How Brands Use RedNote / 小红书 for Marketing.

Marketing Strategy
Written By Mitchell Burns

Introduction

Xiaohongshu (RedNote) has become one of the most important digital platforms for brands looking to reach Chinese consumers. Unlike traditional social media platforms that focus primarily on entertainment or advertising, Xiaohongshu is a content-driven discovery platform where users search for products, places, and experiences before making decisions.

For brands, Xiaohongshu is not just a place to advertise — it is a place to build trust, share lifestyle content, and influence consumer decisions through content.

Many international brands across industries such as beauty, fashion, tourism, hospitality, and education now use Xiaohongshu as part of their marketing strategy to reach Chinese audiences.

Xiaohongshu in the Marketing Funnel

To understand how brands use Xiaohongshu, it helps to understand where the platform sits in the marketing funnel.

Marketing Stage

Platform

Awareness

Douyin / TikTok

Discovery & Research

Xiaohongshu

Purchase

Tmall / JD

Customer Relationship

WeChat

Xiaohongshu is particularly strong at the discovery and research stage, where users search for reviews, recommendations, travel guides, and product information before making decisions.

This means Xiaohongshu is extremely important for:

  • brand discovery

  • product research

  • travel planning

  • lifestyle inspiration

  • building trust

Many Chinese consumers search Xiaohongshu before purchasing products or planning trips, making it a key platform for brand visibility and reputation.

Types of Brands That Use Xiaohongshu

Many different industries use Xiaohongshu for marketing, especially those connected to lifestyle, travel, and consumer products.

Common industries on Xiaohongshu:

  • Beauty and cosmetics

  • Fashion and luxury brands

  • Hotels and hospitality

  • Tourism boards and destinations

  • Cafés and restaurants

  • Universities and education

  • Fitness and wellness

  • Food and beverage brands

  • Lifestyle and design brands

The platform works best for visual, lifestyle, and experience-based brands rather than technical or industrial products.

How Brands Use Xiaohongshu for Marketing

Brands typically use Xiaohongshu in several key ways.

1. Official Brand Accounts

Most large brands operate official accounts on Xiaohongshu where they regularly post content.

Examples include universities, tourism boards, beauty brands, coffee chains, and hotels.

University of Glasgow Account

Universities Using Xiaohongshu for Student Recruitment and Branding

Universities are increasingly using Xiaohongshu as a platform to reach Chinese students, promote campus life, advertise events, and share student experiences. For many Chinese students considering studying abroad, Xiaohongshu is one of the platforms they use to research universities, student life, accommodation, and career opportunities.

Unlike traditional university marketing channels, Xiaohongshu allows universities to communicate in a more informal and lifestyle-oriented way, showing what student life is actually like rather than only providing official information.

Why Xiaohongshu Is Important for Universities

Many Chinese students use Xiaohongshu to search for:

  • university reviews

  • campus photos

  • accommodation information

  • student experiences

  • city life

  • part-time jobs

  • internships

  • course difficulty

  • application advice

Students often search Xiaohongshu before applying to universities to understand what life is really like at a particular university.

Because of this, universities with official accounts can:

  • share official information

  • shape their image

  • answer questions

  • share student stories

  • promote events

  • build trust with potential students

Without an official account, universities are still discussed on Xiaohongshu, but only through student posts rather than official university content.

Tourism Australia’s official account

How Tourism Organisations Use Xiaohongshu

Tourism boards and destination marketing organisations are some of the most active official accounts on Xiaohongshu. The platform is widely used by Chinese travellers to research destinations, plan trips, find photo locations, and discover cafés, hotels, and itineraries. Because of this, Xiaohongshu has become an important platform for destination marketing.

Many national tourism boards, city tourism organisations, and regional destinations operate official Xiaohongshu accounts where they share travel inspiration and destination content rather than traditional advertising.

Why It’s Important for Tourism Marketing

Xiaohongshu is particularly important for tourism because many Chinese travellers use the platform to:

  • search for travel inspiration

  • plan itineraries

  • find photo locations

  • find cafés and restaurants

  • find hotels

  • research destinations

  • save places they want to visit

  • read travel experiences from other users

In many cases, travellers search Xiaohongshu before they search Google or booking websites. This makes Xiaohongshu an important platform for destination visibility.

If a destination does not have official content on Xiaohongshu, it may still be discussed on the platform, but the destination is represented only through user-generated content rather than official destination messaging.

Tourism boards use Xiaohongshu primarily as a destination content and travel inspiration platform rather than a traditional advertising platform. By sharing travel guides, photography, itineraries, and lifestyle content, destinations can increase visibility among Chinese travellers who are researching and planning trips.

Estée Lauder’s account on Xiaohongshu

How Beauty Brands Use Xiaohongshu

Beauty and cosmetics brands were among the earliest and most successful brands on Xiaohongshu. The platform originally grew through beauty product reviews, skincare routines, makeup tutorials, and product recommendations, which means beauty content still performs extremely well today.

Because Xiaohongshu users often search for product reviews before purchasing cosmetics or skincare products, the platform is particularly important for beauty brands looking to build brand awareness and product credibility in China.

Why Xiaohongshu Is Important for Beauty Brands

Many Chinese consumers use Xiaohongshu to:

  • read product reviews

  • compare skincare products

  • watch makeup tutorials

  • search for recommendations

  • find products for specific skin types

  • see before and after results

  • discover new brands

  • save products they want to buy later

Because users often research products on Xiaohongshu before purchasing on e-commerce platforms, Xiaohongshu is extremely important for product discovery and brand reputation.

Many brands consider Xiaohongshu to be one of the most important platforms for building trust and influencing purchase decisions.

Unlike traditional advertising, successful beauty marketing on Xiaohongshu focuses on education, reviews, tutorials, and lifestyle content, which helps build trust and influence purchasing decisions over time.

Starbucks’ official account on Xiaohongshu

How Lifestyle Brands Use Xiaohongshu

Lifestyle brands such as cafés, restaurants, fashion brands, and retail brands use Xiaohongshu very differently from traditional advertising platforms. Instead of focusing only on products, these brands focus on lifestyle, experiences, aesthetics, and seasonal campaigns.

Xiaohongshu is particularly effective for lifestyle brands because users often search for:

  • cafés

  • restaurants

  • photo locations

  • seasonal products

  • limited edition items

  • store design

  • brand collaborations

  • lifestyle inspiration

This makes Xiaohongshu an ideal platform for brands like coffee chains, fashion brands, and lifestyle retailers.

Why Xiaohongshu Is Important for Lifestyle Brands

Many Xiaohongshu users search for:

  • cafés to visit

  • aesthetic locations

  • seasonal drinks

  • lifestyle inspiration

  • photo locations

  • brand collaborations

  • limited edition products

  • new store openings

For lifestyle brands, Xiaohongshu is not only a marketing platform but also a discovery platform where users find places to visit and products to try.

Many café and lifestyle brands become popular on Xiaohongshu because users share photos and experiences, which creates organic promotion through user-generated content.

Successful lifestyle marketing on Xiaohongshu focuses on experiences, aesthetics, and lifestyle rather than direct advertising.

Accor Hotels official account on Xiaohongshu

How Hotels Use Xiaohongshu for Marketing

Hotels, resorts, and hospitality brands use Xiaohongshu primarily as a travel inspiration and lifestyle platform, rather than a traditional booking or advertising platform. Instead of promoting rooms and prices directly, hotel brands focus on experiences, destinations, lifestyle, and travel inspiration.

This is very effective because many Chinese travellers use Xiaohongshu to:

  • search hotels before travelling

  • find photogenic hotels

  • research destinations

  • plan trips

  • save travel ideas

  • discover luxury experiences

  • find cafés, spas, and restaurants in hotels

← The Accor Xiaohongshu account focuses heavily on travel inspiration, hotel experiences, and lifestyle content rather than direct hotel promotion.

Content Types Used by Hotel Brands on Xiaohongshu

1. Travel Inspiration Content

Many posts show destinations rather than specific hotel rooms. These posts include:

  • views from hotel balconies • nearby attractions • city views • beaches and mountains • travel photography • destination inspiration

This type of content inspires users to travel and associate the hotel brand with travel experiences.

2. Hotel Lifestyle and Experience Content

Hotels often promote the experience of staying at the hotel rather than just the room. This includes:

  • breakfast in bed • spa experiences • swimming pools • hotel bars and restaurants • luxury experiences • relaxation and wellness content • couples travel • weekend getaways

This positions hotels as part of a luxury or lifestyle experience.

3. Promotions and Membership Programs

Some posts promote:

  • membership programs • loyalty programs • seasonal discounts • special offers • package deals • points promotions • travel campaigns

However, these posts are usually still visually appealing and lifestyle-focused rather than purely promotional.

4. Destination and City Content

Hotel brands often promote destinations where their hotels are located, including:

  • Paris • London • Dubai • Bali • Maldives • Tokyo • Sydney • European Destinations

This helps attract travellers who are planning trips rather than just searching for hotels.

As Xiaohongshu is used heavily during the travel planning stage, it is very important for hotels and travel brands.

2. Content Marketing (Most Important Strategy)

The most important thing to understand about Xiaohongshu marketing is that it is content-driven, not advertisement-driven.

Unlike many platforms, Xiaohongshu does not perform well with direct advertisements. Instead, the platform prioritises authentic content and user experience.

Successful brand content often includes:

  • travel guides

  • tutorials

  • product reviews

  • “Top 5” lists

  • day itineraries

  • lifestyle photography

  • tips and advice

  • storytelling posts

  • behind-the-scenes content

The goal is to create content that:

  • people want to save

  • people want to share

  • people want to search for later

This type of content builds trust and long-term brand visibility rather than immediate sales.

3. Influencer and KOC Collaboration

Many brands also collaborate with influencers and KOCs (Key Opinion Consumers).

These collaborations often include:

  • product reviews

  • travel experiences

  • hotel stays

  • restaurant reviews

  • lifestyle content

  • tutorials

Micro-influencers and regular users often create more trust than celebrities, and many successful Xiaohongshu campaigns use multiple smaller creators rather than one large influencer.

However, brands can still build a strong presence through their own official content, especially tourism boards, universities, and hotels.

4. Search Visibility and Hashtags

Xiaohongshu is not only a social media platform — it also functions like a search engine.

Users search for:

  • travel destinations

  • hotels

  • restaurants

  • skincare products

  • fashion

  • universities

  • cafés

  • itineraries

  • reviews

Brands optimise posts using:

  • keywords

  • hashtags

  • location tags

  • descriptive captions

This helps posts appear in search results when users are researching products or destinations.

What Successful Brand Content Looks Like

Successful Xiaohongshu brand content is usually:

  • visually attractive

  • informative

  • personal

  • helpful

  • story-based

  • list-based

  • recommendation-based

  • location-based

  • lifestyle-focused

  • not overly corporate

  • not overly promotional

Users open Xiaohongshu to discover ideas and inspiration, not to see advertisements.

Common Mistakes Brands Make on Xiaohongshu

Many Western brands make similar mistakes when they start using Xiaohongshu.

Common mistakes:

  • Directly translating Instagram content

  • Posting only advertisements

  • Posting too infrequently

  • Not engaging with comments

  • Not using hashtags

  • Not understanding platform style

  • Treating Xiaohongshu like Instagram or Facebook

  • Expecting fast results

  • Not localising content properly

Successful brands treat Xiaohongshu as a long-term content platform, not a short-term advertising campaign.

Wrapping it up.

Xiaohongshu has become one of the most important platforms for brands looking to reach Chinese consumers. It is not primarily an advertising platform, but a content and discovery platform where users search for products, places, and experiences.

Brands that succeed on Xiaohongshu usually focus on:

  • content marketing

  • storytelling

  • lifestyle content

  • search visibility

  • community engagement

  • localisation

  • long-term brand presence

For many brands, especially in tourism, hospitality, lifestyle, beauty, and education, Xiaohongshu is now an essential part of their China marketing strategy.

Mitchell Burns
Next

小红书 / RedNote Layout