How do brands successfully communicate on China’s Instagram, aka Little Red Book? Little Red Book, Red or Xiaohongshu is an online community, where women showcase their lifestyle the most via photos. The platform is mainly known for sharing photo content, but there are also videos and livestreams…
SUGGESTION FORUMS TO GET ADVICE
In China, users can get advice from other members of Little Red Book or Xiaohongshu when looking for user reviews. There are several search topics on the platform, including fashion and clothing, food – such as recipes or restaurant reviews – wedding accessories (including decorative items) as well as pets. Product reviews make it easy to see what others think before buying something too far from the real thing by visiting these suggestion forums where everyone posts their own opinions on products they’ve recently purchased.
China is not only the most populous country in the world, it is also the most connected. It has the largest number of Internet users. With over 750 million users on social media platforms alone, it has over 30% of the world’s online population. Brands that ignore China are missing out on a lucrative market with high purchasing power. Yes, China is getting richer, and consumers have become affluent, and like to consume. It is important to understand why brands succeed, but more importantly why they fail in China to avoid this happening to your company or brand.
THE BASIS OF LITTLE RED BOOK
Xiaohongshu’s content features articles that provide in-depth analysis of similar products from different brands. These “Gan Huo” (干货) give readers an overview and good judgment for their purchase decision, whether or not one buys directly from this platform! Little Red Book is more than just a storytelling space. Instead, it provides useful information about the prices available for purchasing items so that you know what is best for your needs without having to do additional research online.
E-COMMERCE OR SOCIAL COMMERCE
China is one of the most connected countries in Asia. With more than 904 million Internet users and a constantly growing mobile application market, there are huge opportunities for Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) to innovate with e-commerce for example. Chinese consumers can appreciate more than others because they are willing to buy online rather than in physical stores where you may have to wait hours to receive your product.
Little Red Book has developed a closed shopping cycle on cross-border sales of luxury items in particular, which allows users to buy directly from merchants after reading reviews. It’s an app where you can find all sorts of useful information about fashion, beauty products and even restaurants in your area! With its huge database compiled over many years by analyzing social media data for urban women, who are very active on social media, living outside of major cities, Little Red Book’s analysis has given birth to a very easy shopping process for international products. Just search through the scans and reviews of those who have tried these same brands.
THE TYPE OF USERS
70-80% of the users are Chinese women, like on Instragram.
The platform offers features such as “big sister” style chats where users can discuss different things, like makeup brands. They can offer recommendations on what others might be looking forward to when shopping for new clothes together, as well as giving advice on how best to handle certain situations at home, for example.
The average age of users is between 18 and 35 and they come from all walks of life. But what do they have in common? The desire to get deals on quality products! Their love of bargains has led them to this: an online community of shoppers that allows you to connect with other like-minded people – or at least provide recommendations if needed.
You can create posts about anything related (or not) and follow the comments of others. This creates a group consciousness where we are always aware of how our choices affect those around us, for good or bad. Not surprisingly, the majority of people who use Little Red Book live in first or second tier cities. Perhaps more interesting is the number of millenials (72%) who use this app! More information about Little Red Book here.
KOLS OR INFLUENCERS
Many stars (or KOLs) share their latest shopping and lifestyle finds, as well as photos from their less glamorous lives, on a daily basis. This has created a unique circle of user-generated content (UGC), consisting of well-known and highly followed influencers. These reviews tend to be shared by more and more users (thanks to the platform’s multiple interactive tools), which quickly creates a viral effect for these products. It’s no secret that influencers are in high demand these days. From social media stars to lifestyle bloggers, people with a large following can make your product seem more popular than it actually is!
For example, when someone with over 100,000 followers shares their review of a clothing line they just discovered or an up-and-coming makeup brand puts their latest beauty collection on sale, the news quickly spreads throughout the community, generating even more interest from potential customers, not only because everyone likes to share what they love, but also because the newness is a turn-on.
