How will Xiaohongshu’s car brand operate in 2023?

To do a good job in brand marketing, it is very important to choose the right platform, marketing method and accurate users. So can high-priced brands such as cars be marketed on Xiaohongshu? And how should they be marketed? This article will talk about how car brands should operate on Xiaohongshu in 2023. If you are interested, come and take a look.

As a high-consumption area in the consumer market, high-end brands are beyond the acceptance of ordinary users. They are not willing to learn too much and agree with them, and are more inclined to be dominated and influenced by consumers. In Xiaohongshu, the life habits, group characteristics, rhythm of the times, and fashion trends of fan users can grasp the lifeline of public opinion.

Even old brands can use Xiaohongshu to create products that win new minds. For example, Wuling has seized on young users' sense of fashion, love of life, and enjoyment of life, and has achieved good results on Xiaohongshu. At the same time, it has directly influenced the surge in offline sales.

It can be seen that it is important to choose the right platform, marketing method and accurate users.

Before I start the article, I would like to ask you a question: "Can high-priced brands like cars be marketed on Xiaohongshu? How should they be marketed?"

See you in the comments section, here is the main text:

1. Current status of the automobile industry

1. Current status of automobile industry development

At present, the automobile development in my country is in a period of rapid transformation. We can roughly guess the direction of transformation, that is, towards new energy. Nowadays, many users prefer new energy vehicles, partly because they can be equipped with green license plates and can be driven smoothly in certain cities with license plates. Secondly, new energy vehicles are very economical and have low operating costs. Charging is also more convenient in cities, mainly because charging is cheaper and saves more money.

If it is a hybrid car, the fuel economy is lower than that of a pure gasoline car. Taking BYD as an example, BYD Auto's sales volume from January to November 2022 was 217,816 units, a growth rate of 142.2% compared with September, ranking in the top ten of the domestic car sales list.

2. Future development trends of the automotive industry

While my country's automobile industry is developing rapidly, it has also brought about a series of social problems such as transportation, environmental protection, and energy. Under the policy guidance of the country's increasing emphasis on resource conservation, energy conservation and emission reduction, and circular economy, lightweight automobiles and new energy vehicles have become new directions for the development of my country's automobile industry.

(1) Automobile lightweighting

When a car is lightweight, its acceleration is improved, and its control stability, noise and vibration are also improved, and its impact on society will be reduced. Therefore, reducing the weight of the car body will have a significant effect on the fuel economy of the whole vehicle, vehicle control stability, and reducing exhaust emissions.

(2) New energy vehicle market has great potential

As new energy vehicle manufacturing technology gradually matures, its sales volume is also gradually increasing. Now many of the Didi cars around us will be occupied by new energy vehicles. Charging saves much more money than consuming fuel, and the pollution to the environment is relatively reduced.

With the introduction of various national support policies for new energy vehicles and the halving of car purchase tax this year, the sales volume of the automobile industry has greatly increased, consumers' awareness of new energy vehicles has gradually increased, and public charging facilities have continued to improve. New energy vehicles will surely usher in a period of rapid development.

The new energy track has just begun in my country. At the same time, new energy technology is paving the way for driverless driving. For example, the "automatic parking" function of the Wuling KiWi car has taken a big step towards driverless driving. In the field of driverless driving, electric vehicles are bound to have more advantages than gasoline vehicles. Apart from the faster reaction speed of electric vehicles, the acceleration speed and control speed are also advantages.

(Image source: Xiaohongshu official monthly report)

(3) More and more car brands are entering Xiaohongshu

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

Xiaohongshu has its own unique and differentiated core competitiveness. It constantly explores consumption scenarios that come from infinitely rich life, can guide trends, and create content that links consumers' emotional resonance and matches content with purchasing scenarios. More and more people, especially young people, come to Xiaohongshu to seek content that influences their purchasing decisions.

With consumers' search needs, many car companies have begun to pay attention to Xiaohongshu. At the beginning of 2022, there were only 50 car brands on Xiaohongshu, and 57% of the official accounts had just over 5,000 followers, barely making it into the main body of Xiaohongshu accounts with 5,000 to 50,000 followers. Only Wuling Motors and Lynk & Co. have more than 100,000 followers.

As the user base gradually expands, automobiles, as a vertical category, not only have superficial user value, but also contain huge business opportunities - distribution, traffic, regional sales, etc.

2. Analysis of Xiaohongshu’s Automobile Category Users

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

As shown in the figure above, in the automobile industry of Xiaohongshu , men account for 32.99% and women account for 67.01% . From the age classification of Xiaohongshu categories, the ratio of men to women in the automobile industry is relatively small. It can be seen that in Xiaohongshu, boys’ frequency of planting grass and searching for cars is still very high. The age distribution is young people aged 18-34. From a regional perspective, they are concentrated in Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other regions.

As we all know, the main user group of Xiaohongshu is young women with strong purchasing power and high consumption willingness. Therefore, in Xiaohongshu's grass-roots marketing, the target group of products and services should be mainly women, followed by babies and men.

In recent years, the "her economy" customized to the consumption needs of women has prevailed. In addition to traditional women-only products, brands in various industries are also making every effort to open up new categories to "please" female users and seize the growth dividends brought by gender differences.

According to the analysis of notes in the Xiaohongshu community, the main users of car brands are divided into three categories:

1. Sophisticated dads and moms : This type of users are mainly used to pick up their kids and go grocery shopping. We can accurately classify this type of users into mini cars. In a small county town, a mini car is simply cool and convenient, and more importantly, children like it.
2. Urban white-collar workers: This type of users buy cars more for commuting. In first-tier cities, subways and buses can easily make adults collapse. They would rather sit in traffic jams and wait for traffic lights than wait for buses or subways. As an office worker, I have also experienced the horror of being "squeezed into the subway" on Guangzhou Line 3.
3. Freelancer: In Xiaohongshu, many young Internet celebrities buy a house and a car as the first thing they do after making money. Shooting materials is their job, and having a car makes it more convenient to travel. In addition, young people nowadays like to "travel on a whim".

3. How to place car brands on Xiaohongshu?

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

According to Xinhong data - [Flower Planting Market], the main targets of transportation influencers are amateurs and junior influencers. From a marketing perspective, the perspective of passers-by is more authentic, and the notes posted by amateur bloggers are closer to life and more authentic.

But we know that there is a certain amount of "luck" involved in the exposure of amateur bloggers' notes, so when investing in amateur bloggers, it is necessary to make a comprehensive decision based on the blogger's past note data.

Rich brands can place ads on bloggers at every stage, while poor brands have their own way of playing. High-quality content + high-quality blogger notes will also have relatively good exposure . Secondly, users are very curious about new things, and brands can seize this characteristic of users and focus on "attacking".

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

So what types of influencers can car brands look for?

1. Store Blogger ✖ Car

(Image source: Xiaohongshu page)

Cooperating with store bloggers can help amplify the service attitude of employees and the on-site environment of car companies. In addition, after a slightly influential blogger visits the store and expresses his or her true feelings, it is more convincing to users. Although he or she is a blogger, he or she is also a consumer and user, and can better understand the user's needs.

The picture above is an offline test drive of Nezha Auto posted by a store visiting blogger. The blogger conveys certain information to users by experiencing the appearance, configuration, and test drive experience of the car, which can serve as a reference for users who are planning to buy a car.

2. Beauty blogger ✖ car

(Image source: Xiaohongshu page)

We usually say that if you want to improve the appearance of a product, you can find a beautiful woman to bring out the temperament of the product. Yes, this principle also works in the automotive industry. As above, a small car model plus a color configuration, beautiful women go out to check in and take pictures. The first thing users see when they see the notes is definitely the beauty, followed by the outfit and the car. The entry of beautiful bloggers can indirectly boost the brand's "audience appeal."

3. IP blogger ✖ car

(Image source: Xiaohongshu page)

IP bloggers are accounts that use works to promote and attract traffic. They mainly have deeper insights into a certain industry and have distinctive characters. As shown in the picture above, the style of this blogger is that three people introduce cars in the form of rap, and only share relevant knowledge about the cars, which is effective in promoting brand products.

4. Travel Blogger ✖ Cars

(Image source: Xiaohongshu page)

What travel bloggers mainly capture is the scenery and implant it into cars and people. The beautiful environment sets off the appearance of the car. This is similar to the marketing method of travel bloggers and the beauty blogger mentioned above. I won’t explain it in detail here, but only when the content can impress users can it be considered as real advertising.

4. Analysis of Xiaohongshu’s professional accounts for automobile brands

1. Xiaohongshu Automotive Professional Account - Tesla

(Image source: Xiaohongshu interface)

(Tesla professional account data overview: number of followers - 128,000, likes and favorites - 232,000, number of notes - 915)

We can see that the interface of Tesla's professional account is overall in black and gray tones, which is more in line with the color tone of Tesla's body. Tesla's cars are mainly black and gray. The content of the notes was mainly travel and life notes in the early stage, but now it is more presented as plot notes.

Such as: "How to use Tesla to trick the heroine?", "Does Tesla still need to shift gears?", "Tesla's falcon wing door narrow distance measurement!" ... and the data is relatively good, indicating that users are more interested in plot notes.

The copy is both internal and external, focusing on an ideal life, subconsciously guiding readers to recognize and yearn for "a life with a car", and revealing the beauty and convenience of owning a car in the pictures. Secondly, what the car should highlight is the color matching, performance configuration and the exquisiteness of the pictures.

The note styles are more diverse, and the combination of note types and finger-guessing games are more likely to enhance fan stickiness. In professional accounts, the story plot attracts some users to like and collect it, because the setting of the plot brings certain emotional value to users. In the notes, we can focus on capturing the emotional value of users.

[Overview of Xiaohongshu Tesla Professional Account]

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

[Analysis of fans of Tesla professional accounts on Xiaohongshu]

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

2. Xiaohongshu Automobile Professional Account - Wuling Motors

(Image source: Xiaohongshu interface)

(Overview of Wuling Motors Professional Account data: Number of fans - 177,000 Likes and favorites - 965,000 Number of notes - 733)

First of all, judging from the data, Wuling Motors has a relatively high number of fans on Xiaohongshu. At the same time, it is also a relatively mature account. From the brand's marketing methods and communication means, from an old brand to the first choice of transportation for young users in the new era, it is undoubtedly declaring its sovereignty.

The notes in the professional account cleverly use celebrities, beauties, joint ventures, hot topics, etc. to attract users' curiosity. The cross-border joint marketing method has broadened the marketing market and opened up Wuling's "aging" image in users' minds, while also increasing traffic.

Here we can clearly observe that users like young and personalized products/brands. Cross-border marketing can greatly help brands to achieve full promotion and thus attract more accurate new consumer groups.

Note titles all have a characteristic - making good use of emotional words . The attractiveness of a note directly affects the user's curiosity. Emotions will drive the user into the scene . Exaggeration is also a means of attracting people. Being good at using emotional words to drive the user's emotions can better stimulate the user's interactive psychology.

[Overview of Wuling Motors Professional Account on Xiaohongshu]

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

[Analysis of fans of Wuling Motors professional account on Xiaohongshu]

(Displayed by Xinhong Data under Xinbang)

3. Xiaohongshu Automotive Professional Account - LYNK&CO

(Image source: Xiaohongshu interface)

(Data overview of Lynk & Co professional account: number of followers - 134,000, number of likes and favorites - 616,000, number of notes - 919)

In Lynk & Co’s professional account, the note styles are diverse, and the focus of the note content is on the combination of knowledge and life. It not only gives users a sense of freshness, but also transmits knowledge and ideas, enhancing fan stickiness.

As we can see in Figure 2, a type of note was posted three times. If a type of note can cause a strong reaction or is liked by users, then we can capture this emotion and heat up the note until the heat of the note is exhausted.

At the same time, in conjunction with bloggers on Xiaohongshu, the real offline test drive experience was shared with netizens through live broadcasts. At that time, more than 400 users made appointments for test drives in the live broadcast room. The test drive itself can allow users to truly experience the performance and appearance of the car, as well as more details to a great extent. The live broadcast format further amplifies the authenticity of the effect.

5. How do car brands conduct marketing on Xiaohongshu?

1. KOL/KOC linkage - attracting users

Cooperate with KOL/KOC you have worked with before, or use company accounts to reach users in multiple fields and aspects, deepen users' strong memory of the brand. In the process of efficient customer acquisition, the brand must also have content expression, and it must be accurate enough, so as to form a "two-way rush" between car brands and car users.

Appearance color, brand reputation, usage experience, configuration details, user reviews, etc. may all become relevant factors in changing their decisions. How to deal with the diversity and specificity of user concerns, and how to continuously increase brand appeal and dispel their concerns, are essential skills for brand marketing.

2. Personalized travel-activating users

Larger brands tend to be arrogant and always regard themselves or the people around them as users, but they never really think about the real needs of users from the user's perspective. We might as well think from a different perspective, let users take the initiative and fully stimulate their subjective initiative.

In the past, car test drives were more targeted at the media, using the media's communication power to convey brand content to consumers. However, for users, these are things they have not actually experienced. No matter how powerful the media's publicity capabilities are, they still cannot impress users. It is better to adopt a method that users can accept.

For example, the popular navigation voice package, the convenience and power of the car reflected through the car's navigation function, and Wuling KiWi's 15-day offline test drive, etc., reach users through actual touch.

Checking in at tourist attractions, passerby’s perspective, spontaneous trips, traveling, etc.

3. Brand activities-retain users

In fact, they are big promotion days, such as Double Eleven and Double Twelve, etc. After users select their favorite car models and colors, they often do not buy them immediately. They will first consider factors such as: whether my down payment funds are sufficient, whether my loan can be approved, when I can take the driver's license test, and government preferential activities, etc. For example, this year's car purchase tax is halved, and many users will choose to buy a car during this time period.

In other words, brands may have different discount activities and gift programs every month, etc., which are all ways to retain users.

4. Telephone follow-up - fission users

When the company has any activities, we can call to invite users to experience the store. For example, our company has launched a program this month where members can get a free maintenance or other program. We can invite users offline and gain their praise through the program experience. Then we can recommend some cost-effective products to users and achieve conversion.

6. Final summary

Some users think that Xiaohongshu has great potential in promoting products. Long-term operations have yielded impressive results. Automobile brands are no exception. Before marketing, you must first identify the target users , conduct targeted marketing based on the targeted groups, and make preparations before marketing to achieve effective promotion.

The second is to explore the selling points of the product , but not just the functional highlights. Only by sticking to the trends, creating topics, and integrating scenarios can the output of popular notes be realized and achieve breaking the circle and planting grass.

Author: Zhuang Jun

Source: WeChat public account "Zhuang Jun (ID: zhuangjunweixin)"