taking advantage of hot topics (see Jiang Xiaobai and Durex), etc.

2.7 Interactive Activities

Activities are designed to enhance interactive communication with users and improve brand influence. Common forms of activities include new product trials, fun activities, and testing activities.

2.8 Cross-industry activities

Joint promotion and cross-border cooperation activities carried out by companies with the same brand tone or similar user portraits, such as the joint promotion of washing machines and laundry detergent.

3. Event Calendar

The most important part of event operation is to determine the theme of the event. Only after the theme of the event is determined can the other aspects of the event be determined. So how do you determine the theme of an event? Here we need to use the event calendar. Based on the event calendar, we can plan a stunning event theme.

(Event calendar)

The so-called activity calendar is a schedule of activities based on folk festivals, seasonal nodes, e-commerce festivals, and time dimensions such as years, months, weeks, and days. Generally, at the end of each year, we have to work out a schedule of activities for the next year. We just need to find a perpetual calendar and select and fill in the schedule based on the characteristics of the industry. After the event calendar is determined, we also need to determine a series of tasks such as planning the event theme, event format, etc. These will be allocated to the annual work plan and are also the daily work of event operators. The time granularity of a general work plan can be planned to the next two levels of the time period: annual plans are planned to months, quarterly plans are planned to weeks, and monthly plans are planned to days. The most effective operation method is actually repetition. We can fix certain specific activities throughout the year to let users form habits and be full of expectations. Isn’t the annual Double Eleven formed into a festival or even a culture through constant repetition?

With the event calendar, there are events to do every month from January to December. However, which of these activities require more resources, which have longer cycles, and which are more intensive? This requires an activity magnitude to make a distinction. Generally, we divide the magnitude of activities into four levels: S, A, B, and C. Below we briefly list the main activities at each level.

S-level activities: New Year’s Goods Festival (January), 618 (June), 1111 (November), 1212 (December).

A-level activities: 38 Women's Day (March), 818 Mid-Year Sale (August), back to school season (September), National Day Golden Week (October), Mid-Autumn Festival (September, October), store anniversary.

B-level activities: Valentine's Day (February), Lantern Festival (February), outing season (April), 517 Foodie Festival (May), Mother's Day (May), Refreshing Season (July), and Senior Citizens' Day (Double Ninth Festival).

C-level activities: new product launches, single product special sales, member exclusives, etc.

Of course, different industries have different classifications of activity levels and corresponding activities, and in specific operations, they need to be adjusted according to their own industry attributes. For example, the S-level events in the flower industry may be Valentine’s Day on February 14 and Chinese Valentine’s Day, while those in the baby and child category may be Children’s Day on June 1. July is a rather awkward month for e-commerce and retail companies, as there are basically no holidays in July. I suggest that you hold your store celebrations in July for three consecutive weeks. Generally, S-level activities should account for more than 40% of the annual revenue target, so that the annual revenue task can be completed.

4. Activity Process

When it comes to event processes, there are generally three understandings: one is the entire execution process of the event from planning to ending and then to review; the second is the process of the event from start to end; the third is the process of users participating in the entire event from the user's perspective. The activity process we are talking about here refers to the first understanding, that is, the entire process of the activity from planning to execution to review. For the sake of distinction, we call the process from the beginning to the end of the activity the execution process; the process of users participating in the activity is called the user action map.

How is an event carried out step by step from planning to execution and then to summary and review? We will analyze our event operations from two dimensions: the guiding ideology and implementation steps.

4.1 Guiding Ideology

In my previous article "The underlying logic and thinking model that operators must know", I mentioned closed-loop thinking, and the example I gave was the PDCA Deming cycle model. When we plan and execute an event, the guiding ideology we should follow is the PDCA closed-loop thinking. PDCA is the abbreviation of the English words Plan, Do, Check, Act, which respectively represent the four stages of planning, execution, checking and action in a project.

P: Planning and Preparation We have always said "With a plan, there is no chaos; with a budget, there is no poverty". The main thing to do at this stage is to discover the current problems, formulate measures and list the budget for investment.

D: Design and Execution Based on the measures and budget determined in the planning phase, design a specific implementation plan and execute it according to the plan. When designing a plan, in addition to designing the main activity plan, you must also prepare a backup plan in case of emergency. At the same time, during the implementation process, you must do a good job of collecting and recording data.

C: Check and correct: During the execution of the activity, it is necessary to monitor in real time whether the activity is proceeding according to the established plan, and make real-time adjustments and corrections to ensure that the activity develops in the established direction.

A: There are two main goals in this stage of review : one is to review the activity and analyze the unresolved and new problems that have arisen in the activity; the other is to develop new solutions and goals based on the new problems and enter the next PDCA cycle.

4.2 Implementation steps

PDCA is a highly abstract and generalized thinking model with a large process granularity. During the specific implementation process, it must be refined in combination with its own industry. Specifically for event operations, combined with the PDCA model, the entire event process can be divided into four major sections: planning and preparation, planning and design, online follow-up, and post-review and promotion. Each section must also be divided into several sub-sections to make the execution granularity smaller and more operational.

1. Planning and preparation stage

As mentioned earlier, the job of operations is to solve problems, and the key to solving problems is to discover them, so the work in the planning and preparation stage is to discover the key factors of the problems and develop solutions to the problems. Focusing on this core task, we divide the work in the planning and preparation stage into four items: determining activity goals, taking inventory of activity resources, clarifying activity forms, and coordinating activity needs.

(1) Determine the activity objectives

The so-called activity goal is the expected effect to be achieved by this activity. In order to determine the activity goals, we must first find the current problems and determine the activity goals based on the problems. The specific solution path can be divided into three steps: analyze the current situation to find out the problems, break down the elements to identify the main causes, and determine the goals and formulate measures.

① Analyze the current situation and find out the problems: Analyze the current platform data to find out the main problems at this stage. Taking the e-commerce platform as an example, we can conduct a comprehensive analysis of the data from various dimensions of the platform, view the platform data from dimensions such as platform sales, number of active users, number of moving goods, etc., and find out the data that is currently declining or growing slowly based on month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons. This data is the problem we want to solve.

In order to analyze platform data, you need to use knowledge of data analysis, which is also a very basic and important part of operational skills. Because there is too much content involved, we will expand on it here, and we will explain it in detail in the data operation part later.

② Disassemble the factors and identify the main causes: Through the analysis of platform data, we have found the main problems at this stage. This problem may involve multiple decisive factors. We also need to find the main factors that affect this problem through analysis, that is, find the main aspects of the main contradiction. In order to find the main factors affecting the main problems, we need a scientific methodology. Here I will introduce two methods I often use: the formula method and the process method .

The so-called formula method is to express the various factors that affect the problem in the form of mathematical formulas to determine the relationship between each factor and the problem. The most basic transaction formula in the e-commerce industry is: transaction amount = average order value x number of views x conversion rate. If the transaction amount is low, we can use this formula to troubleshoot the problem, check the data of average order value, number of views and conversion rate one by one, and find the key factors affecting the transaction amount.

The so-called process method is the sequence of event development. It breaks down the entire process into several key steps, and then determines the key factors affecting the development of events by analyzing the situation of each step. Taking the transaction process of e-commerce as an example, we can break down the process from users being exposed to information pushed by the platform to paying for goods into six steps: contact, browsing (clicking), adding to cart, placing an order, and paying. There will be user loss from each step to the next step, and the criterion we evaluate is the bounce rate. If the bounce rate of a certain step is high, far higher than the industry average, then this is the link where we need to focus on solving the problem. Of course, the same method can be used to break down more detailed factors. For example, from reach to browsing, the most important influencing factor is the title, and the title may be related to product selection, activities, etc.

③Determine goals and formulate measures: After clarifying the main causes of the main problems, we officially enter the stage of solving the problems. This requires us to set a clear goal and develop solutions based on this goal. It is worth noting that there is only one goal for the activity. Common activity indicators include PV, UV, GMV, DAU, average order value, retention rate, etc. For example: Through data analysis, we found that our average order value has been low recently, and the goal of our recent activities is to increase the average order value. But this is not specific enough. We also need clear indicators, or KPIs for the activity. That is to say, the increased value must be clear, such as increasing the average customer spending from 80 yuan to 90 yuan. In the specific activity plan, we need to write it in more detail and also include the solutions. Of course, these need to be done after taking inventory of the activity resources.

(2) Inventory of activity resources

Activity resources refer to the human, financial, material and other resources that can be mobilized in this activity. “Before troops move out, food and fodder must be sent out first.” Only when the resources that can be mobilized in an activity are determined can we measure the rice to be prepared. Of course, many companies have many job levels. Due to the restrictions of their levels, employees at different levels have different permissions to mobilize resources. This requires us to prepare activity plans in advance and to review and coordinate.

When we take inventory of activity resources, we can do so according to two criteria: one is the resource type, and the other is whether there is a charge.

According to the type of resources, activity resources can be divided into three categories: people, money and materials. People: human resources that can be mobilized in the event, including but not limited to copywriting, art design, development, and field promotion; Finance: the budget that can be invested in the event to purchase gifts, traffic, plug-ins, etc.; Materials: goods used for discounts and promotions, gifts distributed, and advertising resources, etc.

Depending on whether there is a charge or not, activity resources can be divided into free resources and paid resources. When planning an event, you should consider using free resources first, and then consider using paid resources. When using paid resources, you should also consider whether you can replace the paid resources with free resources. For example, you can use the platform’s advertising resources to exchange for event gifts.

When it comes to event resources, one topic that must be analyzed in detail is the event budget. What is the relationship between activity resources and activity budget? Simply put, activity resources are what I have, and the budget is what I need. Some resources may not be fully used, and existing resources may not be able to meet all the needs. If expressed graphically, activity resources and activity budget are two circles that intersect but do not completely overlap. If the activity budget is not included, a report must be submitted for application.

(Activity resources and activity budget)

Should we apply for a budget based on the activity goals, or adjust the activity goals based on the budget? In other words, should we adjust the scale of the activity according to the resources of the activity, or should we match the resources according to the scale of the activity? This requires specific analysis based on different marketing strategies. For example, a product of a certain brand needs to take the first place in the order volume in its category during the “Double Eleven” period to increase publicity points for future marketing activities. Then in order to ensure this goal, all resources will be tilted towards this goal, no matter how high the budget is. If there is an inventory backlog of a product that is about to expire, then the form of this activity will be determined based on the resources. Occam's razor originally said "do not add entities unless necessary", and event operations also follow the same principle, achieving the maximum event effect with the minimum investment. Generally speaking, knowing the resources that can be allocated for the event during daily event operations basically determines the scale of the event; for large-scale events or events that have been clearly identified as S-level events, it is necessary to apply for matching resources based on the platform's marketing strategy.

(3) Clarify the form of activities

For most event operations, event planning is like a composition. With limited matching resources, combined with the event theme set in the event calendar, plan an event to solve the main problems at this stage and achieve the preset event goals. If you don’t have enough resources, you can make up for it with your IQ. Planning the form and gameplay of an event is a brain-burning task. In the planning and preparation stage, we only need to determine a form of activity in the activity classification according to the purpose of the activity. As for the detailed gameplay and rules, they need to be put into the planning and design stage, and they will be resolved after several rounds of planning creativity. A prototype is prepared at this stage to facilitate proposal submission at the department coordination meeting.

(4) Coordination of activity needs

The execution of an event requires the cooperation of multiple parts. Cross-departmental communication is required before the planning and design stage of the event begins. Basic information such as the background, purpose, and form of the event should be synchronized. At the same time, various requirements required for the event planning, design, and execution stages should be proposed, especially personnel requirements, including copywriting, art design, product procurement, technology development, etc. After determining the cooperating personnel, a project team centered on this activity can be formed, and after communication and consultation, a work progress schedule (Gantt chart) for each participating member can be drawn up. Because it is a temporary team, certain skills are needed in communicating and coordinating work progress, especially with developers, to avoid unnecessary conflicts or delays. Generally, when coordinating the construction period, do not set a fixed construction period for the other party directly, otherwise it will easily cause the other party's resentment. The best way is to ask the other party to give a completion time, as long as this time is not too outrageous, we will be fine. People are often reluctant to break promises they have made. Some companies use ready-made systems provided by third parties and do not have a development department. If a separate plug-in is required, it is also necessary to submit a purchase request in advance to facilitate procurement and process testing arrangements.

Lenovo Group has a nine-word management motto: build a team, set a strategy, and lead the team. After forming a project team and determining the personnel arrangements for the planning and design phases, the work in the planning and preparation phase comes to an end and the planning and design phase is about to begin. It should be noted that the event preparation process will change accordingly depending on the entity initiating the event; the event preparation process will also vary depending on the type and scale of the event. For example: when planning a mid-year promotion, the form of the event has basically been determined to be discounts and promotions. You only need to select the products and discounts participating in the event. You don’t need to spend too much energy analyzing the purpose of the event. Of course, we can also add some other ways to play on the basis of the big promotion, such as raffles, points, gifts, etc., to make the event more interesting and exciting.

We can summarize the work in the planning and preparation stage with a thinking model, which can be more systematic and more conducive to practical operations. This thinking model is the Eight-W2H analysis method (6W2H). The so-called Eight-Why Analysis Method was also introduced in the previous "Operational Thinking Model", which is 6 interrogative sentences in English that start with W and 2 interrogative sentences that start with H. In the planning and preparation stage of event operations, we only need to answer these 8 questions.

Which-Find the problem: What is the problem that needs to be solved?

Why-Analyze the reasons: What caused the problem?

What-clear goal: what is the goal to be achieved;

Who-clear subject: who is responsible for the project;

Where-Find the starting point: where to start;

When-time node: when to complete;

How-implementation plan: how to achieve the goal;

How much-cost budget: how much input and output.

As long as you answer these eight questions carefully, the work in the planning and preparation stage will be very clear. At the same time, I will give you a condensed eight-way analysis method, which is very useful when daily meetings do not produce any results. There are only three whys, which can be summarized in one sentence: Who do what by when.

(Eight-way analysis method)

2. Planning and design stage

The planning and design stage is to complete all the work before the start of the event, which can be summarized into four sections: planning program output, execution manual writing, development and design implementation, and event process testing. The implementation standards can be summarized as "four aspects": written plans, standardized operation processes, list of materials, and detailed responsibilities.

(1) Planning output

After the analysis and breakdown in the planning and preparation stage, the basic information such as the purpose and type of the activity has been clarified. The work in the planning output stage is to refine the background description information and activity gameplay of the activity and form a written plan. Generally, during the improvement process, the project team needs to conduct multiple rounds of brainstorming and cross-departmental coordination to form the final draft of the plan.

Event planning plans have their own specific formats and essential elements, and there are certain differences between different types of events. Here we will analyze the elements that are frequently used in activity planning schemes. When planning a specific activity plan, it is not necessary to list all the activity elements one by one in the activity plan. They need to be combined according to the type of activity.

① Activity background: A brief description of the current status of the platform or the market situation is a prerequisite for analyzing the purpose of the activity. When describing the background of the event, you can start from angles such as platform data, market hotspots, competitor dynamics, and target customer groups.

②Purpose of the activity: the problems that the activity aims to solve and the effects that it aims to achieve. The purposes of the activities include attracting new customers, converting transactions, active retention, repeat purchases, promotion and brand communication, etc. It can be seen that the purpose of the activities and the standards for activity classification basically correspond to each other.

③Target users: The activity is targeted at those users. Users are the main target of the activity. The more accurate the users are, the higher the conversion rate will be. We can profile the target users based on identity characteristics, behavioral characteristics, consumption characteristics, channel sources and other dimensions to make the target users of the activity more accurate.

④Activity theme: The activity theme is the core idea of ​​the activity and is also the key factor in attracting users. When organizing an event, it is important to have a legitimate reason. The theme of the event is to give the event a proper name and a gimmick, so as not to make users feel that the event is just for the sake of being organized. Planning the theme of an event is also quite brain-burning. For regular activities, you just need to make creative combinations based on the event calendar and event purpose. If you want to plan a hit screen-sweeping event, you have to put some effort into the theme of the event. A good event theme must meet four principles: clear target audience, easy to understand, interesting and resonate with people.

⑤Activity goal: The goal of the activity is the KPI of the activity. The purpose of an activity and its target are consistent in direction. The difference is that the purpose of an activity is qualitative, while the target is quantitative. It can be said that adding specific data to the purpose of an activity is the target of the activity. For example: how many views were achieved through the activity, how many new users were added, how many orders were placed, what was the average order value, what was the transaction amount, etc.

⑥Activity budget: human, financial, material and other resources required for the activity. The combination of activity budget and activity goals constitutes the input-output ratio of the activity. The higher the input-output ratio, the better the effect of the activity. In the application for expense budget, the total amount of expenses and the use of expenses should be listed in categories, which will facilitate the approval of the expenses.

⑦ Promotion channels: In order to maximize the effectiveness of the event, multi-channel publicity and promotion is required. Promotion channels can be divided into three categories based on their nature: owned, paid and earned. Own channels refer to the platform's in-site resources and self-media matrix, including PUSH, splash screen advertising, home page advertising, Weibo, WeChat and Douyin, etc.; paid channels refer to channels that the platform needs to pay for or use other resources in exchange, including SEM, building TV, text messages, etc., e-commerce also includes Diamond Exhibitions, Through Train, Juhuasuan, and offline there are DM single promotions, etc.; earned channels refer to the media or user free sharing channels brought by the platform through clever activity theme settings or effective sharing mechanisms.

⑧Activity time: Activity time includes two dimensions: cycle and rhythm. The activity cycle is what we usually understand as the activity time, that is, the time from the launch of the activity to its end. The activity rhythm is over a longer period of time, which increases the latitude of progress control. Generally, the activity rhythm needs to be included in the activity plan only in large-scale S-level activities. Tmall, JD.com, Suning and other e-commerce platforms will release a set of battle maps before the Double Eleven event every year (JD.com’s is 618) to guide merchants in planning events. The battle map divides the activity rhythm into five stages: preparation, accumulation, warm-up, detonation and closing. Each stage has corresponding work arrangements and precautions, which I will not elaborate on here. If you need to know, you can contact me for an electronic version. In daily activities, we should also focus on grasping the rhythm of the activities, but we don’t have to be so detailed. Just grasp when to sell out, when to release coupons, and when to return to the market.

⑨Activity form: The activity form refers to the way the activity is carried out, which needs to be planned according to the theme of the activity. The activity forms of different types of activities are presented differently in the planning scheme. Here we will break down the activity forms from four aspects: gameplay, rules, processes, and policies. Likewise, not all activities need to include all four of these, and they need to be adjusted based on specific circumstances.

a. Gameplay: Gameplay refers to the way users participate in the activity and what users need to do during the activity. Collecting five blessings, free lottery, collecting likes to get gifts, inviting friends to receive red envelopes, etc. are all common ways to play social fission.

The creativity of the activity gameplay is as brain-burning as the activity theme. The quality of the creativity determines the size of the leverage and the effect of the activity. How to generate new ideas? Everyone can remember this six-word formula: [old elements, new combinations] . Elements can be found from the perspectives of marketing tools, usage scenarios, content production, current hot topics, etc. In daily work, we can pay attention to the top 10 competitors in the same industry, collect their activities and play methods and break them down into the smallest activity elements, classify them and put them into our own activity material library for easy access during work. There are four ways of combination, namely replacement, superposition, association and migration. Replacement means replacing an element of a previous activity. For example, coupons were previously given as gifts for shopping, which can be replaced with physical gifts. Superposition means superimposing two or more ways of playing together. For example, emptying the shopping cart is actually the superposition of a lucky draw and a free meal. Association means associating the activity gameplay with current hot topics or certain celebrities. Migration means migrating offline gameplay to online, online gameplay to offline, and other industries' gameplay to your own industry, etc. Generally, AARRR type activities are semi-compulsory, and you only need to make some combinations with the marketing tools; brand communication activities are more open, and planning an event that will sweep the screen is a test of the operator's skills.

b. Rules: Rules are the criteria for successfully defining a user's participation in an activity, including the number of tasks that a user needs to complete, the effective time, the definition of violations, and the right to interpret the activity. The activity rules must be clear to avoid disputes. Taking the common Taskbao fission activity as an example, the platform will require participating users to invite N friends to follow the official account, cancel the follow-up during the activity, and invalidate the tasks completed by cheating, etc.

c. Process: The process here refers to the path for the user to complete the activity tasks, which can also be called the user action map. In order to facilitate users to view and understand, the user's action map can be made into a schematic diagram during the execution of the activity. From the user's perspective, the gameplay solves the problem of what users do, the rules solve the problem of how much they do, and the processes solve the problem of how they do it.

d. Policy: Policies generally solve the intensity of activities in large-scale events or promotional activities. For example: how many discounts are given in limited-time discounts, how much discounts are given in full discounts/donations for free, how much discounts are given in full discounts/donations for free, and how much sales are given in a flash sale event and inventory, etc.

I have some of my own experiences in planning the event format. I will share with you some of my experiences. First, there can only be one direction of the task in the event, and only one user's actions can be made, either purchase or share; users cannot make choices, as long as there is a choice, the user will lose it. Second, the threshold for activities must be but not too high. Without the threshold, it will attract many wool parties, and being too high is not conducive to the spread of activities. Third, the operation of the activity should be as simple as possible and do not let the user think. Fourth, try to minimize the jump path and do not make the user feel troublesome. Fifth, the attractiveness of event gifts is cash rewards > physical gifts > virtual gifts > electronic card coupons.

The planning of the activity form is manifested in the brain-burning creativity and brain violence of the operators, but the internal logic is the psychological game between the platform and the user. Therefore, in order to prevent event planning from being superficial, you also need to have an insight into human nature, a deep understanding of human mental models and behavioral preferences, and maximize the leverage of the event.

⑩Activity products: E-commerce or new retail platforms will also involve activity products when doing activities. In addition to special inventory clearance activities, they will involve the selection of active products. The criteria for product selection can be comprehensively evaluated based on product attributes and recent sales, evaluation, purchase price, and profit. Some high-frequency, urgent needs and price-sensitive products can be used to sell and drain the traffic; products with high demand for customers such as rice, noodles, and oil can be used to provide limited-time discounts; products such as home textiles can be used for full discounts, etc.

⑪ Activity Data: We also mentioned data in the activity goals. The data in the activity goals are only the core indicators to be achieved by the activity. During the event, we also need to collect data in multiple dimensions to facilitate the review of the event and refine the data analysis during operation. Data collection requires solving two problems: latitude and method of collecting data, that is, which data is collected and how to collect it. Generally, we need to collect data from four dimensions: traffic data, user data, product data and transaction data. Data collection requires communication with the developer before development to confirm and bury the points.

Many platforms use third-party ready-made systems, and have been very perfect in data collection. There is only one that needs to be set up in advance by the operator: the source channel of users. Platforms all need multi-channel promotion, and the user quality of different channels is different, and the conversion rate is also different. With accurate user conversion data, the resource allocation situation in the future can be determined on different promotion channels. This data can generally be obtained by assigning different parameters to different channels.

We can also summarize the work in the planning and output stage of the plan, which is convenient for operation in work.

Which-What activity: What type of activity, customer recruitment or promotion.

Who-Target User: What type of user is the activity for, what are the characteristics of the user, age, gender, occupation, region, personality, preference, family, customs, etc.

Where-Travel Portal: Where users go to participate in the event, where users go to find the event portal or where we find users, circle of friends, official website, official account, fan group or offline stores, etc.

When-Event time: the duration of the event preparation, how much time is required for the event planning, design, implementation, and delivery; how long the event lasts, when users can participate, when they cannot participate, when they start, and when they end; the time after the event, the time required for gift distribution, express delivery, user return visits, etc.

Why-User Motivation: Why do users participate in activities, what they can get or what discounts they can enjoy.

What-User Behavior: What actions do users need to complete and achieve your activity goals.

How-How: How users complete your activities mainly specified tasks and what are the ways to complete them.

How much-How much: the amount of time the user needs to complete the specified task: such as forwarding several groups, how much to purchase products, etc.

In social e-commerce activities, Mission Treasure is one of the most commonly used fission methods. Here I will briefly share with you the way to play the Mission Treasure fission activity.

Purpose of the event: The platform will attract fans and expand customers

Activity method: Share friends and follow the official account to get it for free.

Activity budget: 50 boxes of XX products, attracting 10,000 fans.

Activity plug-ins: Task treasure, service account, micro-mall, coupons.

The principle of fission: Use the user's greed for small gains, drive it with interests, and use the user's social relationship to achieve spread fission.

Planning process: 1. Clarify the product; 2. Rule design; 3. Poster design; 4. Effect test; 5. Prize distribution; 6. Post-review.

Fission process: See the poster - scan the code - follow the official account - pop up fission poster and activity rules - share the poster - N friends follow - complete the task and receive the prize. Or: See the official account tweets - reply to keywords - pop up fission posters and activity rules - share posters - N friends follow - complete the task and receive the prize.

Points to note: 1. Platform rules to avoid banning accounts; 2. Pay attention to background data and fix loopholes in a timely manner; 3. Set payment thresholds to complete the payment process; 4. Pay attention to the primary effect and set up official account reply and mall homepage.

(2) Writing the executive manual

In order to avoid the activity being distorted or omitted during the execution process, we need to sort out all the details of the activity execution process to form an execution manual. The planning plan and the execution manual can be understood in this way. The planning plan is approved upward and the execution manual is implemented downward.

① Activity requirements list: During the implementation of the activity, a large amount of cross-departmental cooperation is required to write and list all requirements to ensure that there is no omission or heavy weight, which can effectively avoid mutual blunder and procrastination. The activity requirement list can be summarized as: development requirements (PRD), design list, bill of materials and commodity list, etc.

② Gantt chart of personnel division of labor: In order to clarify the division of responsibilities of each personnel in the project team and ensure the time and progress, the work and progress of project team members need to be made into an EXCEL Gantt chart table to facilitate each member to adjust the direct work according to the progress arrangement. The Gantt chart of personnel division of labor can be made into two parts, one is in the planning and design stage, and the other is in the online follow-up stage (some content overlaps with the execution process list, and small activities are not required).

③Execution process list: In order to make the event proceed in an orderly manner after it is launched, the members of the project team perform their duties and positions. Each link in the event execution process needs to be sorted out into an execution process list in chronological order. The items included in the execution process list include: time, links, execution actions, person in charge, docking person, etc.

④Activity risk plan: The execution manual also estimates the possible risks during the execution of the activity, and formulates a preparatory plan. For example, in the process of attracting fans of the official account, the biggest risk is the official WeChat account ban, so during the event execution, multiple official accounts will be prepared at the same time for diversion.

(3) Development and design implementation

If the previous stage was more about organization, coordination and discussion, the members of the project team must be in their own position and start to advance their work progress according to the time schedule. This stage requires all the work before the event is launched, including application development, copywriting, poster design, material production, page layout, etc. There are two points that need to be paid attention to at this stage: First, track the work progress of the group members to avoid delays in construction periods due to the delay of individual members; second, pay attention to the work direction of the group members in real time to avoid deviations or detours. This stage is a time to test the individual professional abilities of the group members.

① Copywriting: The work of copywriting is to convey the planning plan in a way that the target users are willing to accept. It is necessary to adjust the copywriting style according to different user groups and different platform attributes. The copywriting needs to be used include: the theme of the poster, the title of the tweet, and the text of the tweet.

For many platforms, tweets on official accounts are currently the main promotional platform on the platform. The title of the tweet determines the opening rate of tweets and is also one of the key links in whether an event can be successful. There are two suggestions for creating tweet titles: First, the title of the tweet is not the copywriting work of a person, and the project team should brainstorm and brainstorm to avoid the life and death of the entire event being determined by one person; second, learn some "title party" skills, there are many such tutorials online, such as 108-style hot titles, 100,000+ creative title collections, etc. I made a simple analysis of these titles, which basically satisfies one or more of the following characteristics: related to me, tempting interests, interesting and full of expectations.

Writing the text of the tweet is a special skill. If you have time in the future, you can analyze it in the content operation section. I will not expand it here. I will only talk about one point worth paying attention to, which is the way to participate. Nowadays, promotions emphasize the integration of quality and effectiveness, so the most important element in the text is the way of participation. If the article is short, you can add participation methods at the end of the article. If the article is longer, add the beginning, middle and end of the article. The simpler the activity is, the lower the jump rate, the longer the jump path, the higher the jump rate. If you can use the link, try to use the link. If you cannot use the link, you can use the QR code. Try not to use the method of [Open XXXX Search XXXX].

② Design: The design requires completing the design of theme posters, tweet cover pictures, classification navigation, Bananer pictures, page prototypes, offline materials, etc. required in the event. Design is also a professional skill, so I won’t expand it here. The most popular way to play at the moment is to share fission activities. Fission posters are one of the indispensable elements in fission activities. I sorted out the six elements of fission posters and made a mind map to share with you. I can learn from them when designing fission posters.

(Six elements of fission poster)

③Page: The page is the final effect presentation of the event planning plan. The presentation of the page must not only be beautiful but also conform to business logic and interaction habits. It is actually wrong for many companies to submit all page constructions to complete them by one person. The design only solves the problem of the page's aesthetic level, and operations need to work with artists to solve the problems of event section layout, product display and event interaction. Events or products with high activity intensity, high consumption frequency and low customer unit price can be placed on the first screen of the page; users’ choices and thinking should be reduced in activity interaction, and users should be taken care of by one another.

④ Development: Development needs to realize the interaction effect based on the activity gameplay and page prototype. Operation, design and development need to maintain high-frequency interaction and communication to avoid repeated rework due to poor communication. If you are purchasing a third-party plug-in, just do a good job of testing the plug-in.

⑤ Materials: If the activity plan requires online and offline linkage, the activity executive needs to purchase and produce materials from the supplier according to the activity requirements, and also leave time for installation and debugging.

(4) Activity process testing

In order to ensure smooth execution of the event, there are no omissions, a process test must be conducted before the event is launched. During inspection, you can check each link one by one along the path from promotion to transaction. Is the hyperlink that should be inserted in the official account tweets, whether the inserted link is correct, whether the interaction on the page is smooth, whether the product activity settings are correct, whether the product price is wrong, whether the plug-ins of each activity are mutually exclusive, whether the payment process for additional purchases and orders is smooth, etc. all need to be tested one by one. If it is an e-commerce platform, it is best to place an order by yourself and run the entire transaction process.

3. Online follow-up stage

There are two main tasks in the event follow-up stage: one is online promotion, and the other is monitoring and adjustment. The purpose is to let users know that the platform conducts activities while ensuring the orderly progress of activities, not only opening the gate and releasing water, but also ensuring stable water flow.

(1) Online promotion

After the activity page, activity poster, activity materials and other designs are completed in the planning and design stage, the relevant materials and materials need to be submitted to the marketing department to preheat the promotion before the event is launched. Before the promotion is launched, each promotion channel needs to formulate promotion strategies and promotion forms based on the attributes of channel users, and hand them over to the project team and public relations team for review, so as to avoid unnecessary disputes and public relations crises caused by pig teammates to the platform. According to the rhythm of the event, promotion and warm-up can be carried out before the event, or promotion channels can be gradually opened during the event. It should be reiterated that the promotion link or QR code given to each promotion channel must be unique, so as to facilitate data analysis during the event's follow-up process and during the event's review.

(2) Monitoring and Optimization

In order to make the event smooth and maximize the effect of the event, it is necessary to monitor and adjust the event after the event is launched and promoted. In terms of specific execution actions, it can be divided into three categories: risk control, comparison optimization and inspection and correction.

① Risk control: The sources of risks in activities include laws and regulations, negative public opinion, cost budgets, and platform loopholes, so risk plans are indispensable. First, the promotion of the event and the words and deeds of all participants during the execution process must be within the scope agreed by international laws and regulations. At the same time, the regulations must be abide by the regulations formulated by platforms such as WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Tmall, and JD.com to avoid banning accounts. Especially when sharing fission activities within the WeChat ecosystem, you must monitor the data in real time and do not let the fission data grow too fast. At the same time, be careful not to frequently use template messages and other functions to harass users to avoid user reports. Second, when complaining, customer service personnel should follow up and feedback in a timely manner and never ignore it to avoid the expansion of negative public opinion. Third, always pay attention to the use of marketing expenses to avoid budget overspending. Fourth, timely repair platform loopholes or remove them from the shelves and terminate activities. Although we had already conducted activity testing before the event went online, negligence and vulnerabilities may still be inevitable, which requires us to always pay attention to the platform's data. Common activity loopholes include: the product price is incorrectly pointed to the decimal point or written incorrectly by 0, the coupon has not set the category or threshold for use, links that require completing tasks to receive rewards can be shared directly, special flash sale products have not set purchase restrictions, the rights and interests enjoyed by specific groups have not been set up, and other technical loopholes. Fifth, e-commerce platforms should also pay attention to inventory in real time when conducting activities to avoid the risk of overselling.

② Comparative optimization: There is an iterative thinking in the Internet thinking. During the execution of the activity, you must also run small steps and iterate quickly, continuously optimize and adjust to maximize the effect of the activity. During the execution process, we need to monitor traffic data, conversion data, product data, etc. in real time, and adjust it based on previous activity data and activity effect estimate data. Taking e-commerce activities as an example, there are three specific actions to be performed: First, check the conversion rate of users from different channels and adjust the proportion of channel promotion resources in a timely manner. Second, replace the products with high exposure and low conversion with products with low exposure and high conversion, and replace the products with fixed sales. Third, customer service personnel should keep a close eye on order data. For orders that have not been paid for more than 5 minutes after submitting orders, customers can conduct follow-up visits to solve user problems and urge orders to be paid.

③ Check and correct: During the execution of the event, we also need to be vigilant about the deviations caused during the execution, pay attention to timely clearing up some minor episodes in the event, so that the event can return to the main line of the event as soon as possible. During the activity execution process, we can answer four questions to check and correct the inspection and correction work: a. What should happen according to the scheduled plan; b. What actually happened; c. What factors are beneficial to the continued execution of the activity; d. What factors are unfavorable to the continued execution of the activity. At the same time, in order to understand the implementation of the activity, the members of the project team need to maintain efficient communication. Each staff member involved in the activity knows the tasks he has performed and promptly feedback on the work status and progress, so that everything has explanations, every matter has a conclusion, and everything has a response.

The above three steps need to be performed until the last moment of the event. You must not start or end, because the slackness in the last few minutes causes the activity to fail.

4. Post- review stage

The end of the event does not mean that the work of the event operator is over. Whether the event has achieved the preset goals, how many have been achieved, which channel is more high-quality users, what highlights are there, what shortcomings are there, and what problems have not been solved, all need to be summarized through the event review. Problems such as which users in the event won the prize, when and how to distribute it, etc. also need to be solved after the event ends. The work in the post-review publicity phase can be summarized into five items: effect evaluation, data review, experience summary, event aftermath and post-activity publicity.

(1) Effectiveness Assessment

After getting the basic result data at the end of the event, the first thing we need to do is to compare the result data with the target data, analyze whether the activity has met the activity expectations and whether it has solved the problems raised before the activity begins. The direction of the effect evaluation depends on the activity goal set at the beginning of the activity: if the activity goal is sales, then the effect we evaluate is revenue ratio ROI; if the activity goal set is to attract new products, the effect we want to evaluate is customer acquisition cost. Generally, during the event, we can basically estimate the effect of the event based on the rhythm of the event and the feedback on the spot.

(2) Data replication

Activity data is the core basis for verifying the performance of each link during the activity process. Due to space limitations, only a few analytical dimensions are listed here. We will expand the specific data analysis methods in the data operation section in detail. When reviewing, we can analyze the data from: channel, traffic, users, content, products, marketing, time and other dimensions. Because the classification standards are different, these latitudes do not comply with the MECE law. You can just choose the latitude you need according to the actual situation.

① Channel data: Before the event started, we chose multiple channels for online promotion. Which channel has the largest traffic, which channel has the highest user conversion, and which channel has the lowest customer acquisition cost. We need to analyze and compare after the event, so that we can choose the most cost-effective channel to place it next time.

②Conversion data: As we mentioned earlier, the entire transaction process of users can be broken down into six steps: reach, browsing (click), purchase addition, ordering, and payment. Each step to the next step will lead to a loss of users. We need to calculate the conversion rate from each step of traffic to transaction and compare it with previous activity data and industry average data to analyze the gap between us in each link in the activity execution process.

③User data: Different activity forms have different assessments of user data. General user data include: new users, new members, number of visitors, transaction users, proportion of new and old users, transaction volume of new and old users, and unit price of new and old users.

④ Content data: Content data analyzes the quality of design and creation of tweets, promotion posters, event pages and other materials during the event dissemination and execution, and evaluates the capabilities of the content creation team. Commonly used data include: the number of tweets read, the number of poster scans, the length of stay of a single page, the depth of user access, and the number of forwardings by users.

⑤ Product data: Product data is the most important data indicator in the operation of e-commerce platforms. After the event, we need to analyze the number of active products, exposure of individual products, conversion rate of individual products, transaction amount of individual products, etc., and find popular products, best-selling products and unsold products, so as to provide data support for future operations and procurement.

⑥ Marketing data: Marketing data analyzes the driving force of marketing activities on the overall transaction volume of the platform and whether users are interested in marketing activities. The data that needs to be analyzed include: the number of users who receive coupons, the number of users who use coupons, the proportion of marketing expenses, and the related sales volume.

⑦ Time Latitude: The data of time latitude refers to the trend change curve of the main assessment data of the event, such as the number of views, number of visitors, order amount, transaction amount, etc., in chronological order, and analyze the changes in user behavior during the event based on the trend of the curve. In future activities, we can also adjust the activity rhythm according to trend changes, and adjust the time to promote and when to place coupons according to time to maximize the effect of the activity.

After the data is reviewed, a data analysis report should be formed to provide data support for future activities and provide a scientific basis for adjusting operational strategies.

(3) Experience summary

In addition to analyzing data, review also requires analyzing behavior. Data is the result of production, and behavior is the reason for the occurrence. What are the good ideas, details and processes in the copywriting, art, channels, execution, etc. in the entire event? What new problems were exposed during the event and what pitfalls were encountered? If you do another activity, which nodes in the activity need to be retained, which ones need to be adjusted, and which ones need to be optimized? Answer these questions carefully and use successful experiences and methods as solutions to the next event or similar event, so that planning activities will become more and more convenient in the future.

Many team leaders have this concept: everyone has been busy for several days, and the event has finally ended. Everyone hurry up and go home to rest, and then do a review when you have time the next day. In fact, it is better to summarize the experience of the event while it is hot. After the event is over, while everyone is there and remember the details of the event process are relatively clear, and then summarize the experience of the event.

(4) After the event

After the event, you must also do a good job in the aftermath, such as mailing prizes, recycling of materials, and settlement of fees.

(5) Post-event promotion

In order to maximize the effect of the event, you need to do a post-promotion at the end of the event. The contents of the post-publication include: announcement of the winner list, customer witness, user reviews and the return of popular products.

The work of the post-review publicity phase was completed, and the entire event came to an end. At this stage we analyzed the problems solved in the activity, and also analyzed the unresolved and emerging problems. Unsolved problems and emerging problems become our new activity goals and enter the next PDCA cycle.

Again: Because this is a general activity process, it cannot fully match all online activities. The execution elements involved in the activity process are not listed correctly when each activity is executed; the activity process does not need to be strictly followed in the above order. Many tasks can be carried out through multiple threads.

5. Postscript

Each event operation wants to plan "koi", "ice bucket challenge", "book-losing battle", and other popular products that are popular, but popular products are [unanswerable]. Behind it, it is said that it has a huge user base, strong budget support, and a strong technical team. To organize and mobilize such huge resources, the strong skills of the event operators are required.

This operation manual only gives you some methodology at the level of "Tao". To plan a hot-selling event that will flood the screen, you still need to master more "skills". This requires us to soak in various event cases. Whenever we see a hot event appear, we will reversely disassemble the execution process of the event through the event's promotional copy, poster, landing page and other information, and introduce the purpose and ideas behind the event planners, absorb the fresh gameplay and creativity that appear in the event, and provide materials for our event creativity.

If you want to get more event cases, you will provide you with four directions: First, pay attention to the TOP10 platforms mentioned above, and always pay attention to the latest gameplay and dynamics in the industry; Second, pay attention to the latest gameplay of major Internet manufacturers; Third, pay attention to the screen-sinking events that appear in the circle of friends; Fourth, integrate into an operational circle to avoid becoming an information island. As long as you immerse yourself in the atmosphere of operation every day, you will one day reach the state of "heavy sword without sharp edge" or even "no sword is better than sword".

This is the third experience of the operation system I have sorted out. Vertical activity operation will also disassemble the detailed gameplay of each activity in detail, such as how to share fission activities and coupons; horizontally, it will gradually sort out the store construction, product operation, content operation, user operation and data analysis. This is a huge project, and it can only be said that "the road is long and arduous, and I will search up and down."

Author: Daigoko

Source: tihuxuetang