The secret of user “planting grass” in Xiaohongshu’s promotion method!

I believe that many of these cuties are “little red potatoes” who like to read recommendation notes on Xiaohongshu to buy things they like and that suit them (commonly known as “being planted with grass”).

In addition to ordinary people's sharing, Xiaohongshu also has celebrities, beauty bloggers and other users. Opinion leaders with their own traffic, such as Lin Yun, the pioneer of selling goods, Fan Bingbing, the queen of topics, and Li Jiaqi, the number one lipstick seller on Taobao, have become big Vs on Xiaohongshu. The combined efforts of UGC (user-generated content), PGC (professionally generated content) and PUGC (professional user-generated content) have made Xiaohongshu a treasure APP for young people, especially girls who love beauty.

With the slogan “Mark my life”, what is the secret of Xiaohongshu in attracting users? Today, we will analyze them one by one from the perspective of publicity techniques.

What is propaganda

The English word "Propaganda" comes from Latin, which means sowing and reproduction. The concept of propaganda in the West originated from religion and was not introduced into the political field until modern times. The political connotation was first introduced into the concept of propaganda in the United States in the 19th century. During World War I, propaganda attracted widespread attention. Most of the warring countries were capitalist countries that had established modern democratic systems. The mobilization and entire course of the war depend on whether it is possible to convince the domestic masses. The masses must be cleverly manipulated without being noticed by the masses so that they willingly support a certain policy.

Lasswell was the first political scientist to clearly study the phenomenon of propaganda. In 1927, he published his doctoral dissertation "Propaganda Techniques in World War", which regarded propaganda as a phenomenon in modern political science. He objectively and neutrally studied how to conduct propaganda to achieve the best results. He defined propaganda as: "It refers only to the control of opinions through important symbols, or more specifically but less accurately, through stories, lies, reports, pictures and other forms of social communication. Propaganda focuses on controlling public opinion and attitudes by directly manipulating social cues rather than by changing other conditions in the environment or in the organism."

Seven techniques of publicity - the "packaging" of "planting grass" by Xiaohongshu users

Alfred Lee and Elizabeth Lee co-edited the Fine Art of Propaganda, which used the propaganda of Father Coughlin, who was very influential at the time, as an example and proposed seven commonly used propaganda techniques. Next, let’s take a look at what techniques Xiaohongshu users use in their grass-planting notes.

Tip 1: Refuse to jump into the pit

In the slimming Xiaohongshu's notes, milk tea, barbecue, hot pot, fried chicken, etc. are all high-calorie foods (whisper: I like to eat them all), so these foods labeled "negative" are put on the "blacklist" in the diet of Xiaohongshu who wants to lose weight, and she will subconsciously "resist" them when she hears the names of these foods. This propaganda technique is called name-calling.

Name calling - giving an idea or thing a negative label that causes us to reject and condemn the idea without examining the evidence.

(Image source: Xiaohongshu)

Skill 2: Attack from the front

In the skin care notes on Xiaohongshu, there are many products that claim to be "pure natural", "no additives", "pure plants" and "from the place of origin". We tend to choose such healthy and green products, and when we see related notes, we will accept or agree, thinking that this is a good product, which will stimulate purchasing behavior. This publicity technique is called the halo method.

Glittering generality - associating something with good words, using the light of good things to make us accept or agree with it without verification.

(Image source: Xiaohongshu)

Tip 3: Leverage Brand

Little Red Potatoes should be familiar with Li Jiaqi. In his Xiaohongshu videos, there are many reviews and recommendations of big-name products such as Dior and Givenchy. With the help of the reputation and brand effect of these "big brands", we believe in the quality and effectiveness of these big-name products without a doubt. After all, the luxurious and elegant Dior and the gorgeous and elegant Givenchy are big names in the fashion industry, and any product of theirs can be a hit. This propaganda technique is called diversion.

Transfer - the transfer of authority, influence, prestige, or the prestige of something respected and admired to another, making the latter more acceptable.

(Image source: Xiaohongshu)

Tip 4: People-friendly policies

Qu Fang, co-founder of Xiaohongshu, once said in an interview: "We want to make every consumer a grass-roots person." Xiaohongshu has a huge amount of UGC power, and many users are "amateurs". They will grass-root some good things they have used, share their own "grass-rooted" product experiences and the pitfalls they have stepped on, trying to explain to Xiaohongshu that "good things used by ordinary people also deserve to have a name." Because "everyone's good is the real good." This propaganda technique is called the common people's method.

Plain folks approach - some speakers attempt to convince their audience that their ideas are good because they are "the people's" ideas, the ideas of "ordinary people."

(Image source: Xiaohongshu)

Tip 5: Hidden Words

Some of the beauty products recommended by Xiaohongshu are often labeled as "easy to use", "moisturizing", "skin-friendly", etc., but when Xiaohongshu learned the details, he found that the product was actually very, very expensive. This propaganda technique is called the shuffling cheat method, which is somewhat similar to a one-sided tip, only providing propaganda information that is beneficial to one's own side, while hiding information that is not beneficial to oneself.

Card stacking - the selective use of narratives to portray an idea, plan, person, or product in the best or worst possible light, through truth or lies, clarity or ambiguity, plausibility or implausibility.

Skill 6: Comprehensive Encirclement

The "trampoline park" that is all the rage on the Internet has set off a trampoline craze. On Xiaohongshu, people check in at trampoline parks across the country and put up titles such as "Where to go if you have no money at the end of the month? A new experience at the trampoline park" and "Busy dancing is not as good as trampoline", creating an atmosphere of "everyone goes to the trampoline". The little red potatoes will be excited when they see this: "Everyone is going to play, so I want to go too." "You jump, I jump." (It's obviously just to go to the trampoline, but it's a big show: you jump and I jump). This publicity technique is called the bandwagon method, also known as the herd method.

The band wagon approach—"everyone—at least all of us—are doing it"; this is the propagandist's attempt to convince all of us who are on strike to accept his plan, so we must follow suit and "jump on the band wagon."

(Image source: Xiaohongshu)

Tip 7: Big V Effect

The Xiaohongshu community, which was built around the concept of "buy, buy, buy", relies on mutual communication among users to solve the problem of information asymmetry in overseas shopping, while the entry of celebrities and beauty bloggers further guarantees the user experience of Xiaohongshu. Because as opinion leaders, they have a certain credibility and authority and can make recommendations and share from a professional perspective. When you see an ordinary product but find that your idol or a celebrity has recommended it, you will think it is a good thing. This propaganda technique is called the testimonial method.

Testimonial - Asking some respectable or unpleasant person to speak out about a particular idea, program, or product, or to say good or bad things about people.

Honrygirl's pure natural organic skin care products recommended by Zhang Yuqi (Photo source: Xiaohongshu)

Knowledge point link: Opinion leaders (pay attention, highlight the key points)

Opinion leaders refer to people who are active in interpersonal communication networks, often provide information, opinions or suggestions to others and exert personal influence on others.

Katz and Lazarsfeld in "Personal Influence" and Rogers in "Innovation and Diffusion" summarized the four characteristics of opinion leaders.

• 1. Opinion leaders and those being communicated to are generally in an equal relationship rather than a superior-subordinate relationship.
• 2. Opinion leaders are evenly distributed in any social group and class, and maintain horizontal relationships with those they influence.
• 3. The influence of opinion leaders is generally divided into "single type" and "comprehensive type". The "single type" is the main type in modern urban society, while the "comprehensive type" is the main type in traditional or rural society.
• 4. Opinion leaders have a wide social circle, have more information channels, and have high frequency and large amount of exposure to mass media.

The “new characteristics” of opinion leaders in the mobile Internet era

1. The strong influence of social media expands the influence of “opinion leaders”

Take Weibo as an example. Weibo has the functions of following and forwarding. When a user reposts and comments on a Weibo post, his fans can see the reposted Weibo post and his comments. If they are interested, they will repost and comment again, and their fans can also see the Weibo post and their comments. The forwarded Weibo posts were spread to the greatest extent possible in this fission-like process. Under the powerful influence of social media, "opinion leaders" can easily expand their influence.

2. The high reach of social media communication increases the influence of “opinion leaders”

Whether it is forwarding articles on Weibo or WeChat public accounts, they can be disseminated in the mode of "original text + forwarder's comments", which can not only express the forwarder's point of view, but also ensure that the original Weibo and WeChat texts reach every audience in their original form, greatly reducing information distortion in the dissemination process and avoiding the adverse social impact caused by the dissemination of inaccurate information. From another perspective, this extremely high original information reach rate has the potential to turn everyone who receives the original information into a fan of the "opinion leader", thereby greatly enhancing the influence of the "opinion leader".

3. Personalization, privatization, and fragmentation of social media communication create the affinity of “opinion leaders”

The communication methods of social media such as Weibo and WeChat are random and uncertain. Users do not need to think carefully before posting information, but just write whatever comes to mind in a completely casual and relaxed state. Therefore, it is personalized, private, and fragmented. For the audience, the "opinion leaders" in social media are like someone around you talking to you, which makes those "leaders" who once seemed high and mighty have a kind of neighborly affinity. For example, many Weibo celebrities will share their daily lives on Weibo. Under the influence of this affinity, it often becomes natural to accept the other party's point of view. To a certain extent, the influence of "opinion leaders" has also been enhanced.

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Author: XO Kitten

Source: XO Kitten