Deconstructing community growth: sending red envelopes, group points, and super users!

I have been engaged in community marketing for three years, from being responsible for 500 users to currently having 30,000 community users. Over the years, I have tried dozens of ways to promote activation, retention, and attract new users in the community, but none of them can escape the three giants: red envelopes, group points, and fission activities. Today I will tell you about my practical experience of using red envelopes, building a points system, and doing community fission activities to double the number of users and product performance!

1. How to send red envelopes in the community correctly?

When it comes to becoming active in a social network, the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind is to send out red envelopes. Why is the community "red envelope reward" program so popular? From the perspective of user operation, I think there are three reasons: first, the operation is simple; second, it does not require a complicated planning process; and third, it motivates users quickly. To sum it up in one word: cool, very cool, so cool.

The effect of sending red envelopes can enable users to reach the fastest "group climax" in the community. One of the core principles of building a community is. It's a group of people doing something together. We all have a common goal and work hard towards it.

1. Case: Why are everyone very active in the early stage of the community when red envelopes are distributed, but remain silent when no red envelopes are distributed?

I believe that everyone who operates a community will send out red envelopes when they first form a community. Most of them will send out a wave of red envelopes because this is an ultra-short-term incentive. The crazy bombardment of money will allow users to get cash rewards in a short period of time. Everyone’s purpose is very clear. You are the group owner, you send out red envelopes, and I am a user. I am responsible for saying a few nice words to cooperate with you and deduct 1, and then I will come to take your money. To put it bluntly, everyone is busy, and we all know that you send red envelopes to buy my activity. There is nothing wrong with this in essence, and everyone is sincere. However, there is a pitfall here, so be careful not to step on it. If you do, you will be the "sucked away" person, as you will spend your money but end up not getting any activity!

First point: How should I send premeditated red envelopes: Sending red envelopes is a means, but not an activity plan. Red envelopes are purely "transactional behavior"

Sending red envelopes is a means, but not an activity plan. Red envelopes are purely a "transaction behavior". Sending red envelopes in a group is essentially asking others to work for you. You give money and I provide activity. Only after we understand this basic logic can we better plan a good red envelope distribution plan! From an investment perspective, when a company gives out money, we all hope to get something equivalent or even an excess return in return, that’s for sure.

So how do you get an excess return?

Dig the pit! Use red envelopes to achieve a peer-to-peer transaction relationship

The so-called "digging a pit", what I mean here is "digging a pit" for the users in the group, digging a "red envelope trap" for the users. For example, in the early stage of community formation, we sent out red envelopes to celebrate the establishment of the community and create an atmosphere for it. After sending out the red envelopes, we need to ask users to pay us immediately, so that users have a mindset in their chat: you give money, I do the work!

First, establish this basic transaction concept within the community, rather than users just coming to get your red envelopes for free. Kick out those group members who received red envelopes but did not work in time, set an example for red envelopes in the community, make it clear to the users in the community the purpose of sending red envelopes. Pay for work, work for money, and get out if you don't work. It's very simple. This is the rule in the community. Establish a cooperative relationship with 499 users, and then you can get an equal return when you send out red envelopes, so that your efforts will not be in vain!

The second point: We send red envelopes in a training manner. When users complete designated actions, we will reward them.

From the perspective of motivation theory, when we send a red envelope, it is an action, a ritual. When a user completes the action we specify, we give a reward and praise this in a very ritualistic form. We need to use red envelopes to achieve community growth, and the logic we need to grasp is what iconic actions the user completes and then we give the reward.

Organizing activities and giving out money all require timing. Only by seizing the right opportunity can you do the “right” thing! It is important to clearly distinguish when a reward is worthy of being given, and to send out red envelopes only when a specific behavior of the user is rewarded, or when a certain situation occurs. We cannot control when users send red envelopes, but I can control my own hands.

Here we need to think about a question: what kind of behavior in my community is the most rewarding and the most in need of advocacy? Let me give you a few examples: Douyin mutual follow groups, video account mutual like groups, and the "most worthwhile" behavior in these mutual aid communities should be that users can complete direct mutual following and mutual likes through the community, and we have to post one if you give us one. The essence of your community is to exchange resources and help each other, so the reward is for this "key behavior" of the user. Another example is the "network connection group". The purpose of this type of users joining the group is to complete resource connection through your social platform. The "key behavior" of this kind of community should be that group members introduce themselves or post resource matching posts, because only when user A posts a demand will user B connect with him. This is the core customer experience of the community you build!

Here is a simple formula for everyone: the core customer experience of users in the community = the key behavior of community users

The core customer experience of e-commerce sales groups is that users place orders within the group/users provide positive feedback on products within the group. This is the most valuable key behavior. Only by identifying the most valuable behaviors of your community users can you grasp the timing of sending red envelopes and cultivate users' spontaneous behaviors.

The third point: Use red envelopes to create a sense of ritual, easily anchor user marketing, and make users feel more ritualistic

When something happens, we can make users develop habits by taking fixed actions. The community is a very real-time performance stage. What you do one minute will be forgotten the next minute. The memory level of social media users is only 3 seconds: just now, now, wait!

"Welcoming newcomers" is the most ceremonial thing in all communities. Everyone has the opportunity to be welcomed and everyone can participate in it. Life is difficult, but community life can be happy. This is true. Community operation can create a sense of ritual in the community by "welcoming new members". For example, every time a new member joins the group, I will send a red envelope to the group as an essential part of our welcome ceremony. After everyone receives the red envelope, they will start copying my welcome message: Welcome xx to join our group! Then everyone joins in the chain and a community atmosphere is created.

Over time, as long as everyone sees your red envelope, they will know that there is a new member in the group, and I should go and welcome him/her. Let users remember your special events and festivals. Plan when to send your red envelopes based on your community activities and key nodes, and then cultivate a sense of ritual in the community.

2. Tips for receiving red envelopes

The name of the red envelope is a free advertising space and subconscious output: You can write a note on the red envelope. Don’t be lazy. Write the purpose name on the note. After receiving the corresponding red envelope, you must do the corresponding thing, so as to cultivate their awareness subtly.

Summary of the stages of sending red envelopes in the community: sending red envelopes is a means of motivation, but it is not a good method. Training-style red envelopes are the right way.

We need to grasp the correct timing and transaction logic of sending red envelopes, and write the corresponding purpose for each red envelope. In essence, we are making a transaction with users. Only by clarifying your transaction relationship and transaction content can we maximize the growth of red envelopes, rather than sending red envelopes just for the sake of sending red envelopes or because we think we should send red envelopes. Red envelopes must be sent with premeditation. Remember not to be taken advantage of and not know where you went wrong.

Regarding whether to use red envelopes to activate the community, I personally no longer use red envelopes to activate the community, because I don’t like to send a lot of money to the group, basically no more than 2 yuan, haha. It is more meaningful for community users to consciously send a red envelope to the group than for you to send 100 red envelopes, because this is when you can really drive the users to activate themselves. The essence of a community is a chat room. Only a community with interactive mutual assistance and users at the core and decentralized [group owners] is a healthy community with the ability to drive itself!

2. Build a simple community points system in three steps so you can make money by chatting!

The community points building can be done with the help of some community management tools. Currently, the commonly used tools all have the function of "group points". The machine records the number of points of a corresponding group or user, and the group owner only needs to send special instructions! So how do you build a points system for a community project? I am referring specifically to projects here. A single group is not necessary. You must build a project-based structure to see specific results and have enough samples.

How to build a points redemption system for community projects

The construction of the points system can be divided into three simple steps, which is easy to use and operate! Understand "how to earn points", "how to earn and increase points", "how to spend and redeem points"

1. Points acquisition: Through what channels and behaviors can points be acquired?

Users can obtain behaviors by completing your "key behaviors" within the community. This can be diverse and can be designed to match your different community activities. The key here is how to design your points acquisition rules. Points are your means of motivating users, and the logic is the same as that of red envelopes. You can design it so that each time a group member participates in a group activity, one point is added; each time a user shares a useful document, one point is added; and each time a group member signs in, one point is added.

The way for users to obtain points in the community can be single or multiple. This needs to be designed separately according to the actual situation of the community project. The key is to obtain points reasonably and easily. For example, the logic of credit card points is that you get points by spending, and consumption is the key behavior of credit cards. Banks encourage users to spend before giving points. Design based on what you want users to do and simplify the actions as much as possible so that users can understand them better.

2. Points earning rules: Are the number of points earned the same each time?

If the number of points a user receives for completing each "key action" in the community is the same, then your points-earning rules will be very simple. There must be exceptions to give greater stimulation to users. Let’s take credit card consumption points as an example. Credit card consumption in specific merchants will get five times or three times the points. This is differentiated treatment. There are special exceptions in point acquisition, which stimulates greater and more complex behaviors. This is the core of the points acquisition rules.

We can design a system where signing in to a group adds one point, sending a useful document adds three points, and sharing within the community adds ten points. The advanced system for obtaining points should be planned so that users can use the group as easily as playing a game. They can get more rewards by clearing a copy, and they can get rewards once they sign in once. However, the reward for clearing a copy is the points for ten check-ins, which encourages users to move towards more complex behaviors and higher-quality behaviors. We give different prices to different things, use tiered pricing, and design a high reward, rather than making a big fuss about low-quality check-in behaviors. Signing in is just the starting point, not the end.

3. For points redemption, not every point needs to be converted into cash but rather a gift of higher value?

Users have gone through the routines you designed in the community and finally accumulated a certain amount of points. Those points need to be spent. Points that can be cashed in are good points. If you just give users a user level of "points master", that is too empty and cannot effectively stimulate users. You should give users point gifts that are directly related to their interests.

Physical gifts are too expensive, and sending red envelopes is too tacky and not worth it. We need to start from the company's products themselves, and plan some actual benefits that can be given based on the value of the products themselves, such as the VIP usage days of the APP, just like the VIP experience days that the wps official account can receive, and for example, live broadcast software, you can get beans, gold coins, and flowers for rewards. In this way, it is most suitable to plan from the product's own shelf and the gifts that users can actually use. One part is to enhance the product's popularity and experience value, and on the other hand, gifts that combine user interests and product value are the most suitable for points redemption gifts in the community.

Summary of the community points system stage: The community points system is an operational strategy to assist the long-term development of the community

The community points system is actually similar to the credit card consumption points system. In essence, users do the work, we calculate their performance, and then settle the accounts. We design it based on the collective interests of users, and design it in line with the product experience and user interests. Only in this way can we maintain the long-term development of the community and internal membership upgrades of users, and bring greater performance growth opportunities.

3. The birth of a super user determines the future development of the community

Who: Who is the super user of the community?

Regarding the definition of super users, I have consulted a lot of information. Some people say that they are the 20% of high-quality users in the 80/20 rule, and some people say that people who have a good user experience of the product are their super users. In this era of self-media, everyone has their own definition of super users.

When many people think about this problem, they will unconsciously elevate this super user to higher dimensions such as brand, market, and product. But when the concept of super users is placed at the low-level of social networking, super users are not as powerful as everyone imagines. The super users in the community are equivalent to the cultivation of KOCs within the community. To put it bluntly, whoever can command the response of hundreds of people is the super user in the community.

Why: Why do communities need super users?

At the end of 2017, Luo Zhenyu claimed at the New Year’s Eve conference that he had found a new way to play: super user thinking. The concept originated from Wu Sheng, the founder of Scene Lab. In the process of moving from traffic thinking to super user thinking, companies should not care how many users there are, but should care more about how many super users there are.

From that time on, I began to explore and investigate who in my community could take on the role of super users and bring me growth. After searching around, I discovered that I couldn’t directly find super users in my community. Later, I began to reflect: Why does the community really need super users?

In the community, we do need some super users to bring real performance growth to our community. For example, a house selling group needs a few wealthy people who buy luxury houses. There always has to be someone who can bring growth to performance, but what these super users bring is not an improvement in your overall performance, but a group response.

Why do we need super users? Super users are not only those who can bring performance income to the community, but more importantly, they are leaders in the community and can lead the rest to follow suit. It is not a skill to get one person to place an order, but you can get the entire group to place an order together. The real reason why we need them is to figure out what our needs as community operators are!

What: How to create a super user and how to find super users in the community.

First, the real super user cannot be found . I tried, but to no avail! Because you can't predict the future and find the user before he places an order or generates high profits.

Second, super users are never artificially promoted . I admit that there is an element of gambling involved, but if there is a certain probability of promoting the emergence of super users through operational means, then there will be no difficult business in this world. A super user can be a very active member of your group, or a very powerful dealer in your company who can bring you tens of millions of dollars in sales, but they can all provide invaluable value to others, because high-value people are super users.

Third, what can we do? We cannot look for or create. What we can do is to do what the community should do and wait for this wonderful thing to happen. It will happen quickly and make the birth of super users better. Building a community is itself a process of cultivating users. Everyone is our super user. Maintaining a good relationship between the community and super users is the key.

Summary of the super user stage in the community: Super users are hard to come by, and coordination is the core

A super user is something you can only encounter by chance. We can choose to wait for this wonderful thing to happen, but we cannot force our community to have a super user. A super user is not a KPI, but it can be one of the key results of OKR. The core of community performance growth and the responsibility of performance growth are not the operators' tasks, but super users are needed to take up this banner.

4. Full summary of community performance growth

The above are the three magic weapons that I have summarized from my career in community marketing over the past few years. Sending red envelopes, community points, and super users are the three key results or key elements that I believe can achieve community performance growth in the performance growth concept. None of them can be missing. Everything we do is to cultivate and wait for the birth of our super users.

Whether it is an excellent community sales process or high-quality community sharing lectures, communities in any industry cannot do without these three complementary aspects. Focus on one thing and do a good job in the community. Everything is for the company, everything is for the community, and everything is for super users to bring growth to the community. Thank you everyone!

Author: Uncle Wen Source: Uncle Wen himself