How to direct traffic to APP through WeChat mini games?

A few days ago, I was chatting with a friend who wanted to make a game for a WeChat mini-program . He planned to use the game to direct traffic to his e-commerce APP and asked me if it was feasible.

Of course you can try whether it is feasible or not, but what kind of mini program game (hereinafter referred to as mini game) should you make?

His idea is still just an idea. He has not thought about what kind of game to make or how to direct traffic to the APP. He just sees that small games are very popular now, so he plans to take advantage of the bonus.

After the chat, the planning job fell on me. WeChat Mini Programs provide quite a lot of resources for game developers. A "Share" button can be placed in the mini program, which supports path tracking of users forwarding to groups, and can be monetized through video ads and GuangDianTong ads.

So, how can we achieve the goal of directing traffic to the APP through mini-games?

To achieve this goal, several key issues need to be addressed:

1. What kind of mini-games can attract users to play?

2. The retention rate of mini programs is low. How to improve activity and retention after users come?

3. Where do the first batch of users come from and how to produce the fission effect?

4. How to convert game users into e-commerce users?

5. How to solve the operating costs of mini-games?

1. The TOP100 list contains three types of excellent mini-game genes

The first step in this planning is to find out what kind of mini-game to make.

I spent about 10 hours in 3 days playing all the top 100 games in the WeChat-Games-Friends' Popular Games list. This caused WeChat to crash countless times, my phone was stuck and shut down 3 times, and I received 1.98 yuan in WeChat red envelopes , and I also had a sunk cost of 20 yuan in red envelopes.

So what did I find? Guess what.

First, I classified these 100 mini-games. After marking each mini-game, I divided them into 11 categories in total, including elimination, quiz, nesting dolls, competition, and shooting. There are 17 elimination categories, 15 quiz categories, 12 nesting dolls categories, and 12 competition categories.

At the same time, I also found a more interesting phenomenon. Among these 100 mini-games, 85 mini-games can be found in PC mini-games or APP games.

For example, fishing games , tank battles, and board games. The seemingly original "Matryoshka" game mode was quickly copied into multiple similar products. In the TOP100 list, 12 of them were Matryoshka games.

The so-called nesting doll games can be seen as a type of cultivation games.

For example, in the game I Want to Be the Emperor, the initial identity of the character is a little beggar. Two little beggars can be promoted to contract laborers, two contract laborers can be promoted to short-term laborers, and so on until they become the emperor. Different characters can produce different gold coins, which are used to purchase characters for synthesis.

This type of synthesis game can also be seen in PC mini-games, but it has not attracted more attention. However, in WeChat mini-games , it has achieved good results because of its simple operation, single game story and clear game results.

The simple and single story feature of nesting doll games is also reflected in other TOP100 mini-games.

Except for the 7 mini-games including turn-based, role-playing and tower defense which are more complicated to play and have story lines, most of the other 93 mini-games can be operated with one hand. For example, quiz games only require clicking to select, elimination games also require clicking with one hand, and shooting games require users to aim, but the operation is also clicked with one hand.

At the same time, there is no long main storyline in these games. Either you complete the task and move on to the next level, or it’s game over and you start over. The simple game interface makes it very clear what the goal is.

For example, in the screenshots below, how do you play the first game? Just hold down and slide the small cannon barrel to hit the bricks above. If you hit them, they will die. If you use up all the bricks, you win. It's that simple.

From this, we can draw the first conclusion about the game type: copy the type of PC mini-games, which requires the game story to be simple, the results to be clear, and preferably to be able to be operated with one hand with one button.

So, how does such a simple game arouse users' interest in participating?

Yes, since they are all small games, why are the ones in the TOP100 list so good? I did a word frequency analysis on the names of these 100 mini-games and got the following picture:

What can we see from this picture? In fact, nothing can be seen.

Among the names of these 100 mini-games, the word "all people" appeared 7 times, "happy" appeared 7 times, "Tencent" appeared 5 times, and "battle" appeared 5 times... What do you think of when it comes to this?

Yes, nothing came to mind. Let’s look further down.

The names of these 100 mini-games include keywords such as "Dou Dizhu", "Eat Chicken", "Ninja", "Billiards", "Lipstick Machine", "Kun", "Snake", "Tank War", "Eliminate Stars ", and "Plant Zombies". Look at the egg below, what do you think of?

Well, you should have thought of it. These keywords are all popular game keywords , such as Kun. The slogan " Start with a Kun , and evolution depends on swallowing" is still regarded as a classic. For example, games like Eliminate the Stars, Plants vs. Zombies, and Snake were also very popular at the time.

In addition to these well-known keywords, the TOP100 mini-game names also include archery, gobang, landlords, racing, fishing and other names that can make people aware of the game content and attract users who are interested in such topics to participate.

From this, we can draw the second conclusion: in game design, we can apply the IP of games that are well-known to the public, or we can highlight user interests in the name to attract users.

After analyzing this, I called a friend and explained the results of this phase of analysis. My friend asked me: "In this case...how can we innovate?"

Haha, do you think these mini games are just porters? Actually, the innovation of the mini games is reflected in the formation of alliances.

Hezong refers to the combination on IP. For example, Snake and Bricks combines the two IPs of Snake and Bricks together. Another example is the Shake to Win Lipstick Machine, which is a kind of game on physical retail machines, realizing the combination of mini program and physical IP.

Lianheng refers to the combination of game types. For example, Zombies Are Busy can be classified as a tower defense game like Plants vs. Zombies, or it can be classified as a nesting doll game because the zombie upgrade is implemented in the game using the nesting doll model.

In addition, in terms of innovation in mini-games, we also see the combination of games and charity . For example, the mini-game "Light Mountain Operation" is combined with the mountain street lamp charity action, and even attracted the attention of Tencent's Jack Ma.

In summary, through the analysis of the types and names of the TOP100 mini-games, we found that the genes of excellent mini-games are reflected in:

1. Copy the PC mini-game genre, highlighting the features of simple gameplay, single story, and predictable game results;

2. Use well-known mini-game IPs or highlight the interests of game users to name the mini-program;

3. In terms of naming, types and game elements, combined innovations can be made in terms of hot events, multiple game IPs, public welfare, social phenomena, etc.

2. Three strategies to drive mini-game user retention /sharing/monetization

Seeing this, the witty part of this article has been written. Since we have mentioned before that the mini-games are highly homogenized, and at the same time the operations are simple and the stories are single, then how can we get users involved? How to keep users active and retained?

Get out of the way, I'm going to start throwing the models.

Mini games can engage users and generate fission, which can be explained by the HOOKED addiction model. The addiction model is mainly divided into 4 steps:

Step 1: Trigger.

There are two types of triggers for mini-games. One is that the game IP arouses your interest and guides you to participate, and the other is triggered by friend relationships.

Step 2: Action.

In the action stage, another model needs to be used: the "Fogg Behavior Model".

The Fogg behavior model draws a curve according to the strength of user motivation and the level of required ability. The higher the motivation and the lower the required ability, the easier it is for users to take action.

According to the Fogg model, the more a game IP can arouse user interest and the simpler the game mode, the easier it is to attract user participation. However, in order to keep users active and retain them, the two steps of the addiction model, reward and investment, are required.

Step 3: Variable rewards

Among the TOP100 mini programs, most of them have done a good job in the reward link. The rewards of mini games can be divided into several types:

1. Show off your gaming achievements

Showing off is a form of reward. For example, in the mini-game "I Want to Be the Emperor", when the user unlocks a new character, a prompt to "show off" will appear.

In the mini program, since the sharing function is open, you can add "Share" in the game achievement show-off section to make it easier for users to forward it to friends or groups.

2. Level Rewards

Level rewards are also a common form of reward in games. When a user reaches a certain level, a level gift pack will appear. Similarly, in mini-games, you can also add fission-related settings such as "share to gain" or "share to gain double".

3. Item rewards

When users trigger certain specific mechanisms, they can get extra props as rewards, which will enhance the gaming experience.

In mini-games, you can add restrictions such as "earn by sharing", "earn by watching videos" or "earn by following public accounts " to guide users to take the next step;

4.Friends Ranking

Friend ranking is the most representative feature of WeChat Mini Programs that relies on social relationships to spread. The friend ranking is used to encourage users to continue to participate in the game. In addition to the ranking list, many mini games will also prompt users on the game interface how many more points they need to surpass a friend.

5. Use your friends

Utilizing friends means integrating friend characters into the game, for example, in the Paipai mini-game, you can capture friends as workers;

6. Red Envelope Rewards

There are two types of red envelope rewards. One is a direct red envelope reward, such as a red envelope is given when you open the game. The second is a triggered red envelope reward, such as in a quiz game you will be prompted how many questions you answer correctly to get a red envelope.

There are also two ways to withdraw red envelopes. One is direct withdrawal, where you can withdraw a few cents, and the other is withdrawal when the amount reaches 20 yuan, which causes sunk costs for users.

In the design of mini-games, rewards can stimulate user activity on the one hand, and drive users to take the next step on the other hand, such as sharing to groups, sharing with friends, and other fission methods. They can also guide users to engage in revenue-generating behaviors such as watching videos.

Step 4: Invest

The investment in the addiction model refers to the process of creating sunk costs for users through user behaviors in the previous steps, thereby improving retention.

In the application of the mini-game, on the one hand, you can set the withdrawal limit of the red envelope, and on the other hand, you can set tiered rewards for punching in and signing in.

Cultivation games have the advantage of naturally generating sunk costs. For other types of games, such as nesting doll games, users can also generate gold coins and other game props when they are away from the game, which is also a potential sunk cost.

The addiction model explains why mini-games attract users to participate. Based on the WeChat social relationship chain, the promotion of mini-games lies in friendships and communities . In terms of promotion, the user scale can be gradually expanded through the participation of the initial user group, which requires good in-game incentives and sharing guidance.

The WeChat ecosystem takes a semi-inclusive attitude towards the sharing of mini-games. On the one hand, it provides design relationship elements such as friend relationship lists and group rankings, while on the other hand, it suppresses developers' behaviors such as inducing sharing.

When it comes to sharing settings, mini-game developers should adhere to one principle:

"Sharing can bring additional rewards to users, rather than being a necessary behavior in the game path."

This sentence means that if the user cannot continue playing the game without sharing, then it is induced sharing. If the user can obtain additional rewards such as "life extension", "props", "multiple rewards" etc. by sharing, it is not considered induced sharing.

In the monetization stage, we see that information flow ads appear in the TOP100 mini-games. At the same time, a "recommendation list" has been added to most games. The mini-program official provides developers with an entrance to jump to the mini-program, which allows collaborative mini-program development to recommend each other.

3. How to divert the traffic of mini games to official accounts/APPs

Among the entrances to the mini program, mini program jump is a major entrance, and it also supports development rights such as embedding public account articles, APP pages, etc. in the mini program.

But for small games, it is not suitable to be embedded in article content or e-commerce app web pages, so what should we do?

First, use Guangdiantong ads to direct traffic to the APP landing page

Guangdiantong advertising is one of the main monetization methods officially granted to developers by mini-programs. Through the traffic obtained from mini-games, developers can set up their own advertising landing pages to guide users to download the APP;

Secondly, factors such as coupons are added to game rewards

Give users discount codes in the rewards of mini-games, and guide users to download the APP to redeem rewards;

Third, develop mini games based on APP features

This case is about the traffic diversion of an e-commerce APP, so the features of e-commerce products can be embedded in the game design. For example, in games like nesting dolls, the settings of the nesting dolls can be replaced with commodities. Shooting games, fruit-cutting games, etc. can all be implanted with APP features to attract traffic.

Summary : Overall, WeChat mini games are tools based on the WeChat ecosystem, while APP is a product independent of the WeChat ecosystem, and there are not many ways to achieve user diversion.

However, it is worth trying to acquire customers through mini-game fission and direct them to APP or public accounts. The key to mini-game customer acquisition and retention is to arouse motivation through mini-game IP , guide users to take action with low participation thresholds, stimulate activity and fission with in-game rewards, and improve user retention by using user sunk costs.

Source: Zhang Xiaohuai