In the competitive landscape of new consumer brands, marketing on Xiaohongshu has become one of the most important strategies. The platform is not only a gateway for users to discover new products but also a space where brands can build deep connections with consumers.
With Xiaohongshu upgrading its 2025 slogan from “Your Life Guide” to “Your Lifestyle Interest Community,” the platform’s development logic has transformed. It has shifted from one-way information delivery to community co-creation centered around user interests.
This evolution has changed how users consume content and created new opportunities for brands leveraging marketing on Xiaohongshu.
Xiaohongshu 2025 Trend Insights
Over the past year, Xiaohongshu has significantly expanded its content ecosystem, particularly in the anime and gaming sectors. According to official data, posts related to anime grew 175 percent year-on-year, while gaming content increased by 168 percent, placing both categories among the platform’s top content types. Xiaohongshu has not only added a dedicated “Games” entry on the discovery page but also partnered with esports leagues such as KPL and VCT CN. The platform even hosted a large-scale offline anime and gaming event, RED LAND, accelerating its penetration into youth culture circles.
This trend is helping Xiaohongshu develop a unique “2.5-dimensional” content format, where virtual interests and real-life experiences intertwine. It is expanding the boundaries of user expression and transforming the platform from a “lifestyle tool” into an “interest-driven social community,” creating fertile ground for future brand marketing.
How Brands Can Seize Opportunities for Marketing on Xiaohongshu
For brands, Xiaohongshu’s transformation signals a shift in marketing logic. The platform’s community thrives on authentic sharing, emphasizing a combination of interests and trust. This has created a unique trust loop of “discovery, purchase, sharing.” In this process, ordinary users become “trendsetters” by sharing their purchasing and usage experiences. Their authentic feedback is often more persuasive than traditional advertising. Therefore, brands must align their marketing strategies with Xiaohongshu’s content logic and social attributes.
Xiaohongshu Content Creation: Tapping into Lifestyle Scenarios
Brands need to integrate into users’ lifestyles rather than simply pushing products. The appeal of “trend seeding” lies in subtle influence, triggering resonance through lifestyle and experiential content. For example, the new consumer coffee brand “San Dun Ban” does not focus solely on product features. Instead, it creates content around ways of drinking, cups, dieting, and blind boxes, reflecting lifestyle aspects. This approach builds a fun, light-luxury, and healthy brand tone, achieving effective communication and conversion.
Xiaohongshu Brand Promotion: Targeting Interest Circles and Keywords
Xiaohongshu is a search-driven content platform, where users discover content through keywords. Brands need to align their keyword strategy and interest targeting with their audience personas.
For example, the beauty brand Perfect Diary used keywords such as “affordable alternatives,” “student makeup,” and “beginner tutorials” in its campaigns. This approach quickly established penetration within interest circles and drove exponential growth in UGC.
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Xiaohongshu KOC/KOL Strategy: Leveraging Influencer Resources
Choosing the right influencers is equally important. Xiaohongshu features a diverse influencer ecosystem. Top-tier KOLs offer broad reach, while mid-tier KOLs and KOCs have stronger influence and conversion in niche verticals. Brands should focus on tone alignment and content creativity rather than follower count alone.
For instance, the sports brand Lululemon collaborates closely with fitness and yoga influencers. Through class sharing and lifestyle content, they reach target audiences effectively, making “yoga pants” synonymous with the brand.
Future Trends in Chinese Social Media: Building a Trust Loop
Xiaohongshu’s core value lies in the trust generated through authentic sharing. Brands should leverage influencer experiences and UGC to create a discovery, purchase, and share loop, completing a closed-loop marketing cycle. This approach not only improves conversion rates but also fosters long-term user retention.
For example, the skincare brand Winona encourages users to document their skincare experiences and combines this with endorsements from professional dermatologists. This strategy creates a strong trust loop and helps the brand stand out in the medical and aesthetic skincare sector.
From Lifestyle to Interest Communities
Xiaohongshu is shifting from a focus on lifestyle to an interest-driven community. The rapid growth of gaming and anime communities shows that interests have become a new engine for growth.
Brands that adapt to this trend and combine lifestyle content, interest circle penetration, influencer collaboration, and trust loop building can establish long-term influence on Xiaohongshu. This approach allows them to truly enter the world of consumer interests.
Want to achieve breakthrough growth on Xiaohongshu? STAiiRS, a leading local marketing expert in China, has years of experience in social media and content marketing. Contact STAiiRS today and let us design the most effective Xiaohongshu marketing strategy for your brand.
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