How to accurately obtain seed users?

This is a problem that every new brand will encounter, but it is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We can only try to look for some commonalities.

First of all, seed users are divided into two categories: one is ordinary seed users , and the other is core seed users . The two are completely different.

When you go to the marketing department to distribute orders, just randomly pick two community users. These can be considered as early seed users, but they may not be helpful to the brand. If you are a product for college students, the users attracted through point-to-point dispatching on campus can be regarded as the core seed user group. I believe that in most cases we need the latter.

1. Characteristics of the core user group

What are the characteristics of the core user group? There are several commonalities to refer to.

1. Have the ability to spread

It would be best if it’s a KOL. One user with the ability to spread information may be worth 100 or even 1,000 spectators. I believe everyone can reach a consensus on this point.

2. Have a preference for trying new things

No matter what new brand it is or what track it is in, it is actually challenging the existing products and rules. It is much more difficult to convince someone who is unwilling to try new things than someone who can actively accept new things. Proactive people are also willing to spend more money and energy on new things, and will spread them to more people.

3. Willing to buy or even repurchase

Some users pay attention to products with the mentality of getting a bargain, but these users may not have the intention to purchase or repurchase, so it is difficult for them to become core users. Only those who are willing to purchase at the original price or even have the intention to repurchase are the core seed users that the brand needs.

2. For different brands, how to judge and develop their own seed users?

First, as mentioned above, screen the spreadability

There are two dimensions on these two sides: the first priority is to find opinion leaders in the industry, and the second is to find powerful communication groups.

In the early stages of a brand, the founders or investors must try their best to utilize any connections they have. For example, the recent advertisement of the No. 2 Human Resources Department brought in investor Jiang Nanchun to endorse it. For example, Banmi, which previously provided travel companion services, invited Luo Zhenyu and Wu Xiaobo to experience in-depth travel. Another example is that in the early stages of DingTalk, it sought out Li Kaifu and others to endorse it. These are all the basis for endorsement and dissemination.

Of course, the core premise is that opinion leaders are related to the product industry field.

There is another type of opinion leader, which is the mass opinion leader. For example, when promoting products for the elderly, the local marketing will prioritize the middle-aged women who organize square dances to influence more people; for example, giving away square dance team uniforms, etc.; for promotion to student groups, people from the student union or part-time organizations will be looked for to help influence more people, all of which use their influence within the circle.

Secondly, filter from the time dimension

For many products, having free time is sometimes better than having money.

Combining the opinion leaders mentioned above, if we add the time dimension, opinion leaders with free time will undoubtedly be of higher quality. Luo Zhenyu and Wu Xiaobo may only be able to spread their information once each time they travel, but if a freelance travel blogger can bring about dissemination influence, it may be all the time, and every picture and travel note can be a long-term content dissemination material.

Therefore, we need to find seed users who have more free time, as their time can be converted into brand influence to a certain extent. So everyone should try to consider their initial seed users as much as possible and see which small group of people are willing to spend time on you.

I once participated in a product that gave out small benefits by checking in, which was mainly community operation. The most active among them are a few older sisters who know how to use WeChat and are willing to work hard for a few cents of discount. Most importantly, they have free time. Give a few people some small extra rewards regularly, and you will find that the atmosphere of the entire community is boosted by them and gradually affects more people. It is much better than the official propaganda.

There are more dimensions here, and the core is to consider how to let seed users spontaneously/unintentionally help you sell products. Think about coupons, old users bringing in new users activities, photo rewards, etc., which are actually based on this core logic. And it is this group of people who participate most enthusiastically.

The third is that users must have strong demand

——That is, how strong is the demand of this seed user for your product/brand, whether in terms of performance needs or emotional needs.

Some brand fans will like you even if you have bugs, and I will like you even if your product is rubbish. This shows that they have strong demands. Therefore, you can also measure what demands the first batch of seed users have from us and how you can meet these demands.

It was very obvious in the early days of Xiaomi and Hammer. They were basically natural product testers, and even if there were bugs, they firmly believed that they could be optimized. Moreover, this dimension is actually more obvious in the entertainment industry. If a certain point is hit, the fans will be die-hard fans. No matter how solid the evidence is, my idol is still the best. If there are any problems, it is the whole world that is harming him.

The fourth dimension is to have an entry threshold

Combining the above points, seed fans need to set screening criteria.

One is the ability to enter or contact the product itself. Everyone can set some thresholds artificially. Sometimes the higher the threshold, the better, because they will promote it in the future. The threshold for others will be lowered lower and lower, even lowered because of him, which is a kind of superiority.

If you start by doing some so-called user discovery with a very low threshold, as you increase the difficulty later, you will feel that this marketing is not easy to do and people will not buy into it so much.

Just like the first two years when the Internet was burning the most money, too many services were free or cost only 1 yuan, such as shared bicycles and door-to-door car washing. They all gave money to you to experience them, but how many people would still pay for them after the threshold was really raised?

Of course, there is pressure from capital to accelerate maturity, but looking back, if the initial threshold is higher, wouldn’t the first batch of people who join be more loyal to the brand, and would this provide a better foundation for the company’s long-term development?

So, to sum up, communication capabilities, ample time, strong demand for products and entry barriers are several dimensions to consider when developing core seed users.

Different products may face different challenges, but at present, the value of the core seed user group will only increase.

Author: Lao Nie

Source: Lao Nie talks about brands (ID: laoniedushu)