Without public domain, you can’t grow big; without private domain, you can’t be stable

This is an era of omni-domain marketing. The value and role of private domain traffic can attract widespread recognition and attention. The author of this article shares his views on marketing. Interested friends can take a look.

Public domain traffic diversion and private domain management, this is an era of omni-domain marketing. ——Author ttaxn99

In 2019, "private domain traffic" became popular and began to appear frequently in content related to Internet marketing operations. Practitioners also talked about private domain traffic involuntarily on a daily basis. However, it was not until 2020 that the relevant industries encountered unusual tests, and the value and role of private domain traffic really attracted widespread recognition and attention.

At this moment, if we look back at the implementation of the concept of private domain traffic in 2019, we will find that a considerable number of practitioners’ understanding of the four words “private domain traffic” is far from enough.

In 2019, a friend told me that private domain traffic is a pseudo-concept, and some friends also believed that private domain traffic is just a gimmick.

I didn't refute it at the time. In fact, as early as the second half of 2016, I had already paid close attention to the development trend of traffic, and I had my own views and understanding. Even to this day, many practitioners and operators still have doubts about private domain traffic.

Therefore, we need to understand the energy contained in "private domain traffic" in a more rational, objective and systematic way.

1. What is private domain traffic? What are the types of private domain traffic?

There is a clear concept of private domain traffic, which refers to the traffic (visitors) generated by directing traffic from the public domain or other domains to one's own potential customer channels. We are accustomed to calling the traffic that is more freely accessible and operated as private domain traffic. This includes corporate WeChat, WeChat public accounts, APPs, mini programs, WeChat communities, personal WeChat accounts, etc.

Some people may ask, are the Tieba, Douban groups, and personal Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, and Video Accounts created by individuals considered private domain traffic?

I don't think so. The core feature of private domain traffic is whether it can be freely reached and operated. It is difficult for you to freely operate the traffic on your Douyin, Kuaishou, and video accounts. There are many rules, and your marketing will be restricted everywhere. Tieba Douban is not active enough, and there is little point in operating it. It is more like a community.

So, are the hundreds of thousands of fans owned by Weibo celebrities considered private domain traffic?

It can be considered as something, but it is not as casual as a personal WeChat account. A very important point is that its reach, conversion and operational monetization are also weaker.

When people talk about private domain traffic, they tend to equate it with WeChat because it can better carry the value realization and value output of private domain traffic, and its commercialization is more convenient.

There is private domain traffic only when there is public domain traffic. Public domain traffic and private domain traffic are relative, and the key is operation.

Public domain traffic refers to the direct traffic of large Internet platforms, which includes regular traffic and advertising traffic. For example, direct traffic generated by posting live text and short videos on Douyin, Kuaishou, Baidu, Weibo, etc. belongs to regular traffic.

In fact, private traffic and public traffic are relative, not black and white. Private traffic is a further screening and optimization of public traffic to achieve the purpose of long-term communication. From this aspect, we can see that in the process of attracting attention due to content, these traffic have actually begun to transform from public to private.

Private domain traffic needs a source and does not appear out of thin air. It needs the help of public domain traffic to make conversions.

Yang Jianyun believes that there are two important points: first, improving the fit between the platform and the content, and second, scientific advertising. Regardless of whether there is advertising, whether the content quality is highly matched with the needs of the traffic customer group is the key to whether public domain traffic can be achieved, and determines whether the closed-loop effect can be achieved in the end.

Whether private domain traffic can achieve value conversion and empower operations depends almost entirely on the quality of the content and the level of user operations.

The underlying logic of private domain traffic is high-quality customer connections.

Not all general traffic can be transformed into private traffic. The relationship between them is not equal, but requires a conversion process. A lot of general traffic will only become private traffic after multiple feedbacks.

Let’s take Douyin City as an example. Through city positioning, when users see the content posted by merchants, they have the opportunity to establish contact. After liking or following, this part of public domain traffic has the possibility of being converted into private domain traffic.

This also means that "without doing a good job in public domain traffic, private domain traffic may be out of the question." In other words, when we talk about private domain traffic, we cannot ignore the continued attention to public domain traffic.

Take the content platform as an example. If you want to convert a lot of general traffic into private traffic by publishing a piece of high-quality content, this idea is not advisable, because the conversion rate of attention brought by such a random piece of content is extremely low. Only by ensuring the continuous and stable output of high-quality content can the online conversion rate be steadily improved.

Yang Jianyun pointed out that the purpose of private domain traffic is to further deepen the connection level. It is not only necessary to complete the connection, but also to pay more attention to the quality of the connection. On the basis of the original simple connection between goods and people, it deeply connects consumers and greatly improves the delivery experience.

Taking users as the center, products and services as the cornerstone, and sustainable value as the guideline is the right path for private domain operations.

After the concept of "private domain" became fully popularized in 2020, major Internet companies began to implement the "full-domain operation" layout in 2021. This is a value positioning adjustment made by major Internet companies based on their own ecological advantages and Internet operating environment.

Since 2020, offline business formats have faced survival challenges. As an "independent business base integrating online and offline", private domain formats have become a favorable tool for brands to operate online and resist the impact of uncertainty. Private domain channels have played an important and irreplaceable role.

Even without the factor of the epidemic, the decline of traffic dividends has long been a consensus among everyone. The simple "buying volume logic" is outdated, and operators also need to seriously consider and respond to three issues brought about by changing trends - how to reduce costs and increase efficiency; how to achieve full-area operations, how to shorten the conversion path and improve conversion efficiency.

In 2022, we can see that many large platforms are practicing this transformation: Alimama proposed the methodologies of "scientific operation" and "flat accumulation to promote revenue"; Douyin e-commerce's "FACT+global operation" matrix methodology, and Kuaishou proposed the "new market business ecology" STEPS operation methodology based on "expanding circle + operation + insight + connecting value", all emphasizing daily operations and post-link conversion and sedimentation.

2. Without public domain, you cannot grow big; without private domain, you cannot be stable

The most common problem faced by private domain players is traffic bottleneck. The most common problem faced by public domain players is difficulty in selling products with high average order value. Products with high average order value and high repurchase rate are often sold through private domain. Both public and private domains have their advantages and disadvantages and must be combined.

Public domain traffic diversion and private domain operation, this is an era of omni-domain marketing.

Yang Jianyun proposed in the second half of 2016 that "a company is first and foremost a media company", which talks about the importance and trend of public domain traffic diversion and traffic operation.

In terms of Internet marketing layout, Yang Jianyun emphasized that Internet marketing layout is a complex and systematic project, which requires a high level of overview and a holistic view. It talks about the integration capabilities of the Internet's public and private domains.

From the perspective of "omni-domain operation", "connection" and "integration" are inseparable from "one center, two integrations" - consumer-centric, online and offline as one chess game, public and private domains as one network.

Returning to the specific business scenarios, operators can integrate their own private domain pools and offline traffic based on the "full-domain operation" model, and expand the basic base of user assets through online scenarios and public domain traffic. In the subsequent continuous operations, they can also achieve good feedback from users and operations, thereby achieving the purpose of "traffic diversion and expansion + diversified reach + user life cycle improvement" and achieving the business goal of "reducing costs and increasing efficiency".

Yang Jianyun proposed that in this era of global operations, operators need to return to an integrated operation model that is "consumer-centric, integrating online and offline scenarios, and integrating public and private touchpoints." Whether your marketing is based on the Tencent ecosystem or other platforms, it is always right to lean in this direction.

Author: Yang Jianyun