CHENGDU,
China, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- About us:
Aurora Mobile (NASDAQ: JG) established in 2011, is a leading
customer engagement and marketing technology service provider in
China. Its business includes
notification services, marketing growth, development tools, and
data products. As its sub-brand, MoonFox Data is a leading expert
in data insights and analysis services across all scenarios, aiming
to help companies gain market insights and empower precise
decision-making.
From "Discover World's Goodies" to "Mark Your Life", RED, based
on content-heavy and interaction-focused operation logic, has
developed into a "composite lifestyle community" that integrates
various dimensions of content such as great products, electronics,
store-exploring, sports, and knowledge sharing with image-text
content at its core.
In the era of short videos and traffic, why RED's image-text
system can achieve long-term growth and capture a portion of users'
attention? Is it still possible to pursue these commercial
monetization paths at RED, regardless of e-commerce or
store-exploring? Will the community lose its user stickiness?
I. 100 Million Daily Active Users (DAU) -
Favorable Condition and User Choices Shape RED:
RED's average DAU and trend from January to
October 2023:
Date
|
Average DAU (in
million)
|
MoM change
|
2023/10
|
101.7196
|
1.90 %
|
2023/9
|
99.8245
|
-0.32 %
|
2023/8
|
100.1422
|
0.28 %
|
2023/7
|
99.8648
|
2.56 %
|
2023/6
|
97.3721
|
0.85 %
|
2023/5
|
96.5549
|
1.76 %
|
2023/4
|
94.8857
|
1.41 %
|
2023/3
|
93.5648
|
-2.55 %
|
2023/2
|
96.0128
|
-7.00 %
|
2023/1
|
103.2426
|
5.23 %
|
Data Source: MoonFox iApp; Data Collection Period: January to
October 2023. The statistical results
only include app data and do not include traffic data from web
pages, mini-programs, or quick apps, among others, within the
WeChat ecosystem.
According to MoonFox iApp data, as of October 2023, RED's average monthly
DAU exceeded 101 million after nearly a year of
fluctuations, with its DAU stabilizing at the 100
million level, far surpassing the industry average. Unlike Douyin,
which iterates rapidly with clear strategies, and WeChat, which has
a massive and stable development, a community-based platform and
savage growth are more suitable descriptions of RED. Over the past
decade, experimentation and caution have been integral to RED's
development.
In 2013, RED was born as a platform with simple content,
positioned as a "travel guide sharing platform." Travel guides were
not new in that era. Still, RED successfully built a small platform
revolving around travel notes by using minimal text, rich visual
elements, and aesthetically pleasing page designs, combined with
the exploration and targeted promotion by travel bloggers.
In 2015, e-commerce was thriving, with Tmall's Double Eleven
sales exceeding 80 billion yuan,
surpassing the daily retail sales of consumer goods nationwide in
2014. Just before this trend, RED had already gathered a large
number of high-net-worth and high-demand users through its
note-sharing feature. Transitioning from travel guides to product
recommendations was a natural progression based on user demands.
The platform quickly created a "Benefits Group" by carefully
selecting products and determining copywriting. As an e-commerce
platform, RED began to acquire popularity among users.
In 2017, RED's e-commerce business encountered a growth
bottleneck and sought acquisition offers from top platforms, but
without success. At this time, the second wave of opportunities
arrived - the rise of variety shows, with Douyin and Pinduoduo
becoming the top players and "Extreme Challenge" becoming a popular
IP at that time. RED chose to collaborate with Idol Producer
and Produce 101, which perfectly matched its tone of sharing
goods and lifestyle. As a result, a large number of female users
flocked to the platform. RED has continuous growth thanks to
community operations and top KOL traffic control.
Monthly active users (MAU) and trend changes of RED from
January to December 2020
Date
|
MAU (in 100
million)
|
MoM change
|
2020/12
|
2.19
|
14.21 %
|
2020/11
|
1.91
|
5.88 %
|
2020/10
|
1.81
|
11.87 %
|
2020/9
|
1.62
|
-2.30 %
|
2020/8
|
1.65
|
12.10 %
|
2020/7
|
1.48
|
25.60 %
|
2020/6
|
1.18
|
-1.39 %
|
2020/5
|
1.19
|
4.50 %
|
2020/4
|
1.14
|
7.08 %
|
2020/3
|
1.07
|
3.66 %
|
2020/2
|
1.03
|
7.93 %
|
2020/1
|
0.95
|
2.12 %
|
Data Source: MoonFox iApp; Data Collection Period: January to
December 2020. The statistical
results only include app data and do not include traffic data from
web pages, mini-programs, or quick apps, among others, within the
WeChat ecosystem.
2020 marked the start of RED's period of rapid development.
According to the data from the MoonFox iAPP, as of December 2020, RED's MAU exceeded 200 million,
and DAU exceeded 50 million. At that time, online
platforms experienced growth under the influence of the COVID-19
pandemic. The lower costs of creating image-text notes on RED,
combined with the increasing user stickiness at that time, led to a
significant increase in the number of notes related to topics such
as "home cooking" and "indoor exercise." Therefore, users'
willingness to search actively increased significantly.
At the same time, RED also officially entered the view of
giants. Douyin established a special team, and WeChat launched
functional pages, both of which aimed to emulate the image-text
model. However, due to factors such as fan base and community
background, the results of such efforts were minimal. Still, more
users began to see the image-text notes on RED, making it a choice
for more users in silent environments and fragmented time.
Getting back to the present, RED formally joined the "club" of
100 million DAUs in 2023, and one of its main areas of development
attention is commercialization. Having accumulated a large
reservoir of traffic, the commercialization process is
accelerating, and RED has taken the lead in content related to
e-commerce and store-exploring.
II. Through the buyer model and traffic tilt, the e-commerce
business is officially ramping up:
The market re-evaluated RED following the successful sales
results generated by the June 18th
shopping festival.
Distribution of RED's user usage time from January to
September 2023
Date
|
Light users (1-3
days)
|
Regular users (4-8
days)
|
Heavy users (9 days and
above)
|
2023/9
|
26 %
|
10 %
|
64 %
|
2023/8
|
26 %
|
10 %
|
64 %
|
2023/7
|
27 %
|
10 %
|
64 %
|
2023/6
|
27 %
|
10 %
|
63 %
|
2023/5
|
39 %
|
10 %
|
51 %
|
2023/4
|
57 %
|
13 %
|
30 %
|
2023/3
|
53 %
|
12 %
|
34 %
|
2023/2
|
58 %
|
13 %
|
29 %
|
2023/1
|
58 %
|
13 %
|
30 %
|
Data Source: MoonFox iApp; Data Collection Period: January to
September 2023. The statistical
results only include app data and do not include traffic data from
web pages, mini-programs, or quick apps, among others, within the
WeChat ecosystem.
On one hand, a significant amount of user time is devoted to
live streaming and provides support for sales volume. According to
data from MoonFox iAPP, as of May
2023, heavy users on RED (logging in continuously for 9
days) accounted for 51.43%, showing a significant increase compared
to the previous period and reaching a high value of 62.55% in June.
Firstly, RED started to generate warm-up and seeding notes in early
May. Through the combination of topics and traffic support, some
product-related note content quickly gained attention and spread
rapidly. Secondly, by introducing features such as deposit payments
and expanding red envelope rewards, RED further attracted user
retention. Ultimately, the community made its way to the e-commerce
industry, giving consumers a greater range of options, and the
buyer model evolved into the primary strategy for retaining
customers. Users complete the conversion by clicking, browsing,
seeding content, purchasing, and spreading information.
On the other hand, guidelines and reward measures are
implemented to help firms gain users' mindset. At the guideline
level, RED launched the "Good Products to Win the June 18 Battle" practical guide activity in late
April. By assisting businesses in understanding user search habits,
consumption motivations, and segmented scenario demands through its
research team, it helps businesses determine promotional materials
and styles. On the incentive level, various measures, such as new
customer incentives and incentives for returning customers, have
been introduced. Meanwhile, RED has officially opened the "Product
Collaboration" feature, allowing brands to collaborate with
influencers through pure commission-based partnerships. Businesses
receive assistance to better align their advertising materials with
the community's tone, which will increase the amount of time users
spend online and the regularity with which they utilize the
platform.
According to data from MoonFox iApp, as of October 2023, RED's overall penetration rate has
exceeded 24%, while the penetration rate in the mobile shopping
industry has surpassed 28%, showing steady growth throughout the
year. After the trial during the June
18 shopping festival, RED has become more determined in its
e-commerce path of combining buyer-selected products with live
streaming. Based on the community's tone and user demographics, RED
tends to refer to live-streaming influencers as "brand curators"
and introduces more personal and niche brands. Through professional
content explanations, it stimulates users' desire to buy products,
enabling even small live-streaming rooms with only a few thousand
viewers to quickly and frequently achieve conversions.
RED's e-commerce business has taken shape, and the closure of
its self-operated business lines "Small Oasis" and "Benefits Group"
confirms RED's commitment to serving third-party sellers and
connecting buyers with consumers. Currently, Zhang Xiaohui's live stream sales have exceeded
100 million yuan in a single session
on RED. With the combination of the buyer model and high average
order value, breakthroughs are expected in RED's live streaming
rooms during the Double 11 shopping festival.
III. Focusing on Local Lifestyles, the Commercialization of
Store-Exploring Is Accelerating:
September 2023: Distribution of
active and new users' attributes on RED
Attributes
|
Active users
|
New users
|
Male
|
39.25 %
|
44.30 %
|
Female
|
60.75 %
|
55.70 %
|
15 years old and
below
|
5.47 %
|
4.40 %
|
16-25 years
old
|
27.73 %
|
28.19 %
|
26-35 years
old
|
32.49 %
|
35.40 %
|
36-45 years
old
|
21.01 %
|
22.16 %
|
46 years old and
above
|
13.30 %
|
9.85 %
|
Data Source: MoonFox iApp; Data Collection Period:
September 2023. The statistical
results only include app data and do not include traffic data from
web pages, mini-programs, or quick apps, among others, within the
WeChat ecosystem.
The attributes of users give brands their tone, and RED's
community tone aligns well with the direction of store-exploring.
According to data from MoonFox iApp, as of September 2023, female users accounted for 60.75%
of the total user base on RED, with the majority of them falling
into the age range of 26-35. This group of users typically
possesses a certain level of aesthetic and judgment ability, as
well as an increase in their consumption level and disposable
income. They have a strong desire to share their experiences and
generally have a higher level of writing skills. In addition to
popular travel guides and experience-sharing notes, there has been
a growing trend of more diverse and high-demand notes related to
store-exploring. Focusing on these kinds of notes is becoming more
and more common among bloggers.
Formal data indicates that in 2022, there were more than tens of
millions of notes on RED pertaining to "food-exploring." "What to
eat" has become one of the core search scenarios for users on RED,
and there has been an emergence of explosive notes with hundreds of
thousands of views and tens of thousands of favorites. These
explosive notes are undoubtedly attractive to merchants. However,
the majority of merchants choose to interact through private
messages due to the scarcity of available communication channels,
which results in low efficiency. Additionally, because they cannot
select suitable bloggers, their promotional efforts also yield
minimal results.
On the other hand, bloggers are also facing challenges, such as
difficulty in monetizing their notes and connecting with merchants.
In response to this, some merchants choose to build or collaborate
with professional PR teams to connect with bloggers. In contrast,
bloggers themselves share merchant resources through group chats
and other means. However, due to the lack of official guidance,
there are widespread issues in the industry, such as violation of
regulations due to excessive promotion or breaches of contracts
either by businesses or bloggers, resulting in damages to both
parties' interests. It is critical that these flaws be addressed
and rectified immediately.
Based on this, in April 2023, the
official launched the "Food Power Store" plan, which first
introduced the "offline store" feature on the account home page to
drive traffic for merchants. At the same time, the "Spotlight Plan"
was introduced, starting with pilot cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, providing users with a platform to
accept orders. Merchants can provide transportation expenses or
offer goods in exchange to bloggers, who can then publish their
notes without worrying about violations or traffic
restrictions.
In June of the same year, RED launched themed store-exploring
activities such as "Cafe Tour," where users can purchase themed
group-buying packages on the RED platform and gain official traffic
boost by publishing notes. In July, RED officially launched the
"Exploring 100 Stores" plan and simultaneously launched the
Store-Exploring Cooperation Center, further facilitating
cooperation between stores and influential bloggers. For every
order, bloggers are able to view estimated commission income and
sharing amount.
With multiple activities and traffic support, many bloggers
began to notice the importance and standardization of RED's
store-exploring business. Businesses also started to choose
official channels for influencer collaborations. In the future, we
believe that as the store-exploring model in major cities becomes
successful, RED will gradually incorporate local lifestyle services
into the platform. After completing the search and browsing seeding
content, users will no longer need to exit RED and open other
platforms to check prices. Group-buying packages and official
accounts will be completely incorporated into the flow of RED
notes. The standardized store-exploring business will attract more
businesses to join and generate revenue through profit-sharing.
IV. Under the Acceleration of Commercialization, Can the
Community Maintain Its Unique Character?
We believe that regardless of e-commerce or store-exploring, the
acceleration of commercialization in RED will inevitably impact its
community attributes and user experience. In this perspective, we
believe that the following two points should be highlighted:
Firstly, optimizing algorithms to control the proportion of
marketing content and improve the viewing experience. Under the
development of e-commerce, the proportion of live-streaming content
will increase, and the proportion of live-streaming interfaces
within the image-text content will directly affect the perceived
experience of highly engaged users. The UI design and exit methods
should be clear and smooth. In the offline store-exploring
business, the division of store categories and targeted promotion
needs to be considered to avoid mismatching users and note content,
which can lead to a negative impact on user experience.
Secondly, protecting creators and providing traffic support.
Based on the "PUGC + controlling traffic of top accounts", RED's
rapid development in the early stage relied on image-text content
as the main rival against short videos. Daily sharing can garner a
certain amount of likes or even followers, which is the core
driving force for middle-tier and micro-influencers to write notes
in the initial stage. As the commercialization of store-exploring
deepens, RED must connect more middle-tier and even long-tail
influencers with businesses. This is key to maintaining the
community's unique character and ensuring the stable and
sustainable development of store-exploring content.
In summary, the commercialization of RED, which has experienced
rapid growth, is an important battle that cannot be avoided. We are
excited about RED's future growth and anticipate more
surprises.
Website: https://www.moonfox.cn/
Contact number: 400-888-0936
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SOURCE Aurora