Little Red Book has shown rapid development over the past few years. Beyond the 270 million Xiaohongshu users browsing the platform every month, did you know that around 3 million comments are posted daily on this app requesting product links?
The rising e-commerce trend in the RED app shows that it’s more than just a regular advertising platform. With the power of user-generated content, posts on this platform can drive sales conversions and potential traffic to your brand’s virtual storefront.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll discuss the steps to opening a Xiaohongshu store for your business and the strategies you can try to amplify your brand’s presence in the local market.
What is a Xiaohongshu E-Commerce Store?
Beyond its social networking features, Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) offers a fully geared e-commerce platform. You can create a flagship store through your official brand account, making your products and services more accessible to Chinese consumers.
Unlike other social commerce channels in China, this app blends community-centric features with e-commerce. The insights and data generated through UGC develop the concept of “discovery shopping,” which leads your target audience to relevant content without the help of Xiaohongshu advertising strategies.
Example of Product Discovery on Xiaohongshu
The primary objective of creating a store on this social platform is to shorten the overall consumer journey. Customers who decide to purchase an item after watching short videos or reading text notes wouldn’t need to switch to another application to complete their purchase.
After getting their orders, the Xiaohongshu team encourages these customers to post reviews about the products or services they purchased through the platform’s social features. These social proofs give businesses the opportunity to increase credibility and expand the brand’s reach organically.
How does a Xiaohongshu Shop work?
As a cross-border e-commerce platform, Xiaohongshu is one of the most convenient gateways for foreign brands to start selling within the Chinese market. They can choose from two options: authorized brand stores and official brand stores.
Authorized brand stores are operated by third parties holding a brand’s authorization letter, whereas official brand stores are managed directly by the brands themselves.
Consumers can easily visit a brand’s store by tapping the “店铺 Store” button on the company profile page, allowing them to shop seamlessly within the app itself.
How to start selling on Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu)
Creating Your Brand’s Official Account
While a personal account has access to the platform’s content creation tools, it doesn’t mean you can establish a brand store using it. To gain access to this feature and other Xiaohongshu marketing tools, you must register an official account.
The first step is to log in to LRB’s Enterprise Platform using your personal account credentials. You can access this section from the website version by clicking on the “For Business” tab and choosing the “Brand Account” option.
You’ll be asked to provide company information such as the brand’s trading name, contact information, business license, certification letter, and other essential documents. After submitting the requirements for official account creation, you must pay a certification fee. This process may take several days or weeks to approve.
Opening Your Xiaohongshu Store
Your official account must be approved before you can apply for a brand store on Xiaohongshu. Once you have the confirmation, you can start creating a virtual storefront by locating the “Store” option in the menu and clicking on “Create Store.”
The next part of the process is entering details about your shop, including its name, a brief description, and your return policy. Additionally, brands must submit an image, description, price range, and stock level of the product they intend to sell to Xiaohongshu users.
Once everything is in place, submit your account shop for review and await approval from the RED app’s internal marketing team.
How much does it cost to sell in Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu)?
When creating an official account in Xiaohongshu, the application process and the certification costs around 600 RMB. As for the virtual storefront creation, businesses will be charged 20,000 RMB.
Once you establish an e-commerce presence in Xiaohongshu, you’ll be required to pay a monthly maintenance fee. This payment ranges from 10,000 to 60,000 RMB, depending on the number of products in the store, industry, and location.
And because this marketing channel is meant to drive sales, they also get a 10% to 15% revenue cut from each item sold in your virtual storefront.
Effective Marketing Strategies for Your Xiaohongshu Store
1. Work with Key Opinion Leaders for better visibility
Xiaohongshu’s user base includes more than 4,800 influencers, so it’s only natural for companies to consider working with them when promoting products from their brand stores.
Each of these influencers often has their own dedicated community under a specific niche, making it easier for them to gain a deep understanding of their audiences. Additionally, users view their content as more authentic and credible than posts from an official brand account or advertisements from known celebrities.
Xiaohongshu KOC marketing for Lancôme (Source: OctoPlus Media)
Product seeding is the perfect strategy for new brands collaborating with Nano KOLs and KOCs. It’s a content strategy that Lancome executed a few years back, inviting influencers to try their products for free and encouraging them to post their reviews on this social media platform.
This Xiaohongshu marketing strategy generated a positive image for the business, increasing brand loyalty and engagement. Comments under the KOLs’ and KOCs’ posts also indicated immense interest in the brand.
2. Promote your products using ads to expand brand reach
Xiaohongshu advertising formats offer businesses the ability to personalize their promotions according to the preferences and behavior of their target audience.
When advertising on Xiaohongshu, your focus should be directing your potential customers to the brand store for potential sales conversion. With over 40 million monthly active users engaging in the app’s e-commerce channel, this feature will help your product pages reach more users beyond your usual followers.
Search ads, for example, are displayed within the app’s search results. By bidding on keywords related to your industry or brand, you can enhance your store’s visibility to users actively seeking similar items.
The platform is flexible with its ad formats, allowing advertisers to post short videos (1-5 minutes long) or up to 18 images in a single campaign. The platform recommends using a vertical media specification (9:16) and supports click-through actions, such as redirecting to a live chat or a product page.
Xiaohongshu advertising models, like optimized Cost Per Click (CPC), utilize real-time and predictive sales data. Thanks to this feature, marketers can capture higher-quality traffic and higher chances of conversion.
3. Engage with your Target Audience to build trust and credibility
Prompt responses to comments about the products you’re selling send a message that your business is open for customer feedback. This strategy is critical to establishing continued consumer loyalty and brand credibility.
Engaging with your audience is crucial for boosting your performance online, especially since the platform’s algorithms favor posts with high interactions and search activity.
Additionally, Xiaohongshu users often seek reviews and advice before finalizing their purchase decisions. Being present and active in these conversations is important if you want to influence their choices positively.
4. Leverage E-commerce Festivals for higher sales conversions
E-commerce festivals in China are significant events that can substantially elevate the visibility and sales of your Xiaohongshu store.
Annual celebrations, such as Double 11 (Singles’ Day on November 11), 618 (June 18), and Chinese New Year, have evolved into key shopping periods that drive massive consumer spending.
Global beauty brands posting product promotions for Chinese New Year, Women Day and White Valentine’s Day
Start creating anticipation for your store’s participation in the festival weeks or even months ahead. Try to focus on making engaging content to promote upcoming deals, exclusive products, or limited-time offers.
Your seasonal marketing strategy can include extra perks for users already following the brand’s official store, like early access to deals or additional discounts. These offerings can build loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.
5. Don’t Skip Keyword Integration for increased product discovery
Like Pinterest, Xiaohongshu’s search mechanism operates on user interaction. Engage with content you like, and the app instantly tailors your feed to showcase similar posts and product recommendations.
Integrating relevant keywords into your store’s description, product listings, and content improves your chances of appearing in SERPs when users look for those terms. This visibility is crucial for attracting customers interested in products or content like yours.
Using precise and niche-specific keywords and hashtags can help reach a more targeted audience. Users searching for specific terms are likely to have a clear intent. This means that if your store shows up in their search results, they’re more likely to engage with your posts or make a purchase.
Brands on top of LRB’s SERP in the products section
Quick Q&A
Who are the primary customers in Xiaohongshu’s e-commerce platform?
Xiaohongshu primarily caters to China’s younger generations, specifically millennials and Gen Z, aged between 18 and 35. These consumers often exchange insights and reviews on lifestyle, fashion, beauty, travel, and wellness. However, as the platform grew, its niche expanded beyond female-centric product categories.
With over 70% of its users being women from China, Xiaohongshu presents a valuable opportunity for businesses aiming to reach female shoppers.
Your Trusted Xiaohongshu E-Commerce Partner in the Chinese Market!
Xiaohongshu’s focus on community-centric features makes selling on the platform more interactive than other social media channels. With its user base ready to give reviews and feedback about your products, foreign marketers must be prepared to leverage these perks and adapt to the platform’s fast-changing trends.
At Sekkei Digital Group, we understand the complexity of the Chinese social media landscape. With our team’s extensive industry experience, we can guide your business to achieve its full potential in the Chinese market.
Whether you’re looking for a KOL to collaborate with, trying to set up a virtual storefront, or simply mapping your content strategy, we have all the digital solutions you need. Contact us today, and let’s start exploring your brand’s potential in China!
References:
How To Create A Little Red Book Brand Account And Store?
A Comprehensive Guide: Setting Up a Xiaohongshu E-Commerce Store
How to create a Little Red Book brand account and store
SELLING ON LITTLE RED BOOK