This plan was used by me to submit the position of product manager in the growth direction of the Xiaoyu APP in June. I used to work in the operation position of a major Internet company rather than a product manager, but I personally like podcasts very much, so I wrote this user growth plan with an understanding of the position. It’s a pity to abandon it, so it’s posted here, for commemoration only, not officially produced by the small universe platform, please know.
Highlight
1. “Small Universe Growth Product Manager” position: I think the core of this position is to tap the core needs of podcast listeners, optimize the conversion path of listeners from reach-registration-listening-sharing-payment, and iteratively optimize data-driven product functions and operational actions to achieve conversion rate, user retention rate and user LTV improvement in key links, and consolidate the user mentality of “the small universe is a gathering place for Chinese podcasts”.
2. Familiarize yourself with the Small Universe platform and podcast ecosystem: The Xiaoyu platform retains non-algorithmic recommendations such as editor’s selection, and its recommendation weight is very high (for example, the entrance is in an important position on the APP homepage), maintaining the diversity of program content and balancing user experience and platform tonality
Therefore, combined with my real needs for content creation, platform traffic, and tools as a heavy user of the small universe (average weekly listening time = 10 hours, total listening time = 1,064 hours) and novice anchors (program “Abei Sauce’s School Girl”), this plan is sorted out around the goal of “user growth”.
This article is divided into the following three parts, and it takes about 15min to read the full text
- Chinese podcast industry status & competitive analysis
- Platform content consumer – listener user growth strategy platform
- Content producer – content distribution optimization strategy
1. Chinese podcast industry research
1. Full of “sound” podcast industry
From niche products to successful “breaking the circle”As the main position of Chinese podcasts, the small universe platform has sprung up since 2020, and the scale growth marks that podcasts have successfully “broken the circle” from niche products: as of September 2024, the total number of podcast programs on the small universe platform has exceeded 130,000, an increase of 40% compared with 75,000 in May 2023. In addition, the number of users of Xiaoyu increased by about 50% in 2024 compared to the previous year, and is expected to exceed 150 million in 2025
A “spiritual refuge” for individuals in the post-epidemic era: The rise of Chinese podcasts is closely related to the development of the domestic era, we have experienced more than ten years of vigorous economic development and growth represented by the mobile Internet, after the baptism of consumerism, facing difficult moments such as the epidemic, and now in the post-epidemic era, more people take the initiative to put their attention from the pursuit of material careers back to themselves, explore and seek spiritual nourishment, and seek multiple solutions to life. Because of interest, the anchor of Love Power Generation uses his voice to share his precipitated thoughts and life experiences, or professional, business, life, personal interests and other content, and the anchor and the listener reach each other through radio waves, resonate, deeply connect, influence each other, and jointly build the beauty of the small universe
To achieve these three challenges, product managers will only continue to appreciate
Good product managers are very scarce, and product managers who understand users, business, and data are still in demand when they go out of the Internet. On the contrary, if you only do simple communication, inefficient execution, and shallow thinking, I am afraid that you will not be able to go through the torrent of the next 3-5 years.
View details >
Emerging media and business models: Podcast listeners have the characteristics of high cognition, high spending power, gathering in first- and second-tier cities, and podcasts have high stickiness and long-term circulation communication characteristics, anchors have enough time to tell brand information and stories, and listeners are highly tolerant of anchors and programs, and more than 70% of the interviewed listeners expressed that they would not skip or exit advertisements. Since 2021, podcasts have become a new marketing position for well-known brands, and brands such as Lancôme, Proya, Chanel and other brands have jointly planned marketing activities on multiple platforms, which shows their huge commercial potential. Looking at the world, the global podcast industry market size is expected to exceed $20 billion in 2024, and the Xiaoyu platform is also taking advantage of the victory to launch the “Chasing Light Plan” anchor business service platform to provide rich commercial support for creators
Advantages of the small universe moat
- Significant editorial selection power: The tone of the platform’s content is maintained, but it still needs to solve the problem of algorithmic recommendation accuracy and improve the exposure of high-quality programs in the middle of the waist
- Strong community interaction attributes: High-quality content attracts listeners who also pursue spiritual resonance, and in-depth communication and links between listeners and anchor creators are generated
Competing products threaten the direction
2. Thinking about the small universe platform to achieve user growth
The core goal of small universe growth: to increase the “total time of listeners’ content consumption”
The users of the Xiaoyu platform are mainly user listeners and podcast creators, and to achieve the goal of user growth, they need to be splitContent consumersandContent providerAnalyze and measure by the indicators of “number of active listeners” > “total per capita consumption time”:
1. Content Consumers
Audience portrait
The data source is the “CPA2025 Podcast Marketing White Paper”, the data source is CPA2024 podcast research, time: as of October 2024
*The definition of the “new user” metric is not clearly listed in the report, and it is speculated that it refers to users who registered in 2024 and listened to >0 hours before the survey deadline
According to the survey, podcast listeners have the characteristics of high cognition, high-tier cities, and high spending power, among themHeavy users (per capita weekly listening time>=5.5hrs) accounted for 52.9%, a year-on-year increase of 34% over 2023, showing super stickiness，The overall number of users continues to soar at an annual growth rate of 50%。
User profiles show the following trends:
- New users* accounted for 78.6%, and the proportion of heavy users increased, indicating that the retention of new users was good
- Showing the trend of urban sinking: More than 70% of listeners come from first-tier and new first-tier cities, but the proportion of listeners in second- and third-tier cities is expanding, such as many podcast listeners from Deyang, Langfang and Xuchang
- Different content preferences according to the scene: Podcasts have become a necessity in the lives of many listeners, bringing companionship, healing, self-improvement and other values to listeners, and their program content choices are different according to scenarios such as waking up, commuting, and sports
Summarize the core group in one sentence:Have a good educational background, pay attention to personal growth and life experience, and be willing to develop hobbies or continue to study in a certain professional field, such as literary creation, music art, sports, photography, 3C technology, animation and other circles, concentrated in young people aged 25~35
Product positioning
The small universe is the connector between the anchor and the listener, and it is also the user’s personal sound library and sound museum, where listeners can dig up interesting programs to gain knowledge and companionship, link to the treasure anchor and join the community, generate deep connections, influence each other and grow together.
Therefore, the platform can focus on the core population and product positioning, and give priority to user attraction & improvement of conversion rate in each link: clarify the core needs of users in each link of attracting new users, registration, listening and retention, and sharing links, and carry out data-driven product function iteration and operation methods, improve the conversion rate of each link on the user growth path, improve key indicators such as “active listeners” and “heavy user retention rate”, and increase the value of user life
Growth strategy 1: Attract new users
3.1 Fission to attract new users: Sharing old users brings new users
The survey found that users will spontaneously share their love podcast programs on Xiaohongshu and Moments, and in addition, my 2024 annual report mentioned that “I have shared it 18 times, and 105 people have started to understand podcasts through me”.That is, heavy users can reach 5 new users on average once shared.Therefore, improving the willingness of listeners and users to share, optimizing sharing functions/mechanisms/processes, and optimizing the landing process of new users are important measures to attract new users. Therefore, in order to improve the important indicator “fission new recruitment rate”, priority can be optimized from three directions: identifying and improving users’ willingness to share, increasing sharing scenarios, and enriching sharing content. Refer to the “My Reading” layout of WeChat reading to display the content of reading during the time period
3.1.1 Identify and improve users’ willingness to share: The motivation behind it is the recognition of the show or the love of the anchor, and at the same time reveals his desire to be seen/recognized. Therefore, useProduct features will visualize these key behaviors of users, including listening time and sharing content, allowing users to intuitively see their traces in the small universe, content preferences and growth trajectory, and recommend interesting episodes based on users’ historical listening content preferences
Reference example: WeChat Reading “My Reading” layout, showing the content of reading books during the time period
3.1.2 Add sharing scenes: From the observation of the Xiaohongshu platform, it was found that users will suddenly feel and share their recent love for listening to podcasts and reasons for recommendation. Therefore, on the “Listening History” pageAdded the ability to share multiple episodesUsers can select multiple episodes to make posters, so as to show their unique content preferences and tastes, and attract new users who are interested in similar content to listen
Reference example: Users like to share multiple favorite episodes on Xiaohongshu and post their thoughts at the same time
3.2 Other ways to attract new people
Growth strategy 2: Increase the conversion rate of key links of new users and increase user LTV (lifetime value)
Referring to the AARRR funnel, new users to heavy users will experience the growth path of “reach-activation-retention-sharing-payment”, so identify the core needs of users in each link, iteratively optimize around key actions and goals, balance user experience, community tonality and conversion rate improvement goals, and ultimately improve user LTV
4.1 Reach new users
1. Core goal: Reach potential users through fission attractance, channel promotion, advertising, etc., and new users complete the key actions of registration/APP download when they first come into contact with podcast content
2. Core indicators: registration rate = number of registrations/number of reaches, APP download rate = number of people downloading APP/number of reaches
3. Key Strategies:
– Rich sharing content: Added the function of sharing multiple episodes, posters display the name of the episode & high likes and comments, and arouse the interest of new users through content to click to listen
– Channel Optimization: Track new user LTV differences across different channel sources, focusing resources on channels with higher ROI
4.2 New User Activation
Core goal: New users experience the “aha moment” of podcast product value for the first time
Core indicators: The first listening time of new users > 10mins, the completion rate of new users within 24 hours, and the first subscription to the program
Key Strategies:
– Beginner tutorial: After logging in to the Xiaoyu APP for the first time, the beginner’s tutorial is displayed to strengthen the key actions of user content discovery, listening to programs, and collecting and subscribing to programs
– Select content tags: Refer to Apple Podcasts, new users log in to the top of the homepage to select 3 interest tags and push eligible popular episodes
– Highlight clips: The 3-minute clip with the most “favorite nodes” in the highlight episode displays the highlights to attract users to click and listen
4.3 New User Retention
1. Core goal: Potential users who listen to podcasts continuously and develop a habit are generally very interested in podcast content when they click on it
2. Core indicators: 7-day retention rate for new users, 30mins for listening time for new users in >the first week, and average daily completion rate for 7 days
3. Key Strategies:
– Membership system benefits: Complete key behaviors such as publishing comments for the first time, listening for 7 consecutive days to unlock “deep listeners”, and total listening time of 10 hours, you can get badges and hang them on your avatar to highlight your identity
– Accurate content recommendation: The accuracy of the recommendation mechanism will directly affect users’ experience of using the platform, so the platform needs to continuously optimize and adjust the recommendation mechanism
– Community-driven retention: New users who obtain the “Deep Listener” badge will be displayed in the comment area, with priority displayed above the comment area to increase the opportunity to interact with the streamer
4.4 User sharing fission
1. Core Goal: Users actively share their favorite podcast episodes and bring in new users
2. Core indicators: user sharing rate, fission new recruitment rate = number of new user registrations / number of user shares
3. Key strategies: see above for details [Growth Strategy 1 – Fission and New Recruitment]
4.5 User paid conversions
1. Core Objective: Users pay for podcast tips or membership benefits launched by the platform
2. Core indicators: Proportion of content consumption time of paying users (reflecting the quality of willingness to pay)
3. Key Strategies:
1) Establish a membership system to improve user LTV
2) Optimization suggestions:
- Small universe paid membership increases the trial period: For example, increase the 7-day membership use/free use of AI podcast summarization 7 times, so that more wait-and-see users can experience it for free and then pay for conversion
- Develop more rights and interests to improve user stickiness: Paid members have priority to enjoy the registration qualification/free participation qualification for the offline event day of the small universe; Develop small universe podcasts, cultural and creative peripherals, etc
2. Content providers
Including content production and content distribution, it can be achieved by increasing the diversity of podcast program content, increasing content distribution methods, and improving the accuracy of recommendation mechanisms.
2.1 Platform status
Source: http://xhslink.com/a/8HUuJBUza41db
The top 100 programs of the small universe platform subscribers share 70% of the traffic, and the head podcast programs are very scarce but have a huge influence. The number of podcasts with 10,000 subscribers and below accounted for 87.43%, and the content exposure in the middle waist was insufficient, and high-quality and potential programs lacked traffic exposure.
- On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu, it was learned that many anchors had questions about how to acquire customers on the small universe platform and how to increase the number of program broadcasts; Listeners spontaneously share individual episodes that have benefited a lot after listening, and there are situations where the subscription volume of the program is not high but the number of broadcasts of a single episode is considerable
- As of September last year, there were 130,000 small universe programs, but at present, the platform recommends less than 30 single episodes every day through algorithm recommendations for single episodes, and more potential programs have yet to be discovered
Therefore, optimizing the recommendation mechanism to improve the efficiency of recommendation is the key to “improving the per capita content consumption time”
2.2 Existing distribution mechanisms
Content distribution mechanism: At present, the platform content distribution method isAlgorithmic recommendation mechanismandNon-algorithmic recommendationIn the two categories, the current algorithmic recommendation content entrance on the APP is No.3 & No.7 in the red box part below, and the content display in other locations follows the non-algorithmic recommendation form, including: editor’s selection & special collection (manual recommendation), three major lists and program classifications
Algorithm recommendation mechanism factors
Editor’s Pick: Update three episodes every day, filter dimensions that include content topics and uniqueness (including whether or not), reduce the weight based on episode data performance (such as playback, completion rate, and number of comments), and improve the content richness of podcasts on the homepage
Special activities: The key business marketing method of the platform, mainly facilitated by the business team, the brand through the cooperation with the program episode, the anchor in the program to convey product information and brand stories, better let users form a mind about the brand. Platform, festival (such as Mother’s Day) or topic (meet the smallest unit of luck) Special program recommendations
Three major lists (time dimension: sorted according to the performance of T-1 daily single episode data, updated at 0:00 every day)
- Hottest list: Content that has attracted widespread attention at the moment (basic head program update episodes are on the list)
- Cutting List: Gather high-quality content with potential
- Rising Star List: Discover the latest new podcast content (for beginner podcasts only, with a chance to be featured within 90 days of the first issue)
2.3 Optimization direction
1) The recommendation mechanism improves real-timeUsers have clear scenario-based needs for podcast listening, such as commuting to work and going to bed at night. The accuracy of algorithm recommendations is improved, which can reduce the anchor’s dependence on other traffic distribution portals, including the hottest list & edge list and editor’s pick
2) Open content preference adjustment function: In order to balance the goal of user experience and content consumption time growth, you can add personalized adjustment options for the algorithm recommendation mode, such as adding “humanistic” content and reducing “horror story” content, to meet users’ different content preferences and enhance users’ sense of engagement and satisfaction during use
3) Product function optimization
– Podcast shows add episode recommendations associated with guestsWhen listeners like a guest in a certain episode and want to hear more sharing about TA, if other programs with the guest participating in the recording are directly released under a single episode of the program, it can reduce the number of listeners to find through the search function and shorten the operation link
– Added setting of personal statusWhen listeners choose the current state is the most authentic data source, it can be used as a recommendation mechanism to increase timeliness characteristics, improve the relevance of podcast programs and detailed scenes, and improve the accuracy of recommendations
– Added Album Module Entrance:Nowadays, the platform updates a version of the album collection every day, such as “The Second Half, Live E-commerce”, “Living in the Age of Algorithms”, and adds an album module to put together all the special collections planned by all previous platforms, and listeners can choose their favorite programs to listen to according to current needs or in combination with social issues. – The homepage has added a program custom subscription module, and made the Small Universe APP a small world that listeners can DIY
Anchor creator operation
Establish a creator layering system: At present, Xiaoyu has a 90-day traffic protection period for creators except for novices, and all programs after this stage compete in the same large traffic pool, and the number of podcasts with 10,000 subscribers and below accounts for 87.43%, showing a typical long-tail effect. If creators can be stratified, and the creator threshold, traffic support mechanism, and commercialization promotion plan at each level can be clarified, it will help promote anchors to continue to create and update in the small universe
4. Summary
Deeply cultivating the podcast ecology for 982 days, from heavy listeners to novice anchors, deeply understand the unique value of the small universe – it is not only a sound library, but also a spiritual anchor for countless people to fight against information fragments. In this regard, this plan is written, focusing on the core goal of “total audience content consumption time”, and proposing a dual-track growth path:
1) Audience Growth: Reimagining the AARRR funnel experience
- Pull new and break the circle: propose the “My Podcast DNA” social fission hook
- Retention heats up: member achievement system + identity in the comment area
- Paid Conversion: The three-tier membership model balances commercialization and user experience
2) Content supply: optimize the recommendation mechanism
- Algorithm innovation: real-time recommendation + time granularity optimization (to solve the pain point of underexposure of programs in the middle waist)
- Scenario-based connection: guest association recommendation + personal status tag (enhance the efficiency of content and scene matching)
“Good content deserves more time to be wasted” – I am willing to use this set of “quantifiable, warm, and readjustable” growth plans to help the small universe protect its original intention in the wave of breaking the circle.
Resources
CPA2025 Podcast Marketing White Paper, https://www.fxbaogao.com/view?id=4615638&im=know
From Sound to Industry: Ecological Innovation in Podcast Content Production and Business Models, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390242245_congshengyindaochanyebokeneirongshengchanyushangyemoshideshengtaichuangxin
