Excerpt from: https://lusongsong.com/reed/18287.html
Reason: I also want to earn some extra money, but after two years, I still haven't found a way to manage a self-media account.
Today, I will break down a parenting account called "Nian Gao Mama." Although it is not the account with the most followers in the parenting category, it is indeed the most profitable one. If you are also planning to create a parenting account, I think "Nian Gao Mama" is particularly worth learning from.
Many mothers should know the account "Nian Gao Mama," which offers rich parenting knowledge, recommends baby products, and has established a personal academy, all of which continuously attract the attention of parents.
On July 31, 2014, Li Danyang founded the public account "Nian Gao Mama." In March 2015, she wrote her first article that received over 100,000 views. On January 13, 2017, Nian Gao Mama secured 60 million in Series B financing, and in September 2018, it received over 100 million in B+ round financing from Fosun Group. Today, it has 30 million followers across the internet, with over 10 million on both WeChat and Douyin.
Why is Nian Gao Mama so popular? Is it just relying on the initial benefits of the public account? Today, we will deeply analyze "Nian Gao Mama" from five aspects: inception, positioning, user operation, pitfalls encountered, and monetization.
01 Inception
Li Danyang never expected that one day she would be involved in media. After being admitted to Zhejiang University, she told her family that she wanted to major in journalism and enter the media industry. However, her family strictly opposed it and wanted her to become a doctor.
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
It is said online that a partner can change a person's life. During her university years, Li Danyang met Lin Wei, and they quickly fell in love and got married. Lin Wei can be considered Li Danyang's life mentor; he understands and supports her dreams.
Thanks to Lin Wei, Li Danyang's life trajectory began to change.
In April 2014, Li Danyang's son was born. Due to her love for rice cakes during pregnancy, she gave her child the nickname "Nian Gao." Like most mothers, she was not familiar with raising children, and although she held a master's degree in medicine, her knowledge about infants and toddlers needed improvement.
To ensure her child's health, Li Danyang began reading various books on infant care. She discovered that the quality of parenting books in China was uneven, with different opinions on various issues, lacking professionalism. To ensure her child's health, she decided to consult foreign literature and take notes to organize the information.
After organizing this knowledge, Li Danyang shared it in a mothers' group. Being a medical master's degree holder, she found the complex theories in the materials easy to understand and explained them in a simple manner to the mothers in the group, ultimately becoming a parenting expert in the group.
Li Danyang created the public account "Nian Gao Mama" with the intention of sharing knowledge about raising infants and toddlers and providing accurate scientific information. As a result of the support and encouragement from many mothers, the public account became increasingly popular. Coupled with her previous passion for media, she sensed a business opportunity on the public account, leading to a dramatic change in her life plan.
02 Positioning
Why is Nian Gao Mama's account more popular than other parenting accounts? I believe this is closely related to its positioning.
I can describe Nian Gao Mama's positioning in three words: "interesting, professional, and down-to-earth."
Interesting: Nian Gao Mama's interesting aspect does not mean she is inherently amusing, but rather that compared to general scientific knowledge, Nian Gao Mama weaves some topics that adults might find embarrassing into stories and illustrates them in comics for educational purposes. Particularly, she adds memes to her articles to enhance readers' interest.
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
Most doctors' scientific explanations tend to be too professional, making it hard for many to understand and often dull. In contrast, Nian Gao Mama's articles are written in a straightforward, humorous, and engaging manner, combined with her background as a medical master's degree holder. In such a comparison, it's clear which approach users would prefer.
Professional: With a master's degree in medicine, her articles are well-researched and can be backed by guidelines from authoritative global institutions like the CDC and various apps from the U.S.
This sets her apart from typical parenting accounts, which often feature clickbait titles or poorly assembled content.
Down-to-earth: Nian Gao Mama's account often feels less like a team-operated entity and more like a real mother sharing knowledge, solving problems, and listening to complaints. She frequently shares personal photos of her life with her child, making her family very familiar to her followers, which builds trust and creates a very relatable atmosphere.
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
Thus, Nian Gao Mama's positioning can be summarized as "more interesting than doctors, more professional than ordinary accounts, and more relatable than a team."
03 User Operation
Nian Gao Mama's target audience is mothers with children aged 0-6, who are new to motherhood and have a strong desire to learn about education, nutrition, safety, and other aspects related to their children.
Once the target audience was established, how did Nian Gao Mama operate her user base? Here are three key points.
- All-platform self-media matrix
Nian Gao Mama has accounts on almost every major platform. How does she operate them? Let's analyze two key platforms.
- Public account matrix
Like many platforms, Nian Gao Mama's popularity is largely due to the boom of public accounts.
During the peak of public accounts, Nian Gao Mama operated a total of seven accounts (three service accounts and four subscription accounts) and two mini-programs (Nian Gao Mama Parenting Classroom and Nian Gao Mama Academy).
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
Each public account has its own function:
Nian Gao Mama (main account): Primarily used to publish WeChat articles, educate users, and attract them to share and gain followers. Currently, articles are sent out at fixed times daily, with headline articles receiving over 100,000 views and subsequent articles over 50,000 views.
How does Nian Gao Mama achieve over 100,000 views for each headline article? After analyzing the popular content over the past month, I identified several key points:
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Educating about the nutritional value of various vegetables
What children should and shouldn't eat is a well-known topic; thus, it needs to be presented in a groundbreaking and cautionary manner to pique parents' curiosity. -
Health-related advice for babies
Preventing illness in their children is a common wish among parents. Nian Gao Mama capitalizes on this by educating parents on when to vaccinate their children and what diseases can be prevented. -
Celebrity parenting and trending news
These hot topics can also be leveraged. Although it is a parenting account, the focus on mothers makes such topics interesting to them. -
Resonance with women
This mainly involves describing the overwhelming tasks of parenting and the physical and mental exhaustion mothers face, reflecting the significant pressure women experience in raising children in China.
Articles written around these themes generally receive over 100,000 views!
Example article:
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
"Nian Gao Mama's Selection, Nian Gao Mama Mall" (e-commerce): Primarily shares quality products and serves as a platform for e-commerce monetization. The products shared are not limited to those related to babies but also include items relevant to mothers, such as cosmetics and non-stick pans.
"Nian Gao Mama Parenting, Nian Gao Mama Encyclopedia, Nian Gao Mama New Parents Class, Nian Gao Mama New Parents Camp" (education) each focus on different aspects.
"Parenting" focuses on the golden period of brain development for babies, scientific feeding, proper care, and joyful enlightenment. "Encyclopedia" specializes in the needs of 0-3 year-olds, covering everything from eating and sleeping to parenting manuals and health guides for mothers. "New Parents Class" teaches how to play with babies and what games to engage in, along with care tips during pregnancy, postpartum, and for newborns. "New Parents Camp" addresses early childhood education, character development, and intellectual growth.
From these points, we can see that Nian Gao Mama's approach is very detailed, operating each aspect of parenting through separate public accounts, which is a valuable lesson for us in service specialization.
- Douyin
Of course, relying solely on the public account would still yield too few followers. In 2017, with the rise of short videos, Nian Gao Mama seized this opportunity to accumulate a massive follower base, currently boasting over 10.13 million followers on Douyin.
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
Compared to public accounts, while not every Douyin video can go viral, there are still many that do.
So how should parenting videos be shot to become viral?
After analyzing nearly 150 of Nian Gao Mama's short videos, I have two suggestions:
- Start with everyday matters
Our focus shouldn't be limited to just the baby. Topics like "the relationship between in-laws, communication among family members, women's personal development, economic independence, and support from husbands" are all hot topics.
Nian Gao Mama has successfully created viral videos around these themes.
- Satisfy curiosity
This could involve uncommon topics or common household items. Why? Because humans are naturally curious. Introducing something mothers have never seen before or overturning common knowledge can spark interest, as can creatively modifying everyday items.
This evokes emotional resonance among mothers, requiring an analysis of trending content, particularly events related to family dynamics, such as "parent-child relationships and family relationships."
Video example:
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
2. User positioning
Can simply increasing exposure accumulate and retain a large user base?
In fact, Nian Gao Mama's success is also due to her precise user positioning. From the beginning, Li Danyang knew her target audience was mothers, not fathers.
Data shows that whether on public accounts or Douyin, 90% of users are female, with the majority of users concentrated in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
While core users have purchasing power, the average user base must also be considered. Nian Gao Mama does not solely pursue big brands but also considers the practicality of products, opting for some economical domestic brands instead of foreign luxury ones.
- User trust
Building user trust is also a major focus. How can user operations establish a multi-layered trust relationship? I have summarized three key points.
- Reliability
In this regard, "Nian Gao Mama" excels. Every small piece of scientific information mentioned in her articles or advice given to parents can be traced back to authoritative sources, such as foreign apps, the CDC, and other global guidelines.
For public account topics, she also presents and compares viewpoints from experts, authorities, websites, and books, adding her own commentary and suggestions without altering the original content, making it comprehensible for many mothers. This reliability is a fundamental element in retaining users.
However, having good content without a reliable update frequency can also be seen as untrustworthy. Therefore, Nian Gao Mama maintains a daily update schedule.
The purpose of daily updates is not just to make users feel she is reliable. It also helps cultivate user habits. When users are unsure of what to do next with their child, they can turn to Nian Gao Mama for answers, fostering a dependency on the account.
- Professionalism
Elevating from a scientific knowledge account to an authoritative image. Nian Gao Mama inherently possesses professionalism; who would have thought that a mother with millions of followers is also a medical master's degree holder? Her high level of education allows her to easily understand foreign professional knowledge, which she then compiles and shares in simple language for mothers to grasp easily.
Moreover, Nian Gao Mama has also published books to share her knowledge with her users, further solidifying her professional image. The books include "Nian Gao Mama Parenting Encyclopedia" and "Nian Gao Mama's Baby Food Journal."
- Friendship
Nian Gao Mama gives the impression that only one person operates the account, making her feel like a friend to users, reducing the distance between them from strangers to friends.
Through articles, photos, and videos, users perceive her as approachable, with her own stories and emotions, making her image more three-dimensional in users' minds. Since her articles often feature personal photos, and her Weibo showcases her sharing moments with her child like any other mother, it creates a warm image of her. This emotional connection is the strongest adhesive for users.
Looking back, we can see how "Nian Gao Mama" builds user trust:
- Daily updates and authority create user reliance.
- Her identity as a medical master's degree holder enhances her authority.
- She becomes a friend to users, sharing her life and bridging the gap with them.
04 Pitfalls Encountered
Nian Gao Mama has not had a smooth journey and has encountered several pitfalls. Here are four examples for reference to help others avoid similar mistakes.
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Customer Service
Customer service is crucial for e-commerce. The demands for customer service in e-commerce are high. On platforms like Taobao and JD, service quality has always been excellent, and users have become accustomed to these standards, leading them to expect the same from other platforms. Initially, Nian Gao Mama had only one or two customer service representatives, and as sales increased, they struggled to keep up with customer service demands. -
Suppliers
Having a good supplier is essential for e-commerce. Nian Gao Mama once faced increased time and economic costs due to not having a reliable supplier. Although she has excellent sales capabilities, if the supplier cannot fulfill orders, it becomes a significant issue. -
Plagiarism
Once, an editor cited another author's article without proper attribution, leading to accusations of plagiarism, which significantly impacted Nian Gao Mama's reputation. -
Selling Counterfeit Goods
The issue of selling counterfeit goods began to circulate on Weibo. The specifics are unclear, but after resolving the matter, Nian Gao Mama shifted focus from blindly pursuing quantity to maintaining users through better products and services. In today's internet-driven world, product quality is paramount, which is fundamental to e-commerce.
05 Monetization
Nian Gao Mama's monetization primarily relies on two aspects:
- E-commerce
Initially, Nian Gao Mama's e-commerce efforts revolved around group buying, merchant drop shipping, and public account sales, making it easy to operate and manage. However, later on, she established her own e-commerce brand, "Nian Gao Mama's Selection."
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
In the early stages, business growth was rapid, and fans had to rush to buy products, as Nian Gao Mama primarily profited from exclusive products, with half of the items being custom-made or under agreements with brand partners.
Of course, "Nian Gao Mama's Selection" is not only available on WeChat but also has a Douyin account for selling and recommending these products.
There are two accounts and two showcases, each with sales exceeding 100,000. This does not even account for the sales volume from the public account.
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
2) Knowledge Monetization
In addition to e-commerce, Nian Gao Mama also monetizes her knowledge by creating courses and writing books for sale, which is undoubtedly an enviable revenue stream. Courses and books differ from e-commerce in that they can be recorded once and sold repeatedly without requiring much ongoing effort, essentially providing passive income. Additionally, paid courses can enhance her brand image, achieving multiple benefits.
From 0 to 30 million followers of mothers, revealing the operational methodology of the leading parenting account "Nian Gao Mama."
Summary:
The success of Nian Gao Mama is worth our in-depth study and exploration. Additionally, many people now believe that public accounts and short videos have become saturated markets, and there is no longer an opportunity to enter and share in the profits. However, this is not the case; the development of self-media is rapid, and it is never too late to start. If you are considering operating an account but are unsure of the topic, Nian Gao Mama could serve as an excellent example.
Regarding Nian Gao Mama's development, we should leverage our own advantages and apply them to our respective industries.
Looking at the journey of Nian Gao Mama, you will find that there is no story of overnight success or sudden fame; every step has been taken steadily and solidly, which is truly commendable.
Author: Internet Celebrity Headlines WeChat Official Account: Internet Celebrity Headlines