Selected video number, unaffordable short video

Writing. / Luo Huasheng

Edit. / Wang Xiaoling

Rather than re-created a short video ambition to shake up or save Tencent, Video's mission may still have to return to its main business, which is how to answer the question of WeChat's future.

The video number, which began internal testing at the end of January, is a reflection and proof for WeChat. WeChat needs to find its missing link in the short content, but also to prove that it still has the ability to self-correct and evolve. How a national app that has been going on for nine years can be more necessary and difficult than defeating an opponent without being marginalized by user needs.

Since January this year by Zhang Xiaolong official announcement, the video number of internal testing has been close to March, only for some users open to creation and viewing rights. Over the past three months, video numbers have been more or less pinned on such speculation or hope. Now, it seems, for most water testers, the evolution of the new product is still unclear, and its true maturity still has a long way to go.

Why make a video number

"Look at the media teacher to do video number enthusiasm, just want to ask, at that time is not because ugly to write, how to forget the first heart?" In January 2020, Zhang Xiaolong acknowledged in An open class on WeChat that WeChat had not been enough in terms of content diversification in the past, and kicked off the "short content" test. Three months after the grayscaness test, the discussion of WeChat video numbers extended from "like what" and "how to do it" to the "brutal" style of painting.

In the transition to the mobile Internet, WeChat Public Number has become the most important carrier of text information. This group of authors is also the original batch of creators of the video number. A registered video number ready to send content of the peer is very sad: even if not than the little sister, fast-handed online red grandmother practice yoga, playing basketball can have millions of fans, the media teacher just appeared in the video number was spitting groove?

Zhang Xiaolong previewed the form of a "short content" video number in a public class in January this year: a one-minute video and nine pictures, and stressed that this is a supplement to WeChat content creation methods, everyone can create content at the lowest cost.

And corresponding to this, is occupied the circle of friends of the long content of the text. At present, invited traditional media and media people to do video numbers, one is the video content of the text, the cost is generally not low; From the point of view of attraction, there is no way to match the coolness of shaking hands.

Although many creators have long started making videos, the one-minute limit makes it difficult to move them directly. "Cutting a ten-minute video into ten minutes is very difficult for us, and some can't be cut at all." One data list content creator said that a month after he tried the water, he had only a dozen fans.

But some creators have found the value of exploration.

Ten o'clock reading founder Lin Shao was one of the first users to open a video number, and at the beginning of the content, he carefully studied the new short video platform.

He quickly decided that the semi-open eco video number "had a lot of dividends and opportunities" compared to friends circles and public numbers. Because as a video carrier, video than the public number feedback faster, than the circle of friends can carry more information, and because the video number itself is in WeChat's acquaintance ecology, not like shaking fast, only immersive content can do IP, "the personal brand building effect is very good", "compared to the ten-point reading users have tens of millions, know Lin Shao people are not many."

After he launched the video number on March 4, he quickly began doing value-exporting content, in addition to posting a few breakfast hairdigs and other daily routines in his first few days. And the original content is how to do video number, "video number and public number what are the links and differences", "video number has several ways to cash out" and so on. Later, the content focuses on business reviews and workplace advice, "What is the strongest enemy of a company?" "Practice builds talent, your potential is in your control, " and so on. For more than a month, Lin Shao sent more than 40 short videos, each of which recently had three or four hundred likes.

Since it is for the personal social circle and WeChat ecological information output, to some extent, the video number can be through the IP missing link - the most intuitive visual presentation, while to their social circle and audience to the lowest cost output of their own personal settings, to build a personal brand, and, at present, the video number under the direct connection to the public number, that is, traffic can be completely through attention into private domain traffic.

Lezheng Media co-founder Peng Wei has a similar view, although he will be the focus of content distribution on the fast, shake two platforms, but considering this part of the bonus of the video number, he submitted to WeChat internal test application.

Many KOLs choose the same type of content. This also leads to spitting grooves, most people in order to build a personal brand and value output, in the video number on the daily life, life philosophy, which leads to "chicken soup over the standard."

It's hard to light up your desire to share

Even before the video went live last year, Zhang Xiaolong mentioned that short video can reduce the pressure to share, hoping to use a lower threshold way to "light up people's desire to share." This year's public class he revisited the old thing, that the lack of supply side is WeChat in the past a big mistake, failed to provide people who want to express the low threshold and convenient tools.

Tencent's ambitions for short videos have always been evident to all. Since Ren Yuxuan took over PCG, Microscope has gained access to "Friends Circle 30 Seconds" and video red envelopes, while Tencent has been in the fast-paced multi-round financing. In an interview last September, Mr Ren stressed that micro-vision was not a key product in determining the success or failure of Tencent's short video, suggesting that a diversified product layout would remain Tencent's main tactic on the track.

However, in the market for microblogging after the former shaker, it is very difficult to do a new highly active short video sharing community. The video number is spitting, precisely because the product experience has been defined by the forerunner.

In order to increase activity, the video number invited a number of stars and KOL, brand number into. While this in fact reflects WeChat's determination, it is also a continuation of Weibo's early celebrity diversion strategy, rather than making the video number as big as the public's early passive recommendation. Recreating a microblog is certainly not Zhang Xiaolong's original intention, but it is undeniable that, in order to speed up, the video number consciously created a different from WeChat's past closed recommendation and distribution mechanism.

At the same time, like the small program of the year, video number because of its new content form, but also naturally directed to the basic judgment of the traffic dividend, from the creator's feedback, "do may not have the opportunity, but do not necessarily have no chance" is a very common psychological expectation.

Lin Shao on the video number and Zhang Xiaolong's public course content verbative analysis, think that the video number and WeChat ecological access, through the existing WeChat traffic rapid rise, and the semi-open square mechanism also decided that the video number can more efficiently reach the audience, "optimistically, the future space of the video number will not necessarily be smaller than the public number."

WeChat, the behemoth, has become a social custing point in China, but how to connect and reach efficiently has always been WeChat's core goal. At the same time, any change based on this will will bring dividends and opportunities.

In fact, if you want to analogy with the small programs that went online in 2017, small games, group distribution and other games become a potentially important watershed for WeChat to start a business, and although the flow dividend has since diminished, small programs have also turned to service enterprises, catering, government affairs and other B-side systems, but throughout 2019, small programs brought about by the transaction volume still reached 800 billion yuan.

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At present, it is not clear that the mainstream content form of the video number. Users can swipe into the star's show dinner and fitness routine on the video number, as well as see isolated diaries of idleness in their circle of friends. The video number is not yet fully open, but its potential energy is not small. Lin Shao's recent video feed, for example, has already reached more than 2,000 likes and 100,000 likes.

In the long run, for brand owners or creators eager to reap traffic, two-way promotion of video numbers based on social chains and information flows may have a better chance than shaking fast, especially for the public, the opening rate of the picture is far lower than short video, which is equivalent to the creation tools and channels are open to the lowest threshold, and WeChat's 1 billion traffic bottom.

On the other hand, WeChat public number, WeChat payment, small programs can form a closed loop of private domain traffic, and video number this tool can theoretically complement the content reach of another form. And regardless of WeChat's characterty and user experience for video numbers, a gold rush for video numbers has begun. Previously, LV, Prada, Dior and other brand owners have been stationed in the video number, and as long as the brand on the video number of advertising film interest, users can directly enter the brand's small program flash shop, complete the purchase.

Another little program?

Because the video number is too early and simple in its current form, most participants have not found a growth path. So far, the "explosion" on the video number has only been launched by a young businessman, I believe in 2020. It was also the first user-spontaneous operational activity on the video number.

In fact, for a 20-something, there is no special reason to open a video number. She is of business origin and is happy to share it herself. During the outbreak, when the video number of the internal test permission, in the psychological application of the work of the Ao thought of what can be done on the video number, so the day began to pull groups, code people, "find about 50 friends, let them talk about how to look forward to 2020."

Get up at 5 a.m., shoot five times to finish, and then circle friends in the chat group to name the relay, follow the ice bucket challenge, #2020我相信 in the form of a soli dragon spread on the video number. It was also video's first major event since the end of January. In addition to Ao's friends, there are Yang naive, ten-point reading Lin Shao, Wu Xiaobo channel, Chen Xuedong and other large and stars involved.

Although at first also considered doing such a name-call challenge on Weibo, but considering that he is not so "power" on Weibo, Ao put this matter on the video number, "at first feel that even if there is no circle is all right."

Up to #我相信2020, the dynamic of the video number is more than 800. By contrast, in 2013, Weibo alone had more than 800,000 discussions about Guo Meimei. The event also brought only a dozen fans to Ao, "It's not like Weibo, it's actually a new universe, everyone can rely on content to raise powder." "

The video number's relationship with WeChat is similar to Stories's on Instagram. Stories doesn't have a retweet mechanism, so it's hard for the product to ferment an event into a national topic like Weibo, but its role is to increase Instagram user activity.

Peng Wei has a similar feeling about the video number. In his view, it is difficult to say whether the video number is better than other channels. One-minute video playback can't be pulled, there's no operational incentive, "it's not clear yet." Dividends may be more reflected in the WeChat ecological overall opening, video number can be forwarded to a circle of friends, is currently also in the video number interface to give the public number of the import link, in the long run, for the public number opening rate decline may be a good solution, especially Peng Wei such content entrepreneurs themselves are ready to video all the graphic content.

One view is that if the video number succeeds, Zhang Xiaolong will be the key. Product manager Zhang Xiaolong believes in technical freedom, traffic benefits, in the past 9 years, WeChat, this is a small program, public number and other products in the ideal and reality of a major reason for the swing, such as Zhang Xiaolong on the "public number is not for the media people" this view has been reiterated many times. And the essence of the new round of competition is mainly the competition for user time. App factory byte-beating tentacles, for example, have expanded from the grass-breeding community to online education, and just earlier this year, more than 400 million people were announced, and the story of "Glory of the Kings" grabbing the box office is not impossible for WeChat, which has lived for a billion months.

Guoxin Securities recently estimated that, with the current WeChat social advertising core realization mode of friends circle, public number has entered a saturation period, in the long run, the potential advertising value of new business such as video number in the "10 billion level." This is a logical extension based on the ability to cash in short video. In fact, tencent's annual advertising revenue in 2019 was 68.377 billion yuan, while byte-beating advertising revenue reached 120 billion yuan in the same period, almost half the time to kill the people's shaking sound is undoubtedly one of the biggest help. This is undoubtedly a more realistic consideration for Tencent and WeChat today.

In the long run, WeChat needs a catfish to drive ecological evolution, and the video number is right in this position, stirring up the already cured ecology of WeChat's ecology, as Stories did on Instagram. At the very least, it can also achieve the goal of "a percentage increase in user life" within WeChat's ecosystem.

And the fact is, someone has begun to play in the industry group worth 100,000 "video number to build the whole case", "a lot of other platforms to play, in fact, on the video number can play again." And the micro-blogging story this function is reduced to chicken ribs, the video number has a stable chain of social relations as part of the distribution, which has become the square and media attributes of the micro-blogging does not have the advantage.

With the formation of WeChat public number, WeChat payment and enterprise WeChat and other tools, including closed loop, make up the video number of this puzzle WeChat will once again have the possibility of super APP. In addition, with the end of February small program live official test, and recently WeChat on the self-search to comment mechanism further improved, WeChat as a bottom operating system value is once again complete. In the long run, the addition of video numbers allows each individual or brand to have its own online market mall and membership club, and users can almost complete most of their daily entertainment, everything and WeChat "interconnection" on WeChat.

The premise, of course, is whether the video number can be made. Many users reflect that the recent video number of internal testing has begun to further liberalize. But on the whole, WeChat's thinking is still unclear. If you compare the build-up of shakers, fast hands, or other successful content communities, this requires a tilt in the resources of high-quality content and creators, and a certain level of infrastructure.

It is worth noting that in 2017, in order to "let all plants and animals grow freely in the forest", Zhang Xiaolong did not open up too many cash resources in the early stages of the small program, so as not to overdraft traffic dividends harm the user experience.

The same is true of the video number, which currently has no drag for a minute's short video, no officially available fool-style shooting and editing components, and many brands expect the path between the video number and the live stream to be open. Some interviewees said weChat would collect the feedback, but "there was no communication response."

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Three years ago, the small program attracted a group of gold miners because of its coupling with WeChat's ecological, lighter form. Today, however, the small program is more back to Zhang Xiaolong's will: instrumentalization and B-terminalization. In fact, as early as the beginning of the WeChat open course in 2019, Zhang Xiaolong was careful to say that the traffic dividend will not create value, and although 500 million people want to teach him to make products, but he also believe in himself and the team "professional judgment."