As TikTok’s future hangs within the steadiness, Xiaohonghshu, higher often known as RedNote in English, is attempting to capitalize on its newfound reputation by partnering with US influencers who may also help promote the corporate and produce extra Individuals onto its platform. The Chinese language life-style and journey app, which has over 300 million principally month-to-month lively customers, surged to the highest of US app retailer charts final week because the TikTok ban approached.
In a marketing campaign transient obtained by WIRED, Solare World, a New York Metropolis-based advertising company, pitched creators on making sponsored posts for RedNote, that includes movies of themselves telling their followers concerning the Chinese language app’s sudden rise within the US. The transient requested creators to explain “how enjoyable and fascinating the app is” and “emphasize its user-friendly design and worldwide attraction.” It additionally instructed them to share their very own RedNote accounts and encourage their followers to hitch them on the platform.
Xiaohongshu didn’t return a request for remark despatched to its official WeChat account. Solare World additionally didn’t reply to a request for remark asking what number of influencers they contacted or how a lot the corporate anticipated to pay per publish.
The transient seen by WIRED required creators to show their movies round on a 24-hour timeline to make sure they went up by January 17, the identical day the Supreme Courtroom was going to determine whether or not the TikTok ban would go into impact two days later. It additionally stipulated that influencers should go away their movies up for no less than six months.
Xiaohongshu was based in 2013 and has lengthy principally targeted on courting home audiences in China, significantly younger ladies who stay in main cities. Like TikTok, it revolves round a central algorithm that recommends customers an limitless stream of posts based mostly on their pursuits and habits. However as a substitute of exhibiting folks one video at a time, Xiaohongshu presents picture slideshows, textual content posts, and movies in a grid format.
However maybe the most important distinction between the 2 apps is how they deal with content material moderation. As a result of it is accessible in China, Xiaohongshu is required to stick to strict censorship guidelines dictated by Beijing. (WIRED beforehand reported that Xiaohongshu was scrambling to rent English-speaking moderators to assist handle the flood of content material being posted by Individuals.) TikTok, then again, isn’t accessible in China. Its guardian firm, ByteDance, operates a separate video app there known as Douyin.
The inflow of Individuals on Xiaohongshu offered a uncommon alternative for folks within the US and China to attach on a shared social media platform. Some customers spent hours asking their new abroad pen buddies questions on their respective international locations and cultures, starting from what college lunch is like in Wisconsin to what a typical condominium appears to be like like in Chengdu. It now seems that Xiaohongshu is attempting to capitalize on these sentiments to advertise itself as a constructive, world platform.
“The heat of regular folks being variety and interested by each other is the core sentiment there for the time being,” the influencer transient stated. “And we expect it’s a ravishing factor.”
