Little Red Book: A New Marketing Approach to Connect Brands with the Global Chinese Market
Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu): An Organic Social Content Ecosystem
Xiaohongshu is not just a platform that gathers a diverse range of user profiles, including business brands, internet celebrities (including celebrities and KOLs), and a vast potential consumer base; it is also an organic ecosystem that has rapidly come into prominence over the years. It provides overseas brands with a unique opportunity to merge brand and effectiveness and gain insights into the initial market of Chinese consumers.
The user demographics align closely with brand preferences, especially in the field of cross-border e-commerce, where young consumers dominate the market, and women take the lead. This aligns well with Xiaohongshu’s user structure.
Xiaohongshu showcases diverse lifestyles, covering various consumer categories, making it highly receptive to overseas brands. Furthermore, Xiaohongshu is widely regarded as a “lifestyle guidebook” and “consumer recommendation hub” for users. According to surveys, over 80% of users on Xiaohongshu have successfully made purchases influenced by product recommendations.
In early 2023, Xiaohongshu took a groundbreaking step by officially venturing into e-commerce livestreaming. It has established it as an independent business unit, consolidating the management of various tasks, including livestream content and e-commerce livestreaming.
This signifies Xiaohongshu’s determination and potential for further expansion.
Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu): Uniting the Chinese-speaking Market
In comparison to its competitors, Xiaohongshu holds a unique position within the Chinese-speaking community. While it may share some similarities in format with certain competitors, there are significant differences in terms of user demographics and content. One notable competitor, Lemon8, a visual and text-based product recommendation app launched by ByteDance, is often referred to as the “Little Yellow Book” in reference to its format. Both platforms have a strong emphasis on visuals and product recommendations, which may make them appear highly competitive. However, the most significant distinction between the two lies in their user base and content.
Lemon8 primarily attracts local users, such as influential Japanese students and young women. In contrast, Xiaohongshu caters to Chinese-speaking audiences, including both international students and Chinese expatriates. Xiaohongshu users are proficient in Chinese, allowing the platform to transcend geographical boundaries.
Xiaohongshu’s appeal lies within the Chinese-speaking community, encompassing international students and Chinese expatriates as its core user base—a characteristic less commonly found among its competitors. Here, it is common to come across product recommendations and comments written in both traditional and simplified Chinese.
Xiaohongshu IP Authenticity for Greater Persuasion
Xiaohongshu not only boasts a massive user base within China but also maintains a significant presence among the Southeast Asian and overseas student communities.
In April 2022, following Weibo’s public display of user IP locations, several platforms, including WeChat public accounts, Douyin (TikTok), Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu, introduced features to display user IP locations. Domestic brands and users then discovered the widespread “coordinates” on Xiaohongshu, revealing a diverse overseas Chinese community on the platform.
Malaysia, a country where nearly one-third of the population is of Chinese descent, saw Xiaohongshu enter the awareness of Malaysian users around 2018. Gradually, the platform began to claim its stake in the social media landscape, influencing the overseas marketing market for brands and further driving Xiaohongshu’s growth in Southeast Asia.
Currently, according to statistics, Xiaohongshu has amassed over 2 million users in Southeast Asian regions like Singapore and Malaysia, impacting the local marketing ecosystem.
In addition, overseas students and other Chinese-speaking groups contribute to the diverse content on Xiaohongshu.
Overseas students enthusiastically share their life experiences on Xiaohongshu, covering topics like food, exploring new places, and providing authentic reviews and experience-sharing. For them, Xiaohongshu has become a practical information search tool, addressing various informational needs in aspects like daily life, travel, studies, exploration, skincare, and more. Xiaohongshu followed in the footsteps of Chinese students studying abroad, expanding its presence to popular study destinations such as the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada, and more.
Unlocking Brand Advantages and Value with Little Red Book
Based on Xiaohongshu’s inherent “recommendation” (or “grassroots endorsement”) attribute, brands have found significant value and influence in their promotions on the platform.
Taking emerging brands gathered on Xiaohongshu as an example, the way content is recommended not only encourages users to make purchases but also provides relatively cost-effective advertising value for smaller brands with distinct social attributes. This undoubtedly presents an opportunity to accumulate user word-of-mouth and visibility.
For well-known brands such as major cosmetics, trendy fashion, and luxury brands, the real feedback and communication from Xiaohongshu users have allowed brands to adjust their strategies in a more relatable way, bridging the communication gap and bringing new business approaches for internationally renowned brands. Additionally, for many overseas brands, Xiaohongshu’s content creation platform helps them gain deeper insights into consumer demands and category development trends, enabling them to seize future opportunities and contribute to their business strategies for entering the Chinese market.
Xiaohongshu continues to evolve, especially in terms of commercialization aimed at international audiences.
Now, Xiaohongshu is capable of advertising to overseas users, and the launch of the e-commerce mini-program feature has provided brands with new opportunities. Therefore, Xiaohongshu is not only a key connection between brands and the Chinese market but also a critical factor for brands to achieve success on a global scale.
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