Before his mutation, Xiang Kun never even considered things like opening a shop, running it, or advertising, because he thought they were too troublesome—and trouble was his biggest fear.
It's not that he likes trouble now, but his brain is constantly working at high speed. Even when he's daydreaming, his brain automatically collects and judges the sensory information around him and analyzes what others are saying.
Once he hears a question that interests him, or a question raised by someone he considers important, he will subconsciously start thinking of solutions and come up with plans.
This is the result of his various targeted training sessions and multiple mutations and evolutions over a long period of time.
Therefore, as soon as Xiang Kun stepped into "Youlong Restaurant" and realized that You Meng's restaurant was having difficulties, he subconsciously began to think of solutions for him.
You Meng's cooking is certainly decent, but that's only the foundation for making money in a restaurant. There are many other factors involved as well.
"We live in the information age, the mobile internet age. People are exposed to so much information. Unlike twenty years ago, when we saw a brand on TV, we would think that since the brand was willing to spend money on advertising, it must be reliable. Now, people are seeing ads all the time, and they are already tired of all kinds of ads. Even slightly blatant soft ads are easy to make people feel disgusted and repulsed, so their effect is quite limited," Xiang Kun said slowly.
You Meng curiously, "Then how can you promote your brand without advertising? Don't those big brands also need to advertise and find spokespeople?"
Xiang Kun said, "They have deep pockets, so they don't care about efficiency. As long as the noise is loud enough, it'll attract a lot of attention. But if the cost isn't high, and you still want to achieve good results, you have to be strategic. Didn't you say before that after the 'Hua Nong Brothers' became popular, bamboo rat meat suddenly became hot? Not only did the market expand, but the price also went up. If you consider their videos as advertisements for bamboo rat meat, do you think it was so effective?"
He actually learned about the Hua Nong Brothers, a group that became popular because of bamboo rats, after accidentally watching a few of their videos on Bilibili while listening to Tang Baona sing.
You Meng thought for a moment and said, "Because netizens don't think those videos look like advertisements?"
Xiang Kun shook his head. "No, even if they clearly state that this is a bamboo rat advertisement, netizens will still enjoy watching it and will still be happy to help them spread it."
"The key is just two words: content."
In this age of information overload, content is king!
"Of course you can get on the trending topics by spending money, and you can plaster your ads all over major platforms so that users can't see your ads."
"But good content can be spread spontaneously by netizens. In this day and age, everyone is essentially a self-media outlet of varying sizes, making information transmission too easy and convenient. This is the most cost-effective and effective way for small businesses like ours with limited funds to promote content that truly resonates with users."
You Meng listened, stunned. He deeply felt that Xiang Kun, a veteran in the IT industry who had practically lost all his hair, truly possessed a wealth of theoretical knowledge. Then, he suddenly remembered something and said, "I remember now. A couple of days ago, I saw a video on my cousin's WeChat Moments. It had a really long title, something about transferring money in the Tang Dynasty. It was only a short clip of about ten minutes, and I actually cried while watching it. Then I shared it on my own Moments, my nephew saw it and shared it, my wife shared it... And we all know it was a UnionPay ad. Damn it! They get us to share ads willingly without giving us any benefits. It's really... what were you talking about again? Content, content is king."
Xiang Kun said, "Therefore, we need some content that people find interesting, so that people will pay attention to you and your store, turning your store into a popular online store. In that case, the foot traffic on the commercial street will no longer be the key factor determining your development."
You Meng sighed, "It's not that easy. I've thought about it for so long, and in the past few years, there's only one advertisement that I've been willing to share, and there's only one pair of Hua Nong Brothers."
"Well, I have my reasons. Let's talk about it tonight."
Upon arriving at the site that You Meng had described, Xiang Kun was immediately very satisfied.
From an ordinary person's perspective, with such bad roads and such a remote location, and being a kilometer or two away from the nearest village, it's hardly a good place.
But for Xiang Kun, it was a good place to live in seclusion.
Furthermore, there is a large open space nearby, which can be expanded further if needed.
Beyond that lay vast forests, with complex and rugged terrain that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was difficult for ordinary people to traverse, and the desolate landscape seemed somewhat eerie. But Xiang Kun was already fantasizing about running through the forest, training, and practicing archery.
This place had clearly been abandoned for some time; the factory buildings inside were extremely messy. You Meng was taking out his phone to contact the owner when he noticed Xiang Kun slowly making his way to a corner. He put down his phone and followed curiously.
Then You Meng was startled, because in the grass not far away, a dark cobra stood up, stretched its neck, and prepared to attack Xiang Kun who was slowly approaching.
You Meng was very nervous and subconsciously looked around for bamboo poles, sticks or anything like that. He and Xiang Kun had caught snakes when they were kids, but those were completely non-venomous grass snakes, not this kind of "snake that the whole village eats"!
But before he could finish being nervous, he saw Xiang Kun extend his right hand, as if to pat the cobra's head, and then suddenly grab it, squeezing the snake's head in his hand.
"Holy shit!" You Meng finally caught his breath, leaned closer to look at the Xiang Kun was holding, and exclaimed in astonishment, "I almost thought of your epitaph just now..."
Xiang Kun looked at the cobra in his hand, its head held captive, its mouth unable to open, its body naturally coiled around his arm. He imagined Giant Owl patrolling its territory and tried to "Mental Intimidation" it.
A few seconds later, Xiang Kun threw the snake to the ground, startling You Meng again. Then, the cobra slithered away and disappeared into the grass.
Sensing the presence of numerous wild animals around him, and hearing the sounds from the deeper mountains beyond the farm, Xiang Kun's mood grew increasingly cheerful. He seemed to envision himself interacting amicably with all sorts of wild animals. Having learned from his experience "conquering" Gold Glitter, he believed he was now more experienced in communicating with other animals.
"There's no need to look inside. If I only rent this place and don't set up a farm, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?" Xiang Kun said to You Meng, turning around.
Although it's probably obvious, Hamburger still wants to remind readers of this book: please don't imitate the protagonist's various suicidal behaviors, such as experimenting on yourself, intimidating a knife-wielding teenager, standing on a rooftop railing to feel the cold wind, or harassing the entire village's snakes... In real life, don't be foolish. Know when to be cautious; it's not shameful, your life is the most important thing. Just like Hamburger, I'm a total coward in real life, I can't even ride a drop tower...