Written by | Wang Changsheng
In today's business world, the "low price" strategy is often a powerful tool for major platforms to attract consumers. However, when we think deeply, we will find that there are many hidden problems behind this model of blindly pursuing low prices. On the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of Station B, let's explore the answer beyond the "low price" hidden behind its unique model.
Let's first clarify two concepts, roll goods and roll people.
The so-called "volume goods" is actually a low price of volume, unconditionally competing whose commodity price is lower, and the one with the lowest price gets traffic. In this model, the platform forces merchants to lower the price of goods through various means to gain a competitive advantage.
However, this seemingly consumer-friendly strategy often ends up being the only platform that can make a profit, and it is difficult for suppliers, merchants, and even consumers themselves to be truly happy. Because from a macroeconomic point of view, one person's consumption expenditure is another person's income. When the price of goods is excessively depressed, the profit margins of suppliers and merchants are greatly compressed, and they may take measures such as reducing product quality and service to survive, and ultimately damage the interests of consumers. When the interests of merchants and consumers are damaged, the interests of the platform are also unsustainable. Ultimately, there are no winners.
In contrast, "rolling people" is a healthier and more sustainable model. The user is the traffic, and for the traffic, we must not kill the chicken to take the eggs, dry up and fish. In the principle of people-oriented, the platform should consider these three things: eliminate the information gap, squeeze out the business bubble, and not use the weaknesses of technology and human nature to squeeze any upstream and downstream parties. Under such a model, all parties can compete and cooperate in a fair and transparent environment to achieve common development.
So, how does Station B achieve "rolling people" instead of "rolling goods"? The answer lies in its unique UP main ecosystem.
Let's first take a look at what kind of people are the users of station B?
In 2009, Bilibili was first established, and it was still only a two-dimensional vertical community at that time, but with its long-term cultivation of the content ecology and the benign interaction between creators and users, Bilibili has become one of the most popular apps among young people in China.
On June 26, Bilibili ushered in its 15th anniversary, and Chairman and CEO Chen Rui delivered a speech with the theme of "Growing with You".
According to the data released by Chen Rui in his speech, at present, nearly seventy percent of China's post-90s (including post-00s) are active in Station B. In 2023, more than 10 million people will visit Bilibili almost every day, and there will be more than 20 million full-time users every month. In addition, the official users who registered in 2018 still maintain more than 75% activity.
In his speech, Chen Rui announced the top 10 videos with the highest number of views by inbound users of different age groups in 2009, 2017 and 2022.
The start-up users who entered the station in 2009 still maintain a high degree of enthusiasm for the second dimension, among which the most watched video is the popular drama "Labyrinth Rice" in April 2024, and other content is also dominated by ACG content, including game guides, game PV and ghost animal videos.
In 2017, the entertainment consumption of inbound users was more diversified, covering dramas, national creations, documentaries and popular science content, and the top three videos were the costume drama "Ancient Acacia Song" made by Station B, the national creation "The Legend of Mortal Immortals" and the fitness science content Baduanjin.
However, the inbound users in 2022, mainly post-00s, will consume the most content on station B not for leisure and entertainment, but for various university courses. Among them, the top 3 videos are all mathematics courses taught by Song Hao, associate professor of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, and 5 mathematics courses occupy 5 seats, and the rest of the content is physics and computer technology related courses.
Facts have proved that while achieving large-scale growth, the user stickiness of station B is also rising simultaneously. The continuous addition of new users and the continuous activity of old users allow users of different ages and different periods to get a sense of satisfaction, which is the secret of the success of station B, and it is also the essence of "rolling people" - "accompanying users to grow", continuing to provide users with the content they need, and the growth of users has also brought more opportunities and possibilities to station B.
In the final analysis, Station B is not only a fun paradise for young people, but also a gathering place for young people's life and consumption.
In 2023, the playback volume of games, food, knowledge and other sub-divisions of station B will still maintain a growth rate of more than 20%, the growth rate of technology, fitness, and home improvement will exceed 40%, the growth rate of automobile content will exceed 50%, and the average daily playback volume of maternal and infant parent-child categories will increase by more than 110% year-on-year.
According to the "2024 Auto Marketing Trends White Paper" released by Nielsen, a well-known data company, the age of the new generation of car buyers has dropped, and more than 8 percent of the post-95s plan to buy a car before the age of 30, with an average budget of 300,000. At the same time, more than 17 million users consume car content on station B every day, and more than 9 percent of consumers will learn about the performance of the car in advance at station B before buying a car.
The data of station B also proves this, more than 70 million users study cars at station B every month, driving the average daily video playback volume of the automobile area to exceed 80 million, and the number of contributions increased by 218% year-on-year, which makes station B the core discussion field of new energy vehicles, and the video playback volume of new energy vehicles increased by 71% year-on-year.
In addition to new energy, Bilibili has also become the Internet platform with the strongest AI mind. In 2023, the average daily video playback volume of AI-related content on station B will increase by more than 80% year-on-year, and the popular content covers popular science information, AI technology applications, digital human and creative applications and other fields.
"The people who are most interested, concerned and most willing to apply AI are all on station B", Chen Rui said, more than 80 million users watch AI on station B every month, and 6 of the consumers of AI-related content have become post-00s.
At the same time, Bilibili is also the most densely populated community for practitioners in the AI industry. More than ninety percent of domestic AI manufacturers choose to communicate with users on station B. It includes not only head manufacturers such as Wenxin Yiyan, kimi, and Tongyi Qianwen, but also the work records of various front-line workers, such as the AI course and entrepreneurial experience of Li Mu, the former senior chief scientist of Amazon, which is one of the user's favorite AI content.
As Chen Rui summarized in his speech: "The gathering of high-quality users has formed a unique community of Bilibili, attracting more and more UP owners to join and provide richer content; And rich content brings more user retention and more content demand, and continues to attract more UP owners and more users. The positive cycle between users, UP owners and content is the reason for the continuous and healthy growth of station B. ”
So, if you want to ask station B how to do it, the answer is through the UP master.
The UP owners of Bilibili are an important bridge connecting the platform and users. Drawing on their talents, interests, and expertise, they create a wide variety of content that spans everything from technology and entertainment to education to life. These UP owners don't just create for commercial gain, but more out of love for their interests.
Specifically, the unique UP main culture of Bilibili solves the three major propositions of platform operation we mentioned at the beginning of the article: 1) eliminate information gaps, 2) squeeze out commercial bubbles, and 3) do not use the weaknesses of technology and human nature to squeeze any party upstream and downstream.
First of all, the UP owners of station B have effectively eliminated the information gap by sharing real and useful information. In traditional business models, it is often difficult for consumers to obtain comprehensive and accurate information about products or services, which makes it easy to make wrong decisions in the consumption process. Through personal experience, evaluation and explanation, the UP owners of station B provide users with detailed product analysis and use suggestions, so that users can have a clearer understanding of their needs and choices.
For example, a tech UP owner may conduct an in-depth teardown and evaluation of the latest electronic products to show users their performance, strengths and weaknesses, and help users make more informed choices when purchasing. This kind of information transmission based on trust and professionalism not only improves the user's consumption experience, but also reduces the risk and uncertainty of the user's purchase process.
Because of young people's attention to cars, station B has also become the core discussion field of new energy vehicles. Station B has a vertical new energy vehicle category called "cart area", there are many car UP owners in order to measure the power consumption of new energy vehicles, they will measure the car to the limit of power consumption, and drive the car to the extent that it has to be pushed to go, so users call this type of video the cart area. This also reflects the characteristics of the UP master of station B, which is true.
Secondly, the creative process of the UP owners helps to squeeze out the commercial bubble. In some business areas, false advertising, excessive marketing and other phenomena are common, resulting in the value of products or services being exaggerated and the price inflated. The UP owners of station B treat the recommended content with a true and objective attitude, and do not blindly pursue high-profit cooperation, but pay attention to the quality and value of the content. They will criticize and expose products or services that are over-packaged and unworthy of the name, so as to promote the market to return to rationality and let truly valuable products and services get the attention and recognition they deserve. This squeeze on the commercial bubble helps to create a healthier and fairer market environment, where consumers can enjoy products and services that are truly good value for money.
The last point is particularly important, the UP owners of station B do not use technology and human weaknesses to induce consumption in their interaction with users. They respect the independent choice of users and attract users through high-quality content, rather than forcing users to consume through forced push, false advertising and other means. This mode of interaction, based on respect and trust, allows users to feel genuinely cared for and valued, which in turn strengthens users' loyalty and sense of belonging to the platform.
In short, the success of Station B is not accidental, but the inevitable result of its adherence to the "volume people" model. Through the efforts of UP owners, Bilibili not only provides users with rich and diverse content, but also creates a more fair, transparent and valuable consumption environment for users. In this environment, the needs of users are better met, and the value of users is fully enhanced and released.
This is due to the fact that Station B has taken a rather restrained commercialization path.
Looking back on the development process of station B, it is not difficult to find that it has always adhered to the user-centric, focusing on the improvement of user experience and value, and on the road to commercialization, station B is quite cautious.
For a long time, station B insisted on not accepting ads, after commercialization, station B's ad load rate (ad load) has always been maintained at the lowest level in the industry, compared with some other platforms may insert a large number of ads, station B pays more attention to user experience, will not over-advertise, but on the premise of ensuring the user's viewing experience, moderately display ads.
For the combination of brand advertising and content, Bilibili is also extremely attentive, focusing on the more efficient docking of brand advertising and platform content, rather than simply pursuing the number of advertisements. For example, the launch of focused content marketing, combined with national creation, documentaries, variety shows, e-sports and other content implantation products or brand information, or customized for the brand, etc., so that advertising becomes a part of valuable content, rather than blunt promotion.
The expansion of station B in the field of e-commerce is also gradual, not in a hurry to carry out various e-commerce activities on a large scale, but according to the characteristics and needs of its own users, gradually explore and try new business models. Although Station B is facing pressure on profitability, it has not fully opened up live streaming at the beginning, but is gradually exploring ways suitable for its own platform and users. It was not until 2022 that Station B officially entered the live broadcast of goods, and opened the permission of live broadcast to some UP owners in a controlled manner, and paid attention to the control of product quality and content to maintain the atmosphere of the platform and user trust.
The commercialization model of Bilibili provides us with a new perspective for thinking. In today's increasingly fierce business competition, we should not only be limited to the superficial competitive means of "low price", but should pay more attention to the promotion and release of user value, and establish a more healthy and sustainable business ecology by eliminating information gaps, squeezing out business bubbles, and respecting user choices.
So, how should we understand the "promotion and release of user value" in the Bilibili model?
First of all, it is reflected in the creativity and content contribution of users. Bilibili provides users with a platform for free expression and creation, and users can show their talents and interests by making videos, commenting, and participating in interactions. These user-generated content enriches the platform's ecosystem, attracts more users' attention and participation, and thus enhances the value of the entire platform.
Secondly, it means meeting the diverse needs of users. Bilibili covers content in many fields, whether it is entertainment, education, technology or life, etc., users can find content that meets their interests and needs on the platform. This precise content matching enables users to gain intellectual, entertaining, and emotional satisfaction, which in turn strengthens their dependence and loyalty to the platform.
In addition, the release of user value is also manifested in the user's social interaction and sense of community belonging. Bilibili's unique community atmosphere promotes communication and interaction between users, and users can make like-minded friends and form a close social circle. The realization of this social value allows users to receive emotional support and recognition on the platform, further cementing their relationship with the platform.
From a business point of view, the enhancement and release of user value is also reflected in the consumption conversion of users. When users have trust and love for the platform, they are more willing to pay for high-quality content, buy membership services, or participate in the platform's commercial activities. This not only brings direct economic benefits to the platform, but also creates more business opportunities for brands and creators who cooperate with Bilibili.
Looking at China's Internet industry, there are only a handful of platforms that can truly "grow with users", and most users are jumping back and forth between platforms, while Station B is definitely an exception, with extremely high user stickiness and a long life cycle.
The growth and upgrading of users will inevitably bring new ideas and needs, so Bilibili must continue to innovate and improve to meet the growing needs of users. This user-driven development model enables the platform to better adapt to market changes and continue to unleash the potential value of users. This is also the fundamental driving force for the promotion and release of user value.
As an atypical case of China's Internet platform, the Bilibili model is worth studying, and may be able to find answers to many of the difficult mysteries that plague China's Internet.