First, the rise of information flow advertising
In the era of mobile internet, the form of content distribution and presentation has changed, from users looking for content to content "looking for" users, and so has advertising.
According to the statistical analysis of Analysys data, information flow advertising has moved from the experimental stage to the normal stage, and the market scale will continue to grow, and it is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan in 2020.
Most information, social and short video platforms gradually appear information flow advertisements, which are presented in the form of pictures, texts and videos by matching users' preferences through algorithms, interwoven with the constantly refreshed information flow at the user end and actively pushed to users.
For example, if you brush the advertisement information of Estee Lauder in the WeChat circle of friends, you will see the orthodontic advertisement when you browse the content of the information flow according to the Weibo timeline or some kind of heat, while when you browse today's headlines, the constantly refreshed information flow is mixed with game advertisements.
Information flow advertising is mixed with the content provided by the product itself and is regarded as a "low interference" advertising form.
At the moment when users are getting used to passively and efficiently obtaining fragmented content, compared with TV and website advertisements where users are generally "immune", it seems more natural for information flow advertisements to gain users' attention, and it is also a more natural means of traffic conversion on the platform.
For advertisers, based on big data and algorithms, after matching the interests of brands and users, optimize the conversion rate and reduce the delivery cost.
According to Analysys' statistics, advertisers who emphasize online business demand prefer information flow advertisements, such as games, online services and e-commerce.
But at the same time, information flow advertising is also facing the problem of increasing purchase cost. The data shows that from 20 17 to 20 18, the cost of buying information flow advertisements in the game industry increased by 90%- 100%. Advertisers certainly hope that the budget will be "spent on the cutting edge", which will be more efficient, more accurate and have a higher conversion rate. Therefore, information gap appears in information flow advertisements as a means of profit.
At the end of 20 18, an article entitled "has a long-term honey drinker become like this?" It was posted on the official account of WeChat WeChat, Leqi ofo. The article suspected of promoting local honey introduces a beekeeper who gave up her job in a big city and returned to her hometown in the countryside and her pure local honey.
This article has been read more than 10w in 2 hours. Although ofo said that this article is a normal WeChat push article, at the end of the article, it is the QR code of the beekeeper. Then, according to media reports, the honey products advertised in the article have no production date and manufacturer logo.
As we all know, many bicycles such as ofo began to operate in first-tier cities, and then began to sink in second-and third-tier cities. Ofo, which occupies huge user traffic in first-tier cities, promotes earth honey and is regarded as advertising by using information gap.
Giving up work in big cities and living in rural areas, pure local honey, almost every information point that is rendered hits users in first-tier cities, and most of them are difficult to distinguish the actual quality and value of honey, and they are not sensitive to price, which has played a role in promoting marketing to some extent.
Put similar information gap marketing methods in information flow advertisements on social, information, short video and other Internet platforms with reading and audition scenes as the environment. With the content attribute of the platform, it becomes more difficult to be detected and easier to play commercial value.
Second, the sinking market outside the Fifth Ring Road
News information, social media, search engines, etc. , which has a high correlation with the scale and type of platform traffic, a large number of users and high accuracy of user behavior data, is a popular information flow advertising platform at present.
Facebook, the social platform, took the lead in launching information flow advertisements. Eight years after its launch, the advertising revenue of Facebook's information flow has exceeded 50% of its total advertising revenue in 20 14 years.
Weibo, a social platform, was the first to test water information flow advertisements in China. In 20 12, Weibo took the lead in launching the beta version of information flow advertising, and the official version was launched in 20 14. By the second quarter of 20 16, information flow advertising accounted for 53% of the total advertising revenue.
The reason why social media platforms can take the lead in deriving information flow advertisements is not only supported by the number and activity of users, but also benefited from a large number of user registration information and high-accuracy user behavior portraits.
In terms of user portraits, according to the data given in the 20 18 Weibo User Development Report, users aged 23-30 account for the highest proportion, reaching 40%; Compared with 20 17, among the monthly active users in Weibo, the proportion of users from cities of Grade 4 and below has increased, and has been declining continuously.
Another common platform type of information flow advertising is information platform, such as today's headlines. Today's headlines are good at algorithmic recommendation content, and information flow advertising is its main way of advertising revenue.
The users of the volcano video under the headline department are sinking more obviously, and the users in the third-and fourth-tier cities and below account for more than 50%. Tik Tok platform focuses on users in first-and second-tier cities, but the proportion of users in third-tier cities and below is also growing.
At the recent Baidu Alliance Conference, Li Zhongjun, general manager of Baidu Alliance, said that although the growth of new users in China was close to the ceiling, there were also "new bonuses". They are "small town youth", "her economy", "Z generation" (generally referring to the post-1995 generation) and silver-haired people in cities below the third line. So 20 19, Internet companies "channel sinking".
Obviously, the sinking of the market is regarded as a new dividend, and the goals of each platform to seek user growth all point to "people outside the Fifth Ring Road". Information flow advertising naturally tends to look for business opportunities in the sinking market.
Third, poor information is the key to advertising profit.
Many information flow advertisements make a fuss about region and propagation time.
A user in a fourth-tier city told Niu Niu that his friends circle advertisements were different from those in first-and second-tier cities. "There are many luxury brands in Beishangguang, and I have received less information about luxury brands. Car advertising will not be like they are first-class brands, but about 400,000 car brands. "
Not only WeChat friends circle, but also users said that platforms such as Tik Tok and mobile phone Baidu have similar differences. However, these differences can still be understood as the appropriate launch of the platform for different regional consumer markets, and more attention should be paid to controversial advertising content that uses information differences to make profits in different regions.
Recently, when a user brushed Tik Tok in a third-tier city, he brushed the advertisement of "Dr. Acne", an anti-acne organization. The user also said that the advertisement was also seen in the information flow in Zhihu.
As early as 20 16, this institution was questioned as "cheating" by users. Up to now, many netizens in Zhihu still broke the news that this institution charges. However, agency advertisements still exist in information flow advertisements on multiple platforms.
It is a common commercial marketing method to profit from information gap. However, using information gaps to publish false advertisements and promote problematic products, the platform is not rigorous in this respect and will inevitably be criticized.
20/kloc-in March, 2008, CCTV Finance's Economic Half-Hour reported that the platform advertising information that the "Today Headline" client encountered in different cities was different, and even released a large number of illegal advertisements in second-and third-tier cities through "two hops".
Related advertising products include secret recipes for insomnia, rhinitis, hypertension, diabetes and other diseases. In addition, the report also mentioned that some staff members said that advertisers also put information on products related to freckle, acne and whitening.
Some insiders told Whip Niu that 90% of the products advertised in these contents are deceptive, and the concepts of "plant extract" and "herbal medicine" included in the advertisement of acne products are also "virtual". "It is basically a lie to wipe acne marks for a few days by these products."
After being exposed by the media at that time, today's headlines said that the illegal advertisements involved had been offline, the relevant advertisers' accounts were permanently closed, and the cooperation with the agents involved in the report was terminated. And said that all sales staff and advertising agencies will do a round of inspection and rectification.
But at present, when you open these internet platforms in different regions, you can still find information flow advertisements that scratch the ball.