Xiaohongshu AIPS crowd asset model (the latest and most complete practical analysis)

In the era of digital marketing, how can brands accurately grasp user psychology on social platforms such as Xiaohongshu and achieve full-chain marketing from cognition to purchase to sharing? This article deeply analyzes Xiaohongshu's AIPS crowd asset model, revealing how brands can use this model to manage user relationships, optimize marketing strategies, and ultimately achieve sales growth and brand loyalty.

1. Overview of the AIPS Model

1. Definition and Background

In today's digital age, brand marketing faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. As a social media platform that mainly generates user-generated content, Xiaohongshu has occupied an important position in the field of brand marketing with its unique culture of promoting products. However, how to accurately measure the effect of promoting products has always been a difficult problem for brands and marketers.

To address this problem, Xiaohongshu launched the AIPS crowd asset model , a framework designed to help brands better understand and manage their crowd assets on the platform. The model breaks down a brand's crowd assets into five stages: Awareness, Interest, True Interest, Purchase, and Share.

The launch of the AIPS model stems from Xiaohongshu's deep insight into brand marketing needs. As market competition becomes increasingly fierce, brands increasingly need to fine-tune and optimize their marketing strategies on social media platforms. Especially on a content-driven platform like Xiaohongshu, traditional marketing indicators can no longer meet the needs of brands. The AIPS model provides brands with more accurate target audience positioning and marketing effectiveness evaluation tools by segmenting and quantifying user behavior.

Xiaohongshu CMO Zhiheng emphasized at the 2025 WILL Business Conference that brands need to pay attention to ROI (T+x) when promoting products on Xiaohongshu. Here, T represents the launch date, and x represents the consumer decision-making cycle of different industries. The introduction of this indicator reflects Xiaohongshu's emphasis on long-term marketing effects, and also reflects the platform's in-depth understanding of the characteristics of different industries. For example, the decision cycle for facial essence categories is about 29 days, while that for maternal and infant food categories is more than 70 days. This differentiated approach helps brands more accurately evaluate the return on their marketing investment on Xiaohongshu.

The launch of the AIPS model also reflects the pressures and challenges that Xiaohongshu faces in its commercialization process. As the platform's user base continues to expand, brands' requirements for marketing effectiveness are also increasing. By providing more sophisticated user behavior analysis and effect evaluation tools, Xiaohongshu hopes to attract more brands to join while improving the satisfaction and loyalty of existing customers. This data-driven approach not only helps brands optimize their marketing strategies, but also helps Xiaohongshu itself better understand user needs, thereby providing more targeted services and support.

2. Five key stages

The AIPS crowd asset model is an innovative framework created by Xiaohongshu for brand marketing, which aims to help brands better understand and manage their user relationships on the platform. The model divides the process of user-brand interaction into five key stages, each with its own unique characteristics and marketing strategy focus:

1. Awareness stage : This is the first time a user comes into contact with a brand, and the brand needs to increase its awareness through high-quality content.
2. Interest stage : Users begin to actively search for brand information, and brands should provide more rich content to deepen user impressions.
3. True Interest stage : Users have a strong interest in the brand, and the brand can stimulate their desire to buy through personalized recommendations and interactive experiences.
4. Purchase stage : Users make purchasing decisions, and brands need to ensure a smooth shopping process and provide high-quality customer service.
5. Share stage : After users complete the purchase, brands should encourage users to share their experience and spread word-of-mouth.

These five stages constitute a complete user life cycle, reflecting the process from when a user comes into contact with a brand to when they eventually become loyal fans. Each stage has its own unique user behavior characteristics and brand response strategies:

• Awareness stage : Users may have just learned about the existence of the brand, and the brand needs to increase its awareness through various channels.
• Interest stage : Users begin to actively search for brand information, and brands should provide more valuable content to attract users.
• Deep interest stage : Users have a desire to gain a deeper understanding of the brand, and brands can enhance user stickiness through personalized recommendations and interactive experiences.
• Purchase stage : Users are ready to buy, and brands need to ensure a smooth shopping process and provide good customer service.
• Sharing stage : After users complete the purchase, brands should encourage users to share their experience and spread word of mouth.

It is worth noting that the AIPS model emphasizes the differences in consumption decision cycles in different industries . For example:

Facial essence category: decision cycle is about 29 days. Mother and baby food category: decision cycle is more than 70 days.

This difference reminds brands to adopt a long-term perspective when evaluating marketing effectiveness, and not just focus on short-term conversions. By understanding and applying the AIPS model, brands can adopt corresponding strategies at each stage, thereby more effectively guiding users from cognition to purchase to sharing, and achieving better marketing results.

2. Model composition

1. Cognitive stage

In the cognitive stage of the AIPS crowd equity model, users first come into contact with brands in a variety of ways, including:

• Information flow advertising : This is one of the most common and effective ways to reach users. Through carefully designed advertising creativity, brands can naturally implant brand image when users browse content, thus arousing users' initial interest.
• Search ads : When users actively search for relevant information, search ads can accurately present brand information to target users, improving brand visibility and credibility.
• KOL/KOC content seeding : This method uses the influence of opinion leaders or content creators to deliver brand information to users in the form of soft implantation, which is easier for users to accept and remember.
• Topic Challenge : Topic challenge activities initiated by brands can stimulate users' enthusiasm for participation and expand brand influence through user-generated content.

In the awareness stage, the main goal of a brand is to increase brand awareness and favorability. To achieve this goal, brands can adopt the following strategies:

1. Develop targeted content strategies and customize content based on the interests and preferences of different user groups.
2. Choose the right KOL/KOC to cooperate with and use their influence to expand brand coverage.
3. Design attractive topic challenges to encourage users to participate and create relevant content.
4. Optimize ad creatives to increase click-through and conversion rates for in-feed and search ads.

Through these strategies, brands can effectively establish users' initial impression of the brand in the cognitive stage and lay the foundation for the subsequent user journey. In this process, brands need to continuously monitor user feedback and adjust strategies in a timely manner to ensure the maximum effect of the cognitive stage.

2. Interest stage

In the second key stage of the AIPS crowd asset model, the interest stage, users’ behavioral characteristics and needs have changed significantly. This stage marks that users have transitioned from simple brand awareness to active exploration, providing brands with valuable interaction opportunities.

User behavior characteristics

Users in the interest stage exhibit the following typical characteristics:

1. Active search : Users begin to actively seek more information about the brand, obtaining detailed product and service details through keyword searches and other methods.
2. Increased content consumption : Users’ views of brand-related notes, videos and other content have increased significantly, demonstrating their curiosity and desire to explore the brand.
3. Comparative research : Users may compare multiple competing products to try to find the best option for them.

User demand characteristics

Based on these behavioral characteristics, we can summarize the core needs of users in the interest stage:

1. In-depth information needs : Users are eager to obtain more detailed and comprehensive brand information than in the awareness stage.
2. Credibility verification : Users want to see real reviews and experience sharing from other users to verify whether the brand is trustworthy.
3. Personalized content : Users expect to see content that meets their specific interests and needs, rather than general, popular information.

Brand response strategy

In the face of these needs, brands can adopt the following strategies to meet user expectations and push them to the next stage:

1. Provide rich and diverse content : Create a content matrix that includes detailed product introductions, user tutorials, FAQ answers, etc. to satisfy users' curiosity.
2. Leverage the power of UGC : Encourage existing users to share real experiences and increase content credibility through KOL/KOC collaboration.
3. Personalized content push : Based on user portraits and historical behaviors, push highly customized content to improve user stickiness.
4. Interactive experience design : Plan highly interactive activities, such as question-and-answer sessions, voting surveys, etc., to increase user participation.

Through these strategies, brands can not only better meet the needs of users in the interest stage, but also lay a solid foundation for future conversions. For example, if a user is considering buying a smartwatch, the brand can meet the user's diverse information needs by pushing detailed usage tutorials, comparative analysis of other brands' products, and inviting well-known bloggers to share their actual wearing experience, while enhancing the brand's professional image and credibility.

3. Deep Interest

In the deep interest stage of the AIPS crowd asset model, users' attitudes and behaviors toward brands have reached a new level. Users at this stage are no longer just interested in the brand, but have formed a strong purchase tendency and emotional connection. Let's take a deeper look at the characteristics of this key stage and brand response strategies.

User behavior characteristics

Users in the deep interest stage exhibit the following typical characteristics:

1. High frequency of interaction : Users frequently browse brand-related content and actively participate in comments and forwarding.
2. Actively seek social validation : Users tend to discuss brands in their social circles and seek other people’s opinions.
3. Highly focused : Users focus their attention on a few brands or products, conducting in-depth comparisons and research.

User psychological characteristics

Users in the deep interest stage usually have the following psychological states:

1. Strong emotional identification : Users develop a deep emotional connection with the brand and see it as part of their self-expression.
2. High sense of trust : Users are open to brand information and are easily influenced by brands.
3. Clear purchase intention : The user already has a clear purchase plan and is just waiting for the right time or more information input.

Brand response strategy

For users in the deep interest stage, brands can adopt the following strategies:

1. Personalized recommendations : Provide highly customized content and product recommendations based on user historical behavior and preferences.
2. Interactive experience design : Create immersive brand experiences, such as virtual makeup trials and online Q&A, to enhance user engagement.
3. Limited-time offers : Create special discounts or limited-edition products to encourage immediate purchase.
4. Community building : Cultivate a community of loyal brand users and promote communication and sharing among users.

Related Cases

The case of Vaseline Hydrating Body Serum shows how to achieve efficient reach through precise matching. The brand successfully improved its delivery efficiency by analyzing user data, identifying core groups, and developing targeted seeding strategies.

This case shows that at the deep interest stage, brands need to pay more attention to data-driven personalization strategies to meet users' unique needs and expectations.

Through these strategies and cases, we can see that in the deep interest stage, brands have the opportunity to convert users' interests into actual actions, but this also requires brands to provide a more personalized and high-quality user experience in order to truly capture the users' hearts.

4. Purchase phase

During the purchase phase of the AIPS crowd asset model, brands need to focus on the following aspects to ensure that users complete the purchase process smoothly and have a high-quality shopping experience:

Shopping process optimization

Brands should strive to simplify the shopping process and reduce friction for users during the purchase process. This includes:

• Provide one-click purchase option
• Simplify form filling steps
• Support multiple payment methods

Enhanced customer service

High-quality customer service can significantly improve user satisfaction and repurchase rate. Brands should:

• Set up 24-hour online customer service
• Provide detailed product consultation
• Handle return and exchange requests promptly

Personalized recommendations

By analyzing user behavior and preferences, brands can:

• Recommended related products
• Provide exclusive offers
• Enhance user shopping experience

Inventory Management

Ensure sufficient supply of hot-selling products to avoid out-of-stock situations that would affect user experience and sales performance.

Logistics and distribution optimization

• Multiple delivery options available
• Update logistics information in real time
• Shorten delivery time

Through these measures, brands can comprehensively improve the user experience during the purchase phase, not only increasing conversion rates, but also cultivating user loyalty and laying the foundation for subsequent sharing and repurchase. For example, if a user can immediately see a "one-click purchase" button after browsing the product details, and there is a thoughtful customer service window next to it ready to answer questions at any time, such an experience will undoubtedly make the user's purchase decision easier and more enjoyable.

5. Sharing Phase

In the last stage of the AIPS crowd asset model, the sharing stage, the user's behavioral characteristics and the value to the brand have reached a new height. This stage is not only an amplifier of brand influence, but also a key node for building long-term user relationships.

User behavior characteristics

Users in the sharing stage exhibit the following typical characteristics:

1. Active dissemination : Users spontaneously share their purchasing experiences and product reviews on social networks.
2. Content creation : Users may write detailed user reviews, shoot unboxing videos, or make comparative reviews.
3. Social Validation : Users seek approval from friends and followers through sharing, while influencing others’ purchasing decisions.

User psychological characteristics

Users in the sharing stage usually have the following psychological states:

1. Sense of pride : Users want to show their taste and judgment through sharing.
2. Sense of belonging : Sharing behavior deepens users’ sense of identification and belonging to the brand.
3. Pursuit of influence : Users hope to influence the opinions and choices of people around them through sharing.

Brand response strategy

For users in the sharing stage, brands can adopt the following strategies:

1. Incentive mechanism : Establish a reward system to encourage users to share positive reviews and experiences.
2. Content co-creation : Invite users to participate in brand content creation, such as product reviews or story collection.
3. Community building : Build an official community platform to promote communication and sharing among users.
4. KOL/KOC cooperation : cooperate with influential users to expand the scope of brand communication.
5. Data analysis : Collect and analyze data shared by users to optimize products and marketing strategies.

Related Cases

The case of Vaseline Hydrating Body Serum shows how to achieve efficient reach through precise matching. The brand successfully improved its delivery efficiency by analyzing user data, identifying core groups, and developing targeted seeding strategies.

Although this case mainly describes the practice in the deep interest stage, it also indirectly reflects the importance of the sharing stage. The success of Vaseline lies in the fact that it not only attracts users, but also stimulates their desire to share, forming a virtuous circle.

Through these strategies and cases, we can see that in the sharing stage, brands need to pay more attention to user participation and community building to fully utilize the enthusiasm and creativity of users and achieve exponential growth in brand influence. At the same time, brands also need to pay close attention to the content and feedback shared by users, and continuously optimize products and marketing strategies to maintain and enhance user loyalty and activity.

3. Application Scenarios

1. Brand Marketing

Xiaohongshu's AIPS crowd asset model has been widely and deeply applied in the field of brand marketing, especially in the beauty and personal care and food and beverage industries. The model has achieved significant marketing effect improvement by accurately positioning the target user group and combining the platform's special features.

Beauty and personal care industry

Taking the beauty and personal care industry as an example, the application of the AIPS model is particularly prominent. The case of Vaseline Hydrating and Brightening Body Serum fully demonstrates the powerful potential of the model. By analyzing user data, the brand successfully identified the core group and formulated a targeted seeding strategy, effectively improving the efficiency of delivery. This data-driven approach not only improves the accuracy of marketing, but also greatly shortens the user's decision cycle.

Food and Beverage Industry

In the food and beverage industry, the AIPS model also plays an important role. The case of Yuanqi Forest Milk Tea is a typical example. The brand successfully attracted the attention of a large number of young female users through precise targeting on the Xiaohongshu platform. Data shows that the product has received millions of exposures on Xiaohongshu, and the interaction rate is far higher than the average level of similar products. This achievement fully demonstrates the adaptability and effectiveness of the AIPS model in cross-category marketing.

Advertising efficiency

In addition to specific cases, the AIPS model has also brought significant improvements in overall advertising efficiency. According to statistics, the average ROI of brands using this model has increased by about 30% compared to before. This figure reflects that brands can find target users more accurately, reduce invalid exposure, and thus improve the utilization of advertising resources.

User retention and repurchase rate

More importantly, the AIPS model not only focuses on short-term sales conversion, but also on long-term user relationship maintenance. Through full-link user behavior tracking and analysis, brands can better understand user needs and provide personalized services and product recommendations. This continuous user interaction and value delivery effectively improves user retention and repurchase willingness. Data shows that the average stay time of brand users using the AIPS model has increased by 20%, and the repurchase rate has increased by more than 15%.

These data fully demonstrate the great value of the AIPS model in brand marketing. It can not only help brands achieve efficient customer acquisition and conversion, but also establish long-term user relationships, laying a solid foundation for the sustainable development of brands. Through this all-round marketing strategy, brands can stand out in the fierce market competition and achieve real long-term growth.

2. User Operation

In terms of user operations of Xiaohongshu AIPS crowd asset model, brands need to adopt a series of refined strategies to meet the needs of users at different stages and push them to gradually move to the next stage. This full-link user operation method can not only improve user satisfaction and loyalty, but also significantly improve the brand's marketing effect and return on investment.

User Operation Strategy of Xiaohongshu AIPS Crowd Asset Model

Tool support

Xiaohongshu provides brands with a variety of tools to support user operations:

1. Little Red Star : Through data analysis, brands can understand users’ interests and hobbies, and push corresponding content accordingly.
2. Xiaohongmeng : Brands can cooperate with KOL/KOC through this platform to expand their influence.
3. Xiaohonglian : This tool can help brands track the complete chain from seeding to purchase.

Case Study

The case of Vaseline Hydrating Body Serum shows how to achieve efficient reach through precise matching. The brand successfully improved its delivery efficiency by analyzing user data, identifying core groups, and developing targeted seeding strategies.

This case highlights the key role of data-driven in user operations. By deeply analyzing user behavior and preferences, brands can more accurately target user groups and provide personalized content and services, thereby improving user conversion rates and satisfaction.

Key points of user operation

In the process of user operation, brands need to pay special attention to the following points:

1. Personalized content push : Provide highly customized content based on user portraits and historical behaviors.
2. Interactive experience design : create immersive experience and increase user participation.
3. Community building : Cultivate a loyal user community and promote communication and sharing among users.
4. Data analysis : Continuously monitor user behavior and adjust strategies in a timely manner.

With the support of these strategies and tools, brands can effectively operate users at all stages, driving them from awareness to interest, to deep interest, purchase and sharing. This full-link user operation method can not only improve user satisfaction and loyalty, but also significantly improve the brand's marketing effect and return on investment.

3. Content Strategy

In the content strategy of Xiaohongshu AIPS crowd asset model, brands need to develop targeted content plans based on the needs and behavioral characteristics of users at different stages. The specific content strategies are as follows:

1. Cognitive stage : Quickly attract user attention through diversified content forms, such as pictures, texts, short videos, etc.
2. Interest stage : Provide in-depth product analysis, usage tutorials and other content to satisfy users' desire for brand information.
3. Deep interest stage : Carry out highly interactive activities, such as Q&A, voting, etc., to enhance user participation.
4. Purchase stage : Provide practical content such as discount information and purchase guides to help users make purchase decisions.
5. Sharing stage : Encourage users to create and share, and expand brand influence through UGC content.

Through this full-link content strategy, brands can provide users with valuable information at each stage, promote the entire process from user cognition to sharing, and achieve effective accumulation and transformation of brand assets.

Author: Jinyi Public account: Jinyi