dognovel Chapter 116 Two-Pronged Approach
Chapter 116 Two-Pronged Approach
That day, Lin Feng passed by Li Ying's workstation and saw her feeling depressed because a forum account had been banned.
Lin Feng looked at the records of reasons for being banned that she had compiled, and most of them were "too much suspicion of being a 'GG'" and "repeatedly posting similar content".
"Your direction is correct, but your strategy needs to be upgraded."
Lin Feng patiently explained to her, "Forum moderators and veteran users dislike hard-sell ads and spam. We need to transform from 'GG publishers' to 'value providers'."
"How exactly do we do it?" Li Ying asked.
"To create a guide for local life in Shenzhen," Lin Feng pointed out the direction.
"Stop directly copying information. Instead, use the real observations and data from our offline team, combined with information from the website, to produce original content."
"For example, in the article 'Guide to Avoiding Scams When Finding a House in Shenzhen: How to Identify Subletters and Fake Listings,' we can naturally cite examples of how our website verifies landlord information."
"For example, the data in 'On-site Evaluation of the Cost-Effectiveness of Renting in Various Districts of Shenzhen (August 2004)' can come from information compiled on our website, combined with your on-site experience."
"We can even create lifestyle content like 'A Food Map of Deep City Alleys' and 'A Roundup of Reliable Weekend Part-Time Jobs,' cleverly integrating the merchant information from our website into them."
"The content should be substantial, useful, and insightful. At the end of the article or in the author's bio, discreetly mention 'The above information was compiled and provided by Tongcheng Life Network.' Moderators will be much more tolerant of high-quality original content, and it might even be featured. Users will also develop a positive impression and trust in our website because the content is useful."
Li Ying seemed thoughtful: "President Lin, do you mean to become a 'strategy expert'? To create all kinds of strategies, build professionalism and trust through content, and make promotions more subtle?"
"Yes." Lin Feng further advised her, "You can try contacting moderators or administrators of sub-forums who need local information and cooperate discreetly under the guise of providing 'information support.' This is more sustainable than simply posting."
At the same time, Wei Zejun's team revisited the merchants with a new narrative on "keeping information fresh" and the benefits of "high-quality recommendation slots".
The effects were immediate, and some savvy merchants, especially those who had seen an increase in phone inquiries and had already benefited from the business, began to pay attention to information updates.
Changes in the performance evaluation criteria for field sales staff have also made them more willing to spend time maintaining existing customers.
Lin Xiaoqiang's team began the first large-scale telephone follow-up of the "information shelf life".
The process was cumbersome and even caused some landlords to be puzzled, but after cleaning up the first batch of "zombie information," the cleanliness and credibility of the website were visibly improved.
The value of "high-quality listings" that have been carefully maintained is beginning to show, with user inquiries and phone clicks for these listings being significantly higher than the average.
Li Ying and her content team have meticulously produced their first in-depth guide: "A Complete Guide to Renting Around Shenzhen Science Park: From Prices to Commuting, Understand It All in One Article".
The article, which combined website data, on-site observations, and practical tips for avoiding pitfalls, was published on several major forums. Due to its detailed and objective content, it was not only not deleted, but also received a lot of praise and was saved by many people.
The article included a line at the end: "Data support: Tongcheng Life Network - Shenzhen Channel," which brought in a steady stream of clicks.
Zhou Bin upgraded the server, and the "Last Updated Date" label quietly appeared on the information list page.
……
After Lin Feng made a series of strategic adjustments, the data for Baidu's bidding in the second month was released.
In the conference room, Zhou Bin's tone was much lighter than last time when he reported: "President Lin, the results are in."
Lin Feng carefully read the data:
Total investment: 38000 yuan, an increase of approximately 20.6% compared to the previous month.
Total clicks: approximately 62,000, an increase of approximately 47.6% compared to the previous month.
Average cost per click: approximately RMB 0.61, a decrease of approximately 18.7% compared to the previous month.
The website's daily unique visitors have increased from 500-600 to 1200-1500, with peak weekend numbers approaching 1800, representing an increase of approximately 150% compared to the previous month.
The number of newly registered users (individuals and merchants) was approximately 1500, an increase of 87.5% compared to the previous month.
Approximately 5200 new valid messages (posts + SMS messages sent on behalf of others) were added, averaging about 173 per day, representing a 73.3% increase compared to the previous month.
User phone clicks increased to approximately 4500, a 125% increase compared to the previous month.
Users who searched spent more time on the site, and the proportion of them posting information was nearly 30% higher than last month.
"Long-tail keywords are indeed effective," Zhou Bin added with relish. "Keywords like 'shared apartment in the science park,' 'single room in Chegongmiao,' and 'ready to move in in Futian' are half the price of broad keywords, but the traffic is more targeted, with many people calling or texting directly."
Lin Feng nodded. The money wasn't wasted; they'd chosen the right path.
After watering the sandy area, it finally started to look like it was holding water.
But behind the data, the problems also become clear.
Zhou Bin pulled up another chart, which showed the percentage of traffic and posts for each section of the website.
"Mr. Lin, as you can see, almost 80% of the content and interviews are crammed into the 'Housing Rentals' section. There's very little content in areas like job postings, secondhand goods, and local services."
Wei Zejun explained from the side, "We've been visiting businesses, mainly real estate agencies in the past month, but we've also been promoting recruitment, repair, and cleaning services. However, many small shops still prefer to post job openings on their doors. We haven't had time to look for job postings from other companies yet."
Li Ying also said, "There are actually quite a few job postings on the forum, but they're scattered everywhere. Our website's job posting section doesn't have much information, so it doesn't retain users. If no one reads it, companies are even less willing to post."
Lin Feng leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table. Starting with housing rental information was the right first step. He had to proceed cautiously, one step at a time.
But relying solely on renting a place won't get you far or help you reach great heights. Recruiting is the next tough nut to crack.
Shenzhen, being at the forefront of China's reform and opening up, attracted a large influx of people from inland areas seeking employment. The high demand for jobs and labor, coupled with a chaotic job market, created an opportunity for classified ads to thrive.
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Feng decided to intensify efforts to promote recruitment services: "We will continue to expand and deepen our efforts in the housing rental sector. We must also develop our recruitment services."
He looked at Wei Zejun: "Zejun, your team has focused on real estate brokerage and domestic services such as repair and cleaning for the past month. Your approach is correct, and you've figured things out. Now, with recruitment information, the methods are similar, but the goals are different."
He paused briefly to clarify his points: "When we find real estate agents, we help them put their property listings online so more people can see them. The same principle applies when we find companies to post job openings; we help them put their job postings online so more job seekers can see them. The core is that we provide the channel, they submit their needs, and we facilitate transactions."
Wei Zejun nodded, then asked, "President Lin, do we charge companies for posting job advertisements? How much do we charge?"
This is a crucial question, and everyone looked over.
"It's free initially," Lin Feng replied crisply.
"Any business or shop that wants to hire people can post job openings on our website for free after verifying their basic qualifications. There is no limit to the number of job postings, at least not at this stage."
Lin Feng further explained: "Recruiting is different from renting a house. Individual landlords are more willing to post rental information, and corporate agencies also have a need to promote it. But it's much harder to get a small restaurant owner to think that posting recruitment information online is useful than getting a real estate agent to think it's useful."
They're not used to it, and they hate the hassle. We'll offer it for free, lowering the barrier to entry to zero, to attract them first and build up the number of job postings on the website. Without volume, nothing else matters.
"And what about after that?" Li Ying pressed. "It'll stay free forever. We're only investing, not making any money."
"Of course we'll start charging in the future," Lin Feng said confidently. "The free service is to open up the market and cultivate habits. Once enough companies are used to recruiting here, and enough job seekers are used to looking for work here, forming a stable flow of customers, charging will be a natural progression."
He recalled the pricing models of some recruitment websites, explaining, "For example, basic posting is free. But for companies that are more eager to hire and want their information to be seen by more people, we offer value-added services."
For example, paying can "refresh" the information to the top of the list, maintaining its exposure for one or several days;
Alternatively, you can add eye-catching tags like "urgently hiring" or "hotly recruiting" to the job postings; you can also pay to purchase fixed "featured slots" to make the job postings appear in a prominent place on the category page.
In the future, we could even consider offering more in-depth services such as resume screening and proactive recommendations. These are our future profit drivers.
"The idea is to expand the pond with free basic services, attracting both fish and anglers. Then, use paid value-added services to meet the needs of those who want to catch fish faster and better."
Technical Director Wei Zejun listened attentively while quickly taking notes in his notebook, a look of sudden realization appearing on his face.
This idea of "free basic services and paid value-added services" was something he, a tech expert who had also been an entrepreneur, could never have imagined.
His eyes were fixed on Lin Feng, and he felt a surge of admiration for this young boss who had just graduated.
"Zejun, you have two tasks ahead of you," Lin Feng instructed.
"First, we must not stop expanding our existing real estate and local service information services. We need to continue to expand our coverage, moving from the vicinity of the Science Park to the core areas of Futian, Luohu, and Nanshan. If we don't have enough manpower, we will recruit more."
"Secondly, we will select capable personnel and recruit new employees to form a dedicated 'Recruitment Information Expansion Team,' focusing on corporate recruitment. We will start with industries with high hiring demand, such as restaurants, hotels, and retail stores. Our sales pitch will be, 'We'll post your job information for free; more channels mean more opportunities.'"
"Understood, Mr. Lin!" Wei Zejun was full of energy and felt that the goal was much clearer.
He turned to Li Ying: "In addition to continuing to create rental-related content for online promotion, you can start consciously collecting, organizing, and publishing some practical recruitment information."
"For example, we'll use articles like 'A Survey of Talent Market Demands in Various Districts of Shenzhen' and 'Interview Tips for Common Positions' to generate buzz in the recruitment section. We'll continue to organize and share the scattered recruitment information from the forum, clearly indicating the source."
"Okay, Mr. Lin." Li Ying accepted the task.