Don’t use the logic of Tik Tok to create Xiaohongshu!!!

There are huge differences between the two platforms, Douyin and Xiaohongshu. So, it is really impossible to use Douyin's marketing logic to do Xiaohongshu well. Xiaohongshu should still use Xiaohongshu's logic to attract users. This is the best choice. Recommended for Internet friends to read.

Xiaohongshu and Douyin are two platforms that businesses pay close attention to. Douyin is faster than Xiaohongshu in terms of commercialization, so many businesses' marketing methodologies are based on Douyin.

However, there are huge differences between the two platforms in terms of brand marketing. It can be said that if you use Douyin’s marketing logic to do Xiaohongshu, you really won’t be able to do Xiaohongshu well.

Today, let’s analyze the differences between Douyin and Xiaohongshu from various dimensions.

1. From the perspective of user composition

Xiaohongshu brings together precise, high-quality users, about 70% of whom are women, and they are mainly concentrated in first- and second-tier cities. They have high spending power and are very suitable for recommending products.

Douyin has a wider user coverage, with a relatively balanced ratio of men to women, and a clear downward trend. The target customers are not concentrated enough, and the commercial value of a Douyin account is lower than that of a Xiaohongshu account with the same number of fans.

2. From the perspective of platform tonality

Xiaohongshu is a sharing platform that advocates positive, beautiful and diversified lifestyles. It includes the attributes of "community + e-commerce". Xiaohongshu belongs to the typical UGC community model (that is, users are both creators and disseminators of content) , which also strengthens the "authenticity" attribute of the sharer. When sharing the experience and evaluation of some products, it is easier to gain the trust of users, and the content is more valuable for reference, which is very suitable for seeding.

Douyin is a short video platform focusing on "general entertainment and life" . Generally, the videos are "short and exquisite", which satisfies people's "fragmented time" and "entertainment attributes". Fun, interesting and novel content accounts for a larger proportion, and the exposure effect is better, but the grass-planting effect is weaker than Xiaohongshu.

3. From the perspective of content and form

The content of Xiaohongshu is mainly in the form of pictures and texts, supplemented by short videos and live broadcasts. The form of picture and text notes is very suitable for seeding, because notes have a lower time cost than other forms of creation.

Don’t equate the formats of Xiaohongshu and Douyin with the confrontation between pictures and texts and short videos. Xiaohongshu’s real advantage is not because of the pictures and texts, but because of the notes, those notes written by ordinary users based on their own experiences.

Everyone has taken notes during school, right? If you want to quickly learn what was taught in a class you missed, would you choose to read the textbook or read your deskmate's notes? I think most people would choose notes to learn quickly!

Today's users don't have that much patience anymore. If you want to quickly understand the essence and core of something, taking notes is undoubtedly the choice with the lowest time cost. Xiaohongshu's main note creation mode is a dissemination mode for efficiently obtaining information, allowing users to develop a mindset of quickly finding answers by looking at notes. A few pages of notes can fully extract the essence of the content.

Xiaohongshu has been using the note-taking format as the mainstream for ten years, so today it has become the last stop for global consumer decision-making.

4. From the perspective of likes/collections ratio

Generally speaking, the lower the likes/collections ratio, the higher the value of your creative content. Conversely, it means that your creative content is more interesting, fun, or empathetic, but does not have any real value.

Judging from the like/collection ratio of the same content distributed on Douyin and Xiaohongshu, Xiaohongshu's like/collection ratio is much lower than that of Douyin.

This shows that the content on Xiaohongshu is more valuable for users to refer to. Users prefer to make judgments about products based on the Xiaohongshu platform and believe that the information is more authentic and useful. Therefore, Xiaohongshu is a very suitable platform for product promotion.

5. From the perspective of long-tail value

On Xiaohongshu, as long as the notes are included in the platform, they will have a long-tail effect . The creator's content will continue to be exposed to users due to user searches, platform recommendations, and other behaviors, extending the time for seeding grass.

However, the content on TikTok basically does not have long-tail value. Even if it is popular content, its life cycle is generally not very long.

6. From the perspective of differences in marketing strategies

The scenario of Douyin is entertainment; the scenario of Xiaohongshu is search.

Therefore, the community atmosphere of the two platforms can be distinguished from the platform user usage scenarios. Douyin is entertainment-oriented, and jokes, dances, camera movements, short dramas, and games are the mainstream content. The corresponding population of these contents is very broad, and it is difficult to summarize the Douyin population with only one population. This is one of the reasons why Douyin's DAU can reach 500-600 million, such a large scale. When the population of a platform reaches such a large scale, it is difficult for us to quickly find the most accurate population unless we use some commercial tools.

The user scenario of Xiaohongshu is search, searching for practical information, desired products, and ideal life. Therefore, the number of Xiaohongshu users is smaller than that of Douyin users, because the population is more precise. This group of people comes with the need to make consumption decisions. We make some particularly direct and grass-planting content on the Xiaohongshu platform, which can also directly influence the consumption decisions of Xiaohongshu users.

Therefore, the user base of Xiaohongshu will not surpass that of Douyin. The two platforms have their own unique characteristics. Douyin has a large user base and can achieve very large-scale exposure; although Xiaohongshu has a small user base, the user base is more accurate and has stronger purchasing power.

If brands look at Douyin and Xiaohongshu from the perspective of attracting new customers, Xiaohongshu brings about in-depth growth in the population, while Douyin brings about in-depth growth in the population.

The audience of Xiaohongshu is of higher quality and more rational. Once they are inspired by something, it will lead to long-tail repurchases and spontaneous sharing. This is because being inspired by something is a rational decision. In this process, they will only buy it after relatively comprehensive understanding and comparison.

Douyin attracts a wide range of people. It finds people with corresponding needs in the general population and quickly harvests them with a cost-effective price. Sales grow fast, but mental retention is poor.

This is also why Douyin’s methodology is a positive funnel crowd stratification strategy, while Xiaohongshu’s methodology is a negative funnel crowd breaking circle strategy.

Neither platform is good or bad. Different groups of people and different communication purposes cannot be ignored for brands. They are both the most important "battlefields" and brands only need to act accordingly.

To achieve scale, break through the circle, and create new products, you still have to go to Douyin. So it’s not that Douyin can’t be used, but it’s not suitable for pursuing profits. However, for the leading brands in the track that pursue scale, Douyin will still be the first choice.

Xiaohongshu is just the opposite. Compared with Douyin, Xiaohongshu's user numbers and DAU are indeed incomparable, but Xiaohongshu has the strongest consumer power and willingness in China, and Xiaohongshu is still the platform with the highest brand premium tolerance. If your product is not a standard product and also conforms to the tone of the Xiaohongshu community, it is most suitable to make profits on Xiaohongshu.

To sum up, the two platforms are different in all dimensions, so you must not use the logic of Douyin to operate Xiaohongshu. You still have to use the logic of Xiaohongshu to plant users for Xiaohongshu.

Author: Vic

Source: WeChat official account: "Vic's Marketing Thinking (ID: Viccps0227)"