Group broadcasting is sweeping the screen with a new look, from the former “big brother economy” to the idol development model. The exquisite stage and diverse content not only attract young women, but also build a unique emotional connection, becoming a fascinating new form of entertainment.
“What the hell is the group broadcasting wind that suddenly became popular?”
At nine o’clock in the evening, my finger slipped on the live broadcast channel and fell into the “gentle township” of the group broadcast.
Different from the low-quality group broadcasts in the past, the current group broadcasts have a stage art comparable to TV variety shows, and the camera movement is also very smooth and rhythmic.
As long as you want, you can let seven or eight male anchors in suits and leather shoes dance a leg sweeping dance full of charm for you.
Don’t want to watch a boy band? Never mind.
There are also female anchors of different styles such as royal sister, sweet girl, two-dimensional, and pure white moonlight dancing and PK in the live broadcast room. There are even group broadcasts with various themes such as drama, comedy, and two-dimensional for you to choose from.
The group broadcast has become better, and the people who watch the group broadcast have also changed.
In the past, the big brothers were in front of the screen with a “carnival”, but now it is not only the big brother, but also young women’s universities, overseas students, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai women’s high schools, more and more female users are squatting in the live broadcast room on time and on time for their favorite group broadcasters to brush countless gifts, and even form a fan group to support them, and they are happy to do so.
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The group broadcast suddenly exploded, who is behind it? Why are more and more female users also starting to watch group broadcasts? How does the group broadcast let users “generate electricity” for love?
Young women’s colleges and overseas children are watching, and group broadcasting has entered the era of “idol economy”
“Our baby is so handsome that he can act in a skit!”
“The white dress Kaka is wearing today is so beautiful! Dream back to the white moonlight! ”
“I thought this was a Korean girl group, so authoritative?”
Unlike in the past, when the eldest brother swiped gifts to let the anchor dance, the current group broadcaster does not have a trace of ambiguous desire to be ambiguous with the anchor, and it is all an appreciation for the anchor’s appearance and ability.
In the stereotype, the audience of group broadcasting is still a group of big brothers with spending power. They like to feel in control with the streamer. Swiping a few hundred yuan can make the anchor dance hard, and swiping a few thousand can also add WeChat to make ambiguity. The sense of superiority that is difficult to obtain in real life can be obtained by spending money here on the group broadcast.
But now the audience of group broadcasts has begun to diversify. Not only does the eldest brother love to watch, but there are also many women who are obsessed with group broadcasting. These women do not belong to a single group, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai women’s high schools, county noblewomen, young women’s universities, overseas students, etc., almost all female users who come into contact with Douyin may like to be on the group broadcast.
According to Cicada Mother data, the fan audience of multiple group broadcast head live broadcast rooms (SK Wangjiang Road 019, Joy-X, SK Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong 005), whether it is a boy group or a girl group, more than 80% are female users, and the age group is mostly 18-23 years old and 24-30 years old, biased towards young people.
In the past, the “big brothers on the list” spent a lot of money and enjoyed the “noble sense of identity” brought by the anchor’s praise. Unlike the big brothers, they like to watch group broadcasts and spend money on group broadcasts, and the biggest impulse is to spend money on group broadcasts: it’s all love.
For example, some women not only like the excellent dancing skills of a certain anchor in the group broadcast, but also have a positive attitude that makes people fascinated; Some women like the good looks of men’s groups and swipe money to make lists; There are also some emotional values, not only the anchor but also the fans, who can hold you in the palm of their hands.
From making money by “engaging in ambiguity” to turning the group broadcast into a trainee draft variety show, why did the group broadcaster start to turn the anchor into an electronic idol?
The consensus in the industry is that when the platform relaxes its restrictions, more and more institutions have poured into the group broadcasting track. There are more and more group broadcasts, but the “big brother” who is willing to spend money on the platform is not enough. When the group broadcast encounters the growth ceiling, transformation is necessary.
Taking Shuaiku Network as an example, its idea is to make the group broadcast into an idol trainee variety show and earn money from the idol economy. Let the group broadcast become “SNH48” (a well-known mainland female idol group in China), and SK Kaka is the “Ju Jingyi” of Shuaiku Network (once the most famous member of SNH48).
On the one hand, the group broadcasting industry has encountered a growth ceiling, and on the other hand, changes in the external environment have also helped the transformation of group broadcasting to idol economy.
From “Creation 101” to “Idol Trainee”, since 2018, idol talent show variety shows have exploded in an all-round way. However, after the “milk pouring incident” in 2021 (fans dumped milk into buckets to vote for idols), idol talent show variety shows have been suspended to this day.
The domestic idol economy has fallen off a cliff, and a large number of viewers have lost their emotional sustenance, and the group broadcast just got a “ready-made cake”.
Most of the viewers who like to watch domestic entertainment drafts are women, who are willing to pay for their idols and like to chase stars. But when the talent show variety show was stopped, these people also slowly switched to group broadcasting. The influx of new crowds made the group broadcast jump and successfully broke the circle this year.
Group broadcast packaging: from social shaking to “idol trainee”
Unlike the old iron who watched social shake in the group broadcast in the past and the big brothers who loved to watch side dances, the young women who now love to watch group broadcasts have undergone earth-shaking changes in aesthetics.
In their opinion, if a handsome anchor dances social shaking, it will ruin the image, and the beautiful woman who takes the pure hexagram is not suitable for dancing side dance. Traditional group broadcasting does not meet their appetite, and high-quality idols and high-quality stages like domestic entertainment drafts are what they love in their hearts.
If institutions want to transform and catch the spending power of this group of potential group broadcasting enthusiasts, they must grasp their preferences.
Compared with the social shake and “vulgar dance” group broadcasts in the past, how do the current institutions package group broadcasts and turn the live broadcast room into a talent variety show for idol trainees?
Visually:
Makeup is the first step to attracting users. In order to strengthen the high-end texture of the anchor, they abandoned leopard print, crop tops, and leggings, and transformed them according to the outfits of the Korean boy group girl group, wearing fairy skirts, shirts and ties, full of exquisite style.
At the same time, excellent group broadcasters also have to learn the expression management of celebrities. There is no abstract and greasy ambiguous expression, handsome guys have to learn to fall in love with the camera, while beauties use low eyebrows, drooping eyes, shallow smiles, and affectionate eyes to become the goddess in the hearts of users.
Traditional group broadcast VS current group broadcast
Scene layout:
The live broadcast scene also has to become more textured. It is no longer a random scene such as a factory, office, family living room, etc., but is replaced by a solid color bright stage background, with high-end Wong Kar-wai lighting, smooth and high-end camera movement. The purpose of this is to allow fans in front of the screen to enjoy the frown, smile, and every move of Aibo (fans’ favorite anchor) in such a high-end atmosphere.
In terms of content gameplay:
In addition, the original live broadcast room had no story, no theme, only mechanically repeated dance movements, and now the group broadcast content has more creativity.
Taking the group broadcasting company Shuaiku Network as an example, in order to meet the aesthetic needs of female users, in April this year, the company designed a variety of live broadcast themes for its girl group broadcast, including 15 themes such as wedding, new Chinese style, pajama party, and court style, turning the live broadcast room into a “miracle warm dress-up game”.
It is one thing to package the live broadcast room more advanced, and the most fundamental thing is to change the status between the anchor and the fans.
The biggest difference between the “edge economy” and the “idol economy” is the character relationship between the anchor and the fans.
If you treat fans as big brothers, you have to use ambiguous language to maintain feelings with big brothers. Only in this way can you pull each other emotionally with your eldest brother, and your eldest brother will continue to spend money on you.
And the idol economy is not. Anchors need to maintain a close distance from fans, and idols need a sense of mystery to maintain their image without collapsing. However, when the anchor becomes an electronic idol, it is more necessary to grasp the scale between him and his fans. Not too far, not too close. If it is too far away, it cannot give emotional value, and if it is too close, it will convey too much information to fans, and the character will easily “can’t be stretched”.
Because of this, today’s idol trainee group broadcast extends the PK competition system, setting up PK links, trade union rankings, monthly quarterly performance competitions, etc., users can give gifts to whoever they like when watching PK, and if they want to be on the top of the performance, they have to make a list for it.
This move has made the anchor change from “Tamagotchi” to a “cultivation idol” who needs to be ranked with krypton gold, and the audience has also changed from the mentality of “performing for me” to the fan mentality of “playing for idols”.
SK Kaka, which has recently become popular, is the product of group broadcasting entering the era of idol economy.
The makeup of the screen swiping network, the sweet expression management, the professionalism that moved the fans, coupled with the heavy help of many big brothers and sisters and Shenhao (commonly known as the “big brother on the list”), allowed Kaka to dance all the way from the backup dancer to the C position, and became the phenomenal top stream in the group broadcasting industry with the support of real money. More people’s names for Kaka have also become, “I bear it” and “I (love) beans”.
Group broadcast economics: passers-by are powdered, and true love is powdered krypton gold
Once you enter the group, it is as deep as the sea. On social media, many female users shared their stories from passers-by to true fans – “Who understands, I didn’t watch it at all, but now I’m obsessed with the list every day.” ”
The key to such a change is that the group broadcast hits their three in-depth emotional needs: rich and interesting, boredom-relieving companionship and emotional sustenance.
The first layer, there are thousands of live broadcasts, and only the group broadcast is “very attractive”
In the massive live broadcast room, the group broadcast can stand out first of all because it is rich and interesting enough.
On Douyin, whether you watch knowledge payment, game commentary or funny videos, you actually need to use your brain power to understand the content. But group broadcasts are different. The group broadcast is attractive because it touches people’s most primitive hobby: liking beauty. Users only need to use their eyes to get dopamine quickly.
At the same time, a series of words such as mini games and operation hosts in the live broadcast room of the group broadcast to enhance interactivity. For example, the idol live broadcast method of PK turns casual viewing into a competition game, and users also change from viewers to NPCs and participate in this “ranking game” together.
Moreover, compared with traditional solo broadcasts, group broadcasters are lively, anchors are good-looking, and the scene layout is beautiful, which will not make people feel boring, and the turnover rate of the live broadcast room is relatively low.
The second layer, from passers-by to micro-krypton gold, relieves loneliness by tipping
Many people began to try krypton gold and have a deeper connection with the anchors because they felt the emotional value brought by the anchors’ real-time responses.
Nowadays, micro krypton can get the anchor back for 9.9 yuan, and after spending one or two hundred, the anchor will also add WeChat to order takeaway and milk tea for you. His fans will also come to thank him in private messages, and the emotional value is full.
“The anchor is not a boyfriend/girlfriend, but he is better than a boyfriend/girlfriend”. For this group of audiences, they can see your dedication, and they often pay attention to you and greet you. This is not a one-way tip, but a two-way cherishment between fans and idols.
The third layer, the big brother and sister who became the anchor, are fans and family
There are also heavy Krypton fans, also known as the big brother and sister behind the anchor (heavy krypton) and Shenhao (extremely heavy krypton, often the first in live broadcast rewards).
They have developed a unique and exclusive friendship with the anchor, and they also have a pivotal influence in the fandom. For them, relying on a large amount of krypton gold in exchange for not only deeper and more intimate interaction with the anchor, but also the sense of respect that was collectively thanked and supported by the anchor’s fancircle.
More importantly, the gods believe that the anchor has become an Internet family member, and even another self in the world. They treat the anchor as their own girl/boy in the development department, accompanying each other all the way to shine.
For example, the god Mango sister and Elvis Emperor behind SK Kaka were because of Kaka’s charm, and after she entered the pit, she supported her all the way to a bigger stage and became the top of the group broadcast.
In fact, the group broadcast is popular, but the biggest opponent is not only idol programs, but also entertainment content such as film and television dramas and variety shows. People have a limited amount of time in a day, and when group broadcasts attract the public’s attention and occupy emotional space step by step, users will not be able to free up more time to watch other entertainment content.
Behind such emerging entertainment content, we can find that today’s consumers want to get more happiness in a short period of time. When the speed of getting dopamine becomes faster, people are easily addicted.
It is also because of the explosion of group broadcasting that brands have begun to notice the business opportunities behind it: where the attention is, where the consumption is, where the emotional needs are, where the consumption is.
Nowadays, brands are also beginning to explore the combination of business and group broadcasting.
For example, the beverage brand Good Hope Water has created its own boy group broadcast, from scenes, anchors to content planning by the brand. For Good Hope Water, in addition to sales conversion, they are also concerned about how long the group broadcast model brings to the brand’s self-broadcast room and how many potential users it attracts. “Our team has been looking to see if there are any content methods on the market that can produce explosive products and have traffic, and make the live broadcast room more interesting. After the group broadcast became popular, I felt that it could be used,” said Coke, head of marketing at Good Hope Water.
It is different from the entertainment orientation such as tipping and PK in the live broadcast room of the group broadcast. In order to balance entertainment and commerciality, Good Hope Water does not guide rewards in the live broadcast room of the group broadcast, and at the same time strengthens the correlation between the group broadcast and the brand by hanging small yellow cars of goods, creating live broadcast scenes that conform to the tone of the brand, arranging products as props, and designing dances that meet the selling points of the products.
Analyst Comments
Japanese sociologist Nobu Miura’s theory mentions that although we are physically close to each other, our minds are getting farther and farther away. This phenomenon makes us crave deep emotional connections and want to feel understood and supported in our relationships.
In recent years, the sixty-year-old aunt and Jin Dong have “fallen in love” on Douyin, and young people have bought “cost-effective” millet and Labubu, and popular events related to emotional value are telling us that everyone is using different methods to eliminate loneliness.
The same is true for the popular group broadcast, which is a choice for people to express their emotions in the Internet era.
Some people see themselves shining on another stage in their favorite anchors; Some people want to gain friendship between friends in the group broadcast; Some people want to kill boredom with group broadcasting……
It is undeniable that in this era, everyone is looking for an emotional outlet that suits them, everyone wants to get dopamine quickly, and everyone wants to get rid of fatigue in a short period of time.
