As the wind of the digital economy blows, profound changes have taken place in humanity’s production and lifestyle, spawning new business formats and job positions. Against this backdrop, "new professional youth" have emerged—they engage in work related to the digital ecosystem, with many focusing on the short-video industry.

Ma Jing is one such "new professional youth" in the field of short-video creation. Her academic background as a master of new media from City University of Hong Kong, experience in shooting multiple nationally influential documentaries, and expertise in managing and operating authoritative brand accounts have enabled her to accumulate a solid foundation in theory, technology, and practice within the short-video sector. When the wave of entrepreneurship arrived, she centered her content on "knowledge + skills," creating systematic short-video traffic empowerment tools on new media platforms for interested users, entrepreneurs, and enterprises. By providing courses and services of substantial value, she achieved a dual breakthrough in personal IP building and corporate traffic empowerment in the "traffic era."

Ma Jing has an indescribable passion for video creation. During her college years, she shot a documentary about her family’s story, which was selected by the director of CCTV’s Where Are You From and released on the program’s new media platform. After graduating with a master’s degree in new media from City University of Hong Kong, she joined CCTV smoothly, thanks to her passion for video creation and excellent story-writing skills. She was part of the production team for the first season of Aerial China, a documentary that went viral across the country. "Short videos need to touch people’s hearts in an instant and tell a story in the shortest time—it’s a very interesting process," Ma Jing said. Later, she shifted to short-video operation, joining Xiaomi to take charge of video content for Xiaomi’s overseas social media accounts. There, she successfully built two video accounts with over 1 million followers from scratch.

Switching her perspective from that of a creator to those of a brand, user, and platform for operation allowed Ma Jing to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the short-video business model and its full value, as well as deeper insights into the market behind the industry’s surface. "In an era where everyone can shoot videos with a mobile phone, videos are not just for recording—they are also a form of expression. A casually shot video might go viral, but if the expression lacks depth and the promotion has no plan, it will soon be forgotten by the public. Making high-quality video content a universal language for emotional expression is also the value of creation," she noted. She believes that the deeper one thinks about content and connotation, the more solid the content becomes; combined with careful structuring and operation, this leads to the creation of widely spread videos that are high-quality, aesthetically pleasing, and well-regarded by the public.

The rhythm of everything was disrupted in 2020. The sudden outbreak of the pandemic prompted Ma Jing to rethink her career plan, thus opening a new chapter in her life.

"The pandemic made many people rethink their careers, and I was no exception. After returning to Nanjing, I felt lost and adrift after spending a long time at home taking care of my child. That’s when I had the idea of sharing the experience and insights I gained from mobile phone shooting and production over the years with netizens," Ma Jing explained. She then opened a personal account on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), posting content about photography and videography skills in her spare time. Unexpectedly, her posts attracted significant attention and interaction from users—many even urged her to develop courses. Watching her video views and follower count rise sharply, coupled with the commercial success of a trial paid knowledge course, Ma Jing began to hope for transforming the value of her content into market demand.

"Initially, I thought users followed me and my courses because I stayed true to my original intention and created content closely aligned with their needs. Later, I realized it was also closely related to the rapid development of the mobile phone and short-video markets," Ma Jing shared. "When short-video entrepreneurship surged forward with an unstoppable wave and huge dividends, I saw many passionate entrepreneurs dive in but struggle to find the right method. As traffic faded and monetization became difficult, their entrepreneurial enthusiasm gradually waned, leaving them stuck in a predicament." With the awareness that short videos have become a new frontier for social interaction and marketing, and the belief that "high quality" is the only standard, Ma Jing carefully analyzed and reflected on industry dividends, development trends, platform characteristics, and market demand. In April 2022, she founded Nanjing Chengrenzhimei Education Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Chengrenzhimei"). Determined to leverage her strengths and give back to the industry with her knowledge, she turned her experience-sharing videos into informative courses, providing creators with systematic training covering shooting skills, content planning, operation and promotion, online customer acquisition, and personal IP building—helping entrepreneurs and enthusiasts find their own "brilliance."

According to a report by Mod Research Institute, by the end of 2023, the scale of domestic short-video users reached approximately 1.012 billion, accounting for a staggering 94.8% of the total number of internet users. Among these, nearly one-third are "deep users," with an average daily usage time of close to 3 hours. Long-term viewing and use of short videos are reshaping people’s thinking and expression styles. This also means that for course content to be recognized by practitioners and worthy of their payment, it must provide users with an effective growth path across the entire chain—from content quality and operation rules to growth effects and monetization capabilities. Therefore, Ma Jing positioned the company as a "short-video monetization service expert": on one hand, continuously optimizing the paid course system, innovating and developing course services with clear delivery processes, and building IPs; on the other hand, using short videos as a tool to empower individuals and enterprises to achieve growth through operation, thereby unlocking the true value of short videos.

Chengrenzhimei tailors account operation plans for IPs and enterprises based on their specific learning needs, generously sharing short-video shooting methods and traffic monetization skills. The company also pays special attention to individuals who leave their jobs to start businesses, hoping that its high-quality course services can help them re-enter the workforce. By teaching them to "master" short videos and grasp traffic growth skills, these individuals can create economic value while realizing their self-worth and face life with a positive mindset. "One of my students was in an unstable mental state due to career setbacks before receiving training. After learning short-video creation skills and starting a self-media business, he found his value and his overall state improved significantly. Seeing lost people find their social value through our help is a deeply meaningful thing that motivates our team to keep going," Ma Jing said.

In addition, the company has collaborated with multiple enterprises to provide services such as corporate account operation training, promotional video shooting, and account agency operation. The parallel development of these businesses has expanded the company’s service scale and business volume.

Despite having a clear plan, short-video entrepreneurship is not a fragmented effort but a chain composed of countless small links, including investments in professional personnel, equipment, and operation. "Although I believe that ‘small and beautiful’ and ‘refined and strong’ are the best configurations for our industry, retaining talents who can take charge independently requires stable cash flow," Ma Jing noted. While busy creating courses, she also kept an eye on Nanjing’s entrepreneurship-related policies, hoping to secure entrepreneurial funding support. At the end of 2022, Chengrenzhimei participated in the selection of "Nanjing Excellent Youth College Student Entrepreneurship Projects," and Ma Jing received funding support from Nanjing Innovation Investment Group and the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security.

The injection of venture capital has strengthened Ma Jing’s confidence in exploring more development paths. In building the knowledge payment system, the company leverages its large number of followers and high-quality IPs on Xiaohongshu to optimize the course delivery process by breaking down learning links and customize learning plans for students, thereby improving learning efficiency. In terms of business expansion, the company has actively negotiated cooperation with industries such as FMCG, skincare, automobiles, and furniture, while adding services such as promotional video creation and corporate account operation to enhance its service capabilities and business volume.

Today, over 2 million netizens have learned short-video courses through Ma Jing’s account "Director Sister Ma Chengmei." Ma Jing herself has become a mid-tier creator with over 200,000 followers, and has been hired as a special lecturer by Xiaohongshu and Jianying (CapCut). She has also been invited to give lectures on short-video creation methods and conduct special training sessions at universities such as Nanjing University and well-known enterprises.

The release of OpenAI’s text-to-video AI model Sora sent shockwaves through the film and television creation industry—video, once considered the most solid "fortress," has now been penetrated by artificial intelligence. "While such major industry events won’t have a direct impact on small teams like ours, as AIGC technology accelerates its penetration into video production, we must explore paths for AI to empower short-video creation if we want to seize more opportunities in the future. After all, AI won’t replace humans, but it will eliminate those who don’t know how to use it," Ma Jing clearly recognizes that the era of intelligent short-video creation has quietly arrived, and as a trainer, she must stay at the forefront of exploration.

"In our company’s video production, we have consciously tried to use AIGC technology in text generation and video editing. On one hand, this helps us build our own material library for creation; on the other hand, it gradually improves production efficiency, reducing costs and increasing effectiveness," Ma Jing said. Currently, Chengrenzhimei has innovatively used text-to-video + digital human technology in its creation, and has also developed courses on related skills using AI technology, which have been well-received by many students.

The Chengrenzhimei team has achieved rapid development: in two years, it has served over 2,000 short-video practitioners, with annual profit growth reaching 100%. While creating social value, it has also realized economic value. In recent years, there have been many entrepreneurial projects in the short-video field, and Chengrenzhimei’s success stands out thanks to its founder’s high-quality personal IP and full-chain knowledge empowerment in short-video creation.

"Teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish. As a rising star in the industry, we believe that with the arrival of the ‘new industrial revolution’ led by AI, Chengrenzhimei will ‘unlock’ more possibilities for users in the field of short-video traffic empowerment," said a relevant person in charge of the Mass Entrepreneurship Investment Department of Nanjing Innovation Investment Group. "As a venture capital institution, we will continue to pay attention to the company’s development and provide more post-investment support in terms of capital, management, resources, and talent." It is believed that with the support of Nanjing Innovation Investment Group, the attention of society, and the expectations and trust of practitioners, the Chengrenzhimei team will continue to progress and surpass itself.