Marketing News in April | After consumption downgrade, where should the Xiaohongshu brand go?

What do you think and hear about marketing in early April? Let's hear what the author has to say.

A qualified marketer should always have insight into brands and user needs. I went back to my hometown for a few days a few days ago and recorded some brand experiences to share with everyone.

01 Always pay attention to changes in user needs

I went to my hometown town to get a haircut, and the barber told me about the embarrassment of the barber industry.

First, after the epidemic, people have no money to do their hair, and their consumption desire has decreased;

Second, young people's attention to hairstyle is decreasing. The period when Shamatte was popular should be the most glorious time for barbershops. Nowadays, young people have many ways to show their individuality, such as accessories, tattoos, music, street dance, OOTD and so on.

Figure 1: Accenture & Xiaohongshu from OOTD to XOTD

This official transition from OOTD to XOTD is perfect. Times are changing, and so are consumer demands. Consumption fluctuates in any industry, and the only thing a brand needs to do is to understand the changes in user demands and find new opportunities from the changes. Although the hair dye category is decreasing, the demand for wigs is increasing, and these are all user demand migrations.

02 Everything is a symbol, and symbols carry meaning

The highway passes through the village, and the small village is divided into two parts. In another 10 years, the village will no longer exist, and the name of the village will remain in memory. The name will change from the original signpost to a memory symbol. Everything is a symbol, and symbols carry meaning.

Some time ago, I saw a sentence that brand marketing "begins with conflict, takes shape in categories, and ends up as a symbol". This is a summary of the market conflict theory, positioning theory and Hua & Hua theory. Why do place names exist? Mostly to solve the location problem, and eventually the place name becomes a symbol, and the symbol carries meaning.

For a brand, the biggest symbol is the name. Whether your name has meaning and is indicative is worth repeated thinking and consideration.

03 Repetition Creates Brand Equity

There is a fair held on February 19th of the lunar calendar every year. When I was a child, I often wondered who invented this fair. It is so awesome. On February 19th of the lunar calendar every year, all the merchants and villagers would spontaneously come to this fair, the children would celebrate in advance, and the schools would have holidays in advance. Gradually, the festival became a brand.

Now it seems that the core is repetition. If the conference is not held the following year and the festival continues, there will be no conference. Only repetition can bring brand assets.

The same goes for Xiaohongshu marketing. Think clearly about what can be repeated continuously, such as the brand name, homepage, main text introduction, product packaging, and every comment. Gradually, if you do a good job of the repeated content, you can form brand assets.

04 Differentiated value positioning

I met folk singer Lu Jingzhou by chance on his tour at the West Lake in Yingzhou. He said that when he heard Zhao Yi, he felt it was difficult for him to make rock music, so he gradually transitioned to the folk music camp.

Later, I heard Ma Fei singing in Shaanxi dialect, and then transitioned to dialect folk songs. Then he focused on northern Anhui folk songs and created songs such as "Da Lei" and "Ye Xiong Bar". Later, he also went to the "Our Folk Songs 2022" program and also had publicity endorsement.

Figure 2: The picture comes from Weiding Tea Brand

For singers, Xiaohongshu creators, and merchants, it is to find your own differentiated positioning, what are your core advantages, where you spend more time, what you are most willing to know, and what you are most interested in, and then find your own differentiated value positioning. Find your own positioning, and then allocate your time and energy.

05 Traffic cost is always the lowest at the moment

Community partners asked, when is the platform traffic cost the cheapest?

My answer to the question of when is the most cost-effective to invest is now, because traffic can only become more and more expensive, this is an irreversible trend. Once the cost of traffic does not rise, it means that the platform is not worth investing in.

When traffic costs are rising, we should not only acquire customers, but also build brands. Why? Because only brands can resist the rising traffic costs, let users form mental memories, and link categories = brands. The life of a brand is the process of creating, leading, and expanding categories.

At this moment, check your name, slogan, packaging, and make sure they are memorable to users. If not, modify them immediately. Branding does not distinguish between private and public domains. The private domain is more needed and needs to gain trust and get more traffic.

06 Strategic loss in developing Xiaohongshu

A friend in the community asked: What kind of mentality should be used to run Xiaohongshu? To run Xiaohongshu, you must have a strategic loss mentality. In the early stage of running Xiaohongshu, losses are the norm. If you want to learn more about Xiaohongshu operation skills, how to adjust notes, optimize covers, and understand the specific operation ideas of the platform, you can gradually accumulate experience and cognition from losses.

The most frightening thing is that once you succeed at the beginning, you will think that it is all your own ability. Different industries, different stages, and different methods will produce different results. Any model and method will also have limitations. To stick to what we are doing now may be like a blind man groping in the dark. What we have to do is to cross the river by feeling the stones to operate Xiaohongshu.

The above are my thoughts and experiences during this trip home.

Author: Jianghe Team

Source: WeChat public account "Jiangheliaoyingxiao (ID: jiangheliaoyingxiao)"