After studying 30 popular brands on Xiaohongshu, I summarized 4 key trends

This article analyzes the brand list officially released by Xiaohongshu, combines the three key words of transaction, content and word of mouth, and provides a suitable e-commerce path for brands and merchants to develop on Xiaohongshu.

Regarding Xiaohongshu's e-commerce, the core questions are: Is it worth doing, who is suitable for it, and how to do it?

The analytical method is case study.

Find out those who have achieved success on Xiaohongshu, find patterns from the phenomena, and answer the above questions.

Xiaohongshu's e-commerce is divided into: buyer ecology and brand ecology.

Typical examples of buyer ecology are stars like Dong Jie and Zhang Xiaohui, who have already achieved GMV of hundreds of millions. I have written several analysis articles, so I will not elaborate here.

Regarding brand ecology, I have never found a case that can be analyzed.

A few days ago, I saw that Xiaohongshu officially released a brand list , listing 30 brands that have emerged. This is the best sample.

I tried to interpret this list, hoping to answer the following questions: What kind of brands are suitable for Xiaohongshu e-commerce and what should they do?

1. Analyze this list to get an insider perspective on Xiaohongshu

There is an extremely certain experience: no matter which platform you choose to work for, follow the will of that platform closely. This is the shortcut.

Study the platform's rules and policies and establish a good relationship with the platform.

Because the platform has an internal perspective, it has market data that you cannot see, and it knows what categories are easy to sell, and how to make it easier to sell. This is the supply and demand relationship of the platform, as well as the content paradigm.

In addition, the platform will use traffic to support some categories to achieve their goals.

With this information and traffic resources, we won’t be so blind in our actions, and we can be faster and save costs.

Therefore, interpreting the selection criteria of this list is essentially about analyzing the platform's will and digging out internal perspectives.

There are three key words in this list: transaction, content, and word of mouth.

It can also be understood that this is Xiaohongshu’s official appeal to brand merchants and also its definition of excellent brand merchants.

My understanding: I want both, I want everything.

1. Transaction, that is, GMV

But Xiaohongshu focuses on the growth rate, which is a more important indicator. The absolute value of GMV is only a threshold.

This is not difficult to understand. Xiaohongshu has just started to engage in e-commerce. At this stage, it is looking at "who is faster" instead of "who is the biggest" like other mature platforms.

This means that the Matthew effect has not yet formed and all businesses have relatively equal opportunities.

If you enter at this time, you will have a greater chance of success, especially for small and medium-sized brand merchants, since the degree of internal competition is not so high and there are greater opportunities.

2. Content is the prerequisite

Although we are discussing e-commerce, let’s not forget that Xiaohongshu is positioned as a community, and e-commerce is the commercial element in the community.

In other words, if you want to do e-commerce on Xiaohongshu, you must first become a member of the community.

Whether it is the live broadcast content, the note content, or even the interaction with fans in the comment area, it must conform to the community tone of Xiaohongshu.

Without creating content, you can just start broadcasting and calculate ROI by investing traffic. This won’t work on Xiaohongshu.

Therefore, having content capabilities and understanding the tone of the Xiaohongshu community is a prerequisite and a threshold for doing e-commerce here.

3. Word of mouth is a requirement

The specific explanation is to see whether users will actively recommend it in Xiaohongshu, how many search results are there, and whether the feedback is good.

To put it in abstract terms, this is Xiaohongshu's requirement for brand merchants. They should not only focus on making money, but also pay attention to the quality of goods and services, provide good feedback from customers within the Xiaohongshu ecosystem, and complete the entire process from planting grass → pulling grass → recommending.

On the one hand, it is a requirement for brand merchants, and on the other hand, it takes into account the content circulation and user experience of the community.

2. Get these insights from 3 keywords

The following four points all answer a question: What kind of brands are suitable for Xiaohongshu e-commerce?

1. Brands targeting women

Although this conclusion is well known, it is also concentratedly reflected in the Focus30 brand list.

Among the 30 brands, 22 are targeted at women, accounting for 73%.

In terms of categories, there are 7 apparel, 6 beauty and personal care brands, and 3 fashion accessories, accounting for half of the total number of brands on the list.

Looking at these two sets of numbers will make the picture more intuitive.

2. Brands with design and R&D capabilities

Designer brands, and even brands that have the ability to produce and process themselves, are more suitable for Xiaohongshu.

First of all, this type of product is non-standard and the average order value is relatively high.

Secondly, pursue quality rather than cost-effectiveness.

Xiaohongshu prefers these two features because they can differentiate itself from Douyin and are in line with the community's tone and user needs.

3. Brands with good visuals and storytelling

As mentioned above, to do e-commerce on Xiaohongshu, you must first create content.

The difference between Xiaohongshu's content and that of other platforms is that it has aesthetic appeal, especially in the form of pictures and texts.

Therefore, if the products of this brand look good, can be produced in films, and the team is capable of creating content, it will have a great advantage on Xiaohongshu.

By telling brand concepts and stories through aesthetic content, it is easier to resonate with users and gain popularity.

From the brand's external beauty to its internal philosophy, Xiaohongshu is the most suitable platform for the implementation of this closed loop.

4. A brand with good reputation and recommended by users

Xiaohongshu users have a habit of searching, and 60% of users search for content or products that interest them every day.

Therefore, when users purchase products from niche brands, they are likely to search to see what others think of the product. This is the ecological feature of Xiaohongshu.

If you understand this logic, you will know that when doing e-commerce on Xiaohongshu, you must pay attention to word of mouth.

High product quality is the foundation. In addition, some operational measures should be taken to guide users to share and increase the number of notes. The purpose is to take over search traffic and pave the way for users' consumption decisions.

In addition, I found:

• The accounts of these brands basically have less than 100,000 followers, and many even have only 10,000 to 20,000 followers. This shows that it is not too late to enter the market now.
• Several brands have asked Dong Jie to promote their products, which shows that brand merchants also need to make good use of buyers and cooperate well with platforms, head brands, and KOLs.

The above is my point of view.

In a word, for brand merchants, now is the best time to learn and study Xiaohongshu e-commerce as soon as possible.

Author: Han Xu

Source: WeChat official account "Operation Dog Work Diary"