From tactics to strategy how to get & operate early users

For all startups, there is always the problem of getting early users. In the first two days of the 36 Krypton Open Day Hangzhou Station, we have invited Meng Meng founder Yingzhiping, know product designer Tao, weekend where founder Xiaopeng, Mahouve Senior product manager Liu Yan, and Nxet fruit, from tactical to strategic level, discussed how to obtain and operate this batch of early users.

Tactical level, access to seed users

Meng Meng is a social app that swaps photos as a core experience. As the founder, Yingzhiping thought of the first way is to mobilize all the employees of the company, so that employees to pull users. His request is that the CEO pulls 1000 people in, the partner wants 500 people, each staff must pull 100.

So how does a CEO accomplish 1000 goals? Yingzhiping first mobilized all relatives and friends, followed by micro-blogging and other social media, invited a number of stewardess, models, Queen, Amoy Girl, such as "Beauty Users." After all, social products, this group of "beauty users" can bring a large wave of early users. Then this group of users, a considerable number of people think the app is fun, very interesting, and then share, and finally from 300 people to carry out two times, and finally completed the task of more than 1000 people pull people.

In the founder of Meng Meng, Yingzhiping in everyone open platform to do an application called "friend Puzzle", accumulated a large number of 600,000 fans, as well as many flight attendants, models, campus beauty resources. To Meng Meng This product, Yingzhiping one to invite, slowly gathered a wave of seed "beauty users", and finally selected a stewardess friend, to her photos as the App Store screenshot propaganda.

The second approach is to flexibly use existing Internet platforms and channels. On the second day of Meng Meng, Yingzhiping the product to next and became the second-most-ranked product on next day. As for the effect, Yingzhiping in the background to see the data is that every minute of the day to grow a user, the evening every two minutes to grow a user, so that 2000 users in less than two days to complete.

In addition, you can also use Baidu Bar, watercress Group, Sina Weibo, as well as the major forums targeted publishing content. For the time being only online iOS version, so go to Baidu iphone bar, Granville Front network platform, such as post. Also can go to sign some channel platform of the first, also can bring a lot of traffic, such as iOS various jailbreak market.

The third method is resource substitution. For example, the iphone has a certain amount of users every day, but your use and others are not the same group of users, this time can find a flow of similar app to push, but the effect is general. So Yingzhiping recommend the amount of advertising:

"If I have 6000 fans, find me to send an ad 4,000 dollars, I find someone else is 2400, I have more than 800,000 a year, but I own this number, do not need money to issue ads." The second would be to find a large advertisement with the same number of fans, I also do not need to spend money, because we are exchange every day, I send 10 ads every day, of which four is their own content, take out four to other hair, so that everyone's amount is quite, so do not spend a penny can have a very effective way. ”

Finally also need to pay attention to current affairs hot spots, clever use popular events to promote. Hot spot of the Discovery Channel is a Baidu index, there is a popular microblogging search. The previous time Super timetable Yu Jiawen is very hot, directly lead to "the CEO" into a hot word. Yingzhiping in the media interview, deliberately asked to be reported when the "CEO" such a keyword, the chance of exposure will increase a lot.

At the strategic level, learn to understand and operate the value of early users.

The Tao product designer, at the strategic level, interprets and operates the value of early adopters, and the core point is that "Word-of-mouth communication is the most effective cold starting way for community products." To get a seed user, for a community product, you must answer three questions: 1 What is your user's value as a community? 2 where is your user? 3 How to complete the product closed loop?

What is your user's value as a community? Broadly speaking is "content", is the user generated things, such as YouTube is the user's feedback, advice, which is the user's value input, but also part of this content. For example, user comments, user participation in public editing, answering questions, this does not contribute to the system like a very clear article, but what makes your system's total value rise is content.

For other products, you can also think about what your content is, such as your user interaction itself is not what you produce, users to your place is to do something together, organize activities, these activities will not form a white sunspots.

Where is your user? In fact, as an entrepreneur must be more than others know your seed of the user community, it's important to know where your seed users live, what their entire activities are, what the downstream relationships are, where the boundaries of activity are, and if you don't know more about it than others, think about whether it's more appropriate for this product.

How to complete the product closed loop? This thing is very simple, also not a big kill device, solve this problem product success. It says that in your design, you have to let the user finally come back to your product. For example, many people in their first product on the line before will be considered, is to polish the product enough to go online, there are many enough to complete again online.

In Tao View, in fact, not necessarily have to do a good product, do not have to tangle if the product on the line failed, do not know whether the product is not good, or that the thing itself is wrong. At this time, the most important thing is to see whether the closed loop has been formed, is not already formed some simple loops, when users can get timely and effective feedback, if the feedback has been achieved, it depends on whether the feedback has reached the expected, these feedback is not there are some new difficulties are not foreseen in the past.

To understand this three questions, the idea of getting users is clear. Tao The answer is:

Users from 0 to 100

Figure out what Word-of-mouth spreads and what isn't

The founding team must be the active user of the product

Looking for seed users from their side

Provide high returns for each seed user

Users from 100 to 10000

Keep close contact with users

Mobilizing user sentiment

Extend closed loop and design propagation pathway

Focus Resources, manufacturing focus

Restraint in operations

When users continue to expand, Word-of-mouth = Community products cold start. So back to the starting point is how to do word-of-mouth marketing, how to do the community through Word-of-mouth marketing cold start.

The first thing that needs to be done in the early days is to actually use your own product, which is very important to the entrepreneur, not to be involved in a field you don't know about, and you know who the user is before you get involved.

The second is that the operation behavior should ultimately be replaced by the user behavior is very important, compared with foreign companies, Chinese companies are operating light products, there are some can quickly gain benefits, if you do not exercise restraint, the user's incentive mechanism is taken, and finally because you quickly expand, finally because the internal pressure can not continue.

The third is the transmission path in the closed-loop of the product, to enlarge the closed loop continuously, to find a way to expand the scope of the area, and then through a larger area to expand the scope, we all know that "know the daily", in fact, is to form a closed loop, so that the author did not touch the user group read, after reading will eventually return to the community , the feedback of these people is very sensitive, which users, they can more keenly than anyone to pay attention to this point, once the formation of closed loop, it is completely different.

The last is to exploit the fear of social isolation, because when a small circle is discussing things, you are not concerned about it, forming a sense of community fear that you will pay attention to. Do not know if you will also have alumni, this is the junior high school graduation, there is no content, everyone to talk about everyone to write, after a long time to turn up very interesting. Why do people do this? Because people think if not also alumni feel isolated, this is any product exists phenomenon.

Finally collect back, word-of-mouth how to do? is to be legendary, to require that your product details are polished enough, enough polishing, not in the product is not mature and experience is not good enough, eager to promote and marketing, as a word of mouth to allow the failure of the tolerance is also very high, because each expansion is in a circle, in this small circle of repeated exposure, Don't worry about doing well at first.