The vortex effect of Zibo barbecue has drawn everyone into an online and offline carnival

When it comes to tourism, the hottest topic this year is undoubtedly Zibo and its barbecue. How did this small city and its barbecue set off a nationwide tourism carnival? This article explores the vortex effect of Zibo barbecue on the Internet. Let's take a look.

During this period, Zibo barbecue has formed a vortex on the Internet, dragging everyone into a conscious and unconscious carnival created online and offline.

The inconspicuous barbecue has generated various topics and quickly formed a vortex that swept across the country. Almost all netizens were drawn into this vortex intentionally or unintentionally. The center point of this vortex hit a certain consciousness in the hearts of certain groups, conscious or unconscious, and then they spread it through online public opinion. The more people are involved, the greater the gravitational force of the vortex, which in turn draws in more and more people.

So what is it about Zibo barbecue that forms the center of the vortex? Is it delicious barbecue? There are countless delicious barbecues all over the country. Whether it is Northeast barbecue, Inner Mongolia barbecue, or Xinjiang barbecue, people are more familiar with it than Zibo barbecue. Is it the "hospitality" of Shandong people? "Hospitality Shandong" has been promoted for many years, but there has been no big commotion. So how did Zibo form a vortex effect with such a large range and such a strong gravitational force?

To create a vortex effect, you must first create a vortex center. The vortex center is not in a certain event, a certain place, or a certain person itself, but in the minds of users, finding a core value that can impress them .

The reason why Zibo barbecue has become popular at this point in time after the epidemic is not because of the taste of the barbecue, the enthusiasm of Shandong people, or the thoughtful and considerate service of the government, but because everyone needs a carnival to release the inner feelings that have been suppressed for three years . This carnival must have wine, meat and music. At this time, Zibo barbecue appeared in time, adding additional factors such as music, tourism, and hospitality to the product form of delicious barbecue to maximize the carnival effect.

With the vortex center, the source of the vortex's power is to create an ultimate experience. Zibo barbecue must truly meet everyone's needs for "carnival to their heart's content". The ultimate experience based on carnival is indispensable.

The first thing is of course the product experience of barbecue . I have never eaten it so I have no say on the taste, but I firmly remember the differentiated product form of self-service small stove + small rolls and barbecue meat, a product experience with a sense of ritual. Product experience is indispensable, otherwise people from other places will feel cheated.

Secondly, the hospitality of Zibo people is very real . As a foreigner, when you go to a strange place, you will generally feel nervous, afraid of being ripped off or ignored. Various killing incidents on the Internet also magnify this nervousness. This time, the general honesty of Zibo people, from barbecue restaurant owners to taxi drivers and hotel waiters, really touched the tourists.

There is also the ultimate service experience, which is provided by the local government: special tourist lines that distribute free gifts, dedicated personnel to pick up tourists at the station, public officials making random visits, squatting by the barbecue tables to ask tourists about their experience, solving problems immediately when they are discovered, etc. The implementation of these experiences truly guarantees a high level of tourist satisfaction.

In order to achieve the vortex effect and involve more people on a larger scale, it is not enough to have high satisfaction among tourists who go to Zibo. These extreme experiences must also be turned into topics, content, and news, and widely disseminated through various new media and social platforms.

From Xue Zhiqian eating barbecue in Zibo, to the recent incident where a guy at a snack bar in Zibo opened the door and was so scared by the swarm of tourists that he immediately closed it; the Cultural and Tourism Bureau's reverse invitation "Don't come to Zibo during the May Day holiday", and a post-00s girl saving money for a year to buy a house in Zibo, these are actually small things, but waves of topic spread, coupled with word-of-mouth publicity on social media by tourists who have been to Zibo to experience it personally, have made the vortex bigger and bigger, involving more and more people.

In fact, in recent years, many places have become popular through the vortex effect. Ganzi Prefecture in Sichuan became popular because of its internet celebrity tourism director. Changsha and Chengdu have become "long-lasting" cities from internet celebrity cities. Their city promotions have consciously or unconsciously followed the principles and methods of creating the vortex effect.

Why do these cities create the vortex effect?

It is to attract more people to come and stay, because with people there are infinite possibilities! This is true for both cities and businesses. When people come, they are transformed into consumption, eating, drinking, playing and even buying houses; transformed into communication power, creating a variety of social communication content; transformed into productivity, especially young people and high-value talents. Only by retaining these people can the development of local industries be possible.

Author: Yang Mingjian; WeChat public account: Lou Wen Digital Marketing