The underlying logic of new media operations

Due to the popularity of short videos and live broadcasts, many people in the circle have recently expressed their opinions on the new concept of "classical self-media". The so-called "classical new media" roughly refers to a group of people in self-media who do not make short videos or even live broadcasts, including many big Vs in various fields.

It so happens that the author of this article was once ridiculed by a design director as "traditional new media" a few months ago, and also met a boss in the traditional cosmetics industry who had never done online business and said as soon as he came, "Don't talk about WeChat, WeChat is dead, there are only live broadcasts and short videos in the future."

For some outsiders who are not deeply involved in the new media field, it is easier to simply judge right and wrong based on the superficial excitement.

This article is not meant to be sarcastic or controversial, nor does it argue about whether images or videos are better. It simply attempts to share some ideas with you based on the relationship between the nature of new media and marketing growth.

01 Understand the new media itself

From one-way communication to closed-loop marketing

As we all know, the earliest traditional media such as television, newspapers, radio, outdoor advertising, etc., all have one characteristic, which is " one-way communication " - whether you can hear it or not, I have said it anyway.

You placed an advertisement for a new product in a newspaper. It is hard to say that the growth of this product came from this newspaper. It could also be the promotion of a new store, or even natural growth. This growth will occur whether you invested or not. But because of this, many businesses have no choice but to increase advertising and bombard consumers.

In the past, people just watched TV, listened to the radio and read newspapers. There were not many other channels to obtain information. The more you bombard people with information, the more likely they will remember you rather than your competitors. This also leads to very high advertising costs.

The characteristics of one-way communication mean that there are two disadvantages in advertising on traditional media:

1. Unable to interact with consumers
2. Unable to obtain accurate effect data to calculate input-output ratio

We are unable to receive feedback from consumers: Are the people reached through this particular channel interested in this product? Do you like this ad idea? Do you have any other demands?

Of course, this does not mean that traditional media is so bad. This is itself limited by the development of technology. In the past, big data could not be made more complete and detailed, nor is the mobile Internet as overdeveloped as it is now. On the one hand, mobile phone contacts make advertising monitorable and controllable; on the other hand, jump paths can be set within advertising materials (whether hard ads or soft articles) to further convert, and specific QR codes with parameters can be used online and offline to monitor the effects of different channels.

Therefore, the role that traditional media plays in marketing and promotion is relatively simple and fixed, that is, "disseminator" - advertising, spreading the word, that is, the role they can play is more on front-end exposure. As for whether consumers have heard it, whether they want to know more, and whether they want to buy it, that is not something that most traditional media can guarantee or control with businesses.

But new media is different. When new media emerged, the Internet had already developed from PC to mobile. Whether it was the early BBS and websites that could leave messages on the web, or the Weibo and WeChat that later developed with the mobile terminals, the things that were disseminated could be judged through user feedback or data reflection to determine whether the content itself was good and whether the delivery method was correct.

Therefore, the high interactivity, data monitoring and low cost of new media make new media marketing more valuable . The subway advertising that originally cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars can now be used to invest in a few more big Vs. For businesses, the cost-effectiveness seems to be quite good.

• High interactivity: The benefit of high interactivity is not only to make the originally cold-looking brand more down-to-earth, but more importantly, it can gain feedback and evaluation from users and conduct further marketing guidance during the interaction . For example, when a user sees that you have launched a new product, she is very interested but a little confused, so she leaves a message asking how to buy it. Are there any discounts? Can I use it according to my specific situation? Both brands and KOLs can directly answer and guide step by step, and the process is public and can be seen by other users on the network , which may lead to more direct or indirect transactions.
• Data can be monitored: Although the industry has always criticized many big Vs for having inflated data, news about data manipulation has also emerged in an endless stream. However, in addition to doing certain risk control and evaluation before choosing the delivery channel, this problem can also be avoided through the scientific setting of assessment dimensions , not only looking at exposure data, but also the actual landing page conversion rate, purchase rate, etc.
• Low cost: The communication effect of the Internet is faster and lighter . Explosive fission, viral marketing, etc. reduce the overall cost of human channels, so the final cost of investment will naturally come down.

There are more ways to play, and the transaction link has also changed from traditional media placement-offline transaction to direct transaction through online communication (or guiding to offline store transaction, but still monitorable). Then the marketing link and closed loop of the entire new media operation can be formed, and subsequent marketing actions can be continuously optimized and refined.

The new media marketing closed loop has four characteristics:

1. There is a beginning and an end;
2. Go smoothly and go well;
3. Multiple pivot links can be evolved;
4. Repeatable and replicable.

1) There is a starting point and an end point

We can use this to check ourselves. Whether it is Douyin or live streaming, do the new media operations you are currently doing have a starting point and an end point?

Having a starting point and an end point means that once something has been thrown out, whether it is active feedback from users (participation in activities, leaving messages, etc.) or potential feedback (data from various dimensions), there will be a result, and this result can be used as the basis for your next optimization.

2) Make it work and go smoothly

According to the famous Pirate Model AARRR theory, most B-end and C-end marketing paths can be roughly divided into attracting new customers - promoting activation - closing deals - retention - closing deals - spreading . Before launching an activity or an article, it is necessary to first verify whether the entire behavioral path of user participation is feasible and smooth.

For example, you launch an event on your WeChat official account, but tell users to search for your brand account on Weibo, follow it, and then find the nth Weibo post to leave a message to participate. Unless you want to deliberately drive traffic to Weibo, this is generally not feasible and will not go smoothly. After logging out of WeChat and logging into Weibo, you still have to search and find a specific Weibo post. The path is too long, and a large number of users will be lost at each stage.

In addition, relatively speaking, if it is possible to guide the conversion directly within the WeChat ecosystem until the transaction is completed using WeChat Pay, there is no need to set a participation threshold for users - this is not feasible.

3) Evolvable pivot links

Simply put, this link itself has several basic steps that cannot be deleted , like a tree trunk. These steps can be extracted and transformed into new links according to different purposes. In fact, it is learning by analogy.

For example: the process of a certain fission activity is that the user sees the poster - scans the code to follow the official account - the official account automatically replies to the activity description - forwards to the circle of friends - takes a screenshot and sends it to the official account - receives the prize - the ultimate goal is to maximize the number of fans for the official account.

The key steps in this process are understanding (seeing the activity) - action (forwarding) - feedback (receiving prizes).

According to this basic path, it can be transformed into seeing the poster - scanning the code to join the group - automatically being @informed of the task - forwarding to the circle of friends - taking a screenshot and sending it to the group @ the group owner - receiving the prize (the last step here can be set up so that the group owner can give the prize privately, or the group owner can send the prize to a new group - or guide the public account to receive the prize after sending a private message. The first method can accumulate friends for personal accounts, the second method can directly use the community to stratify users, and the third method can both accumulate the group and increase the number of fans for the public account)

You can also see the poster - scan the code to follow the official account - automatically receive the exclusive poster and the task of recruiting people - automatically count down after forwarding - when it is full - the official account will automatically give out rewards...

4) Repeatable and replicable

Recyclable, adaptable or sustainable - at least reusable multiple times over a relatively long period of time. Assuming that you are sending compressed data packages for a long time, its closed-loop logic is to post on Zhihu, add a description or add a traffic diversion to the official account at the end of the article or answer to receive it by replying to the keyword. Replace Zhihu with Jianshu or other relatively friendly platforms for traffic diversion, and this link can be recycled.

If you send red envelopes directly, and invite people to follow the official account to send them directly, this is relatively risky. Being targeted by the wool party is a small matter, but it would be a tragedy if you are not careful and your account is directly blocked by WeChat.

02 The underlying logic of new media

Everything is based on the ability to produce content

In fact, new media is just a marketing tool, not an end in itself. People outside the industry tend to look at things from a superficial level, believing that the essence of "new media" lies in "new". Therefore, they think that new media now means shooting videos and live broadcasts, and that creating pictures and texts is "traditional new media" and "classical self-media."

However, if you really want new media to truly empower your brand and products, in addition to clearly knowing and setting up a new media marketing chain that suits you, you also need to think further about the starting point of this chain - that is, how to work hard on the module of attracting new customers corresponding to the content.

After all, if the content is not good and it fails at the starting point, there will be no further developments.

Those who think that text, pictures and articles are outdated are undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse. The most basic carrier that can carry out creative content presentation is actually copywriting. Graphics need an outline, videos and comics need a script, and all other creative forms of expression must first have a text description - text is the smallest and most meaningful carrier of content.

Text is the most basic and explicit carrier, and good content is the core - and also the underlying logic of new media.

Regarding how to produce good content, the perception of the content itself is too subjective. But regulations can be measured by the relationship between content and users. The key lies in whether the content itself completes the communication process with the readers/audience.

1. Explicit communication refers to all visible interactive effects, such as likes, comments, and reposts, clicks to jump to the landing page, whether participation is guided by instructions, etc.
2. Invisible communication lies in whether it causes emotional resonance. For example, whether the Father's Day content evokes the users' (audience, readers') memories and love for their fathers. Whether the dating content makes users consciously forward it to their partners or makes single people want to fall in love. Whether the Children's Day content evokes some childhood memories of users... These all cause resonance and belong to the invisible spiritual communication. Although this part of the communication is not the most intuitive for marketers, it will be reflected in the dissemination and influence. Spread, spread, and spread again for you, and finally reach more of your potential audiences.

How can we achieve limited communication with users? This requires not only learning various writing skills, acting methods, shooting techniques, post-production, etc., but also not just learning a certain activity routine. It requires more giving users what they know they want, and giving users what they don’t know they want.

Most companies or teams only do two things: "give users what they want" and "give users what they think in their hearts", especially the latter, while ignoring "giving users what they don't know they need". Many people have been talking about "user thinking" and "scenarios", but they are just repeating what others say and have not really done what they say.

This article believes that if you really want to create content that impresses users, in addition to fully empathizing with users, you also need to understand them better than they themselves do. The Wang Po selling melons-style propaganda that emphasizes how much value you can bring to users every day should really be put away.

• Point: Simulate the user - put yourself in the user role , assuming you are the user, would you use this product? Why? If you use it, what issues would you be concerned about? What perceptions and benefits do you care more about when using it? This is empathy. Only by amplifying every perception can we produce content that stirs up users’ emotions and impresses them.
• Line: Insight into customer groups - a user is subjective, while a user group is objective . The points that multiple users care about may be known by most competitors or even passers-by, so your mentioning them will have no special meaning to them. Look for things that are ignored by most people but that the group cares about. This may be the breakthrough point that "users don't know they need", which is the content where you may be able to make a difference.

03 New media positions from the perspective of enterprises

Clear positioning, distinguish short-term benefits from long-term benefits

Today, with the rampant use of full-network marketing and social media, many companies have established their own new media departments or set up new media positions in their marketing operations departments. However, many companies have not thought clearly, or do not know what value this position can bring to them, and have no idea about the position positioning and purpose requirements. Even if they find talents after setting up the position, they will not use them. In the end, they conclude that new media is not feasible and has no output, and then they cancel the position...

If the company itself does not have this position, when setting it up, it should think clearly about what the new media operation needs to do and what effects it needs to achieve . Generally speaking, if it is just a new media operation position, you either need to plan the entire new media module in the early stage and then expand the department, or you need to do the most important and implementation work that the person is best at.

If it is a new media department, each member needs to be assigned the most important work and responsibilities. Cross-border work is encouraged only when the work is completed at more than 80% of the original job. Otherwise, the entire department will be in chaos and aimless every day with extremely low work efficiency. Please learn about the North Star indicator .

After the purpose is clear and the positioning is determined, managers need to pay attention to the following points when starting daily work:

1. Reasonable KPI : Set reasonable KPI based on the distance from money, and analyze the specific business and functions. I won’t go into details about this.
2. Don’t demonize processes: Appropriate processes help advance work efficiently. For small companies and start-ups, especially those with only one new media operation, which write soft articles and product copywriting every day, at least one person should be added to do the final proofreading. The huge amount of copywriting work is thrown to one person with a short submission time. If there is a typo in the end and it is regarded as a problem of character and professional ethics, it is an exaggeration.
3. Short-term benefits & long-term benefits : Distinguish clearly which are short-term benefits and which are long-term benefits, and then make comprehensive considerations to make choices. For example, everyone is doing live streaming now, does your company also have to do it? Consider carefully what benefits can be brought in the short term. If there are no practical benefits in the short term and long-term preparation is required, then whether the manpower and material resources invested in this period are worthwhile. After comprehensive comparison, I believe that many people who are impulsive will calm down.
4. Dedicated person to dedicated position: There is no need to say much about this. If you hire someone who works in new media, you can discuss with him on an equal footing, but there is no need to prove in every aspect that the other person is inferior to you. Your enemy is not him, but your competitors! Leave professional matters to professionals.

04 New Media Operations from a Personal Perspective

Learn to find the underlying logic and draw inferences from one example

If you always pay too much attention to the superficial "new" forms and only look at the "trends", you will miss the precious time to form a personal cognitive knowledge system without any accumulation, which will not be worth the loss.

Personal cognition and knowledge system are all inseparable from the ability to find the underlying logic. This ability can be trained and used to your advantage, and the more you consciously break things down, the stronger this inherent problem-solving ability will become.

The process is as follows:

See an event – ​​analyze the underlying logic of this event – ​​multiple events – analyze the underlying logic of each event – ​​find similarities – abstract and summarize the relatively universal underlying logic – transfer this underlying logic to new domain knowledge – practice.

In the long run, not only will your ability to abstract and generalize become stronger, but your application ability and vision will also be stronger than that of ordinary people.

Many people who have just entered the new media, Internet operation, and marketing promotion industries have some common misunderstandings: limited energy, inability to use tools, using tools costs money, entering the circle costs money, and after using the tools, they feel that the functions are limited and cannot meet their needs...

Most problems can be summed up as follows: paying little attention but indulging in lazy thinking; overestimating short-term gains and underestimating or even giving up long-term gains.

I won’t say much about this. The examples of learning by analogy have been mentioned before. I will share more about them when I have the chance. Although it is a cliché, I still want to emphasize those few sentences in the end: input like crazy (read more), digest well (think), and then output like crazy (practice). If you give yourself time and patience, you will reap rewards.

Author: Guo Lvxia

Source: "Operation Scapegoat's Home"

Related reading:

24 categories of essential tools for new media operations!

11 hot-selling title routines in new media operations, all practical information!

New media operation: 10 methods to dig deep into materials!

New media operation copywriters need to master these 3 points

37 public account editing skills that new media people must know!