"Promise" Guo Youcai gained 10 million followers in 10 days: a grassroots internet celebrity selected by the platform's "algorithm"

This article tells the story of Guo Youcai, a grassroots internet celebrity whose number of fans surged to tens of millions in just 10 days. It analyzes how he achieved success through platform algorithms and grassroots resonance, and guides readers to understand the traffic logic and cultural phenomena behind the phenomenal internet celebrities. I hope it will be helpful to you.

The man in the video has a slicked-back hairstyle popular in the last century, a beard, gloves, large silver-rimmed glasses, and a loose suit. With a yellow filter created by placing a pill package in front of his phone, and an old BMW behind him, the whole thing has a strong retro feel. But in fact, he is only 25 years old. He sang Li Yijun's "Promise" heartbreakingly at Heze South Station: "Helpless people drift in the wind, in the rain, in the years of love, you and I can't start over, can't stay, can't resist the fate...", and the comments began to frantically brush the name of his lover when he was young "XX I miss you".

According to Feigua data, on May 7, the number of followers of Guo Youcai's Douyin account, "Heze Tree Brother", reached 300,000, which rose to 1 million on May 11, 5 million on May 16, and exceeded 10 million on May 19. The new Douyin shows that the number of viewers in his live broadcast room increased from around 100,000-200,000 at the end of April to the million level after May 3. On May 16, the number of viewers of a single live broadcast exceeded 27.74 million, and the number of likes exceeded 100 million.

Just like every time a top streamer was born, a large number of people rushed to take advantage of the traffic. Broadcasters from all over the country flocked to Heze, and pixel-level imitations of "XX Shu Ge" appeared at stations in various cities, collectively dressed in retro clothes and singing old songs. But the huge traffic, fame and wealth that come with it, will always belong only to the "first mover." Behind Guo Youcai's popularity is the tried and tested grassroots narrative.

1. Guo Youcai, who was selected by the algorithm: "Grassroots resonance" is the eternal traffic code

“No technique, all emotion.”

Before this big explosion, Guo Youcai had been "small-time famous" twice. In 2017, he registered a Kuaishou account "Guo Youcai (Developing the Heze Steps)", which was a spirited young man style at that time; in 2022, Guo Youcai, who had a dream of music, began to change his account to live broadcast singing, bought a six-yuan music tutorial and a three-hundred-yuan guitar, and PKed with another Internet celebrity "Dayuan Ge" on the microphone. He gained attention for his cover of "Really Love You", and the number of online people in the live broadcast room exceeded 10,000 for the first time. He took the opportunity to release the single "Really Love You (Talented Version)", but the account could not continue to operate due to the controversy over bringing goods; in November 2023, he registered a Douyin account of "Guo Youcai (Heze Shu Ge)" and tried live broadcast singing again, focusing on the nostalgic style.

There are actually traces behind the huge amount of traffic that Guo Youcai has attracted. Every image display and communication anchor has been specially designed and operated, with a unified style, rich and multi-layered, and corresponding audience groups and emotional resonance points.

As mentioned above, his specially designed retro style, background and songs, in addition to "Promise", his previous covers of "Love the Country More than the Beauty" and "At Big Deal, Forgive Me Once More" are also in the same classic nostalgic style. Although he does not have the skills of a professional singer, he is "emotionally full", which has triggered a collective nostalgia among fans.

Correspondingly, this style has also brought him a group of mature fans. According to Chanmama data, the majority of Guo Youcai's fans are aged 31 to 40, with an average male ratio of 65% and an average female ratio of 35%. In terms of the regional distribution of fans, fans from Shandong and Henan account for 35%, fans from Jiangsu and Zhejiang account for 11%, and fans from Guangdong account for 6%. These fans have experienced great changes in the times, and nostalgia is an emotional comfort for them to escape reality and find good memories.

What touched the hearts of the public was not only the abundant emotions that "The Promise" infected everyone, but also Guo Youcai's own grassroots experience. This young man born in 1999 shared his personal experience in a series of short videos: he was born in a rural family in Heze, Shandong. His mother died when he was 10 years old, and his father remarried. He came to his third aunt and grandmother's house, dropped out of school early to work, doing odd jobs such as repairing trams. In 2017, he started a restaurant, which eventually closed down; in 2019, he and his fiancée Su Chang ran a barbecue stall, which has been going on for five years.

Guo Youcai once said that he named himself "Shu Ge" because he liked the movie "Hello! Mr. Tree", in which the character "Shu" played by Wang Baoqiang had experienced many hardships and was a representative of the grassroots people.

In addition, the narrative of "staying with his girlfriend for many years regardless of wealth or poverty" enriched Guo Youcai's image of "being responsible" and became another factor in Guo Youcai's popularity. On May 20, in Heze, Shandong, when his girlfriend Su Chang appeared in the live broadcast room, Guo Youcai officially announced that he was about to get married and expressed his love to his girlfriend: "My virtuous wife has helped me to reach my lofty goals, and we will be together until we grow old together." He also thanked his mother-in-law, saying that when he and his girlfriend got engaged, his mother-in-law did not ask for a dowry or a house or a car, which gave him the greatest encouragement. In the social context where dowry has become a pain point for young people and has been frequently searched, these remarks secretly hit the mainstream values ​​of the public and their admiration and yearning for the "virtuous wife template and good mother-in-law", increasing the popularity of the spread.

At the same time, Guo Youcai did not give up the barbecue stall after becoming famous. He said that he would not sell goods through live broadcast. His humble and low-key image further won his favor. "Next, we will do business well, because the popularity on the Internet is only temporary. For now, we should follow the routine, otherwise our business will not be good. We have opened this barbecue stall for many years and we still want to continue. If there is a chance in the future, he also wants to try some original songs."

From Zhu Zhiwen, the "Big Coat Brother", to "Big Dream" which swept the screen in the Summer of Music last year, countless phenomenal songs, countless grassroots singers who became popular by chance, and Phoenix Legend, which transformed from a "rustic group" to a "national group" and was sought after by the post-00s, all of these are enough to prove that "grassroots counterattack" is an eternal complex of the Chinese people, and "grassroots resonance" with a sense of substitution is a tried and tested traffic code . On the contrary, the "elite narrative" may arouse rebellious psychology to a large extent, and even lead to a crash.

Being hit by the platform algorithm mechanism is an opportunity for ordinary people to "change their fate". Many people, including Guo Youcai and his girlfriend, know that traffic is bound to have peaks and declines, and what can be done is to use the existing traffic and operate it reasonably. The attribute of a talent determines that Guo Youcai may have a relatively longer life cycle - as long as he can bring the next hit song.

2. Heze South Station suspends live broadcast: popularity and chaos

Just like "Litang Ding Zhen", "Mohe Ballroom", "Chengdu Disney" and "Wang Po Matchmaking", the story of one person making a city popular is happening again.

Heze South Railway Station has become a popular check-in spot and a "nostalgic place" for locals. Relevant information shows that Heze South Railway Station, built in 1978, has long stopped passenger business, but it still undertakes train reception and dispatching operations, and provides technical services and guarantees for the safe and stable operation of the line. Currently, there are fixed staff on duty.

On May 17, 2024, Guo Youcai was hired by Heze Culture and Tourism as the Heze Culture and Tourism Recommender. According to Douyin Life Service data, from May 10 to May 12, Heze's Douyin Life Service orders increased by 215% compared with last year. According to official statistics, Heze South Station now receives more than 400,000 tourists per day.

With Zibo and Tianshui setting an example first, Heze was able to copy their work smoothly.

In order to welcome visitors from all over the world, the asphalt road in front of the railway station was quickly paved, the steps in front of the station were repaired, and the station name sign was lit again. Mobile signal support vehicles of major communication manufacturers and volunteer service teams composed of local citizens followed up. From 8 am to dusk every day, volunteers provided free mobile phone charging, road guidance and other services for foreign tourists, as well as free on-site water delivery and Heze's specialty peony. Some businesses spontaneously prepared dumplings and big pot dishes for free.

Along with the popularity comes chaos. Local residents have reported being "troubled" and "demons are running wild."

On May 13, law enforcement officers from the Mudan District Culture and Tourism Bureau stopped a vulgar live broadcast and gave a verbal education on the spot. It is understood that in order to prevent nuisance to the public, the Mudan District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade will persuade live broadcasters to leave at 9 pm.

The latest signboard at Heze South Railway Station Square shows that due to the 2024 spring college entrance examination, there are test sites in schools near Heze South Railway Station. In order to create a good test and living environment for the majority of candidates, all entertainment activities at Heze South Railway Station Square will be suspended from May 17 to 19. Normal activities will resume on May 20.

Guo Youcai's live broadcast was transferred to the National Flower Expo Park. The new live broadcast location is one of the local attractions, and its popularity at its peak has undoubtedly brought blessings to the popularity of the scenic spot. At 10 am on May 17, Guo Youcai started broadcasting at the National Flower Expo Park, and the huge "China's Peony Capital, Floral Heze Welcomes You" became the new background of the live broadcast room. The total number of viewers of the 2-hour live broadcast that day reached 33.1681 million, and the number of fans increased by 1.1 million.

However, can the fans from all over the country who come to check in and the bloggers who come to take photos to attract attention be transformed into the cultural and tourism reputation of Heze? How long can this wave of popularity last, and how to sustain the traffic? This is a difficult problem.

This is not the first time that Heze has been hit by Internet traffic. "Big Coat Brother" is also from Heze; a Shandong dialect accent "Shandong Heze Cao County 666 we Le baby" has triggered imitations across the Internet, making Cao County, a county under Heze, an Internet celebrity overnight and known as the "center of the universe". In addition, "earning 7 billion yuan a year by selling Hanfu by 2023" has also made Cao County popular again.

From the perspective of tourism resources, as a third-tier city in Shandong, Heze's most famous IP is the Heze Peony, and other cultural tourism resources such as Water Margin still need to be further improved. The IP operation of the city requires a series of long-term layouts, and at the same time, it is necessary to improve the corresponding service capabilities and supporting infrastructure. Otherwise, relying solely on the "explosion" of one or more Guo Youcai will not support the "long-term success" of cultural tourism.

Author: Mia; WeChat public account: Akagi Pingzi (ID: yuledujiaoshou)