As TikTok’s future hangs in the balance, Xiaohonghshu, higher often known as RedNote in English, is making an attempt to capitalize on its newfound popularity by partnering with US influencers who may help promote the corporate and produce extra Individuals onto its platform. The Chinese language life-style and journey app, which has over 300 million principally month-to-month energetic customers, surged to the highest of US app retailer charts final week because the TikTok ban approached.
In a marketing campaign temporary obtained by WIRED, Solare World, a New York Metropolis-based advertising and marketing company, pitched creators on making sponsored posts for RedNote, that includes movies of themselves telling their followers in regards to the Chinese language app’s sudden rise within the US. The temporary requested creators to explain “how enjoyable and fascinating the app is” and “emphasize its user-friendly design and worldwide enchantment.” It additionally instructed them to share their very own RedNote accounts and encourage their followers to affix them on the platform.
Xiaohongshu didn’t return a request for remark despatched to its official WeChat account. Solare World additionally didn’t reply to a request for remark asking what number of influencers they contacted or how a lot the corporate anticipated to pay per put up.
The temporary seen by WIRED required creators to show their movies round on a 24-hour timeline to make sure they went up by January 17, the same day the Supreme Courtroom was going to determine whether or not the TikTok ban would go into impact two days later. It additionally stipulated that influencers should go away their movies up for at least six months.
Xiaohongshu was based in 2013 and has lengthy principally targeted on courting home audiences in China, notably younger girls who reside in main cities. Like TikTok, it revolves round a central algorithm that recommends customers an limitless stream of posts based mostly on their pursuits and conduct. However as an alternative of displaying individuals one video at a time, Xiaohongshu presents photograph slideshows, textual content posts, and movies in a grid format.
However maybe the most important distinction between the 2 apps is how they deal with content material moderation. As a result of it is accessible in China, Xiaohongshu is required to stick to strict censorship guidelines dictated by Beijing. (WIRED previously reported that Xiaohongshu was scrambling to rent English-speaking moderators to assist handle the flood of content material being posted by Individuals.) TikTok, alternatively, isn’t accessible in China. Its guardian firm, ByteDance, operates a separate video app there referred to as Douyin.
The inflow of Individuals on Xiaohongshu offered a uncommon alternative for individuals within the US and China to attach on a shared social media platform. Some customers spent hours asking their new abroad pen buddies questions on their respective international locations and cultures, starting from what faculty lunch is like in Wisconsin to what a typical house appears like in Chengdu. It now seems that Xiaohongshu is making an attempt to capitalize on these sentiments to advertise itself as a optimistic, world platform.
“The heat of regular individuals being sort and interested by each other is the core sentiment there for the time being,” the influencer temporary stated. “And we expect it’s a gorgeous factor.”
