I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 262 Chen Yansen's dirty tricks! Group purchase of Three Kingdoms Kill, three to two semi-finals!
"Boss, Toutiao's creator platform includes four modules: creator incentives, content quality improvement, user growth, and monetization. It has also added a credit score and violation penalty mechanism."

In a spacious and bright office, Liang Bo spoke slowly.

On the large screen directly in front, the creators' ranking system and rights are displayed.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, signaling Liang Bo to continue the introduction.

To put it bluntly, the underlying logic of this thing is exactly the same as that of FoxTao; the core is the secondary distribution of traffic and profits.

Take FoxTao for example. It is essentially a shopping guide e-commerce platform, which can also be called a traffic transfer station, providing shopping guide services for users.

For an item priced at 100 yuan, the merchant sets a 60% commission rate, but FoxTao only releases 40%. The buyer receives a 40 yuan rebate upon completing the order. Ali takes 10% of the commission as a technical service fee, and the remaining 14 yuan is the platform's pre-tax profit.

Liang Bo's Toutiao creator platform basically follows FoxTao's revenue-sharing model for monetization.

The advertising revenue is divided into two parts: one part is awarded to content creators, and the other part is retained as project profit.

"The incentives for high-quality original content can be divided into two parts: traffic rewards and cash rewards..." Liang Bo continued.

"Once the feature goes live, self-media articles will flood the market. How can we determine whether the content is high-quality and original?"

Chen Yansen interrupted Liang Bo and asked the pointed question.

"I have considered this issue. At that time, an original content review mechanism will be launched simultaneously, using a combination of system and manual review to reduce the proportion of plagiarism, paraphrasing, and low-quality content."

In addition, for high-quality content, the higher the clicks, completion rate, interaction, and page dwell time, the better.

Liang Bo was prepared and answered without hesitation.

"Okay, as for the traffic allocation mechanism, we'll use the plan we discussed last time. We'll first conduct a small-scale test run, then select the best-performing content and allocate it to a larger traffic pool."

Chen Yansen said lightly.

"Okay, boss, here's the advertising revenue sharing system." Liang Bo clicked the mouse and switched the screen projection.

Regular creators: 0.5 yuan per 1,000 reads;
High-quality creators: 1 yuan per 1,000 reads;
Top creators: 1.5 yuan per thousand reads.

In addition to basic advertising revenue sharing, there are various subsidies for high-quality content, with rewards ranging from 0.3 to 3 yuan per thousand reads.

"Have you consulted the finance and data departments? Can the advertising revenue cover the costs?" Chen Yansen asked again.

"Boss, no problem. Last year, the CPM fee standard in the advertising industry was 2-10 yuan per thousand impressions, and the conversion rate from exposure to read was only 10% to 20%. Our actual revenue sharing ratio is between 5% and 20%."

Liang Bo chuckled.

Chen Yansen roughly calculated that an original article with over 10 views would earn the author between 50 and 450 yuan, which wasn't much, but it was still very attractive to self-media in 2012.

"Huang Zheng is currently building the Pinduoduo Alliance. Once he's done it, you can talk to him and try adding product guide modules to highly relevant content to further improve profitability."

Chen Yansen casually gave the order.

Pinbei Alliance is comparable to Ali Mama, TiTiaoKe, and Suning Alliance, and can be considered Pinbei's official advertising alliance product.

The reason they hadn't done it before was simply because they were too busy. But as Pinbei's business expanded and they had sufficient human resources, Huang Zheng immediately put the development of the Pinbei Alliance on the agenda.

Firstly, it introduces external traffic to break through the bottleneck of traffic growth; secondly, it integrates long-tail traffic, explores potential consumer demand, and transforms long-tail traffic into actual purchasing power.

Platforms like FoxTao, Mogujie, and Meilishuo provide Taobao and JD.com with stable third-party traffic.

If Pinduoduo doesn't continue operating, it will lose at least 5%-10% of its sales performance.

For merchants joining Pinbei, targeted promotion can improve conversion rates and expand sales channels.

After the establishment of the Pinbei Alliance, Pinbei merchants can submit applications for brand group activities on platforms such as FoxTao, Mogujie, and Meilishuo, or publish product recommendations on What's Worth Buying, thereby gaining more external traffic and sales.

Furthermore, Pinbei can also extract a 10% technical service fee according to industry practice.

"Okay, I'll talk to Mr. Huang about it later."

Liang Bo responded.

"Go online as soon as possible. If Toutiao always uses data sources from Tencent, Sina, and Sohu, it will be difficult for it to develop."

Chen Yansen stood up, patted Liang Bo on the shoulder, and said.

Generally speaking, the content of a portal news website or information platform mainly consists of three parts: UGC (user-generated content), BGC (brand-generated content), and PGC (professional-generated content).

BGC is similar to official brand accounts on Weibo, while PGC mainly consists of traditional newspapers, periodicals, radio, and e-commerce, producing more professional and readable content.

The proportions of these three elements must be well-balanced; none can be omitted.

If UGC content accounts for too high a proportion, the quality of content on the platform will be uneven and false information will abound; if PGC and BGC content accounts for too high a proportion, the interactivity will be too poor, resulting in low user stickiness.

Chen Yansen chose to leave the balance to Liang Bo.

At 6 PM, the creator section of Toutiao went live, and within just one hour, the page received more than 3 million views, attracting the attention of a large number of content creators.

Earning a portion of the platform's advertising revenue based on readership was not a new concept in 2012; NetEase, Sina, and Sohu had previously implemented this policy when they launched their blogs.

Backed by Senlian Capital, Toutiao, which reached tens of millions of daily active users in less than two months after its launch, instantly became a hot commodity in the eyes of self-media.

Everyone understands that a brand new information platform has less competition and higher prices in the early stages, so registering early means making money early.

By midnight that night, just six hours after its launch, the total number of registered Toutiao accounts had exceeded 100,000.

The amount of original content on channels such as entertainment, technology, automobiles, finance, and novels has seen explosive growth.

One of the articles, titled "The Absurd Past of Those Mountain Villages," particularly pierced through the traffic pool. In just six thousand words, it vividly described four beautiful rural girls, making users eager to read more.

Fortunately, this author knew how to strike a balance; the work looked glamorous but wasn't vulgar, leaving the reviewers with absolutely no reason to ban it.

The article garnered over 60 views and earned 1100 yuan that day.

The entertainment channel was filled with content such as the birth of Andy Lau's daughter, Mayday's concert, and the top ten albums at the Chinese Golden Melody Awards.

Of course, there is no shortage of fake news.

For example, when Li Lianjie died suddenly of a heart attack, Sammo Hung died of a cerebral infarction, or Xiao Shenyang died in a car accident, Toutiao's review process was to arrest and shut down each of them.

Many influential figures from the tech, digital, and sports circles have joined the platform, accumulating a large online following and earning considerable income.

The next morning, Chen Yansen arrived at his office and plopped down. As usual, he reviewed data and processed emails. After finishing these tasks, he leaned back and took out his phone to pass the time.

"Major Shakeup in Group Buying Industry: Meituan Jumps to Number One! May Group Buying Transaction Volume Reaches 17.7 Billion Yuan!"

Chen Yansen was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but curse inwardly: Could Qiu Junping of Maiton Investment be any more useless?

In just two months, Lashou.com's market share has slipped from first to third, and even Dianping has surpassed Lashou.

It seems that the times have chosen Wang Xin!
Chen Yansen narrowed his eyes. He knew that once Wang Xinteng made his move, he would definitely move from the group-buying sector to the more frequent food delivery industry.

Having just said goodbye to Eleme, Meituan Waimai is now eyeing it again?
Although Wang Xin will not be involved in the food delivery industry for the time being, a potential crisis has already arisen, and he needs to cause some trouble for Meituan.

With that in mind, he dialed Zhu Xiaohu's number and gave him a few suggestions.

"Mr. Chen, this is a bit underhanded!" Zhu Xiaohu chuckled dryly, a chill running down his spine.

"Businessmen only care about profits, they don't talk about morality or right and wrong," Chen Yansen said dismissively.

"So, Meituan is blocking Kuaishou's path? How about this, I'll help you make connections and acquire Lashou.com for 3 million US dollars."

Zhu Xiaohu suggested.

Compared to the previous offer, it's $3 million less.

Chen Yansen smiled nonchalantly and resolutely refused. With Sands Ventures, Maiton Investments, and Renette Fund acting as his "henchmen" and "cannon fodder," how could he possibly take action himself?

Seeing that Chen Yansen wouldn't take the bait, Zhu Xiaohu could only silently hang up the phone.

But he knew that Chen Yansen's advice was indeed accurate and ruthless, specifically targeting Meituan's Achilles' heel.

Unfortunately, the other party refused to take over, otherwise, given Chen Yansen's trading skills, Wang Xin would probably only be able to passively take the beating.

……

……

No. 6, Wangjing East Road, Yanjing.

Shan Jiawei, who is in charge of Meituan's ground sales team, was surprised to receive a call from a headhunter: "Meituan is already number one in the group-buying industry. Do you think I would switch jobs?"

At first, Wang Xin thought that Ma Liyun sent Shan Jiawei to Meituan in order to seize power.

However, a year later, to his surprise, Shan Jiawei's business development skills were nothing short of genius. Under his leadership, Meituan made great strides across the country.

It could even be said that Shan Jiawei deserves half the credit for Meituan's rise to the top of the market.

"Mr. Shan, how much equity do you hold at Meituan? And what is your annual salary? The company I'm recommending to you is valued at a staggering $1000 billion. They offer 2% equity upon joining, with a pure cash income of no less than 10 million a year," the headhunter replied with a smile.

2% of the company's equity?
Shan Jiawei thought the other person was crazy!

"Lashou or Dianping?" Shan Jiawei asked tentatively.

The other party's words hit his weak spot. He left Ali to join Meituan, and although his position was not low, he didn't have much equity.

He knew perfectly well that Wang Huiwen was Wang Xin's "one of his own".

He, however, always carried the label of being an Ahri.

"If Mr. Shan agrees, I can arrange a meeting time for you, and you'll find out then." The headhunter was very tight-lipped.

"Okay, can you arrange a time for me?" After some thought, Shan Jiawei decided to meet with the other party.

When he comes out to work, he'll work for whoever pays him the most!
If not for money, then for ideals?

To Shan Jiawei's surprise, Meituan's field sales managers in North China, East China, South China, and Central China all received calls from headhunters offering generous stock options and base salaries. Although some declined, more than half were interested.

Meanwhile, the Yanjing Market Supervision Association received a joint complaint accusing Meituan of "false advertising" and "failing to deliver on its promises regarding offline services." Meituan's public relations department went to handle the matter, but the group refused to accept mediation and seemed determined to take the matter to court.

Tencent, Sina, NetEase, and Toutiao, among others, provided full coverage and dug up all the negative news about Meituan.

False rumors such as "Meituan's cash flow has dried up" and "merchants complain that Meituan is in arrears" spread like wildfire.

"Damn it! Who's behind this?!"

Seeing the impending storm, Wang Xin immediately understood that Meituan's ascension to the top of the industry had undoubtedly provoked retaliation from its competitors.

Lashou.com and Dianping are the most likely suspects!
the other side.

Qiu Junping, who is now the CEO of Lashou, announced that starting today, an exclusive cooperation agreement will be launched, granting whoever signs it a 3-month commission-free period, forcing merchants to "choose one of two" and restricting Meituan from the supply side.

Merchants that are on both Meituan and Lashou will have their traffic limited, with the excess traffic redirected to merchants who have signed exclusive cooperation agreements.

Poaching, forcing customers into either of two options, waging a media war, and offering subsidies were some of the dirty tricks Chen Yansen gave Zhu Xiaohu. The methods were despicable, but the effects were obvious.

Wang Xin was left in a sorry state by this combination of punches!

It wasn't until three days later, when Shan Jiawei submitted his resignation, that he realized his opponent's underhanded tactics went far beyond that.

Half of Meituan's core ground sales team, including Shan Jiawei, has been poached by Lashou.com.

Lashou.com has paid a considerable price for this.

With one gaining at the expense of the other, Lashou.com's market share is showing a subtle upward trend in catching up.

In response to the price war between Lashou and Meituan, Dianping had no choice but to increase the merchant commission rate and launch flash sale events such as "1 yuan group purchase" and "9.9 yuan group purchase".

Chen Yansen's meddling has intensified competition in the group-buying industry.

Zhu Xiaohu and others had no choice. The three venture capital firms had invested a total of 2 million US dollars in Lashou. If they didn't fight with Meituan, the money would be wasted.

After all, this is 2 million US dollars, a huge loss.

On May 28, Shan Jiawei joined Lashou.com and reorganized the agents and ground sales teams across the country, beginning a full-scale transformation towards a direct-sales model, modeled after Meituan.

The massive battle has officially entered the Three Kingdoms Kill mode!

(End of this chapter)