Formerly called “heavy users”, now called “KOC”.
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Interview | Wanyang
Documentation | Zhang Yanping
Recently, the concept of KOC has been in the midst of marketing. Strictly explained, KOL, which we all know well, is the Key Opinion Leader, while the new concept KOC is the Key Opinion Consumer, and the core is transformed into a consumer by opinion leaders. How to define a qualified KOC, is there any difference between it and KOL? Is KOC a trend? We also want to know what KOC means.
Observer for this period: Luo Chao, founder of Ray Technology, well-known technology from the media Luo Chao channel producers
: What is the essential difference between KOL and KOC?
Luo Chao:KOC is not KOL, but KOL may be KOC. A lot of KOLs are transformed from KOC. For example, Dr. Mo, he is a very famous evaluator. His evaluation of Apple products is very much concerned. Even Jobs recognizes his content. Dr. Mo was first and foremost a loyal user of Apple. Before he became a media person, he was KOC himself, and later became KOL.
Now, everyone may have two hats, one is KOL’s hat, and the other is KOC’s hat. If the output is from the user’s point of view, it is KOC; not from the user’s point of view, but from the industry perspective, that is KOL. These two concepts are not the same.
: What is the turning point in this transition from KOL to KOC?
Luo Chao: This is an era when everyone is from the media. Everyone can speak on the Internet. Everyone has the ability to influence others. It is only because of the influence of others. Strong, some people have little influence.
Influence is a pyramid, so the second point is that on the basis of the pyramid structure, the brand will previously grasp the influence of the top of the pyramid, such as key media and celebrity celebrities, and then grab KOL, then back Also caught the net red people. Now the brand wants to sink the influence below the pyramid and let more users participate in the dissemination of their products. That kind of user is KOC.
: Some people say that KOC is a cheaper KOL, which is for manufacturers to cutWhat do you think about this hypothesis of reducing the budget?
Luo Chao:I think this statement is very ridiculous because KOC has always existed and it has been around for a long time. Consumers with some products are different from consumers of other products, and they do affect others. But these people are not KOL, they don’t write articles every day, and they don’t think of this as a career or sideline because they don’t have a lot of people. They are just from the user’s point of view, to share the views and feelings after using the product. KOC also had some aliases before, such as the brand’s diehard powder, heavy users, and KOL’s position is experts, media people, analysts, everyone’s nature is different.
For example, if you want to buy a camera, you will ask the opinions of digital enthusiasts around you, because these people know the camera very well, this time they are KOC in the camera field. KOC has always existed, but now there is such a concept, the old bottle of new wine, can not say that KOC is a pseudo-concept.
: Do you agree that KOC will kill KOL?
Luo Chao:I think this is a very bad idea. KOL and KOC are just like pictures and videos. We can’t look at pictures because we have video. They are not the replacement of them.
We can discuss why brands want to work with KOL. In fact, there are two needs, one is public relations and the other is market. The demand for public relations is to have the right to speak and exist, and the demand for marketing is to transform, to be effective, to bring goods, and the two needs are complementary. Public relations should serve the brand and the market. If the company lacks money, they will cut the budget and may cut off some ineffective effects. At this time, KOC appears. They are KOL at the same time, but also bring goods, but I think that KOC is more than a KOL can bring goods is a false proposition, KOC may only have a few hundred fans, or he just published some views, just can affect others, he It is not sustainable to bring goods. The value of both KOC and KOL is completely different.
: Some people say that the emergence of KOC is due to the rapid changes in the external environment, which makes the advertising marketing industry full of anxiety, and the new concept has become a hormone to deal with these anxiety, and the symptoms are not cured. What is the “beneficiary” of the marketing industry’s anxiety, and from what perspective?
Luo Chao: I don’t agree with this view because the advertising and marketing industry has been anxious for dozens ofyear. Why do you mention KOC now? I think there are still several reasons. The first is because the marketing industry has no money, and the marketing industry has always had no money. They have to control costs even if they have money. Now there is a lot of waste on the Internet, which leads to an increase in various marketing costs, including the cost of traffic, the cost of the brand, and the cost of public relations, so now everyone hopes to improve the efficiency of marketing. The second is that the user’s current attention has become very fragmented. Users have only been influenced by the mainstream media. Now they are affected by various media, and their attention becomes more and more difficult to understand and grasp. In the past, CCTV had a TV commercial, and the effect was immediate. It has not been possible to do so now.
So how do I solve these problems, I think there are a few points. The first is the brand. They should first think about what they need, whether they want to do marketing or branding. If you don’t think clearly, you want to be one and one in one place. This is unrealistic. Second, now all industries are driven by data, even with AI technology. I think the marketing industry is the same. After marketing, you should use more data and technology, and use third-party tools to improve efficiency. The third point is very important, that is, the brand should find professional people to do professional things, because marketing has a very fine division of labor, if you want to do public relations, you should go to the public relations company. If you want to improve the efficiency of delivery, you should go to special Cooperate with companies that do smart marketing.
I think the brand has made these points clear, even if there are KOD and KOE in the back.
In the industry, when there are new things and new concepts, there will be two extreme situations, either killing or killing. In fact, I think this is not right.
Although KOC existed before, and there are some old-fashioned gameplays, some people have now summarized KOC, and some methodologies are used to produce something new. The market is indeed changing. We should keep an open attitude towards this new concept, pay attention to the real reason for its emergence, and whether there is something worth learning and applying behind it.
Being a market must have an open mind. If there is no open mind in the market, it is not good, because the people I have contacted can make the company well, they are very open.
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