Don’t use the Tmall and Douyin approach to do e-commerce on Xiaohongshu!

With its unique ecological logic, Xiaohongshu e-commerce has become an important position for brands to layout new consumption. However, many brands still apply traditional e-commerce thinking when entering the market, which leads to poor acclimatization. This article will deeply analyze the unique attributes of Xiaohongshu e-commerce and provide brands with strategic suggestions for playing in the new blue ocean.

Xiaohongshu has become a popular choice for brands to build new e-commerce platforms . However, when entering Xiaohongshu, many brands still habitually apply the gameplay of Tmall and Douyin , which leads to poor acclimatization and difficulty in achieving ideal results. The reason is that they lack a deep understanding of the unique attributes of Xiaohongshu e-commerce.

1. The unique attributes of Xiaohongshu e-commerce

Xiaohongshu is a combination of a content community and an e-commerce platform . Here, users pay more attention to content and emotional resonance , and purchasing behavior is often the result of content. This is fundamentally different from the platform attributes and user mentality of Tmall and Douyin.

Tmall is a comprehensive e-commerce platform where users are used to direct search and price comparison , and purchase decisions are more driven by rigid demand, pursuing the convenience of transactions. Douyin , on the other hand, is a combination of a short video platform and an e-commerce platform , where users make impulse purchases during leisure and entertainment , and purchasing behavior is a continuation of the entertainment experience.

Therefore, brands doing e-commerce on Xiaohongshu need to have a deep understanding of its unique "decision-making " mechanism, rather than simply copying Tmall's "direct purchase decision-making" or Douyin's "entertainment decision-making" .

2. The limitations of Tmall thinking in Xiaohongshu

Xiaohongshu Mall and Tmall seem to be search-oriented shelf e-commerce platforms . Many brands on Xiaohongshu still follow Tmall’s approach, relying too much on product detail pages, emphasizing product selling points , paying attention to traffic and conversion rates, but ignoring key factors such as content seeding, emotional resonance, and interactive word-of-mouth.

On Xiaohongshu, product details pages are important, but brands need to continuously output high-quality notes to accumulate seeding assets. Simply emphasizing product selling points is not enough to impress users. It is necessary to shape brand personality through emotional storytelling to resonate. Traffic and conversion rate are certainly hard indicators, but interaction and word of mouth can better reflect the value of content and determine long-term growth potential .

3. Douyin’s thinking is not suitable for Xiaohongshu

Xiaohongshu and Douyin both seem to have started out as content platforms . Some brands have tried to copy Douyin's idea of ​​creating hits to Xiaohongshu, excessively pursuing the fun of videos, emphasizing the 3-second broadcast period , and focusing on creating hits, but have neglected the deep value of content, product strength building , and long-term brand management .

On Xiaohongshu, interesting videos can attract attention, but in-depth content can build trust . 3 seconds of broadcasting has traffic value, but product strength is the key to determine purchase. Hot-selling strategies can bring instant sales, but long-term brand management can lock in loyal users .

4. Xiaohongshu’s unique e-commerce gameplay

If brands want to thrive on Xiaohongshu’s e-commerce, they need to adapt to local conditions and deeply fit into its unique ecosystem.

First, we need to build brand personality and emotional identity through high-quality content . We need to continuously output valuable notes and accumulate seed assets . We need to guide friendly interactions and accumulate word-of-mouth potential. We need to deeply cooperate with KOLs and leverage this opportunity to enhance brand reputation.

Secondly, it is necessary to integrate multiple content forms such as pictures, texts, short videos, and live broadcasts to cover the entire user decision-making process . It should have in-depth explanations of picture and text notes, sensory stimulation of short videos, and interactive experience of live broadcasts.

Furthermore, we should make good use of the platform resources provided by Xiaohongshu, such as " REDLive " , to concentrate potential energy to heat up major brand events and increase brand and product exposure.

5. The road to brand advancement in Xiaohongshu e-commerce

The growth of a brand on Xiaohongshu is a process of constantly breaking through inherent thinking patterns and advancing in multiple dimensions.

The shift from sales thinking to seeding thinking requires brands to re-examine the value of content and no longer be limited to the product itself . The shift from short-term harvesting to long-term management requires brands to look to the future and pay attention to the accumulation of brand assets . The shift from single content to diversified content requires brands to embrace various forms of innovation and enhance content competitiveness . The shift from single-point blasting to full-domain management requires brands to seamlessly connect in various scenarios and open up the entire decision-making journey.

Looking at the excellent brand cases of Xiaohongshu's e-commerce, they all have one thing in common, that is, they are well aware of Xiaohongshu 's unique ecological logic , are user-centric, continuously create value, and ultimately achieve product and effect integration.

In short, Xiaohongshu e-commerce has become an important position for brands to layout new consumption. However, in order to dig gold in this new blue ocean, brands must break away from the mindset of traditional e-commerce and short video platforms , deeply understand the unique ecology of Xiaohongshu, and reconstruct their business strategies from multiple dimensions.

First, brands need to shift from being "product-centric" to being "people-centric," and from simple product sales to emotional communication and value output. They need to meet users' diverse needs through high-quality content and create a warm and distinctive brand image. This is the foundation for establishing a differentiated advantage on Xiaohongshu.

Second, brands need to shift from a "short-term ROI orientation" to a "long-term brand asset orientation" and should not rush to achieve sales figures in the short term, but should focus on the long-term accumulation of brand reputation and user loyalty. On Xiaohongshu, popular content, interactive communities, and high-quality reviews are all intangible assets of the brand and require persistent management.

Third, brands need to shift from a "big and comprehensive marketing strategy" to a "small and beautiful operation strategy" and dare to focus on segmented categories and vertical groups, dig deep into niche markets , and meet the big needs of a small number of people. Xiaohongshu is a typical interest-based platform, where brands that are small and beautiful are often more viable than those that are big and comprehensive.

Fourth, brands must learn to utilize Xiaohongshu’s unique platform mechanisms and resources , such as the crowd reverse funnel model and KFS strategy, and brands must make full use of the platform .

Fifth, brands must also establish the ability to connect the entire decision-making chain , attach importance to both public and private traffic, achieve full coverage of touchpoints , and realize a closed sales loop . On Xiaohongshu, notes play the role of " native seeding " , live broadcasts play the role of " user communication " , and brand flagship stores are the main battlefield for " transaction conversion " , which must be linked together and indispensable.

Xiaohongshu is a new world full of opportunities and challenges, and each brand needs to explore its own unique strategy . But no matter how the strategy changes, the basic logic of user-centricity, product-based, content-based, and delivery-based remains unchanged.

Author: Brand Old White

Source: WeChat public account "BrandLaoBai (ID: BrandLaoBai)"